Centurion Mk 1

Centurion Mk 1

Comet I

Centurion Mk 3

Centurion Mk 1

Comet I

Centurion Mk 3

Britain

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.0	6.0	6.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:46 000

Purchase:155 000

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This page is about the British medium tank Centurion Mk 1. For other versions, see Centurion (Family).

Description

The Centurion Mk 1 is a rank IV British medium tank with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.67 "Assault". It is equipped with the well-known British QF 17-pounder mounted on a new hull that definitively makes the Cromwell chassis outdated.

This tank does not play like any of the preceding British vehicles: while its mobility is below average for a rank IV medium, it compensates with armour, meaning that you will actually be able to withstand frontal combat and return fire, even if you get hit. It is the first medium to feature the late-game British armour pattern: a strong turret, thick and well-angled upper-glacis, weak lower glacis and thin sides. British tankers must get used to this configuration since it is found on every following medium tank.

The Centurion Mk.1 moves away from the familiar Cromwell chassis. While not being as fast or manoeuvrable, It does have sloped frontal armour, a strongly armoured turret, and a good QF 17-pounder gun with access to APDS.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Centurion Mk 1 is the first tank players will encounter in the British tech tree that sports a sloped hull front similar to the Panther, which with a thickness of 76.2 mm provides great protection for its battle rating, especially when the hull is angled slightly. Turret armour features 127 mm thickness throughout the front but features many flat areas that cannons of sufficient power will exploit to destroy the tank, especially since 3 out of the 4 crew members are located in the turret. Side armour can withstand auto-cannon fire with exceptions for HVAP rounds, so don't rely on it outside of that. If the situation becomes sticky and a tactical retreat is required, a single wide volley of smoke grenades launched from the turret can cover you from the line-of-sight.

Armour
The main improvement from previous British mediums is its thick and sloped armour. Reaching 152 mm on the turret and a good 76 mm angled at 58° on the front hull, this tanks can actually block point-blank shots from most cannons it will face like the Russian D-5T, the Japanese Type II 75 mm and even some German guns at 500 m. This tank can actually expose its upper glacis since it will bounce most shots. This tank still has weak spots though: gun and MG mantlet are "only" 127 mm thick, barely angled and lower glacis are 76 mm at 44°, meaning close-range shots will eventually penetrate. It also has thin side armour, meaning that the tank is vulnerable to flank attacks and compound angling cannot be done effectively without exposing the sides. These traits mean that the Centurion Mk.1 can happily stand up most frontal shots at this rank.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret sides, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret front, Gun mantlet, Cupola)

Tank Armour Table
Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	76.2 mm (58°) Front glacis 76.2 mm (44°) Lower glacis	51 (12°) + 6 mm	38 mm (7°) Top 38 mm (18°) Bottom	29 mm 8-14 mm Engine deck
Turret	127 mm (2-58°) Turret front 127 mm (6-40°) Gun mantlet	76 mm (9-11°)	76 mm (1°) 38 mm (89°) Turret underside	25 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	90 mm	19 mm

Notes:

• Tracks and suspension wheels are both 20 mm thick.
• The steel boxes around the turret and hull give a 4 mm additional protection, though this seems to be a negligible addition.
• Skirting are placed on the sides of the Centurion, giving an additional 6 mm of side protection and can act as spaced armour.
• An internal structural plate of 17mm thickness separates the forward ammo rack from the driver as seen in X-ray mode.
• Another internal 17mm structural plate with large openings separates the driving compartment from the fighting compartment.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	43	15	46.9	984	1,221	20.98	26.03
Realistic	39	13		562	640	11.98	13.65

The Centurion easily reaches its top speed of 39 km/h on almost any ground, due to its wide tracks and a good engine, even at stock performances. It also has a refreshingly good reverse speed (~13 km/h) (compared to the dreadful reverse speed of tanks on the Cromwell chassis) and can turn on the spot quite fast.

Compared to the many Cromwell based tanks before the Centurion, it does lose out on a great forward speed, only being able to reach 41 km/h (AB) / 37 km/h (RB) maximum, but in return it does receive great reverse speed of 13.4 km/h (AB)/12.1 km/h (RB), allowing for tactics that would not be recommended with the Cromwell like "Peek-a-boos". It also retains good maneuverability, effective neutral steering, and a very acceptable acceleration due to good power-to-weight ratio.

Armaments

Main armament

The gun does not fire any shells with explosive filler, meaning that pinpoint accuracy is needed to get reliable kills (aiming for important modules, crew, or ammo racks). This canon's reload rate is faster than average at this BR, meaning you will be able to land 2 shots before your enemy can even fire. As any other tanks equipped with the QF 17-pounder, you will have to grind through subpar AP, APBC and APCBC shells before getting APDS. This last type of shell helps make accuracy quite easy and remains effective at long ranges while not being too costly in terms of silver lions.

A minor issue to notice is that the machine gun has very poor elevation and is loader-controlled, meaning that it cannot target even low flying aircraft and that it will be disabled once you lose two or more crew members.

