History of the Centurion/Shot/ùåè in IDF service
Israel's first Centurions arrived in the years preceding The 1967 Six Day War. The first variants were most likely MK3 variants with 20pd main guns and original meteor engines. While being a conciderable step up in terms of capability, they were in some ways a bit much for the Israeli crews to handle, who were used to the simpler maintnance and fire systems of the Sherman.
Aside from training problems which would be fixed under the command of General
Tal as chief of the armoured Corps, the Meteor engines were not well acclimated
for desert warfare nor was the 20pdr sufficient with dealing with newer soviet
armour reaching their arab puppet states. Like the M48s being received from
Germany and by 1967 direct from the US, the Centurions started receiving the
british L7 105mm main gun, which would eventually be produced under license
in Israel. And like the M48s in IDF service the Centurions began receiving
continental engines following the Six Day War. Following the 67 war British
bigotry in the Political & defence ministries forced the cancellation
of the Chieftain partnership with Israel, requiring Israel to buy more M60s
and Centurions until its new Merkava program could bare fruit. Centurions
that Israel aquired are of many different MKs. The earliest type being the
MK3 which likely arrives with 20pdr main guns.The list below is based on research
done by Eran Kaufman .
As with other Israeli Armour vehicles, the Centurion recieved numerous upgrades
in response to lessons learned in the Yom Kippur war. the Centurion fleet
would get better sights , Blazer ERA, thermal imaging , extra crew served
light weapons.While the basic shape of the tank hardly changed over the years
It's survivability and lethality were constantly improved.
The Centurion record in Israeli service is fairly long and distinguished one.
Centurions have held the line in Israeli Defence from the water wars of the
early 60s to lebanon in the 80s. Centurions were finally retired from reserve
and active battallions in the late 90s.
Although retired from active service as a MBT, centurions have found new life
as APCs for engineer and specialist units. The armour that once survived the
onslaught of syrian armour now protects soldiers of the Cheyl Handassah( engineer
Corps) from terrorists infiltrating from palastinian areas or rioting in the
streets to the Golan.
Designations
| Standard designation | IDF Designation | designation notes | Picture | Links to articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mk3 & Mk5 | Shot or Shot meteor |
The earliest of these vehicles arriving in the mid 1960s had the original meteor engines and 20 pdr main guns. I'm not sure if they had both with & w/o fume extractor on barrel |
||
| Shot - Shot meteor circa 1967 | ||||
| Shot - Shot Kal à (1)circa 1972 | This version has the original British Meteor engine replaced with US continental diesel. Modified engine deck has similar look as US M60. This is in a ddition to the previous 105mm upgrade. | |||
| Shot - Shot Kal á (2) circa 1976 | Turret traverse and elevation system changed to Cadilac Gage system. Longer travel lock due to new hydrualics not allowing barrel to be depressed as low as before. | |||
| Shot -Shot Kal â (3) circa 1978/79 | Addition of Honeywell gun stabalizer, SLS night vision system and rear first aid box. Exuast outlets for smoke on engine deck, ERA(blazer introduced | |||
| Shot -Shot Kal ã (4) circa 1984?? | Improved ERA(blazer) ,FCS upgraded to 'Nachal Oz' type as on Merkava 2b. Includes thermal sensor,lser range finder and wind sensor. Thermal sleeve added to barrel, .30 cals changed to Mags and new 10 unit smoke dischargers mounted. Hull main gun rounds drops from 72 to 71 shells. | |||
References |
Available
kits |