THE CENTURION TANK PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Pat Ware,Brian Delf | 128 pages | 19 Apr 2013 | Pen & Sword Books Ltd | 9781781590119 | English | South Yorkshire, United Kingdom The Centurion Tank - One Of The Longest-Serving Tank Designs In History After the battle, more Centurions landed into Vietnam, with a total of 58 Centurions in the country at once in the span of three and a half years. In this time period, 42 suffered damages, two were written off, and two crewmen were killed in action. The Centurions also made up the bulk of India's tank forces, to which they used against Pakistan in the conflicts that occur in and In the middle east, the Centurions were supplied to Israel and Jordan in the s. Both countries used the Centurions against each other in the war. Sometime in early s, the Centurions on both side were upgraded with the mm L7 gun. While the Centurion still see use in Jordan today, the Centurions in Israel were retired in the s, only staying as armour personnel carriers and armour recovery vehicles. Three were lost in training incidents with no deaths among the crew. The Centurions in South Africa were retained and upgraded due to their superiority over anything their neighbors had at the time, with a focus on the upgrade to the mm gun and belly armour to protect itself against mines. Sweden bought the Centurions in an attempt to standardize their tank forces as it was the most cost-effective method, plus the Centurions have a huge upgrade potential to counter future threats. The British offered to sell the Centurion in late , to which 80 were ordered by Sweden. The first deliveries were made in April , followed by more orders and more deliveries until about Centurion tanks ranging from Mk. The Swedish military used the Centurions until s, modernizing the tanks with upgrades in equipment and internal mechanics. They replaced the Centurions with Leopard 2s. An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos. Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,. Navigation menu Store Support Personal tools Log in. Namespaces Page Discussion. Views Read View source View history. Vehicles Aviation Ground vehicles Fleet. Navigation Recent changes Random page Help. From War Thunder Wiki. Jump to: navigation , search. Medium tank. I cannon Main weapon. A new engine with more power was introduced as was a new improved gunsight. Production of the improved Mk IIIs commenced in and replaced all previous production marks in the field. The Centurion Receives the L7 mm Main Gun While the new 84mm main gun proved a substantial upgrade to the original The Royal Ordnance Factory completed work on the all-new, revolutionary mm L7 rifled main gun which promised improved firepower through better penetration values than all other preceding British tank guns. The mm gun system was then quick to replace the 84mm in future Centurion production examples. In all, thirteen major Centurion marks would ultimately exist. Centurion Variants Centurion Mk I marked the early pounder armed tanks based on the ton prototype. The Mk II was fielded with its fully-cast turret. The Mk III was first given the newer 84mm main gun but this later gave way to the even newer mm L7 gun with gun stabilization and new sights. The Mk IV existed as a proposed close-support model fitting a 95mm CS howitzer cannon but never entered serial production. Stowage bins along the glacis plate were also introduced with this mark. One was a typical 7. The Mk 6 was an uparmored version of the Mk 5 with the mm L7 main gun in place. The Mk 7 saw its engine compartment rood redesigned. The Mk 8 was given a new mantlet and revised commander's cupola. The Mk 9 was an uparmored Mk 7 with the mm L7 main gun. The Mk 10 was an uparmored Mk 8 with the mm L7 main gun. The Mk 11 was an Mk 6 model with the ranging gun and infrared equipment. Similarly, the Mk 12 was an Mk 9 model with the ranging gun and infrared support. The Mk 13 was an Mk 10 with the ranging gun and infrared support. Other British Army variants further expanded the Centurion family line. First versions appeared in , this as the Semel with a hp engine. The primary versions then became the Olifant Mk I of with a horsepower engine , the Olifant Mk 1A of laser-rangefinder and image-intensifier , the Olifant Mk 1B of with torsion bar suspension, longer hull, improved armor, digital fire contol, laser rangefinder and horsepower engine and the Olifant Mk 2 new turret and fire control system, mm or mm main gun as needed. To date, the Olifant is still considered the most advanced combat tank on the African continent - and few could argue that. South African weapons engineers had made a habit of modernizing existing systems into more potent forms - even in the face of imposed sanctions on weapons and technology. The Nagmashot, Nagmachon and Nakpadon were armored personnel carrier conversions of the base main battle tanks. The Puma designated combat engineering vehicles while the Eshel ha-Yarden was a proposed Centurion development fitting 4 x mm launch tubes for battlefield rockets. Swedish Centurions The Swedish Army operated the Centurion under its own in-house designations as the Stridsvagen 81, , R, , R, , and The Bargningsbandvagn 81 was the armored recovery vehicle. British allies were quick to take the excellent post- war tank into their inventories and the tank - once in action - did not disappoint. The British Army themselves fielded their Centurions for the first time in the Korean War in support of UN actions against the communist North Korean invasion into the South and against subsequent Chinese involvement in the theater. While the air war was of particular historical note - it featured the first aerial combat between jet fighters - the war would still be hard fought on the ground across unforgiving terrain and environments. Three Centurion squadrons arrived at Pusan and were forced to operate in the Korean temperature extremes - particularly the cold, frozen winters that created havoc on most any mechanical device. At least five Centurion tanks were lost in the retreat of friendly forces during the Battle of Imjin River but the tanks proved critical in providing cover for friendlies. By the time the UN had recovered from the North's invasion and pushed back across the 38th Parallel, the Centurion was put up against the Chinese who had become involved on the side of the beaten North. In either case, the Centurion left a positive and lasting impression of her first true combat involvement and made a name for herself for decades to come as a proven, go-anywhere main battle tank system in the new age of modern warfare. After their American-made Ms failed to do much in the thick Vietnamese jungles, the Australian government committed their powerful Centurion tanks into the fray. Centurion tanks with their 84mm main guns arrived in the region in February of The tank has seen action all over the globe, whether as part of the British Army or among the armored units of its allies. The Centurion lived up to its reputation. The performance of the tank during this Battle confirmed the status of the Centurion within the British Army. After Korea, Centurions were dispatched to Vietnam, as part of the Australian contingent of forces. The tank was quickly adapted to harsh jungle conditions and reportedly served well alongside Australian infantry in their fight against the North Vietnamese Army. Lancashire Online - The Centurion Tank - Landmarks around Leyland Maximum armor thickness was 6 inches on the turret front and 4. The L7A2 main gun had an effective range of 1, yards when using armor- piercing, discarding sabot rounds and 4, yards when using high-explosive squash head rounds. Trained crews could fire up to eight rounds per minute. The main gun was aimed using a coaxially mounted. The gunner watched the tracer rounds through a periscope gun sight and set the range on a drum device linked to the main gun. Two 7. Later variations of the Centurion had 12 smoke dischargers, six mounted on either side of the turret. Five other vehicles based on the Centurion have also been built. The Centurion Main Battle Tank was the most heavily armed tank of its category in the immediate postwar years. It was used successfully by the British and also sold to other countries. Find specifications for the Centurion Main Battle Tank below. Armament: One mm L7A2 main gun; two 7. See more tank pictures. Army Works How the U. Marines Work. Centurion Main Battle Tank Equipment. Thirteen nations have purchased the British Centurion. The Mk 6 was an uparmored version of the Mk 5 with the mm L7 main gun in place. The Mk 7 saw its engine compartment rood redesigned. The Mk 8 was given a new mantlet and revised commander's cupola. The Mk 9 was an uparmored Mk 7 with the mm L7 main gun. The Mk 10 was an uparmored Mk 8 with the mm L7 main gun. The Mk 11 was an Mk 6 model with the ranging gun and infrared equipment. Similarly, the Mk 12 was an Mk 9 model with the ranging gun and infrared support. The Mk 13 was an Mk 10 with the ranging gun and infrared support. Other British Army variants further expanded the Centurion family line. First versions appeared in , this as the Semel with a hp engine.