Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Centaur (A27L)

History of the cruiser tank Mk VIII Centaur (A27L)

The

Centaur series British main battle tanks are a product of Leyland Motors, developed alongside the competing Cromwell tank series and built to the same specifications. Compared to Cromwell, Centaur evolved to a very similar design, although the two would develop very different stories.

Centaur would prove to be a stopgap, never realizing her potential as she would retire at the end of the war. The system will be primarily affected by an underpowered engine, which will limit production and therefore large-scale deployment.

With the design of the failed Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier series, Leyland Motors set out to release a redesigned variant and the design issues appear to have been resolved. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as the cruiser-centaur system effectively inherited the limiting characteristics of previous attempts.

Fitting a Liberty-branded engine to the tank also didn't solidify the design, as the engine was deemed underpowered and unreliable for Cromwell's competing Rolls-Royce Meteor-type engines.

Nonetheless, the Centaur I emerged from production in June 1942. These first systems were retained as practice tanks, while the Centaur III system came online with a 75mm main gun installed in very limited numbers.

The Final Battle Centaur IV soon appeared in equally limited numbers, armed with a 94mm howitzer. Centaur IV contributed to the landings in Normandy in June 1944 and for some time thereafter.

The heart of the Centaur III is a 57mm (6lb) main gun. Future releases will upgrade these to a more powerful 95mm howitzer type. Self-defense weapons evolved from one or two BESA-type 7.92mm infantry machine guns. All centaurs have crew quarters for five crew members.

Several variants of Centaur emerged after the main base model was almost exhausted. These include derivatives based on a similar chassis of the combat version, but exclusively in the form of bulldozers, observation posts and combat engineering vehicles.

All combat centaurs have been removed from traditional service, either converted to Cromwells or relegated to secondary roles.

Technical data of cruiser tank Mk VIII Centaur (A27L)

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Not available.

Changes