Already in the summer 1943, the British Ministry of War was preparing the draft of

the specification A41 for a new heavy cruiser tank (cruiser tanks were those tanks
built for being agile, thus

sacrificing protection and firepower in their design) and the specification A45 for
a much heavier assault gun for the infantry, both of them fitted with the liquid-
cooled gasoline engine Rolls-

Royce Meteor. The project for the assault gun was never started, but the cruiser
tank would achieve a clamorous success. The Tank Project Department declared the
project as "internal": it was the

first time since its creation that this organism assumed full responsibility in an
armored vehicle; previously, it had always shared it with the contractor. The
development was entrusted to AEC (

Associated Equipment Company), based in Southall, Middlesex; this company had built
some of the best heavy trucks used by the British Army, albeit its experience with
armored vehicles was limited

to armored cars and command vehicles and to build minesweeper "whips" for the tanks
Valentine and Sherman. Despite of this relative lack of experience, at the end of
that same year was already

being built a real-size model of the A41, which was completed the following May.
Then it started the unavoidable discussion about its armament. The best high muzzle
speed cannon available was,

undoubtedly, the 17-pounder (77 millimeters), the one that had been mounted in the
Sherman Firefly and the A30 Challenger; but, except when it fired piercing
ammunition, it was deficient. The 95

millimeters howitzer was excellent when firing high explosive ammunition, but this
kind of projectiles could not break the enemy armor except from very short
distances. There was also a shorter 17

-pounder, known as the 77-millimeter cannon and developed for the Comet; it was
inferior to the two aforementioned in their optimal role, but at least it could
comply both reasonably. It was taken

a compromise choice: 15 of the 20 development models would be equipped with the 17-
pounder and the other five with the shorter and double-purpose 77-millimeter
cannon. It was also considered to

mount the 95-millimeter howitzer - and in fact it was given a name to the version
of the tank that would equip it - but the project came to nothing.[p]
It was discussed as well the secondary armament. On the one hand was the Polsten
20-millimeter cannon and on the other the already consolidated Besa 7.92-millimeter
machine gun. The discussion

was focused in the much more destructive capacity of the first one versus the
higher flexibility and capability to keep fire and the lesser requirement for
ammunition storage of the second one. It

was debated as well the necessity of mounting a second machine gun in the rear of
the turret. The A41 was not fitted with hull machine gun; actually there was no
space for one nor for a fifth crew

member to operate it. And since the normal would be that the tank traveled most of
the time with the cannon looking backwards, given its length, it was argued that a
machine gun installed in the

rear of the turret at least would give some forward protection against enemy
infantry attacking in a reduced space. The matter was settled only when someone
pointed that if that machine gun were

installed, would not remain space inside for a smoke grenade launcher, which was a
more important need. As in the first case, the discussion of cannon versus machine
gun was solved with a

compromise: the first five development models armed with the 17-pounder would carry
a Besa co-axial machine gun and the other ten would carry a Besa machine gun or a
Polsten cannon in an orientable

mounting to the left of the turret front. But the Polsten cannon was disliked by
the crews that tested the development models and hence promptly suppressed, samely
as the orientable mounting. In

turn, in time the Besa would give way to the Browning 12.7-millimeter machine gun,
being adopted the same weapon as anti-aircraft defense.[p]
The suspension of the Christie type was almost the only element in the design of
the British tanks of the previous decade that had been resulted satisfactory for
everyone: projectists,

manufacturers and crews. It was a bit ironic that it was intended to dispense with
it, but there were serious doubts about the possibility to develop it for a tank
that initially would weigh almost

45 tonnes and, inevitably, would become heavier along the development. Instead of
this system, the engineers from AEC adopted a suspension of the Hortsmann type - as
it was used for the first time

in the light tank Vickers Mk I from 1929 - with pairs of medium-sized road wheels
joined by horizontal concentric springs, along with six return rollers. Not
adopting the Christie system meant to

lose the second layer of armor that protected good part of the suspension; to
compensate this, it was proposed to equip the new tank with removable and easy to
replace armored skirts, to counteract

the shaped charges fired by the anti-tank weapons carried by the infantry. When the
finished model was shown to the director of the Royal Armored Corps and to the
Committee of Tanks, it was

received with certain suspicion; but it was accepted only after some small
modifications. With its 43 tonnes and almost 10 meters in length with the cannon
looking forward, the new tank made it

seem like dwarves the Cromwell and other cruiser tanks and it achieved that even
the Churchill seemed little thing. Also, it had good presence, with its well sloped
glacis and its barge-shaped

hull. Once baptized as Centurion, it was ordered its experimental production in the
factories Royal Ordnance in Woolwich and Nottingham, while the series production
would be carried by Vickers-

