Centurion - Tiger Tank's Nemesis
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The Centurion, the famous Cold War tank, was actually developed to take on the dreaded German Tiger in WW2. Find out whether they ever met on the battlefield in 1945.
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Credits: David Holt; Simon Q.; Tony Hisgett; Danie van der Merwe; Oliver Gottlob.
Thumbnail: The Tank Museum
I befriended an old bloke aged 89 a few years ago. He was a "proper" time served Engineer of the old school type. It turns out he was part of the design team for the Centurion. He was involved in the design and making of the turret. In his National Service he was REME and post war he was seconded to the German army and was involved in their post war development of German AFV`s working extensively on the HS30. I found out that there was "Gate Guardian" type Centurion still in good nick nr Leyland. I took him for a ride not letting him know where we were going and he was gobsmacked when I parked up next to a Centurion. He only lived a few miles away in Wigan but was unaware of its existence. It was great to see him poring over it and pointing out relative pieces that were his forte all those years ago. Unsung hero.
Thanks for honouring him Peter. All the best. 🇬🇧👍
Respect mate
Great respect!!😎💯💯🇬🇧
Is he still alive?
👍
I am an ex Merkava 2 commander, when I joined the IDF in 1989 we still had a whole division of Centurions in operation (Shot D).
These marvellous machines carried more shells then our tanks and had higher degree of accuracy hitting the targets with their 105mm main gun. Every year the IDF carried a tank sniper competition, and every year the centurions won.
IDF Armour crews are probably the best in the world. I'm a Brit, Veteran but the battles the IDF fought and in 67 and 73 set the agenda for a Military so Professional that it punches massively above it weight, even when on the ropes and on its knees, it can fight multiple assailants and still ends up winning...Twice!!
I used centurion 105 and 165 (engineer demolition tank) in the 80s and took the 165s to the first gulf in 91.
@@fishyc150 "Follow the Sapper!"
@@mattcartwright8272 3 cheers for the CRE!!! 🤣
@@mwnciboo You must be dreaming. Last month Israeli tank crews just walked away from five of their tanks on the Syrian border to go home for the weekend. Just deserted them. That's the state of Israeli training and discipline. Get into a fight with USA armor and they'd be toast.
As a 10 year old boy in 1957 I lived in Bovington Camp. My friends and I played cowboys and indians on the tank ranges behind our quarter. Sometines we joined forces and hid in the heather waiting to ambush passing centurion tanks. I remember one occaision when an approaching tank crew must have spotted us and turned the gun in our direction. We stood up and fired our arrows and toy guns at it as it passed by with its turret rotating to keep its gun trained on us. Those were the days.....
The tank commander must have decided to play around upon getting his sights on you.
And today it would have ended up with a picture of an unhappy parent in a paper, a storm on twitter and Facebook and the MoD putting out some statement as it mentally hurt the children. They were the days.
@@hypergolic8468 Yep, they were great happy days. We'd be out all day playing with no worries so long as we were home by tea. We caught newts in jam jars (and put them back). Now we'd be breaking the law......
Wonderful thanks for sharing!
@@tonyb83 Pleased to know you put the newts back , nice little creatures , same with lizards , used to catch them as a kid but they seem to have become scarce these days sadly
Crazy how "modern" the centurion looked compared to other ww2 tanks
It's Soviet contemporary, the T-54 was introduced about the same time. I know that the Israelis are using the T-55 modified as an APC as they use this insurance. They may have retired the t-54 variant.
The T-55 was also recently used during the conflict in Ukraine. I'm not sure if the T-54 was as well.
The Pershing & T29 say hello
too!🤔🤔
EXACTLY.
@@djcjr1x1 Both good, but not as widely used, or considered to be as capable.
Good observation. Centurion set the tone for the next 50 years of British Tank Design. A first of the three main new generations of tanks that arose at the end of WW2, as noted above. All those Tiger-killer-parameter designs endured very well. The bastions of the line for the Cold War. Which further developed into the monster MBTs we see today. You learn a lot when you beat a team that had form the way the Germans did back then. Only way to crack that nut was reduction to smithereens. Ferocious.
I was given a "Dinky Toy" Centurion of wonderful cast metal quality when I was a kid in the 1950s. 65 years later, it is still "in service", sitting on my bookshelf guarding my treasure of story and knowledge. Thanks for this history.
I built the 1/76th airfix one .
Don Hayward:
I also had one of those back in the 50s
It was an excellent replica with it's rubber tracks. Alas, I don't know what happened to it.
