Centauro I 120
Contents
Description
The Blindo Pesante Centauro, 120 mm is a rank VII Italian tank destroyer with a battle rating of 11.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".
General info
Survivability and armour
The armor of the Centauro MGS is the same as the previous Centauros, mediocre armor agaisnt everything but what it was meant to stop: calibers smaller than 14.5 mm HMG fire. It has an increase with additional armor plates which makes it have a decent armor protection to artillery fire and fragmentation as well as autocannons. However, it is still prone to hullbreak. Now, despite the thin armor, the best armor is to not be seen at all. This is where the Centauros have always excelled at. Fast speed, manuverability and relatively small profile helps it disguise, move and saty under cover at almost all times. This is your main armor: don't be spotted at all.
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 15 mm (80°) | 15 mm Top 15 mm Bottom |
15 mm | 10 - 15 mm |
| Turret | 20 mm Turret front
20-40 mm Gun mantlet |
20 mm | 20 mm | 20 mm |
| Cupola | 20 mm | 20 mm | 20 mm | 20 mm |
| Composite Appliqué Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 30 mm (80°) upper glacis
50 mm (44°) lower glacis |
30 mm Top 50 mm Bottom |
N/A | N/A |
| Turret | 50 mm Turret front
5 mm Gun mantlet |
5-20-30 mm | 5 mm | 5 mm |
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 | 123 | 25 | 25.1 | 739 | 992 | 29.44 | 39.52 |
| Realistic | 110 | 23 | 460 | 520 | 18.33 | 20.72 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
The Centauro MGS has access to the powerful OTO Melara 120/45 120mm smoothbore cannon, the same cannon mounted on the Ariete MBT. Due to this, it has the same handling as it utilizes the same ammunition and has the same ballistic performance.
| 120 mm OTO Melara 120/45 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 33 | -6°/+16° | ±180° | Two-plane | 25.20 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | 17.00 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | ||||||||
Ammunition
The Centauro MGS has access to a wide variety of ammunitions which are the deadliest at the game, specially the CL3143.
- DM12A1: this is the starter HEAT-FS round when it comes stock. It can be considered mediocre as the MBT's faced at the battle-rating are more than capable of withstanding it. However, it is specially usefull when dealing at long distances and when lightly armored vehicles are seen (SPAA for example) as they will be hull broken once hit with HEAT-FS.
- DM33: this is a round seen in most NATO MBT's in the game (or similar to them), it has decent performance and is able to kill pretty much everything it faces with exception of Russian MBT's with CONTACT-5 ERA (unless the K5 is destroyed first).
- CL3143: this is the best performance round in the Italian tree and the second best in game (first one is DM53/63). It is able to penetrate and destroy all MBT's in the game, even Russian MBT's with CONTACT-5 ERA.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| DM12A1 | HEATFS | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| DM33 | APFSDS | 481 | 478 | 470 | 461 | 450 | 440 |
| CL3143 | APFSDS | 625 | 622 | 613 | 601 | 588 | 575 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| DM12A1 | HEATFS | 1,140 | 13.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 2,150 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| DM33 | APFSDS | 1,640 | 4.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
| CL3143 | APFSDS | 1,705 | 4.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| ___ | ___ (___) | ___ | N/A | N/A |
| 7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| ___ | ___ (___) | ___ | N/A | N/A |
| ___ | ___ (___) | ___ | -__°/+__° | ±__° |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 120 mm APFSDS offers improved penetration and damage over the 105 mm gun
- Extremely fast and mobile on road
- Has night vision devices and generation 1 gunner thermals
- Good turret traverse speed
- Smoke grenades cover player when there is danger
- 12.7 mm MG is effective against similar light vehicles/helicopters
Cons:
- Little to no protection against most projectiles
- Hullbreakable by chemical and armour-piercing rounds
- Tall and long
- Very sluggish in muddy, snowy or sandy terrains
- Rearward turret placement, sometimes frontal hull is exposed while turret is still behind cover
- Only -6 degrees gun depression
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
| Italy tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Italy | |
| M41 | 75/18 M41 · 75/32 M41 · 90/53 M41M |
| M42 | 75/34 M42 |
| M43 | 105/25 M43 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · 75/34 M43 · 75/46 M43 |
| Wheeled | Lancia 3Ro (100/17) · AS 42/47 · Breda 90/53 · Breda 501 |
| Other | L3/33 CC · 47/32 L40 |
| Germany | ▄StuG III G |
| USA | M36B1 · ▄M109G · M113A1 (TOW) |
| Hungary | |
| Zrínyi | Zrinyi I · Zrinyi II |
| USSR | ◔2S1 |