Armstrong in Elswick and Leyland Motors in Leyland, besides the factory Royal
Ordnance in Leeds. In April 1945 four prototypes had been already delivered and
there were two more ready to leave the

factory. Instead of following the normal routine of submitting the new vehicles to
a long trials program in the maneuvers fields, it was decided to send them to a
mixed unit of the Guards Armored

Division - which in that moment was breaking through towards Berlin - to test them
in real combat. The Operation Sentinel, as it was called this attempt to bring the
tanks into combat prematurely,

came to nothing: when the 14th May 1945, the six Centurion tanks left Southampton
towards Belgium, the war in Europe had finished almost two weeks ago.[p]
The first thing that the six tanks had to do when they left Antwerp five days later
was a road march of 650 kilometers to the headquarters of the 7th Armored Division
in Gribbom. Since then until

late July, the tanks visited practically all the British armored units in Germany
and the Netherlands. They were unanimously well received and were closer than any
other tank to become the

"universal tank" in the Allied arsenal. Practically all the crews that tested them
agreed that it was the best one that they had ever manned. The Centurion was a very
heavy vehicle, with nothing

similar to assisted steering or gearshift, which was usually made with the two
hands. When it finally entered service in 1949, the Centurion was certainly an
aspirant to the title of best tank in

the world. But if their projectists had said that the Centurion would still be in
service, albeit in a very modified form, after its 50th birthday, surely they would
have been mocked. Still in the

1990s, Denmark, Jordan, Singapur and Sweden had a thousand of modified tanks
Centurion in their order of battle. In October 1973, the Centurion tanks of Israel
had subdued a superior armored force

equipped with much more modern tanks in the Golan Heights, in occassion of the Yom
Kippur War. It is a tribute to the integrity of the original idea, the fact that
this tank were susceptible of

being progressively improved on its engine, armor and armament, continuing firmly
in competition. It is not strange that the Centurion appeared in any type of shape
and configuration, some of them

impulsed by their producers and others by their users in their own development
programs. This tank had defects, of course, but these were related only with their
mobility: a speed not higher than

35 kilometers/hour and an operational range of only 160 kilometers, due to their

650-horsepower engine and their 460-liter fuel tank, respectively. While these two
components remained the same and

the total weight of the tank were increasing, speed and operational range would be
perforce worse. Eventually, as a desperate measure, it was made a towing with a
sole wheel containing 910 liters

of fuel, which was towed by the tank. Actually the Centurion was to be replaced in
the early 1950s by the denominated "Universal Tank" but this program was abandoned
and the only other British tank
developed in that time was the heavy tank Conqueror.[p]
[aimg96]high_res/tanks_britain/
centurion_main_battle_tank_israel.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/tanks_britain/
centurion_main_battle_tank_israel.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]Centurion from the Israeli Army fitted with the 105-millimeter cannon (note the
fume extractor) and other improvements, as they were used in the Yom Kippur War in
1973.[/span][p]
The Centurion was built with a welded hull, with a cast turret whose upper part was
welded with the rest. The driver was placed in the front right part in the hull and
the other three crew members

in the turret, the commander and the gunner to the right and the loader to the
left. The engine and the transmission were conventionally installed in the rear
part in the hull. The engine was a

development of the aircraft engine Rolls-Royce Merlin used during the Second World
War by the fighters Spitfire and Hurricane. Thirteen versions of the Centurion were
made; from the Mk 5, every one

was made in two variants. During the course of this development, the Centurion
passed through two changes of cannon. To the 17-pounder followed the 20-pounder (83
millimeters) L/64 and to this one

followed the L7 105 millimeters, fitted with fume extractor unlike the previous
models. It is maybe worth of mention that the British kept the old denomination of
the cannons by the weight of their

