Centurion 70 years in Sweden | Arsenalen Swedish Tankmuseum

In this video Stefan will share some facts, stories and personal experiences with the Centurion tank.
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[@flywheeldk]

I primarily remember the Centurion in the vinter of 1978-1979 in the southern Denmark (Lolland), I was 6 or 7 years of age. We where snowed in. M113s where sent out to aid the population, with supplies, other forms of aid AFAIR even evacuations. One of those M113 got stuck (In a ditch, drainage ditch or snow or something like that) a few hundred meters from where I was staying with my family and a Centurion was sent out to pull it free from the snow.

[@LarsLinde]

Me too. I was also 6 years old that winter. There was so much snow we could walk up on the roof of our house. Pretty crazy

[@markbowen3638]

Thankyou Stefan,your talks are always interesting. I think the Centurion was one of the best ever English tank designs,and the fact that both you and the Israelis managed to upgrade it significantly proves what a good basic tank it was! Happy birthday to the Swedish Centurion!

[@pcka12]

So did the South Africans!

[@Mrspaceman1999]

He is back!

[@ptonpc]

Thank you Stefan and everyone at the museum! The Centurion upgrades made it look even better.

[@JohnJones-k9d]

First real MBT. Probably the best in terms of use against overwhelming odds.

[@markellis7819]

Brilliant video, Stefan. The story here is that a Government department thought that other nations should not have our most advanced technology, and blocked the sales. Then realising that we were still paying off the cost of WW2 (last payment in 2006), the department was overruled and sales of military vehicles increased. The precision engineering factory my family owned tried to buy new lathes and other machines during the 50s. They were told by the machine manufacturers that they could only buy "seconds" (not top quality) as the best were only allowed to be sold for export.

[@ThePsiclone]

Very good talk thank you Stefan. I look forward to hearing more on the Strv 105. 👍

[@jimmyhillschin9987]

Many thanks for Stefan for delivering such a good, thoughtful talk in what is not his native language - great stuff. I absolutely love his deadpan Swedish humour too.

[@davegreenwood1663]

The Cent my all time number 1 tank.

[@Backwardlooking]

Tack sa mychet!. Still have my Dinky Toy metal model of one with working rubber tracks.70 years?. Almost as old as myself. Visited Sverige many times including the now remilitarised Gotland. Very glad to now have you as an ally in this troubled new world. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇸🇪

[@WanderlustZero]

His fondness for this amazing machine is infectious!

[@otgiggs]

I made my military service in a strv104 in the late 80s, but we did not have any add-on armour or reactive armour on the tanks we trained on. We were shown one tank in a storage once but was told by an officer that the reactive armour that it had was a secret and we shouldn't talk about it to anyone.

[@kristeroidne5196]

Good film, greetings from 5psk. 84/85

[@TheNukite]

Thanks

[@johnvissenga328]

Great talk Thank you Stefan

[@TheSergeantWaffle]

This video together with the talk at Pansarträff 23 at SPHF was an very nice info of the Centurion, thank you Stefan!

[@forthleft]

Always wonderful.

[@freshnuub438]

Nice video, thanks Arsenalen!

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🎖️🙏🇺🇲💪🏆🤗 Thank you for sharing

[@kukatahansa]

Awesome! Looking forward for the next video!

[@nigeh5326]

Great stuff Stefan 👍 The Centurion was the best tank in the world in its day and the fact that so many countries bought them and upgraded them later shows how good the original design was. Thanks

[@johnanon6938]

Loved this episode and I can't wait to hear more of Stefan's experiences with the Centurion! Oh but if he does a cooking episode someone be sure to first test fit the tinfoil wrapped hotdogs.... although that whoopsy made the Stridsvagn 103 cooking video very memorable so maybe don't test fit. ;)

[@lenny9341]

Im so glad I found this channel some months ago, I love how you talk about every single detail about the vehicles. Thank you for making al this content :D

Nice Video and superb outfit choice :) Teh spirit at Arsenalen really is something else :)

[@mpersad]

A fascinating, and very informative video, Stefan is an excellent presenter. I learnt a great deal, and am very happy to be a new subscriber.

[@VaeringWoT]

Bra video! Kan ni göra någon video om hur det var tänkt att Centurions och Strv 103 skulle användas i Sverige och vilka olika roller de skulle fylla?

[@slartybartfarst55]

Love it! Looking forward to Stefan's memories of the Centurion series... AND Love the hat & Garland! 🙂

[@anthonydebski5814]

EXCELLENT video.....!! Centurion was (& still is in some guises) a superb AFV...the Original was good, but with the 20pr Gun, then 105mm L7, SUPERB! so easy to maintain, easy to use...superb!

[@CthulhuInc]

great video, thanks, stefan!

[@tarjei99]

Truly excelent!

[@ctid107]

Wonderful story and experiences. Go raibh maith agat.

[@zman1508]

I cannot wait to see your video on the strv 105 very excited for that.

