Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Centurion. Part 2

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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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[@DAB520]

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. :)

[@Handles-Suck-YouTube]

Bringing the concept of a heavy clutch to a new level.

[@kennethquesenberry2610]

That's very interesting. The only thing I have to compare it with was my old 1965 Land-Rover, which had a manual transmission with a heavy clutch. Sure enough, the calf of my left leg became larger than my right. You also had to double-clutch from 1st to 2nd gear.

[@potrzebieneuman4702]

@@kennethquesenberry2610 I remember well, my old Landy had a pretty sloppy gearbox and I became used to double clutching up 1st to 2nd and on all downshifts.

[@kennethquesenberry2610]

@@potrzebieneuman4702 I never thought my Land-Rover had a sloppy gearbox but that's not saying it was slick and easy to use. My first car was a VW Beetle and that had a sloppy gearshift. On our trip to the UK a few years ago, I drove a rented VW Routan, I think it was. Six -speed manual transmission, right-hand drive. The first mile was a lot of fun. The hard part was steering with my right hand while changing gears. On a trip to Germany, I drove an Opel, which also had a six-speed manual transmission. That was still more gears than I knew what to do with. Wish I'd held out for a Škoda, just so I could say I'd driven one.

[@potrzebieneuman4702]

@@kennethquesenberry2610 my old ex-army 2a had been around the clock a couple of times and the gearbox was sloppy and noisy...I simply became used to it.

[@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).

[@giorgigarsevanidze6334]

What was your most interesting experience with this tank during your service?

[@kenfraser468]

Giorgi Garsevanidze two

[@kenfraser468]

Giorgi Garsevanidze has futs you 4sfzigzufyxffuziiDttfTs

[@jwilli726]

Were your comrades' opinions of the Centurion all generally positive? Best tank ever?

[@siras2]

Actually, but rather bizarrely, the Periscopes were always referred to in Cent' manuals and parts lists as Episcopes

[@lathomere512]

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

[@xt6wagon]

I'm old and vehicles with chokes was rare when I was a kid. Lawn care equipment and tractors are the only places I commonly saw it, but I never did motorcycles or snowmobiles to know if they had that stuff past the 70s.

[@ur2c8]

When you drove a car in the 1970s, the first thing you learnt was the subtle art of choke adjustment.

[@Cemi_Mhikku]

@@ur2c8 That depends on where you're from and how old the cars you were driving were. Starting in the mid sixties automatic chokes became about as common as automatic transmissions here in the US, so if you only started driving in the seventies, chances were high that you missed learning that, unless you were into older cars.

[@stevemeska7784]

I wasn't into older cars. It was all I could afford. :-)

[@tutzdesYT]

@@Cemi_Mhikku where I live most people were learning by driving cars, that were "expendable" i.e. old, dirt cheap and also required some mechanical knowledge to operate and fix (which happened often). Most of those had manual transmission, choke, etc. Any semi-modern car when it is dead it is dead and very much so. The obsolete monsters could be kept running for decades in a literal zombie-state, switching hands and passing through multiple amateur driver-owners. The thing that kind of finished those off is the cost of the fuel and eco-norms.

[@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.

[@sheikbombalot5781]

Yeah, but Centurions also helped Jordan LOSE the 67 war. The Israelis had their upgunned Shermans facing brand new, top of the line Jordanian Centurions. How’d they win? Well... Remember that one wheeled fuel trailer Nick mentioned? The Israeli airforce started bombing the Centurions as they were moving toward Israeli lines, and apparently hauling a lightly armed 200 gallon fuel trailer, turned out not to be the best idea.

[@chuckcribbs3398]

And it killed a lot of Russian tanks.

[@Centurion101B3C]

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.

[@dickdickerson3164]

Corvus Rabiatus i

[@a.m.armstrong8354]

No question about it, the best combination of practical solutions enabling combat efficiency. I read somewhere it even served as a postal delivery service in Korea.

[@Centurion101B3C]

@@a.m.armstrong8354 Both in Korea as well as in Vietnam (I am told.). Not too sure whether the recipients of the COD parcel-post delivery were overly pleased. My take on it; Not!

[@artwizardsam3238]

Can I please get your Email? I have a question about the Centurion for a project I'm making. I'd really appreciate if you can help me clearing that doubt, sir.

[@Centurion101B3C]

@@artwizardsam3238 As can be expected, I am somewhat careful with my email-address. Can you provide me with the nature of your questions and I will decide according to that.

[@vernski1015]

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.

[@baractusobamiuscaesar5540]

M1 Abrams much? Still the best tank in the world.