projectiles until so modern date as the 1950s, when it was no longer in use in the
rest of countries. It was also increased two times the armor of the tank, being
installed infrared driving and

search lights, including a "black light" searchlight. It was also mounted a 12.7-
millimeter machine gun with the same ballistics than the cannon to calculate the
aiming ranges; later it would be

replaced by a laser telemeter. Among other modifications were a remodeled

commander's cupola, increased fuel capacity and more external storage. In its final
form - the Mk 13, even if the total

number of versions was not less than 25 - the Centurion weighed almost 52 tonnes,
in order of battle with tracks 61 centimeters wide. This version mounted the cannon
L7 105 millimeters, an

artillery piece of exceptional characteristics which was used by almost all the
western medium tanks during the 1960s and the 1970s. This cannon had an elevation
angle between +20 and -10 degrees

and it was stabilized in elevation and azimuth. The ammunition carried was 64
projectiles for the 105-millimeter cannon, 600 for the 12.7-millimeter machine gun
and 4750 for the 7.62 millimeters

machine gun.[p]
When the Mk 13 appeared, the internal fuel capacity surpassed already 1000 liters,
but its operational range was not higher than 190 kilometers. With a Diesel engine,
there was a big difference,

improving much the mobility of the tank. The Israeli Defense Forces installed a
750-horsepower Diesel engine American Continental and a new transmission system in
their Centurion, rebaptized by

them as Sho't; also Vickers mounted a General Motors V-shaped 12-cylinder Diesel
engine in the tanks that they remodeled. The Centurion could ford streams of up to
1.45 meters high without any

preparation; several flotation equipments were developed that would allow it to

cross deeper streams, but none of them was adopted. As aforementioned, apart from
serving as combat tanks, the

Centurion were used as well as the base of a wide range of support tanks. There
were two types of Centurion AVLB (Armoured Vehicle Laying Bridge) based on the hull
of the Mk 5. The FV 4002 had a

bridge kept normally in horizontal position; then it was rotated about 180 degrees
to deploy it, which took about two minutes, while recovery required four minutes.
There were as well vehicles

Centurion AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers), fitted with a hydraulically

operated bulldozer blade and a 165 millimeters demolition cannon to be used against
fortifications. The AVRE could

carry as well a platform destined to cross anti-tank trenches. The Centurion were
used as well to make vehicles ARV (Armoured Recovery Vehicle) and ARK (Armoured
Ramp Carrier), that could work as

bridges or ramps with a span of 23 meters - when used individually - or much larger
- when used in tandem -. The ARV had a windlass with a maximum force of 91445
kilograms, a crew of four and one

7.62-millimeter machine gun. The BARV (Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle) was capable
of operating in the water up to 2.9 meters deep.[p]
[aimg96]high_res/tanks_britain/centurion_avre.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/tanks_britain/
centurion_avre.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]Upper vehicle: Centurion AVRE 105. Lower vehicle: Centurion AVRE 165 FV 4003,
the demolition version fitted with a 165-millimeter cannon and bulldozer
blade.[/span][p]
The Centurion was tested as well as flamethrower tank and as chassis for self-
propelled guns and tank destroyers. There was a self-propelled gun fitted with a
25-pounder (87.6 millimeters) cannon

and five road wheels instead of six, while another one had instead a 5.5 inches
(139.7 millimeters) cannon. There was a tank destroyer, the Conway, armed with a
120-millimeter cannon and another

one armed with a 183-millimeter cannon. The Israeli modified one of their Centurion
to house a 155-millimeter cannon in the turret but this vehicle did not enter
service. The rest of the

Centurion tanks acquired by them had the 83.4-millimeter cannon replaced by the 105
millimeters one. Albeit it was liked by the crews, the Centurion never reached the
production levels of its

rivals in United States or the Soviet Union. In total, about 4000 units were
produced, of which about 1500 were suplied, either in a form or another, to the
British Army. The last models produced

costed about 50000 pounds each. The Centurion, with its multitude of models, lasted
in service with the British Army enough to "enter" into two denomination systems.
It was conceived as "armored"

with the old denomination system "A" and it was converted into a "fighting vehicle"
following the newer denomination system "FV" adopted by the British Army in 1948.
The Centurion entered combat in

