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Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Centaur |
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The Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Centaur wasa contemporary of the Cromwell andwas derived from the same generalstaff specification. But whereas theCromwell was a Rolls-Royce Meteorenginedvehicle, the Centaur was aLeyland Motors project and was fittedwith the Liberty engine. In many otherrespects the Centaur and the Cromwellwere identical (apart from the engines,gearboxes and other transmissioncomponents) and some Centaurswere fitted with the Meteor engine at alater stage and redesignated Cromwells.Leyland had already produced a'Cruiser' tank design known as theCruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier whichhad proved to be a generally unsuccessfuldesign as a result of poor performance,mechanical breakdownsand a short engine life. Leyland understandablyused some features of theCavalier on the Centaur but unfortunatelyit also carried over some of theearlier design's problems, for theLiberty engine was really too low poweredto provide the Centaur with thesame performance as the Cromwell;nor was the engine life up to the standardsof the Meteor's reliability.The Centaur I was produced withthe usual 6-pdr (57-mm/2.244-in) gun ofthe period, and the first exampleswere ready in June 1942. These earlyCentaurs were used only for trainingpurposes, some with auxiliary fueltanks mounted at the rear. The CentaurIII was produced in small numbersonly, but this mounted a 75-mm (2.95-in) main gun. Armour varied in thicknessfrom 20 to 76 mm (0.8 to 3 in). TheCentaur IV was the main 'combat' versionof the series as it was speciallyproduced for use by the Royal MarinesArmoured Support Group during theD-Day landings in Normandy on 6 June1944. These Mk IVs were fitted with95-mm (actually 94-mm/3,7-in) closesupporthowitzers; 80 of them wereissued, and these were intended to beused only in the initial stages of theamphibious assault. In fact most ofthem landed safely and performed sowell on the beaches and the area immediatelyinland that many were retainedfor some weeks afterwards forthe slow and dangerous combat in thebocage country.Thereafter the Centaurs were withdrawnfrom combat use and underwentthe usual routine of conversion forother purposes. As usual the simplestconversion was to an artillery observationpost (Centaur OP) while otherssimply had their turrets removed to actas Centaur Kangaroo armoured personnelcarriers. The usual armouredrecovery vehicle variant dulyappeared as the Centaur ARV alongwith the Centaur Dozer turretless versionfitted with a dozer blade for combatengineer duties. Two Centaur conversionsthat did mount guns were thetwo marks of Centaur III/IV AAI andCentaur III/IV AAII tanks. These hadthe same 20-mm anti-aircraft turrets asthe earlier Crusader AA tanks, but theCentaur AA versions mounted 20-mm(0.787-in) Polsten cannon in place ofthe earlier Oerlikon cannon. Both ofthese variants took part in the earlystages of the Normandy campaign butwere withdrawn once the anticipatedthreat of air attack did not materialize.SpecificationCentaur IIICrew: 5Weight: 28849 kg (63,600 lb)Powerplant: one Nuffield Liberty Mk VV-12 petrol engine developing 295 kW(395 bhp)Dimensions: length 6.35 m (20 ft 10 in);width 2,895 m (9 ft 6 in); height 2,489 m(8 ft 2 in)Performance: maximum road speed43.4 km/h (27 mph); maximum crosscountryspeed about 25.7 km/h(16 mph); range 265 km (165 miles);fording 0,914 m (3 ft); vertical obstacle 0.914 m (3 ft); trench 2.286 m (7 ft 6 in)
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