[@roger5555ful]

@@baractusobamiuscaesar5540 The M1 was not designed in ww2 like the Centurion is

[@Mjk10957]

@@baractusobamiuscaesar5540 centurion was a 1940s desgin the Abrams was a 80s desgin whats your point. I wouldnt say the Abrams was the best either its no better than the british challenger 2 or say the German leporad 2

[@tothethreshold.9965]

@@baractusobamiuscaesar5540 Not even close to the best in the world. Never was either.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@baractusobamiuscaesar5540 hardely the best tank in the world, it does not have the best mobility, it does not have the best armour, it does not have the best gun, nor the best opitics, nor the best range, nor the best reliability, nor the lowest production costs, nor the best crew space, nor the best crew survivivability. it has roughly equal to the best of some of these.

[@katzedas5273]

That's no tank, that's a big angry house

[@Derkiboi]

wow

[@Fin2001]

With a big angry gun!

[@matedarabos8280]

That's no tank... it's a space station! 😀

[@Reddsoldier]

I think you'll find that's an O-I

[@tanksbyjoe]

Most western NATO tanks are rather roomy inside. The American M60A1 & A3's had even more room inside then this Centurion.

[@jp-um2fr]

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.

[@robashton8606]

Didn't the Israelis put a different, more efficient power plant in their Cents?

[@greva2904]

Yes, diesel I think.

[@kireta21]

@@robashton8606 Continental AVDS-1790-2A, a supercharged diesel engine, which was a standard US tank engine at the time, used in M60, as well as modernized M47, M48 and M103 tanks. Standardization makes life much easier, especially when everything needs to be purchased abroad.

[@chaz8758]

Most Israeli Cents in 1967 were Sho't Meteors basically Mk 3 and Mk 5 Cents with Meteor engine and 20pdr, in 1973 two of the five Cent Bdes still had Sho't Meteors (both fought on the Golan), the final conversions to Sho't Kal (L7 105mm, new engine, transmission, drive train etc) was not finished until 1974.

[@stevestruthers6180]

The Canadian Army didn't dispose of their Centurions until mid- to late 1977, when the Leopard 1A3's started coming in. So it served for a much longer time than it did in the British Army. The Swedish apparently kept theirs up until the mid-1990s.

[@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.

[@Richardoculus]

badweetabix That ended some 30 years ago, east and west Germany united again. So many things have changed but strange enough Russia is still considered an enemy.

[@Rzymek85]

You think its related to Russia invading other countries like Georgia, Crimea or Ukraine? @@Richardoculus

[@Richardoculus]

Making Monsters: same with the US , do you consider them also enemies?

[@23GreyFox]

@@Rzymek85 Protect your own people is different then going oversees and attacking because of oil. coughUSAcough

[@cyclonetaylor7838]

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

[@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.

[@rossnelson8433]

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....

[@Siddich]

This tank is a beauty

[@Undertheinfluence81]

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.

[@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

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

"Pound for pound, Centurion was the best tank ever made" -Nick Moran...

[@AngryCanine]

The Centurion was the most widely used tank ever built, and had pretty much the most variants to them. They are so reliable and perform exactly as they should, they even today, you can find Centurion tanks still in service, and in bigger armies with better main battle tanks, you can find a Centurion variant of some kind, either it being an armoured recovery vehicle, maintenance vehicle, whatever. The AVRE variant is still used more or less for demolition by the major military powers as well, and since parts for these vehicles have not been produced in over 40 years, kind of shows their reliability. World Of Tanks does not do the Centurion's armour justice, as a lot of tanks in game, which makes a lot of people see the Centurion tank as a lightly armoured tank, which in reality, was extremely hard to pen from the front with all kinds of ammunition types until the more modern ammunition types that would just melt through the armour. armour packages helped hugely, just look at the Centurions in the Swedish arsenal, half of them can go into service now and stand a good chance against most of the tanks it can come across, only due to the armour packages on the tank. The replacement for the Centurions, the Chieftains, were more or less a downgrade until you got to the more late versions, simply because of the reliability of the Chieftain as legendarily bad, and with the proper armour packs on the Centurion, had better armour.

[@deepbludreams]

T55 and T72 are currently the most widely used tanks ever built by both numbers and adoption.

[@AngryCanine]

