Centurion Mk I

One tank that did interest me at Bovington was the Centurion Mk I.

Centurion Mk I

The Centurion was the primary British main battle tank of the post-Second World War period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat in the front lines into the 1980s.

Development of the Centurion began in 1943 with manufacture beginning in January 1945. Six prototypes arrived in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945, so too late to see action.

Of course in any alternative history scenario where the war continued after May 1945 in Europe, the Centurion Mk I would have seen action. Likewise in a another alternative history scenario where either Stalin decided to press West after defeating Nazi Germany to take over Western Europe, or the Western Allies decided to “liberate” Eastern Europe from the yoke of Stalin’s communist oppression, again the Centurion Mk I would have seen action.

I remember when Battlefront put up the details about their 15mm Australian Mk5 Centurion for Vietnam. I wrote the following thought:

My first thought when I saw the Centurion Mk5 was how close was it to the early versions, could I get away with using it for my Late War British forces in say a 1946 scenario? Only a handful of Mk1s were made when in November 1945 the Mk2 started coming off the production lines. The Mk3 did not enter production until 1948, so for a 1946 scenario, it would be the Mk2. The main difference between the Mk5 and the Mk2 would the main weapon, with the Mk5 having the L7 105mm gun, whilst the 1945 version had the QF 20 pdr. Though it would appear from the Battlefront site that the Australian Army Centurions were armed with the QF 20 pdr.

Simon in a comment in response, said:

Nice thought, but too many differences. For a start, different turret shape: no bustle, smaller, different-shaped stowage bins. No long-range fuel tank on the back, completely different engine deck. The ANZAC Mk V had a 105mm gun, the 20pdr had no fume-extractor and no muzzle-brake. These are just off the top of my head! However, if it’s a what-if scenario, who cares?

You can now get a 15mm Centurion MkI from Butlers’ Printed Models.

15mm Centurion MkI

Ah the wonders of 3D printing.

The Centurion actually first first entered combat with the British Army in the Korean War in 1950, in support of the UN forces.

I have no Centurions

Alas it wasn’t to be….

In a previous post I said

So I ordered and purchased a couple of Sho’T models from the Flames of War Fate of a Nation range and will paint them up as British Army Centurions for use in Team Yankee games.

They never arrived…

Centurion Mk 5

Alas the supplier was unable to supply the models, as Battlefront have made them a direct-only order item, so I will need to order them from there.

Going back to 1971

Had my first game of Team Yankee at the weekend, using my new painted (but not finished) Scorpion and Scimitar light tanks. This was a blue on blue combat with British forces versus British forces. I had a platoon of Centurions to fight alongside my Scorpions and Scimitars. Opposing them was Centurions, FV432 APCs, with Carl Gustav teams and 66mm LAW teams. British troops refer to the Carl Gustav as the “Charlie G”. This was no 1985 era game, but really more likely 1971 or thereabout.

My first impression was that this is quite a deadly game and you need to play tactically.

Though not the same as Flames of War there are similarities. One aspect which still confuses me, partly due to experience playing other rule sets I think. So the process of rolling to hit is based on the target not the unit or weapon firing confuses me slightly.

I think the answer is to play more games of Team Yankee.

Overall the Centurions were deadly, however I can imagine if they were up against more modern tanks they would suffer. You would need a fair few Centurions to ensure you could take any punishment and flank the more powerful tanks.

I did like the speed and weapons of the Scorpions, but their thin armour was little protection from the 105mm guns of the Centurions or even the Carl Gustav and 66mm LAWs.

Looking forward to my next game.

Centurion Mk 5 – Team Yankee

Centurion Mk 5

The Centurion, introduced in 1945, was the primary British main battle tank of the post-Second World War period. It is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat in the front lines into the 1980s.

According to this source, in 1981, the BAOR had 300 Centurion main battle tanks in reserve.

You can imagine that if World War III had started as imagined in the book by Harold Coyle that the British Army would want to use all the tanks they had access to when faced with the might of the armoured formations of the Warsaw Pact.

So though the Iron Maiden rules don’t cover the Centurion tank and no (British) models have been released I still thought it would be nice to have some Centurions on the gaming table.

So I ordered and purchased a couple of Sho’T models from the Flames of War Fate of a Nation range and will paint them up as British Army Centurions for use in Team Yankee games.

Centurion Mk 5

These look like really nice models.

Centurion Mk 5

Another possibility was to use my own British Civil War background and use them as Royalist forces, or as their Republican opposition.

I did consider getting the ANZAC Centurion Mk 5s from the Vietnam range, but they don’t have skirts. After operating for a few weeks in Vietnam, the tanks crews soon learned to remove the protective armoured side skirts from both sides of the tank, to prevent the vegetation and mud from building up between the track and the mudguards.

I did think that in a World War III scenario such modifications or battle damage would still mean the models could be used, but as the Israeli Sho’T models already come with skirts, I decided to use them.

So are you using Centurions in your Team Yankee games?

Australian Army Centurion Mk5

ANZAC Centurion Mk5

Battlefront have put up the details about their 15mm Australian Mk5 Centurion for Vietnam.

It’s a really nice looking model, very crisp with lots of detail.

I have already made the decision not to play games for Flames of War Vietnam, as the era isn’t one where there were lots of tank battles and to be honest that’s the main reason I play Flames of War. Secondly I already have way too many models to paint anyhow…

However looking at the recent releases and I will say I much prefer the castings from Battlefront compared to some other manufacturers I have been thinking if I could use the models for another era. For example I wonder if the NVRA T55 tanks could be used for Middle East battles or for Warsaw Pact for a Cold War era game getting hot!

My first thought when I saw the Centurion Mk5 was how close was it to the early versions, could I get away with using it for my Late War British forces in say a 1946 scenario? Only a handful of Mk1s were made when in November 1945 the Mk2 started coming off the production lines. The Mk3 did not enter production until 1948, so for a 1946 scenario, it would be the Mk2. The main difference between the Mk5 and the Mk2 would the main weapon, with the Mk5 having the L7 105mm gun, whilst the 1945 version had the QF 20 pdr. Though it would appear from the Battlefront site that the Australian Army Centurions were armed with the QF 20 pdr. So maybe not too much conversion work then?

I am going to try and find some photographs and see if any what are the differences.