But didn't Dinky Toys make some fantastic models. Their attention to detail was amazing.
Ahh...Halcyon days indeed!
I had the Dinky Centurion, well two of them and the tank transporter to go with them. When I see the images in this video it reminds me only of those tanks I had with their rubber tracks. Another really interesting watch from Mr Felton.
Still got mine from the sixties. The barrel's a bit bent, though. My big brother probably trod on it!
@@geoffbaker4452 I had the Thornycroft 'Mighty Antar' tank transporter, bought from Ward's, Cheap St. Frome for 17/6d, couldn't afford the tank as well.
The OLD joke in the Army is of course..... "He was in the Army when a Centurion was a RANK, not a TANK........"
I remember my late grandfather making that joke. Ex-Skins officer. Made me smile.
I had the honour of driving one of these in 1966 in Hohne Germany. It was a true driver's tank, complete with crash (double declutch) gearbox, which soon developed the muscles in the left leg.
I drove the AVRE version for a few years until 1990. Nice tank but was showing it age a little by then, mostly its low speed was becoming a problem.
The original gear box was unsynchronised. Required a lot from the driver. 🙂
You only really needed the double de-clutching stuff when changing down gears. Changing up was a matter of taking your foot off the accelerator pedal, stamping the clutch down to instantly let it out again and pulling on one of the steering tillers all at once. That was the fastest and easiest way to go up the gears.
The funniest thing about the centurion was that, the smallest part had the longest name. It was called, SCREW RETAINING INTERMEDIATE FIRING NEEDLE WITHDRAWAL LEVER.
@@wayneholmes637 all was good until you've not missed the speed passage
9:17
Minor point: the M24 was the Chaffee, the M26 was the Pershing.
Absolutely love your content. The best ww2 history channel, period.
Dr. Felton has single handedly replaced the History Channel.
When a one person channel replaces a multi-million dollar TV channel because he teaches true history.
If you like him, you might also like thus channel:
The History Guy
@@bjmccann1 Yep subscribed to him as well! Great History content!
The History Channel is an oxymoron - more like the Aliens and Paranormal channel
@@hoofie2002 you forgot the pawn stars.
Actually, "Centurion versus Tiger" sounds like something from Roman games. TODAY AT THE COLOSSEUM, CENTURION VERSUS TIGER, WINNER EATS LOSER
I was surprised that there hasn't been a tank called the 'Gladiator' on that basis ...
@@Jester-Riddle And i don't think the Gladiator biplane would make a good match with them as CAS
" Are you not entertained?"...lol
Yes, that was the point he made at the beginning.
@@royfr8136 No, the point he made at the beginning about fantasy was, as he described throughout the video, due to the fact that these iconic tanks never had opportunity to do battle as was intended. He took a total whiff on the obvious fantastic opportunity for a misleading intro.
Upgraded Centurions ("Olifants') did a great job in Angola, though committed too late and in too small numbers (fortunately for the Cubans, Soviets and Angolans). 3 were lost, but not due to enemy fire. They were disabled in minefields and could not be recovered under fire. Two are still sitting there, east of Cuito.
I was there during 1987, E Squadron School of Armour.
My Dad was in REME in the 1950s for his national service and he drove and repaired Centurions amongst other large vehicles. He later joined the MoD as a draughtsman and worked on designing new components and armaments for tanks such as this.
After the war my dad was conscripted into the Tank Regiment at Catterick North Yorkshire. He enjoyed the tank regiment and he spoke fondly of his time there!
Another tale of Tigers and a celebration of Centurions. Who better to tell us than Mark Felton.
Wrong person
Chieftain
Very well said
@@youngpark9729 I agree
Tiger will blow centurion with the monster 88mm
Mark’s tales never cease to amaze & captivate. Thank you.
I didnt expect you to be here kicking
@@infernalmaster9991 I never miss a Mark Felton release.
@@kickingmustang same
I always learn something new.....and I am a smartass
It's so nice to see that a ghillied up sniper has the same tastes as I. History, both generic and interesting, Airsoft and by extension Guns, and having nice weekend shooting others.
This is fantastic. I’ve been flat on my back due to a work place injury, and getting quite bored of my regular CZcams channels.
I love the quality of these and how most of these stories I’ve not heard before, much less in this detail.
Thanks for your efforts in digging up these gems. Fills in a lot of gaps in my amateur WW2 knowledge.