T-54 and other variants like the t-55, and T7-72 are as it says, variants, basically the same tank with modernization's on every model, like the Centurion tank, with the 50+ different variants, only difference, they are still called the Centurion, just with another model number after, like 5/1, 7/1, and all that. even some tanks, like the FV4004 Conway and FV4005 are still called Centurions, even though the Centurion tank is classified as FV4200, sort of like the T-54 series. sure, the T-54 series tanks may have been shipped to many different countries, few more then the Centurion, however not all those countries used the T-54 series tanks for combat. a lot, like most other tanks, were just there, to have. I mean, if they had to they would use them, no questions asked, but when it came to the Centurion tank, less were used in combat, yet the number of T-54 series tanks destroyed in combat by Centurion tanks alone outnumber the amount of Centurion tanks disabled or destroyed in combat. T-72's and any other variant above have not really seen that much fighting, so the real combat effectiveness is yet to really be seen, however, if you look the service record of the Centurion tank, the number of conflicts served, number of tanks produced and lost, and a few other key aspects, there is a reason the tank was for the longest time, the most used tank in the world, and still olds the most variants, variants in combat, and around around the world. T-54/T-55's came much later then the Centurion, the Centurion is still used today, making the longest serving tank ever, and will likely keep that title long after the T-54 series tanks (from the T-54 all the way to the T-72and on wards) are replaced, hopefully sometime soon, as their combat effectiveness is not very good anymore against more modern vehicles like the Challenger 2, which is also getting old, the M1A2 Abrams, and Leopard 2 whatever variant they are on now. one really nice thing about the Centurion tank is the amount of modifications that can be done to the tank to make it just as effective in combat as ant modern tank, although not very cheap at all to do, still something that works well compared to what you can do to a T-54 series tank. just ask Sweden what you can do to a Centurion tank to make it just as effective as a modern tank today, they have quite a few of them, having the largest collection of Centurion tanks then even the Country that built them, also take a wonder down to Israel, who are currently using the Centurion tank in combat against people they don't like, people who use the T-72's, and maybe a few early model variants like the T-55. M48 Pattons are also likely to be seen in the arsenal of surrounding countries, but their combat effectiveness has long been pretty bad, as you really can't do much to make it better, after the M60, it was a good thing America designed a new tank when they did, same with Britain with the nightmare on tracks, the Chieftain... which was only a nightmare for the people in the tank, and such an easy target to pick off if it was ever used in combat, failed for the very same reason the Fv4202 failed, mostly. Thank god for the Challenger.

[@greva2904]

Chieftain was never used in combat as we never went to war with the USSR. And it was a better tank than you give it credit for. An Aussie tank commander who served on exchange in the U.K. said that the Leopard 1 was the best tank for use in Australia (large distances to cover) but if he had to go toe to toe against the Warsaw Pact in Germany then the Chieftain was the tank he’d want to be in. In his opinion - and he served on chieftains - if you looked after it properly then the Chieftain was more reliable than its reputation suggests, and for its time it had world beating armour and a world beating gun. Chieftains did see combat in the Iran Iraq war, but the Iranian crews were badly trained, and the Chieftain was long in the tooth by then, hence the U.K. upgrading the Chieftain with Stillbrew armour packs after they saw the results. But as I say the Chieftain was an old design by then, and the Iranians didn’t know how to use them properly anyway.

[@chaz8758]

@@greva2904 The Kuwaiti's did though, despite being surprised, lacking full load outs or back up they did great work in the Battle of the Bridges against Iraqi T72's

[@jeffwhitehead6096]

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

[@tonygriffiths2485]

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 !

[@wbertie2604]

My dad referred to the choke as the choke. This is in the UK. Strangle is a term I've only heard on this channel!

[@Cires789]

My dad was a driver in a Centurion.

[@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.

[@garypanter1881]

Thank you best post-war tank still in service today

[@pweter351]

It kicked arse in the battle of coral FSB

[@aewhatever]

As well as the 6 days war

[@cr0ss0ut]

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

[@AgentTasmania]

Honestly, why are there military vehicles WITHOUT a small, inexpensive device that greatly improves the quality of life for the crew?

[@alexhayden2303]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_vessel

[@wbertie2604]

Many years ago I played a massively multiplayer game. With a physical map, as this was before you could do this on the interwebs. Two of the people playing were current British tankies and insisted that they should have the option to stop their tanks for a brew. I got to 'command' a group of SU76s with no radios which and command control was lost due to mortar fire making them button down, rendering the signal flags somewhat ineffective. Some of the other games were held at one of the UK's army staff colleges (those current tankies helping us amateurs with a great venue) with around 200+ people in rooms with telephones trying to coordinate large scale WW2 assaults in the Ukraine or Market Garden. Fun times, and entertaining fog of war. And at times they were more fights of logistics and weather than arms.

[@clydebuiltgamer6603]

The true reason brittish vehicles are superior to the competition

[@maverickjohnson306]

Imagine being in one the centurions during the battles of the golen heights and the Sinai fighting T-54, T-55 and T-60

[@seanjoseph8637]

The English for choke is choke! Dunno where the strangle use comes from.

[@markfryer9880]

Aussie, we prefer to strangle everything.

[@rat_king-]

@@markfryer9880 Bloody colonies

[@baikal627]

Military sarcasm i think

[@kasrkin45]

@@danielsteger8456 Good contribution, very relevant.

