It was produced in the 1950s to up-gun units of the Royal Armoured Corps continuing to use the Cromwell tank during the early phases of the Cold War.

The vehicle itself was a modified Cromwell with a more powerful gun installed in a relatively lightly armoured two-man turret.

Charioteer saw limited use with the British Army, but was used more extensively by overseas nations in Europe and the Middle East.

In the early Cold War during the 1950s, plans to combat a potential invasion from Soviet forces called for a Royal Armoured Corps formation to be equipped with the Cromwell tank.

[2] The resulting vehicle was initially named FV4101 Cromwell Heavy AT Gun,[4] but renamed 'Charioteer' before entering service.

Design focused primarily on anti-tank capabilities, sharing much in common with American WWII-era tank destroyers.

[2] Hulls were based on the later Cromwell VII standard, modified with Comet Model B style fishtail exhausts and no hull-mounted machine gun.

The hull machine gunner's position was removed to provide additional stowage space for ammunition, but the vehicle still carried only 25 rounds.

Some conventional High Explosive (HE) shells were carried, but the primary ammunition was Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot projectiles (APDS)[2] A mixed collection of Cromwells were upgraded, resulting in a number of variations in design based on the vehicle's previous format.

In Jordanian Army use the vehicle was altered with upgraded electrically driven turret traverse motors, and a larger commander's cupola mounting a .50 calibre machine gun.

[7] The gun is similar in appearance and based on the original, but can be distinguished by an offset fume extractor (larger at the top).