In 1943, the Department of Tank Design was asked to produce a
new design for a heavy cruiser tank that was to have the
designation A41. The original A41s that were produced were named
the Centurion Mk. 1 and the uparmoured version (A41A) went into
production as the Centurion Mk. 2 at the Leyland Motors plant
(Leyland), Royal Ordnance Factory (at both Leeds and Woolwich) and
Vickers Limited (Elswick). The Centurion first saw action during
the Korean War with the British Army, and has seen combat all over
the world including the Middle East (with the Israeli, Iraqi,
Egyptian and Jordanian Armies), South Asia (with the Indian Army)
and Vietnam (with the Australian Army). The Centurion became quite
an export success with around 2,500 of the 4,400 vehicles produced
being sold abroad. The key to this success was the fact that the
Centurion had a substantial capacity to be upgraded, upgunned and
uparmoured. The main gun was originally a 17-pounder, but this was
replaced by a 20-pounder and eventually the renowned 105mm L7
series gun. Other improvements have included increased fuel
capacity, a contra-rotating commander's cupola and improved
stowage. The last variant to be produced was the Mk. 10 (which was
an upgunned and uparmoured Mk. 
from which the Mk. 13 was developed (mounting a ranging
machine-gun and infra-red night vision equipment). The Mk. 13 had
an all-welded hull, with the driver seated at the front on the
right. The turret was of cast construction with the roof welded on.
The loader was seated on the left, the commander on the right and
the gunner to the front and below the commander. The engine was
originally a Rolls Royce Meteor V12 petrol engine that developed
650 bhp and transferred its power to a Merritt-Brown transmission.
It had a Horstmann suspension of three units, each with two pairs
of road wheels on each side, drive sprocket at the rear, idler at
the front and six track return rollers. The main gun of the Mk. 13
was the 105mm L7A2 rifled tank gun, which was fully stabilised and
used with a ranging machine gun. The Centurion remains in service
with Sweden, Denmark, Austria, who are likely to replace them with
the Leopard 2, as well as Israel, Singapore and South Africa. The
Israeli Centurions are named Sho't but are believed to be held in
reserve and the Israeli Ministry of Defence is offering them for
sale. The Sho't were equipped with a new diesel powerpack (Teledyne
Continental - now General Dynamics Land Systems - AVDS-1790-2A
engine developing 750hp) and an Allison Transmission CD-850-6
automatic gearbox, new coolant system, fire extinguising system and
improved ammunition layout. The Jordanian Centurions (named Tariq)
have the same engine as the Israeli Sho't and the Belgium SABCA
fire-control system incorporating a laser rangefinder. These will
be replaced by ex-British Army Challenger 1 tanks. The South
African Centurions have been modified in one way or another since
the early 1970s with the Skokiaan and Semel projects and finally
the Olifant upgrade programme of the late 1970s and 1980s. The
Olifant Mk. 1A included a new diesel powerpack (750hp) and
extensive upgrading of many of the Centurion's subsystems and the
inclusion of the British 105mm L7 gun. A follow on, the Olifant Mk.
1B commenced production in 1991 and is barely recognisable as a
Centurion as it includes additional appliqué armour, a double
floor, a new fire detection/suppression system, new side-skirts,
day/night sights, laser rangefinder, a new torsion bar suspension
system and a more powerful diesel engine (900hp).
(Mk. 13) Hull length: 7.82m. Hull width: 3.39m. Height: 3.01m.
Crew: 4. Ground Clearance: 0.51m. Weight: 51,820kg. Ground
pressure: 0.95kg/sq.cm. Max speed: 34.6km/h. Max range (internal
fuel): 190km on road. Armament: 105mm rifled main gun, 1 x 7.62mm
MG coaxial, 1 x 7.62mm MG on commander's cupola and 1 x 12.7mm
ranging MG.