[@nathanroberts1540]

I been to the Australian armoured artillery museum cairns and been their twice and I be working up there on the day of ausarmour tank fest 2019

[@pauldbeer]

I just love your presentations. The music is a bit of a draw-back though. Please consider doing this presentation with the Israeli Sho't and the South African Olifant MkI & MKIA, as these are interesting developments of the Centurion? The absolute altimate Centurion development though is the Sout Afrikan Olifant MkII! It would be nice if you can do a section on this beast as well!!

[@richardscales9560]

Best tank ever made! high praise indeed.

[@sambeech6771]

richard scales well it was made in the times of the Sherman and t-34 so Ye 😂

[@johnburns4017]

+Mr Vest But still was a prime leading tank into the 1980s.

[@1IbramGaunt]

John Burns and is still a viable platform even today in upgraded form (see South African 'Oliphant 2')

[@ferallion3546]

I love the history of the world's first MBT (though there is some argument for the Panther to hold the title). Commonwealth forces didn't lose any during Korea and the IDF utilized it in outstanding ways. So much so that Arab League T55 and T62 class MBTs were out ranged and out gunned in every engagement with AL forces suffering heavy losses.

[@iceshadow207]

I think the T-34 has a much better claim at being "the first MBT" than the Panther.

[@Netfreak40]

Lol, whether the Panther nor the T-34 did have anything in common with a Main Battle Tank. Those were medium tanks and they have this name out of a point...

[@warriormes6012]

+G4mb7t Where would you draw the line then? Construction-wise i dont see much difference between an MBT and a medium tank, at least the kind od medium tank that was being built late in the war...

[@iceshadow207]

Warrior Me´s A fine example is the T-54. The west considers it to be the first Soviet MBT while the Russians claim it was still a Medium Tank.

[@Netfreak40]

The line is pretty easy to draw, since a medium battle tank is meant to rely on its speed and not that much on its armor. A main battle tank can compete with heavy tanks easily because he is both armored and armed efficently and is still as fast or nearly as fast as a medium tank

[@marklawes1859]

Back in the day a colleague told me he had been in centurion in the army and there were very few hills it wouldn't climb.

[@bigblue6917]

I remember reading that when the Australians used them in Viet Nam the NVA had huge problems with the Centurian because they were almost invulnerable to the RPG fire. Apparently at times they had to resort to firing the RPG into the tree canopy with the hope that any falling branches would hit the tank commander.

[@ronmorris4983]

Big Blue That is true.

[@rossnelson8433]

Several were lost to mines as well as RPGs.

[@lexchaotica190]

Favouring the kit of your military service era is no crime.Nostalgia and familiarity play big roles.

[@johnburdis5352]

The Centurion was ahead of it's time.

[@simonpotter7534]

Yes indeed. After years of dodgy tanks they finaly get it right. Pity the boys did not have this tank in 1944 - 45. I am sure it would have made a lot of difference in the European tank battles.

[@greva2904]

Definitely. It was fully capable of taking on and defeating Tiger 2’s... but of course it never arrived on time to see combat

[@kennethquesenberry2610]

The British Army must have a think about "flicking." The 1965 Drill (All Arms) Manual instructs to go from "Order Arms" (with the SLR) to "Shoulder Arms," "With a flick of the right wrist throw the rifle up to the front of the right shoulder, releasing it when the hand is level with the waistbelt; straighten the right arm to strike and seize the pistol grip with the thumb round the pistol grip, etc., etc. It's a two-count movement.

[@tempestmkiv]

Pound for pound the best tank ever made... Wow! Quite an endorsement and no argument here.

[@claudewiwiamjertes2122]

British guy speaking about a british tank...

[@a.m.armstrong8354]

@@MrJedi5150 Claude wiwiam jertes has left the conversation..

[@AmazingAce]

A Centurion was used in nuclear bomb testing and it survived with little damage and was even able to be put back into service. :P

[@Eddie8944]

Amazing Ace but it is important to note that had the crew been inside the vehicle when the test took place, it was believed that they would have been killed.

[@Helskorn]

I wouldn't doubt that for a second if I'm honest; it was considered the shockwave would have killed the crew, but the heat, let alone the radiation, wouldn't have done them any favours either.

[@frankanderson5012]

Amazing Ace Mmmm, radio active tank crew..

[@bradgolding6847]

Not into service. It was restored in private ownership.

[@deepbludreams]

+Chanplain Helskorn Depends, steel is a pretty good deflector of radiation, it would have offered some protection and later marks of Centurion that are NBC capable did get a lead lined spall liner, the crew would have been fine in the short while, but radiation would have gotten them eventually.

[@martindrengenxbox360]

I'm kicking so much ass in my Centurion 7/1, Love that beast!

[@BeefIngot]

I dont know why you would love it its a terrible tank just like its predecessor in game. They are both to slow to be effective mediums compared to their peers. Then, to top that off, it has no premium rounds and has absolutely terrible reload/dpm. What does it get in return? Mildly more bouncy than normal turret armour and 10 degrees gun depresson? Yea no. The cents are all terrible till the ax which is slightly less terrible.