76 mm OQF 17-pounder
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
74			-12°/+20°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	17.14	23.72	28.80	31.84	33.88
Realistic	10.70	12.60	15.30	16.92	18.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
7.67	6.79	6.25	5.90

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Shot Mk.6	AP	171	168	155	139	126	113
Shell Mk.1	HE	9	9	9	9	9	9
Shot Mk.4	APC	171	168	155	139	126	113
Shot Mk.8	APCBC	190	187	172	155	140	126
Shot SV Mk.1	APDS	228	226	207	189	159	134

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Shot Mk.6	AP	883	7.71	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	47°	60°	65°
Shell Mk.1	HE	883	6.98	0.4	0.5	883	+0°	79°	80°	81°
Shot Mk.4	APC	883	7.71	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	48°	63°	71°
Shot Mk.8	APCBC	883	7.71	N/A	N/A	N/A	+4°	48°	63°	71°
Shot SV Mk.1	APDS	1203	1.73	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	75°	78°	80°

Smoke characteristic
Ammunition	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Screen radius in m	Screen time in s	Screen hold time in s:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):
17pdr Shell SS Mk.1	754	8.4	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Centurion Mk.1

The QF 17-pounder cannon fires single-piece ammunition stored in stowage racks in the hull floor and the hull front next to the driver. There are 11 rounds stored in 3 small ready racks located in the turret basket inside the hull for quick reloading by the loader. The time it takes the loader to load one round into the ready rack from the stowage racks is about 17 seconds.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
74	71 (+3)	67 (+7)	64 (+10)	62 (+12)	46 (+28)	30 (+44)	1 (+73)	Yes

Notes:

• Recommended ammo load is 30 to remove from ammo from the hull floor and half of rack 7.
• Ammo rack 1, 2, and 3 are ready racks, and takes priority in being filled at the beginning of the battle, then fills racks 7 through 4.
• Full reload speed will be realized as long as ammo exists in the ready racks. If all three ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will load ammo from racks 4-7 into rack 3, 2, and 1, as long as there is ammo in racks 4-7. Firing will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

Machine guns

Unlike many turret-mounted machine guns that are co-axial, this machine gun is mounted in pintle mount similar to hull-mounted machine guns, so it is able to independently traverse on its own to a degree, a trait that is shared with the Soviet T-28. This can provide a slight advantage when the turret ring is disabled, as it can allow more accurate fire without the need to move the turret/hull.

7.92 mm BESA
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
3,375 (225)				600	±7°	±7°

Usage in the battles

Overview:

The Centurion Mk 1 is widely considered as the first Main Battle Tank, and plays in the role of a medium/heavy. The armor is satisfactory against most enemy weapons, although it should not be relied upon. The 17 pounder cannon is very effective against enemy armor, although its post penetration damage is lackluster. The tank is not particularly fast, but is mobile, especially in reverse.

Strategies:

Centurion tank commanders should use cover and be careful for the majority of the time. When the opportunity arises, the Centurion can help lead the charge against enemy medium and heavy tanks. Centurion commanders should keep in mind that the APDS ammunition is unlikely to destroy enemy vehicles in one shot, so they may need to expose themselves to enemy fire for extended periods of time in order to secure a kill. Generally, the Centurion plays similarly to other medium tanks of the tier. It is best practice to angle the turret, but the hull should not be angled due to the thin side armor.

In terms of engagement ranges, the Centurion works well at both long and short ranges. The issue with sniping in the centurion is that it is very difficult to secure kills with the lackluster post penetration damage. Because of this, medium and short range engagements are preferable.

Notable Enemies:

Fighting at 5.7 BR tank battles, the Centurion faces many iconic German big cats like the Tiger I and Panther. The Centurion is capable of going head to head with the big cats. The APDS rounds will slice through the Tiger at most angles, and can even penetrate the upper front plate of a Panther at close ranges. This round can even penetrate the Jagdpanther. It can also easily penetrate the hull of the IS-1 and early IS-2. Generally when firing at enemies, be careful to aim for the flat parts of the armor. APDS ammunition does not handle angled armor very well.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Shot Mk.4	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Shot Mk.8	Adjustment of fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Shot SV Mk.1	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke Grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	17pdr Shell SS Mk.1

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast firing 17-pounder armament with APDS rounds
• Good gun depression of -12°
• Tough round and sloped armour that is quite resistant to the 85mm, 76mm and even the German 88 mm (KwK 36) guns at medium/long range
• Turret's top armour is thick, can resist most aircraft guns
• Average mobility and decent manoeuvrability
• Good reverse speed and neutral steering
• Benefits greatly from the learning curve of the Comet I and Challenger, their players will find themselves at home when playing the Centurion
• Mastering this tank will provide a good learning curve for the next Centurion variants

Cons:

• Precision and knowledge of enemy tanks are required, because APDS localized damage
• Large tank size, especially length
• Weak side armour, angling the armour too much will result in the side armour being penetrated
• Centurion Mk 1 is slow for a medium tank
• Unlike its later iterations, no gun stabilizer
• Weak Lower Frontal Plate (LFP) ammo rack also present there, a weakness carried over to all British tanks onward
• Top armour covering the engine is poor, only 8 mm

History

Designated as A41, The Centurion MK.1 armed with the 17-pdr is the first production variant of the highly regarded Cent tanks. 6 tanks were made at the end of WWII and were sent to 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, 22nd Armoured Brigade at Gribbohm, in Germany, May 1945.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

[Devblog] Centurion Mk I: A Tank for a New Era

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.