Korea, India, southern Arabia, Vietnam, Middle East and Suez. Outside United
Kingdom the Centurion was used by Australia and Canada - being replaced in both
countries by the German Leopard -,

Denmark, Egypt, India, Irak, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Netherlands, South
Africa, Sweden and Switzerland. With such career the Centurion demonstrated to be
one of the most remarkable tanks

produced after the Second World War.[p]

[aimg96]high_res/tanks_britain/
centurion_main_battle_tank_sweden.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/tanks_britain/
centurion_main_battle_tank_sweden.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]Centurion from the Swedish Army fitted with the 105-millimeter cannon (note the
fume extractor).[/span][p]
[b]Specifications for Centurion Mk 13[/span][p]
[box]
Crew: 4[p]
Armament: One L7 51-caliber 105-millimeter cannon; one L7 7.62 millimeters co-axial
machine gun; one L7 7.62-millimeter machine gun in the commander's cupola; one
auxiliary 12.7 millimeters

machine gun for aiming tracing; six smoke launchers in each side of the turret[p]
Ammunitions: 64 x 105-millimeter cannon; 600 x 12.7-millimeter machine gun; 4750 x
7.62-millimeter machine guns[p]
Armor: 17-152 millimeters[p]
Length (total): 9.854 meters[p]
Length (hull): 7.823 meters[p]
Width (including protective skirts): 3.390 meters[p]
Height: 3.009 meters[p]
Weight: 51.82 tonnes[p]
Ground pressure: 0.95 kilograms/square centimeter[p]
Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk IV B gasoline engine with 12 cylinders and a maximum
power of 650 horsepower at 2550 revolutions per minute[p]
Maximum speed (in road): 34.6 kilometers/hour[p]
Maximum operational range (in road): 190 kilometers[p]
Maximum surmountable trench: 3.352 meters[p]
Maximum surmountable step: 0.914 meters[p]
Maximum surmountable slope: 60 percent[p]
Maximum fording: 1.450 meters[p]
[/div][p]
[b]Specifications for Centurion AVRE 105[/span][p]
[box]
Crew: 4[p]
Armament: One L7 51-caliber 105-millimeter cannon; one L7 7.62 millimeters co-axial
machine gun; one 12.7-millimeter machine gun in the commander's cupola; six smoke
launchers in each side of the

turret[p]
Armor: 17-118 millimeters[p]
Length (total): 9.854 meters[p]
Length (hull): 7.823 meters[p]
Width (including protective skirts): 3.390 meters[p]
Height: 2.940 meters[p]
Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk IV B gasoline engine with 12 cylinders and a maximum
power of 650 horsepower at 2550 revolutions per minute[p]
Maximum speed (in road): 34.6 kilometers/hour[p]
Maximum operational range (in road): 105 kilometers[p]
[/div][p]
[b]Specifications for Centurion AVRE 165[/span][p]
[box]
Crew: 5[p]
Armament: One 165-millimeter cannon; two L7 7.62-millimeter machine guns[p]
Armor: 17-152 millimeters[p]
Length: 7.550 meters[p]
Width (including protective skirts): 3.390 meters[p]
Height: 2.940 meters[p]
Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk IV B gasoline engine with 12 cylinders and a maximum
power of 650 horsepower at 2550 revolutions per minute[p]
Maximum speed (in road): 34.6 kilometers/hour[p]
Maximum operational range (in road): 102 kilometers[p]
[/div][p]
[b]Specifications for Sho't (Israeli modified Centurion)[/span][p]
[box]
Crew: 4[p]
Armament: One L7 51-caliber 105-millimeter cannon; one L7 7.62 millimeters co-axial
machine gun; two L7 7.62-millimeter machine gun in the turret roof; one 12.7-
millimeter machine gun[p]
Armor: 17-118 millimeters[p]
Length (total): 9.854 meters[p]
Length (hull): 7.823 meters[p]
Width (including protective skirts): 3.390 meters[p]
Height: 2.940 meters[p]
Engine: American Continental AVDS-1790 Diesel engine with 12 cylinders and a
maximum power of 750 horsepower[p]
Maximum speed (in road): 43 kilometers/hour[p]
Maximum operational range (in road): 205 kilometers[p]
[/div][p]