[@martindrengenxbox360]

+Beef Ingot I have had a completely different experience though, the centurion 1 need a faster reload for sure. But the penetration is pretty good, aim for weak spots and you can damage literally everyone. And driving my centurion 7/1 with the first package, same damage and penetration as the final gun for Centurion 1, but a faster reload. With my crew and equipment it reloads in 4.79 seconds, and averages 230 damage. Yesterday I killed an E75 by myself and took down half the health of an E100, while I was at about 50% myself. And both the Centurion 1 and 7/1 have a great turret, it blocks so much damage! How can you call them bad?? They have treated me great!

[@BeefIngot]

martindude Penetration is not a value that makes or breaks a tank. Gold rounds exist making high base pen next to useless in a comparison of efficacy. Also, the aim for weakspots meme is basic advice bad players use often to justify flanking to their deaths or bouncing harmlessly off of heavy tanks instead of just firing gold through the weakspot theyve been aiming at the past 5 minutes. Im glad you liked your time in those tanks but 1, the small guns are objectively terrible as alpha is king in this game specifically if you are using a tank that primarily relies on peaking like the cent. 2. The turret armour is nowhere near as good as you think it is especially after the hd nerf that ruined both of them. 3. as I said before so many other tanks are better. When I say they are bad tanks Im not just talking about my experience (as every good player will be able to do reasonably well in every tank) Im talking about them overall.

[@martindrengenxbox360]

+Beef Ingot The way I see it, good players don't need gold shells. And I have been playing WoT on xbox for over 2 years now, even if the tank is good or bad, most rounds I deal upwards of 4000 damage. Not much compared to what really good players do in other tanks I assume, but all in all. The tank kicks ass when I drive it.

[@BeefIngot]

martindude Well, you see it wrong..... if we are talking about pc, which I realized you arent on. (though the premium round comment really is just wrong) Also, I just want to point out I play on the pc version, which has a much different meta where tbh the average player is much better and there are a lot of changes in terms of where people drive and how they play. So honestly its like youre talking mandarin and Im speaking spanish. 4000 damage in a centurion on pc is an amazing game. like if you averaged that, youd be top 0.0001% of players, no joke. So, basically, what Im saying is it really makes no sense we compare since I now realize we play on totally different platforms. Watch some youtube videos and compare the 2 and youll see like I did that its so different you cant even compare it.

[@tasman006]

Awesome tank I'm grinding to get to it soon in WOT. Best tank of the early cold war period beating the T34/85, T54\55 series of tanks and supposedly superior T62 with night vision in Syrian hands against Israel's upgraded version of the Centurion in the Yom Kippur war 73. Also in Indian hands it did well against Pakistan in there IndoPak wars of 65 and 71 against the M47 and superior M48 with the Centurion coming out on top. Still in service today with South Africa in upgraded form called the Olifant.

[@chazt8604]

Israel still used Sho't Meteors in 1967 and 73, they were not all converted to Sho't Kal until after the 1973 war. So ex British army Mk 3's and Mk 5's (sold to Israel after a Brit government renaged on their deal to sell Chiefys) with 20pdrs and Meteor engines did pretty well againts those supposedly much better Soviet tanks.

[@grantlette6253]

Great Vids, hope you enjoyed your time in Australia, keep up the good work.

[@steinsen1]

As a proffesional metallurgist machinist and welder... I can see on the exterior side of the 'vheicle', according to the military-technical specs; blast traps. Thus giging me a thousand ideas to protect the turret by very simple means, which probably is aproduct of my everlasting love for welding... Any comments

[@torpaninternational8351]

With regards "the choke" -- to get the vehicle started I found the best way was to pour down the carburetor some petrol. The 20 pdr gun was good in the post ww2 but the upgrade to a 105 mm was warranted. Chieftain , we didn't get "Oh my tank is on fire " attribute of the Centurion

[@kippamip]

pound for pound I'd have to agree. fantastic tank, the first real MBT in my opinion.

[@tacfoley4443]

I'm really looking forward to your movie on Merkava........

[@Habsolutely]

love this series. Can you do the Ram Tank ?

[@John5209]

They did well in Angola in 1987 against the Soviet T55's with the South Africans. Not one knocked out. 3 had tracks blown by land mines.

[@sheikbombalot5781]

The Centurion was a brilliant tank. (And looks just like a tank is supposed to!) Three of the Israeli slightly modified S’hot Centurions managed to hold back an entire Syrian armed division during the 74 war. Kill ratio of 60:1 isn’t bad, and the T55 wasn’t a bad tank by any means.