I had to invent a new method to treat the back injury that I have so I can totally relate. I enjoyed this channel myself for other reason. I don't think our children are taught history cuz I know I was not. I did not anywhere begin to appreciate what my forefathers went through until I started studying history.
I remember the Australian Centurion Tanks from when I was a young Soldier in the 70-80's, 1st Royal Australian Armoured Regiment continued to use them up until the mid 1980's, and they were deployed in Squadron strength in Phuoc Tuy province South Vietnam, during the Australian deployment there prior to 1973.
Hold on! Are you telling me that a newly designed and built tank got off a ship and drove 400 miles!.... That's not fantastic that's unprecedented. No wonder it's still in use to this day.
You really believe that bull...???
@@harveyadams5453 I used centurions through the 80s into the 90s. They were more reliable the more they were used. If left to sit they fell apart.
Harvey ADAMS why wouldn’t they do it? It sure served as an hell of a trial to see if it was something worth for the British to start massproducing which they ended up doin
@@fishyc150 I don't like the chances of the Centurions sold to private owner's here in Australia then. I wonder how many are rotting away in back paddocks because they broke down from lack of use and correct maintenence and are now being forgotten about.
@@markfryer9880 sad isnt it. Takes a lot of "simple" maint to keep them tip top, but it has to be regular. We were constantly told "a stitch, in time, saves 9" a little regular maint stops engine or gearbox lift.
We lost 2 of them in the first gulf. Search "avre explodes" and you'll see photos I took. Biggest explosion you'll ever see first hand. If interested I'll tell you the fuck up that lead to it 🤣
Had toy Centurions in my impressive backyard toy army, along with early Patton tanks. Fought many brutal engagements in Los Angeles against enemy toy soldier armies brought over by neighbor kids in the 1950's and early 1960's! Naturally, the Centurions were victorious. Loved the design as a kid! Thank you for the excellent video. Shout out from Oregon, USA.
I too was fighting that war over in Kent in the UK. Didn't realise i had an ally all those miles away ! ☺
@@keithrose6931 Had the same battle in Sunderland also involved captain Scarlet and captain Black
@@paulthompson8613 What no Action Man (G I Joe) ? My dad wouldn't let me have one of those "dolls" as he called them but I fractured my arm and because I never cried when they set it he said I could have a present ! Guess what I asked for and got ?
@@keithrose6931 Hope he real gripping hands and eagle eyes
@@paulthompson8613 No just the scar on he's cheek . Years later he was later found guilty of cowardice and was shot by my brother and I with our new air rifles .
I have been in battle with these tanks against t55s and t54s. Most of the fighting was no more than 50m because of the thick bush. I saw two centurions taken out in front of my vehicle, all the crews survived although some injuries. Up until then we were using just the infantry fighting vehicles with 20mm and 90mm. The 90s were needing several rounds to take out the tanks. However if you got hit by a t55 once it was game over. On one occasion a t55 was taken out by a 20mm only to be destroyed by the tank coming up from behind.
The Centurion is a formidable tank. Glad to have had them with us to balance things out a bit. In total we destroyed 91 Russian tanks over a period of 6months.8
What were you? 61 Mech?
It's stories like yours that give a much desired personal view and practicality of the weapon that is presented in this video. Thank you so much I love your comment. That's the kind of information people like me want to hear.
@@petercollingwood522 4sai
@@danielbtwd 5. But I was a clerk so never in the operational area or any kind of danger.
Centurion was a brand new generation design that would have obliterated anything that served in WW2 including facing down Tigers, but it was newer so hardly a surprise. However even much later tanks struggled when faced with the Centurion such as the T-62 and the M48! It was clearly a top class tank.
I know this is an old text, but it's interesting that our country, the US ofA, had difficulties in producing various weapons systems, such as the 'Sgt York' when we could have gotten the Gepard kit for M48/60 hulls for a good price, the Harrier, we finally gave up on domestic development, the M-26 to counter the German heavier armor, versus the Centurion. When you look at the incredibly long run of a truly distinguished piece of equipment, it's amazing, compared to the relatively short run of the Pershing. Their cross country mobility made them legendary, and the fore control system was exceptional, as discussed in Korea and Vietnam. The Russians had the ZSU-57 which seemed to work well enough in Vietnam, but our version was a horror story of military development.
But never the "Tiger Tank's Nemesis."
Mark, Gail Halverson, the Berlin Airlift "Candy Bomber" is still living and just turned 100! Would be a terrific topic THANKS as always
WOW REALLY!!!! Very glad for him.
