How big is the centurion tank?

Answer 1

The Australian Centurion medium gun tank in Vietnam, was primarily distinquished from it's British relative by it's extra triangle (appearing) shaped fuel tank attached to it's stern, plus the extra armor on the front slope, search light, generally removed side skirts, and extra sets of road wheels bolted to the front slope.

The Australian Centurion in Vietnam weighed in at about 50 tons combat loaded, due to added armor and the added external fuel tank. Was armed with one 84mm main gun (which Australian's classified as a 20 pounder gun), one .30 coax machine gun and one .50 Browning machinegun...originally designed to "zero" the main gun but in Vietnam was no doubt used as a .50 caliber coax (the coax is for use against infantry).

Using gasoline, the Centurion's Meteor engine was about 650 horsepower, about 100 horses less than the US Army's M48 Patton's Continental 750 hp V12 diesel in Vietnam. However, it's 84mm was fairly comparible to the Patton's 90mm, and the Centurion's Width at about 11 feet, height close to 12 feet, length about 25 feet (29' counting the tip of the main gun) was within inches of the same measurements of the US M48 90mm gun medium Patton tank (which weighed in at around 52 tons combat loaded).

Both the Patton & the Centurion had a complement of 4 crewmen, but the Centurion's road wheel system (suspension system) may have been slightly less advanced than the Patton's. The Centurion still retained the 1940's style "bogie wheel" arrangement; meaning of the six roadwheels per side (same as for the Patton tank) TWO road wheels each were attached to a metal mounting/housing...not independantly as the Patton tanks were. This may have caused less flexibility and more maintenance, and at any rate; tanks today are using the Patton style of suspension and not the Centurions, so that in itself indicates something.

The Centurion was the only allied tank in the Vietnam War that represented it's own nation; other allied tanks were US supplied tanks (M24 Chaffees, M41 Walker Bulldogs, M113 ACAVs, etc.).

The least acceptable standard of the Centurion is the positioning of the driver. He is positioned to the right of the tank's center line. The M48 Patton's driver is centered. Centered tank drivers will often survive anti-tank land mine explosions better than any driver mounted on either the left, or right, of the vehicle's center line. Most (many) anti-tank land mines are triggered by the left/right track (ground contact), driver's situated left or right of the center line are sitting next to those contact points; another words, they're sitting next to the detonator. At least one Centurion tank driver was killed in Vietnam, due to such enemy action.