The Versatile, Victorious Centurion Tank
In the last few years of World War II, the arms race for an adaptable and superior tank accelerated, which put pressure on all participating nations: Germany, Russia, the United States, and Great Britain. To counter German tanks, the British government ordered engineers to design an adaptable tank in 1943. They desired to design a far superior tank compared to the German counterparts; however, this project did not reach completion until the end of the war (Ware and Delf). Engineers named the tank the Centurion. Even though World War II ended, the Centurion eventually demonstrated its worth in various subsequent wars and proved to be a valuable asset in the arms race between NATO and the Soviet Union…show more content… Since the T-54 was commissioned in 1949, the Centurion Mark 3, which was commissioned in 1948, would be the most appropriate tank for comparison; although, the later Centurion versions did fight against T-54 tanks. When compared to the Centurion Mark 3, the T-54 only had a slight armor and mobility advantage. The T-54’s turret consisted of many curves with a thickness of 208mm. Because of the oval turret, the T-54 possessed slightly better armor than the Centurion tank. The hull armor on the T-54 spanned 100mm thick, which was thicker than the Centurion armor (Tanks: Inside and Out 64). The V-12 water-cooled V-54 diesel engine attained a speed of 520 brake horsepower or bhp. Because the T-54 weighed about 40 tons, it had a slight power to weight advantage of 13bhp/ton, but the engine that the T-54 used tended to break down frequently (Tanks: Inside and Out 67). The Centurion Mark 3 also had its advantages against the T-54. In regards to firepower, the Centurion’s rate of fire exceeded that of the t-54. The T-54’s cramped crew compartment hindered the loader from reloading effectively, and the gun breach needed…show more content… The Israelis used the Centurion tank in the various wars fought against their unfriendly neighbors. One such war was the Six-Day War. In this War, the Israelis pushed the Egyptian front back on the Sinai Peninsula. During this battle, three Israeli divisions fought against seven Egyptian divisions. The Egyptians outnumbered the Israelis; however, the Israeli battle plan along with better tanks aided them in a significant victory (“Six-Day War”). In a battle that occurred at Abu-Ageila, several dozen Israeli Centurion and Sherman tanks encountered sixty-six Egyptian T-34/85 tanks and twenty-two su-100 tanks. The Israelis nicknamed the Centurion the Sho’t – meaning “Whip.” The Sho’t only had one difference compared to the Centurion Mark 10, which was the replacement of the petrol engine with the American Continental AVDS-1790-2A diesel-fueled engine accompanied by the Allison CD-850-6 transmission (“Sho’t”). Both tanks used by the Egyptians were Soviet designs from World War II; however, the su-100 tank wore the same 100mm gun as the T-54. Because of the technological advantage of the Centurions, the ratio of loss was two Egyptian tanks for every one Israeli tank destroyed (Tanks:100 years 196). Most of the tank battles fought in the Six-Day War resulted in heavy losses by the Arab nations eventually resulting in a victory for
