Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Centurion. Part 2

In the second part of Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Centurion, you will find out why Nicholas Moran considers this tank the best in its weight class, why it has a bustle rack with wire in it and what the loader needs the safety switch for. Happy viewing!

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[DAB]

The clutch was 38 inches in diameter and the clutch bar required 76 pounds pressure to depress.  Cross country the driver was shifting about every 10 to 20 seconds.  In Lahr Germany, the 4th Mechanized Brigade of NATO,   manned by the Canadian Armoured Corps; we used to have PT every morning....shorts and white T-shirt.  You could tell the drivers because their left leg (Quadricep muscle) was much bigger than their right leg. :)

[diwellb]

The driver's periscopes need to be rotated horizontal to fully allow the hatch doors to open flatter and lock in the open position. (ex Centurion driver from the late 1960s).

[siras]

I drove a Cent ARK, then a Cent Bridgelayer and then a CAMP (Centurion Ark Mobile Pier), then a 165mm Cent AVRE for several years in the 70's, then went on to command a Chieftain AVLB plus Cent AVREs (both the 165mm and the 105mm versions - which we'd inherited from the RA) for 3 years in the 80's - I later became a troop Staffy which had a mix of AVREs and Chieftain AVLBs. I loved the Cent, there wasn't anything that couldn't be mended with an sledgehammer and a crowbar and the Meteor engine was amazing. Hard work to drive, but once you've learned the knack it was truly a skill to be proud of. One of the most impressive things I ever witnessed was our SSM (John Batty), who can't have driven an AVRE for more than 15 years, climb into a driver's seat to "have a go for old time's sake" and using the dozer blade (fitted as standard prior to mineploughs being introduced) cut a "hull down" slot in less than 5 minutes without missing a beat - once you've got the knack it's with you forever. Happy days.
Worth noting that Cent AVREs were still operational in the early 90's and took part in Gulf War 1 (supporting Challengers!)

[CenturionBC]

Nice job of covering the Centurion, except for descripton of the gunner's position. In actuality the distance-drum was hardly ever used since the MK5/2 gunner's scope had a quite elaborate reticule that combined the RMG, APDS, HESH, SMK and coax firing ranges without having to fiddle with the distance drum. The Distance Drum was basically only used when engaging in HESH indirect-fire and when using the Main-gun Smoke grenades. It made for excellent time-on-target.
Oh, and the commander's elevation crank operated with a simple bicycle-chain and not with a belt. (One of the finer maintenance inspection points was checking whether that it had been properly cleaned and well oiled.).
As to the driver's hatches, turning the driver periscopes completely sideways, allows for the hatches to lock in the open position, which makes for much easier embarking/disembarking the driver position.
As a former Centurion TC myself, I cannot but agree with your assessment of the Centurion being pound for pound AND in its original role being the best tank built.

[crssut]

Tank Has a Tea Maker.. LEAPS and BOUNDS ahead of the rest!

[vernski]

Yes, Centurions have always looked the way a tank is supposed to look. Not perfect but the fact that it was in service for as long as it was is a testament to the strength of the design.

[Pastshelfdate]

I think one of the most sincere and well-grounded compliments the Centurion received was that Israelis used it a lot, for a very long time.

[lathomere]

"...go ask your Dad." Priceless.

[Mr-Spook-]

The Atomic Tank can be found at 1st Armoured Regiment at Robertson Barracks, Northern Territory.

[jp-umfr]

When I joined the UK MOD in late 1961 the Cent was just about to be phased out. One battle epitomises this tank. During the 6 day war a Cent reached the top of the Golan Heights and was set upon by T54's and T55's. At the end the Cent was almost completely stripped off down to it's hull but still kept on firing and the crew were safe. If I remember correctly it took 17 direct hits. No mention of the engine a derated Rolls Royce V12 based upon the Merlin.

[badweetabix]

Your comment about young viewers needing to ask their father about what a choke is reminded me of a conversation I had with a 12 year old when I was talking about visiting West Germany in the 1980's: He asked where is that? There's no such country.

[EdGreenLondon]

Another great analysis, given its many years of active service and that it was competitive throughout those its hard to argue with Chieftan's view regarding the Centurion being the finest tank ever.

[guitarmanmark]

Thank you for this, my dad was a tank commander in centurians, he led the team that did arctic trials of the centurian in canada and then he was in Korea, I presume fighting in one of those that was originally destined for Australia, though I think the ship he sailed on also took tanks in the cargo

[tonygriffiths]

Am grateful for your conclusion that the Centurion was the best tank ever made. I served aboard from Jan 7 1966 to Nov 70, when I returned to Blighty to terminate my time with the Tank Regiment. I absolutely loved the Centurion. OK so it wasn't kitted out for NBC warfare, but it would go up hill ! Not going to say what I feel about the chieftain, its too bad !

[Habsolutely]

love this series. Can you do the Ram Tank ?

[Undertheinfluence]

This tank proved itself in yom kipur war, their was some amazing battles this tank took part in, it was super efficient for its time.

[jeffwhitehead]

doing my national service in the mid to late 50 i drove a centurion mark 5
you could take you up very steep hills, however it was not easy to do
if you stalled and put it into first gear you were lucky to get up the hill
you had to take it from 2nd to 1st gear whilst moving, all the people involved with cents were very proud of them, most of my driving was done on luneburg heath in winter
it was like a mud bath to keep them moving you had to constantly change gear
using the stick change which was a lot easier than it sounds.
I wish i could drive one again

[cyclonetaylor]

You kind of missed it's climbing ability. Hills were no problem in Korea or in Israeli service as well.

[rossnelson]

Not sure if Chieftain covered it, but there is an interesting speed differential between the T-55 and Centurions. The T-55 is definitely quicker in top speed than the Centurion in its various versions and mods (Israeli etc). But the Centurion ive heard has MUCH faster acceleration off a standing start in both forwards and reverse for the first 10mph. Hence you can get into and more importantly out of firing positions much much quicker. Just the perfect thing for that well sited firing ramp above the Valley of Tears....

[SnoopReddogg]

I was in a DFSW platoon in the Australian Army. Practice was inevitably cracking off countless 84 rounds at old Centurian's on Anti-Armour ranges.