![]() ![]() The South African Centurions have been modified in one way or another since the early 1970s with the Skokiaan and Semel projects and finally the Olifant upgrade programme of the late 1970s and 1980s. These will be replaced by ex-British Army Challenger 1 tanks. The Jordanian Centurions (named Tariq) have the same engine as the Israeli Sho't and the Belgium SABCA fire-control system incorporating a laser rangefinder. The Sho't were equipped with a new diesel powerpack (Teledyne Continental - now General Dynamics Land Systems - AVDS-1790-2A engine developing 750hp) and an Allison Transmission CD-850-6 automatic gearbox, new coolant system, fire extinguising system and improved ammunition layout. The Israeli Centurions are named Sho't but are believed to be held in reserve and the Israeli Ministry of Defence is offering them for sale. The Centurion remains in service with Sweden, Denmark, Austria, who are likely to replace them with the Leopard 2, as well as Israel, Singapore and South Africa. 13 was the 105mm L7A2 rifled tank gun, which was fully stabilised and used with a ranging machine gun. ![]() It had a Horstmann suspension of three units, each with two pairs of road wheels on each side, drive sprocket at the rear, idler at the front and six track return rollers. The engine was originally a Rolls Royce Meteor V12 petrol engine that developed 650 bhp and transferred its power to a Merritt-Brown transmission. ![]() The loader was seated on the left, the commander on the right and the gunner to the front and below the commander. The turret was of cast construction with the roof welded on. 13 had an all-welded hull, with the driver seated at the front on the right. 13 was developed (mounting a ranging machine-gun and infra-red night vision equipment). 10 (which was an upgunned and uparmoured Mk. The last variant to be produced was the Mk. Other improvements have included increased fuel capacity, a contra-rotating commander's cupola and improved stowage. The main gun was originally a 17-pounder, but this was replaced by a 20-pounder and eventually the renowned 105mm L7 series gun. The key to this success was the fact that the Centurion had a substantial capacity to be upgraded, upgunned and uparmoured. ![]()
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