[@georgedalgleish6384]

As always a wonderful video from Stefan. Thank you.

[@warci]

there's an old swedish folktale that claims that if you whisper 'centurion' 5 times quickly with a swedish accent, a wild Stefan materializes and tells you what a good tank it was.

[@HenrikFredriksson-oi4lz]

I am a Swede so, ok? Never heard of that🙄

[@fredde90210]

Trevlig historielektion 🥇

[@woooop9486]

yes!!!! du är så bra!!! programmledare bästa videon du har gjort. snälla mer av dig i rutan. älskade att videon var 30min långt har längtat till en längre vide av dig väldigt länge. dock även om man/jag skulle vilja ha 30min så tror jag att kortare är bättre, eftersom när man sätt färdig 15min så vill man se mer, exp äta för mycket godis så blir man illa, dock lagom, ufori och vill ha mer :)

[@ned900]

Cool! Enjoyed that.

[@adrianguggisberg3656]

Fellow Centurion tanker here! Many similarities between Sweden and Switzerland. I served on the Panzer 57 / Centurion Mk 7 as a gunner, tank commander and platoon commander in the Swiss Army from '87 to '89. In 1990 my Batallion was retrained and equipped with Panzer 87 / Leo II, from which point onward I served as a company commander. I agree, the Centi was way past its prime by this time. Ours had 1000 Liter petrol tanks, which was good for 150km on a good day, driver vision was poor, lever steering on narrow Swiss roads basically intolerable. BSF tread in the motor and gearbox vs UNF for chassis and turret 🤦‍♂️ But I liked the Centi a lot and many fond memories. 👍

[@jettfancy]

Grattis!

[@HudikMats]

Med beröm godkänt.. Mycket bra informativt innehåll !!!

[@donnawillson1516]

Very enjoyable video😊

[@darrenhawken9766]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing your invaluable knowledge 👍💨💨

[@walkingandadventures6114]

Great Tank, possibly best tank we produced, if only a year earlier…

[@martincurran-gray2287]

Thank you, excellent!

[@Nobodys64]

Keep the road!

[@binaway]

Due to it's excellent service in the 6 day war and using covert methods , because of weapons bans, the Israelis purchased a lot of Centurions retired from the armies of Canada, Australia, Britain and other countries. Together with their existing Centurions they were all upgraded possibly making them the best version of this tank. They then help the Apartheid South African army to a upgrade their Centurions.

[@dondouglass6415]

Another great video. They chose the right diesal power pack as the Chieftain, although a great tank, had a crap power pack that was infamously unreliable... I was a REME mechanic in the 80s and knew this only too well. UK really used some crap engines in their armoured vehicles back then. 😮😊

[@lynby6231]

The dreaded Layland pack engine ☠️

[@davidmeek8017]

Aloha; Happy (Swedish) Birthday to the Centurians! Mahalo

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

👍🇬🇧

[@tasman006]

Awsome vid excelent learn't a lot from that.

[@johanmetreus1268]

8:20 A slight correction here. Gun barrels are measured in centimeters, so there is the 8,4 cm Carl Gustaf, the 10,5 cm L7 tank gun and the 15,5 cm howitzers. Decimals (with a comma as separator) are dropped for the designations. Thus stridsvagn 81 (battle carriage 81) is a tank with >8 cm gun, first model adopted for service. When the Centurions were upgunned, they became strv 102 if they were modified mkIII/mkV and strv 101 for the newly delivered mkX, which unlike the Imperial predecessors were made in the metric system and thus separate designations to distinguish which toolset was required.

[@CarlSöderquist]

Wasnt the 101 equipped with 10,5cm from the beginning?

[@johanmetreus1268]

​@@CarlSöderquist , yes, the mk X got the Swedish designation stridsvagn 101. Poor wording on my part, I'll fix that.

[@briancornish5990]

Originals came with the British 17 pounder roughly equal to the German ‘88’

[@CarlSöderquist]

@@briancornish5990 The first ones. Not all of them The later got 10,5cm

[@Ubique2927]

@@CarlSöderquist..After the 20pounder.

[@JohnJones-k9d]

Had a guided tour when the Museum was in Axvall.

[@MaverickBlue42]

You think it was bad that Sweden didn't have night vision in the 90's, Russia still doesn't effectively have night vision today...

[@michaelguerin56]

Excellent video, Stefan. Thank you. Are you saying that the earlier Marks of the Centurion use British Standard Whitworth (BSW) bolts, machine screws, studs and grub screws, etcetera? To the best of my knowledge, the only example of the BSW system still in common use is: the 1/4 BSW thread for mounting cameras and terrestrial telescopes to tripods.

[@philhawley1219]

BSP (British Standard Pipe) is still commonly used in plumbing. The French refer to it as " zee arrf eench".