[@jiddro33]

*loads video* *immediately clicks Like before even watching*

[@donwalsh9426]

God. A C42 set. I haven't seen one for years. They should have put in an escape hatch.

[@BespokeBandit]

Chief said it's the best tank in its weight class ever. Buff said

[@nathanroberts355]

I'm going buy the Australian armoured centurion tank models and other ones too

[@maghost_rider5698]

Centurion the worlds greatest tank :D

[@bradgolding6847]

The APDS from the 20 pdr was not fin stabilised, it was called sabot!

[@hiro_bltz7055]

Ahh, of course the centaurion has a water boiler for making tea LMAO

[@samharradence5689]

One of the best tier 8 tanks!

[@tomsmith2209]

Excellent video. Love the Centurion. Thank you.

[@roberth.goddardthefatherof6376]

after watching the Sherman video many ergonomic features from that appear in this thing either improved or the same. except for the turret basket, why in the hell does it not have a turret basket. with all other turret basketless tanks i'm aware of, this means the loader can't load the gun while the gun is traversing (he's to busy moving his feet making sure he doesn't get crushed.) which is a colossal disadvantage esspecially post ww2?

[@dhruv88mm]

India also used the tank to great effect against Pakistani M-48 Patton tanks in two wars

[@jac627]

What was controversial about saying the centurion was a better tank than the T55?

[@jasonalexander7434]

Is this in Cairns Australia?

[@wdb777]

Very well done!

[@normanpotts3169]

You didn't mention the use of Centurion tanks by South Africa. They were modified and became the Olifant (Elephant) tank and were used in the Angolan border war. The SADF took out T-55s with them.

[@nasus1929]

Can't wait to go there myself.

[@dave-ql2ri]

It definitely had phenomenal upgradeability, just look at how the South Africans turned it into the Olifant Mk2.

[@machinenkanone9358]

"Dad, Chieftain wants me to ask you what a choke is." "Well son...uh.."

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

"Well, Son, it's when I put my hands around your throat, like this..."

[@a.m.armstrong8354]

Ask mum..

[@adrianhawley4909]

Really good and informative. Loved it. Thank you

[@paulbantick8266]

Be aware that it's called the 'Reeler'. The reel was the reel of wire called Don10.

[@nemisous83]

The APDS used by the Centurian mk5 wasn't fin stabilized it was stabilized by the rifling in the barrel. APFSDS-T didn't come about til smoothbore guns came to the forefront

[@havocmwf]

There is a Centurion as a Gate Guard at RAF Leuchars in Scotland.

[@roblox-vp1rq]

After all these years I a sure someone has already posted about the "Atomic Tank". My apologies to everyone who has done so. I have not looked through all the comments to see since there are so many posted now. Anyways if it helps I can say that they how have the Atomic Tank on guard at the Robertson Barracks, Northern Territory.

[@wbertie2604]

The first tank I ever went in was a Centurion. Certainly more roomy than a 'Hetzer'.

[@Straswa]

Nice vid Chieftain! Very interesting tank, looking forward to getting the Cent 1.

[@hongtse6723]

That is one BIG fan in the building.

[@-sargntclashroyaleandmore-491]

Well bearing in mind the museum is in Australia. Haha

[@hongtse6723]

oh yea hahah

[@Rubashow]

I once visited the Maritime Museum in Tallin, Estonia. It's housed in huge storage rooms at the harbor. The buildings are so large, that they have their own micro climate. Huge fans keep the air moving so that it doesn't rain from the ceiling.

[@Micsmit_45]

+Rubashow you know how hilarious that sounds right?

[@peculiarful]

The company is called, wait for it, Big ass fans

[@ichabodon]

Very good video and sound.

[@fdmackey3666]

I have a couple of questions which date back to my days on the first model M1 Abrams (and when I say first model I mean the ones that still had XM1 and Chrysler stamped into the data plates....Yeah I'm that old). When we first took possession of our shiny new OD green tanks at Graf one of the first things we, as former M60A1 and A3 tankers, noticed was the absence of a "troop" or "infantry" phone box on the rear deck area. I/we realized that tactics and doctrine changed with the wind but we also realized that tanks working in conjunction with dismounted infantry/scouts would be lacking in non-radio contact with those troops. Despite our questions about the lack of such a phone (system) we never were provided with what we considered a real good answer. In an urban or even forested combat environment it just seemed logical that a infantry dude should be able to trot up to the side/rear of our tank and let us know where the bad guys on the upper floors of a building or on a hill top were so that we could direct our 105mm HE rounds or 7.62 or .50cal rounds for the good of the straight legs as well as ourselves. Has the Army ever added such a "troop phone" to the M1 Abrams (any model)? Just curious as it seemed like somebody missed a good bet in that department.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

The phone boxes were added in the TUSK ("tank urban survival kit" or something like that) upgrade kit, but that's after 2003 Iraq campaign ( not sure, but might be specifically after 2004 battles in Fallujah), so it did took quite some time to realize the necessity of this form of communication. I'm not military guy myself, just an armchair "expert", but the sluggishness of army thinking might be evident in other aspects too, I live in North-East of Europe, and since Russia has been stirring trouble lately, NATO is sending in some troops, they are small, but at least that's something. It's funny to see M1s and Bradley arriving in yellow desert camuflage, just shows how unexpected such events in Europe were. I wonder how long it will take to start painting armor in dark green again.

