Centurion (tank)

Centurion (tank)
Centurion Mk. 3
General properties
crew	4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader)
length	7.82 m
width	3.39 m
height	3.01 m (tower top)
Dimensions	51.8 tons
Armor and armament
Armor	~ 152 mm
Main armament	Ordnance QF 20 pounder 84 mm, from Mark 5/2 Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm
Secondary armament	.50 cal (12.7 mm) Browning MG coaxial (Ranging Gun) .30 cal (7.62 mm) Browning MG coaxial .30 cal (7.62 mm) Browning Fla-MG (Commander)
agility
drive	Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk IVB, 12-cylinder 485 kW (650 PS)
suspension	Horstmann suspension
Top speed	34 km / h
Power / weight	9.2 kW / t (12.5 PS / t)
Range	190 km

The Centurion ( English for " Centurion ") is a British main battle tank that was developed during the Second World War .

development

The development of the Centurion already began during the Second World War, when the British army command demanded a tank that was able to take on the German Panther and Tiger tanks. By the end of the war in May 1945, only six copies of the Centurion could be completed, which were shipped to Germany but were no longer used there. After the end of the war, development work continued, so that the Centurion was introduced into the British Army shortly afterwards and adopted there as a main battle tank . The Centurion was called one of the best tanks of the Cold War due to its multiple thickened armor, fire control equipment and armament. It has been upgraded several times over the years; Overall, the battle tank version of the Centurion alone was upgraded twelve times (up to the Mk.13 version). In addition, numerous other military vehicles were built based on the Centurion, including bridge-laying and armored recovery versions. From 1962 the Centurion was replaced by the Chieftain .

The Centurion was also used in large numbers outside the UK and served in numerous countries around the globe. It should be one of the most widespread western main battle tanks. In many countries, the Centurion was developed independently from Great Britain and is still used in some of their armed forces today (as of 2005). The most advanced battle tank, still based on the Centurion, is currently (as of 2005) the South African Olifant 2B .

The Centurion was used several times in wars, for example on the Israeli and Jordanian side in the Yom Kippur War , by Australian forces in the Vietnam War or by units from South Africa in the Angolan civil war .

A major disadvantage, at least of the Centurion versions used in the British Army, was the inefficient engine with 650 hp and the relatively low top speed with high fuel consumption.

variants

Centurion AVRE 165

Centurion ARV Mk II

Centurion BARV

Centurion 12 AVRE 105

In service with the British Armed Forces, sorted by FV number

• FV4007 Centurion Mk 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8/1, 8/2
• FV4011 Centurion Mk 5
• FV4012 Centurion Mk 7/1, 7/2
• FV4015 Centurion Mk 9
• FV4017 Centurion Mk 10
• FV4003 Centurion Mk 5 AVRE 165 - AVRE (Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers) with a 165 mm short cannon and a five-man crew
• Centurion Mk 12 AVRE 105 - former artillery observation tank, converted into a pioneer tank
• FV4019 Centurion Mk 5 - Bulldozer
• FV4016 Centurion ARK
• FV4002 Centurion Mk 5 - bridge layer
• FV4006 Centurion ARV Mk 2
• FV4013 Centurion ARV Mk 3
• Conway - prototype with turret for larger caliber cannon
• FV4018 Centurion BARV - Beach armored recovery vehicle , armored recovery vehicle for landing operations Royal Marines

The various version features

• Mk 1 - 76.2 mm (17pdr) on-board cannon, 20 mm cannon, 7.62 mm MG Besa
• Mk 2 - stabilized on-board cannon, barrel-parallel (coaxial) 7.62 mm MG Besa
• Mk 3 - 83.4 mm on-board cannon (20pdr)
• Mk 4 - 95mm Howitzer (draft only)
• Mk 5 - like Mk 3, but with a 7.62 mm Browning MG
  • Mk 5/1 - reinforced armor
  • MK 5/2 - conversion to 105 mm on-board cannon
• Mk 6 - like Mk 5, but with a 105 mm on-board cannon (prototype only)
  • Mk 6/1 - with IR equipment and sighting machine gun
• Mk 7 - like Mk 5, but with a higher combat load
  • Mk 7/1 - reinforced armor
  • Mk 7/2 - conversion to 105 mm on-board cannon
• Mk 8 - like Mk 7, but with a flexible screen and the commander's counter-rotating dome
  • Mk 8/1 - reinforced armor, IR equipment and sighting machine gun
  • Mk 8/2 - conversion to 105 mm on-board cannon
• Mk 9 - like Mk 6, but with a 105 mm L7 A1 L / 51 on-board cannon
• Mk10 - like Mk 8, but with a 105 mm L7 A1 L / 51 cannon
  • Mk10 / 1 - IR equipment and sighting machine gun
• Mk11-13 - like Mk10, but with small improvements (anti-aircraft machine gun, IR equipment, shooting machine gun)

Use in other armies

• Australia
• Canada
• Denmark
• India
• Iraq
• Israel : as an improved version Scho't
• Kuwait
• Jordan
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Austria : In 1985 the Austrian Armed Forces procured over 300 battle tanks, armored recovery vehicles and Centurion bridge-laying tanks from Dutch stocks. The towers with their 105 mm PzK L7 were installed exclusively in "fixed systems" (FAn). Some vehicles have survived to this day and are exhibited in the "Panzergarten" of the Vienna Army History Museum .
• Singapore
• Somalia
• South Africa : Skokiaan (prototype), Semel (prototype - similar to Israeli Scho't ) and South African Olifant (much further developed)
• Sweden : slightly modified variants, under the names Stridsvagn 81 (Centurion Mk 3) Stridsvagn 101 (Centurion Mk 10) Stridsvagn 102 (combat value increased Stridsvagn 81) and Stridsvagn 104 (combat value increased Stridsvagn 102) in the army were performed
• Switzerland 100 Panzer 55 (Centurion Mk 5/2), 100 Panzer 57/60 (Centurion Mk 7/2), 10 relaxation tank 56 (Centurion ARV). Later use of the towers as Centi bunkers .
• United Kingdom

literature

• Simon Dunstan: Centurion Universal Tank. Osprey, Oxford 2003, ISBN 1-84176-387-X .
• Simon Dunstan: Centurion vs T-55: Yom Kippur War 1973. Osprey, Oxford 2009, ISBN 978-1846033698 .
• Bill Munro: The Centurion Tank , Crowood Press, Ramsbary 2005, ISBN 1-86126-701-0 .
• Richard Ogorkiewicz : Tanks. 100 Years of Evolution. Osprey, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-1-4728-2981-8 , pp. 206ff.
• Stephen Tunbridge: Centurion in Action. Squadron / Signal Publications, Warren 1976.

Web links

• Centurion on globalsecurity.org
• Centurion at tanks.encyclopedia.com

See also

• List of tank models after 1945

Web links

Commons : Centurion  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Pictures of a Centurion restoration in Amersfoort (Netherlands)
• Description of the FV 4007
• Centurion Association Switzerland

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Buzz. Britain's Centurion: The Best Cold War Tank? National Interest, November 12, 2016
2. ↑ Waffen-Arsenal, special volume S-18, page: 7 1991
3. ↑ Taschenbuch der Panzer, page: 303 1983