The History of the Centurion
The genesis of the A41 dates back to October of 1943. The British concluded that by this point, between domestic cruiser manufacturing and the imports coming in from the United States, that they could quit poncing around with half-arsed modifications to extant equipment, and instead build a proper tank to modern specifications. Immediate needs would be met by the continued production of Comet series, with its reasonable-enough gun and incremental improvements
over the Cromwell.
Two key merits of the new tank were required; good mobility to drive to its destination without using the transport railway, and strong firepower.
By increasing its turret ring size to 74 inches, they made enough room for this tank to comfortably take a full-power 17-pounder gun. Since then, many Centurion variants have been manufactured.
The Centurion tanks were most commonly operated in the UK, but the United States purchased it the second most. The United States did not operate Centurion directly, but purchased the tank for the purpose of providing it to Western European allies through a mutual defense assistance program. Hundreds of Centurions have been delivered to Denmark and the Netherlands.
After being used in a real battle in Korea and proving its practicality and great performance, demand came in from many countries such as Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, etc. For decades, it was put into action and various renovations have been made. In particular, Israel has been renovating it all the way into the 2000s, and is known to have actively operated the Centurion.
Variations
- Mk.Ⅰ: Equipped with 17-pounder.
- Mk.Ⅱ: Equipped with 17-pounder and a larger turret than Mk.1, it became the basis of Mk.3 and later models.
- Mk.Ⅲ: Equipped with 20-pounder and used in the Korean War.
- Mk.Ⅳ: Equipped with 95mm mortar.
- Mk.Ⅴ: Equipped with a Browning machine gun. The box containing the smoke is attached in the middle of the 20-pounder. This is the most-used model by Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, and South Africa.
- Mk.Ⅵ: Main gun replaced with 105mm L7 and armor strengthened to fight against the T-54.
- Mk.Ⅶ: Modified engine room.
The Centurion has solid turret armor, but the lower part of its body armor is quite thin, so you'll want to use hull-down tactics to keep its body hidden.
Premium tank
VIII
Centurion Mk. 5/1 RAAC
has thicker armor and a higher power-to-weight ratio than the Centurion Mk.I, but it may be more vulnerable to flanking.