[@tankolad]

Yes. The M1A2SEPv2 has a telephone.

[@fdmackey3666]

SwineNahNah and Tim Murphy thanks for your responses. Don't you think though, that considering we drew our brand new M1s in late 1983 that it was 2003 or so before somebody said, :"Hmmmm....Me thinks we forgot to install a telephone on this beast at the factory....Oh, I know....We'll install one as part of an "upgrade kit" and charge double for it."....I worked for Uncle Sammy long enough to know how it works....Again thanks for answering an old tread head's question.

[@fdmackey3666]

SwineNahNah...I'm very familiar with video games....I'm a first generation video game player....In fact many of the "combat simulators" we were required to "play" back in the late 1980s were better (due to direct connection to some serious main frames) and knowledgeable programers with first hand knowledge of the modern battle field, than certain VERY popular combat oriented games currently available to the general public today. As for the troop phone being a fairly recent addition to the M1 Abrams MBT, I'm not surprised since so many of Uncle Sam's purchases are low bids to start with and just get more and more expensive with each "upgrade". I've often wondered how many GIs suffered due to committee designed equipment that lacked certain essential add ones that could have been included in original designs but were left off in anticipation of "future upgrades" that enriched both contractors, design committee members and politicians.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

FD Mackey Rumor has it, that "Remember, your rifle and equipment were made by the lowest bidder” joke has been around at least since American Civil war.

[@sjgerber]

In the Angolan Bush war the Olifant - the South African version of the Centurion - had another advantage over the T55 and other Soviet tanks - because they were much taller, the South African gunners could spot the Soviet tanks easier, and the soviet tanks only saw dense bush.

[@inguspodnieks9028]

Graduation for elevation, thats going in my book of raps and rhymes, big up for dat ma lanky G

[@FairladyS130]

Good review of a great tank.

[@dumolollen7676]

The Indian centurion tanks faced the Us made Patton tanks of Pakistan army in the 1965 Indo-pak

[@yereverluvinuncleber]

That wasn't a no. 88 wireless set at 11:45. Those are later Larkspur sets.

[@AMRsti93]

Panther was my favorite tank until I found out about the centurion

[@farmerman7947]

BlakeSTI93 my favourites are panzer iv, T 54 and crusader

[@farmerman7947]

Lile Stojkovic bro it was the tank that pioneered the Cromwell

[@binaway]

He's correct in asking your dad what the choke if for. Most woman used them to hang their handbags on.

[@jaiminsangar7531]

The centurion was also used by Indian army in combat in large numbers

[@robashton8606]

Yes. By all accounts they made good use of them as well, effectively smashing the Pakistani forces when properly deployed. During one engagement, the Indian tankers dispatched 46 Pakistani tanks, including a number of their American Patton MBTs. A good days work.

[@Novous]

5:10 Inspiration for Snowpiercer.

[@crapphone7744]

The gun sighting system sounds like it will take forever to get on target. Moving back and forth between a wide angle site using a ranging machine gun, then cranking the range into the range setter then verifying in the actual site optic hitting anything on the move must have been a bloody miracle. Just to hit something while you're halted must have taken a lot of training. still giving the wide use of this tank and it's devastating effectiveness it must have worked somehow.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

With tanks of this period, acquiring target and getting the gun pointed in the right direction was a 2 man job. The commander, who had a wide angle sight on his periscope in the cupola as well as traverse controls would spot the target and get the gun bearing on it. At this point the gunner would pick up the target in his lower mag sight manually adjust the reticle, move his eye to the telescope, fine tune then fire. I can assure you, on the Panther it was a million times worse with the gunner only having a single scope with about 13 degrees of field of vision, he would be wholly reliant on the commander on getting the gun roughly aimed.

[@uscgtankerwhitmore8777]

Try getting in side the t-28 if it still has it's interior unlike the mause.

[@yaman-xl1vt]

I like it how everytime he says slot it sounds like "sloth" :D

[@Amoebozoa24x7]

You should do one on the Bandkanon 1, the Swedish arty, would be interesting to see how it looks on the inside

[@VaucluseVanguard]

The choke on a British care is known as the er choke. Never heard it called a strangle. My guess is a bit of British Army dark humour there,

[@paganphil100]

VaucluseVanguard: Later Mks of Centurions had something called the "Ki-gas atomizer" (not sure about the spelling) which was basically the same thing and was meant to be used in sub-zero temperatures.