[@stefankarlsson9762]

Yes, BSF, BSW and BA. But not everything on the Mk 10 was UNF - also a lot of BSF, BA and of course M due to Swedish mods

[@davidgoodnow269]

I am curious about the late fitting of the LIRA flare launchers; weren't those original equipment for the Stridsvaggon/103 in the mid-1960s? If so, why not add them when refitting the 102 turrets with the new cannon, and install them on the 101 on arrival? I have also long wondered if the 57mm is unique to Sweden and flares, as the British long used their 50mm mortar and the U.S. used their 60mm mortar, as a company-level support weapon?

[@DaveSCameron]

My all fella worked in a factory making the brakes these in the 1970s Liverpool.

[@jesper509]

Mer!

[@Idahoguy10157]

The USSR had a amphibious capability and airborne infantry. To invade Sweden. The then Soviets occupied Latvia, Estonia, and Latvia. All countries on the Baltic coast directly across from Sweden and Finland

[@NATOenthusiast]

Centurion is the grandfather of the MBTs.

[@lynby6231]

Or MBTs

[@NATOenthusiast]

@@lynby6231 you know what, thanks for pointing that out, I feel a bit silly now. 😅

[@Maring0418]

När kommer videon om Strv 105? 😀

[@Kalleri13]

The upgraded Centurion still makes sense to use against the enemy, only a tiny fraction of the tanks used are newest state of the art type. Quite stupid of Sweden to melt perfectly working weapons and its very great well protected bunkers when the modern war is about attack drones, cruiz missiles and a mix of old and new materiel.

[@bengthyytiainen7030]

Kommer detta på Svenska ?

[@Ubique2927]

Only the British would tell a prospective customer “No”. Probably cost the loss of more orders for the centurion. The whole of NATO may have purchased them!!!

[@Emanuel19981024]

lite lustigt hur lika våran KRV och frankrikes AMX-50 Surbaissé är, jag går på hur frankrikes AMX-50 ser ut i spelet War Thunder och bilden vi fick se här i videon på vårn KRV.

[@leifnordh9109]

Why was not the Sherman tank of interest for Sweden ? Lots of them..cheap surplus tank

[@johanmetreus1268]

And already obsolete. The threat tank used was the JS-3, and the future Swedish tank had to be able to successfully engage that.

[@genericpersonx333]

Also bear in mind, tanks cost money to keep and run, so even if a tank is relatively cheap to buy in the first place, you have to ask how much do they cost to keep using? Even if you could get three Shermans for the price of one Centurion upfront, they would burn more gas, cost more in maintenance, and require more personnel to operate, costing more in the long term.

[@allenjones7433]

The gun was gyro stabilised so was far more accurate on the move. Also better protection for the fuel tanks.

[@Litany_of_Fury]

Yeah centurion used external fuel tanks so the crew was safe. Some later models had fuel in the front like with Israel but that was unique.

[@pcka12]

We are probably fortunate that the postwar British Labour government didn't give Centurion to the Russians along with jet turbine engines!

[@66kbm]

Question. Did both Sweden and Switzerland get a "good" deal on the cost of the Tanks as they were initially refused but then a few years later offered to said Countries. Example simplified. Centurion cost is 1000 things, both Sweden and Switzerland paid 900 things. I think you all know what i mean. One may wonder why such a small nation as Sweden heeded 240 ish MBT's , that's main Battle Tanks. The actual length of the border with Finland is almost that of West Germany. At that time, there was an enormous amount of border to both defend and control. More Tanks needed i think 😬 EDIT, How was this Tank comparable to the Israeli Tank of the same system but still heavily modified?.

[@genericpersonx333]

Do note: Most of Sweden is relatively empty and lacks transportation infrastructure, so while the borders may be "long," there are only so many places to cross where you can go somewhere of consequence. In particular, the biggest threat to Sweden is the coastal line to Stockholm. Sweden defense policy has been built around the principle of deterrence by presenting a credible bitter resistance that would make whatever strategic gains from "ownership" of Sweden not worth the heavy materiel and personnel losses an invader would take in the process. To this end, the basic plan was to have a massive army of infantry, mostly reservists, dig in between invaders and strategic places like Stockholm, while a smaller mobile army, made up mostly of the professional soldiers and active-duty conscripts, would provide an offensive force to launch counterattacks and quick-reaction. The Centurion tanks were the centerpiece of this offensive army, a proper combined-armed armored unit that would lead attacks on invader flanks, lines of communication, and such. Also note, the expectation was not to face an invasion of multiple millions, like West Germany expected, but some hundreds of thousands concentrated in a handful of places. Put a few-hundred thousand Swedish infantry in trenches and a few tens-of-thousands of Swedes in tanks and APCs, they had good reason to think they could make a likely invader bleed heavily enough to influence the war in Sweden's favor.

[@gislemark79]

Eneglska 2/5 Innehåll 6/5

[@billspence1799]

English perfectly good. Better than many Scots😂

[@JohnJones-k9d]

Certainly better than a scouser

[@vendist]

Stavningen av ordet engelska 1/5

[@allan330]

and he didnt fckn swear once

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Professionals do not need to.