[@anthillmob7455]

It's a pretty old term, but yes, a strangler is another name for a choke. So called because it cut off air to the carb.

[@TheMartieno]

20:20 this popup scared me shitless

[@LtCdrRoyFokker]

Thanks for putting up a video. I do have a question about driving in reverse though. Does the driver have any view of what is actually behind him? Do tanks in general have some sort of a periscope "rear view mirror"? Or is does he rely on the tank commander to guide him in reverse? This is more of a general question than specifically for the Centurion but it came to mind when you were talking about going in reverse.

[@catlee8064]

99% of the time you're guided...either by the TC ( looking back in his cupola) or someone standing infront of the vehicle.

[@Micsmit_45]

Would be a lot more fun if you were just going backwards until either someone screamed "STOP" or you heard a thud or you heard something crashing down on you ^^

[@pixelbucket8884]

Nope. They probably relied on the commander for that.

[@warriormes6012]

AFAIK some modern tanks have cameras in the rear for that purpose. The turret makes mirrors in any sensible position impossible...

[@LtCdrRoyFokker]

Thanks. I figured modern tanks had something digital to do that but I was more curious about older WW2 and Cold War tanks that are showcased in these types of videos. I figured some sort of complicated prism periscope system running along the sides of the tank might work but that might be a Rube Goldberg alternative to the tank commander just screaming at you to stop/go.

[@lucki8040]

one of my favourite tanks is the bt42

[@maxharter5716]

Taking out three Pershings in less than five minutes. What's not to love?

[@davewolfy2906]

Initially it wasn't much better than the Panther, considering that the Germans produced their tank from 1943 and under losing war conditions imagine what the Panther could have become. Also, the British had a profound amount of experience in how not to build a tank it is not surprising that the Cent turned out so well.

[@johnburns4017]

The Centurion was a lot better than the Panther. The Panther could not climb mountains. Its post war record is second to none. The problem with war time tanks was producing a powerful engine with high power/weight ratio. Once the British had the RR Meteor engine a suitable tank could be built.

[@ihategooglealot3741]

Even the Mk1 was INFINITELY more reliable, better armoured, better at hills and cross country, easier to maintain, easier to drive, more comfortable to crew, the gun was also more reliable and had better barrel endurance. By the time the Mk3 and the 20pdr with good APDS came along there was no competitive tank in the world - there's a good case for saying nothing truly bettered it until Leopard2, Abrams and Challenger came along.

[@briarus1000]

love to hear the reasons the brits went with silver on the inside. does anyone still use silver on the inside of their tanks?

[@peterking2651]

I thought the Cent had a dot 4 sight? Was that with the 105? I believe early Chieftain's started with dot 4, but quickly went to dot 9's and then TLS and dot 9's for reversionary gunnery. It was interesting to change down to 2nd. You had to de-clutch, then full depress the clutch and pull the gear (in between your legs) to the left and back (Cent drivers had squeaky voices). The RA still had Centurions in service with the FOO up until late 70's, early 80's.

[@therealCG62]

Here's a dumb question- the steering lever flick to stop the clutch spinning to allow the gear teeth to more readily mesh when shifting into a new gear... could you float gears on an old non-synchronized transmission tank like you can on a semi-truck?

[@matthewq4b]

I see no reason why it could not be done with experience.

[@tonygriffiths2485]

A ranging gun on a Mk 5 ? I don't think so. The MK5 we had in SHQ Troop 2RTR Aug 65 to 69 did not have a .50 Ranging gun, it did have a dozer blade though and a 20lb gun. On my tank 12 BA 70 we had I.R a .50 and a lot of good times :) You could (just) cook three cans of sausage and beans on the Aux Genny exhaust, but you had to fettle them around during the heating. Two was easier. Oh how I remember those sausage and beans ! :)

[@paganphil100]

Tony Griffiths: Remember the "Chicken Supreme" (a.k.a. "chicken spew")? That was usually the first thing to get thrown out of the Compo rations as everybody hated it.

[@Mystickneon]

I think that's the biggest ceiling fan I have ever seen...

[@simonpotter7534]

I saw that as well and wondered what airplane was missing its prop

[@markfryer9880]

You should see the size of the Aussie blowflies that like to have a cooling rest on the blades of those size ceiling fans here in Australia.

[@leighharding5449]

They are made by a company here in Australia called big ass fans, I kid you not.

[@petehaidinyak9084]

Big Ass Fan. Google them

[@robbleeker4777]

What will happen when you are down to your last few rounds....I mean.....Are you meant to spend them all till you have nothing left and then retire for a reload or do you need to keep a few rounds, just in case you may encounter enemies on your way back for the reload