The face of the Airlift!!! ✊
I knew his grandson. He was a missionary here in the Philippines and he told us about his grandfather
Wasn't he mentioned in Felton's video on the Berlin Airlift?
Definitely want to her that one.
Should organize a interview
Last time I was this Early, the Luftwaffe had Aerial Superiority over France and Stalingrad.
@yankeesfor28
Last time I was this early, the crew of the Schleswig-Holstein was still steaming toward Danzig.
As we talk about France, nobody noticed there were the names of french booze written on those tanks : Chartreuse and Cointreau? 11:15
@@Sunbirdinthesky How do you think the Germans always first get their towels on the sunbeds.
Or That Luftwaffe have a plane
Or That We Feared Wolfpacks in the sea
why does this have this many likes?
Fascinating! That the Centurion's first combat kill was a Cromwell has got to be one of those cosmic jokes the god's of war play at.
Unfortunately the first raf pilot killed in action was shot down in his hurricane by a spitfire......
The US M26 was known as the Pershing, not the Chaffee, as you'd mentioned in the video. The Chaffee was the M24. I'm sure you're aware of that. 🙂
Well ahkchually moment
For the Australians, 58 Centurions had served in Vietnam; 42 had suffered battle damage, of which six were beyond repair, while two crewmen had been killed in action. 2 Centurions from C squadron 1st Armoured regiment, during the battle for Coral Balmoral FSPB; road rambled 160 kms in 2 days to respond to the unfolding action. Nui Dat to Lai Khe is it a record?
Got C squadron's 039so it still lives.
Well the Centurion knocked out T54/55s and T62s and still serves today in modified versions...I'd say it's a winner
In Denmark, Centurion were quickly replaced by Leopard 2's
@@privateerbouncher9622 really? Cause Denmark used them up till they retired it for Leopard 2. Even upgrading them to use 105mm L7's.
Old Romanian IAR-80s downed P-38J lightnings over Romania as late as 1944...
I am interested in your conclusion :)
Like the mk10
@Nonya Business what treaty requirements are you speaking of I have not heard of this at least as mentioned could you please tell me
Another very good video Mark. My Father served in B Squadron, 23rd Hussars, 11th Armoured Division. The 11th Armoured was the only British Division to be fully re-equipped with Comets by war's end, with the famous 7th (Desert rats) being partially equipped. During his life he spoke very well of the Comets and especially compared to the M4 Sherman, which were the mainstay of the 11th and indeed all British Armoured Divisions during the Normandy campaign. He stayed on in Germany until 1948 so would have had exposure with the Centurion, but did not mention much about it.
Another poor video. The Centurion never met a Tiger in combat so calling it the "Tiger Tank's Nemesis" is wildly preposterous.
I thoroughly enjoy Mark’s videos. I have always been a history buff of sorts, especially WW1 and WW11, and he fills the bill for unknown information. Thanks.
What happened in world war eleven?
“Stwike him centuwion very woughly”
Yes, throw him to the floor!
@@davidmeyer6908
No, no, ... "thwo him to the flaw." 🤣
your father was a woman?
I will not have my fwends widiculed by the common soldiewy.
@Steve her name is intercontinentia
The file footage shows one of the Centurion’s great combat advantages: excellent gun depression, allowing them to take hull-down, reverse slope positions.
The Israelis showed that to great effect on Golan Heights, 1975
oh just like what British Centurion did in Korea not to mention the Israelis in Golan Heights
@@phbrinsden in 1973! Because of it's superb gun depression, the Centurion was ideal for defensive ramp battles! Now combine that with a DURABLE long range, super accurate and fast loading , rifled 105 mm gun with mix of 70 or so rounds, and you get a formidable fighting machine. It was priceless during initial defensive phase of the Yom Kippur War during the Valley of Tears and the big defensive battle around the vital strategic hills controlling Hushniyah in the southern sector.
That's why Israeli's still have them. All those miles driven around war-torn europe and very few failure's. Compare that to German tanks failure rate! OR compare it to U.S. Pershing tank! Very Well Done Brits! I think the Syrian army used some German mark 4 tanks. Maybe they met in battle after all?
With all that Gun depression it's amazing there's no record of PTSD ! (Before anyone flames me I'm a 37 year service Vet with PTSD.)
John O'Daniel, commanding the US 1st Corps, stated: "In their Centurions, the 8th Hussars have evolved a new type of tank warfare. They taught us that anywhere a tank can go, is tank country: even the tops of mountains."
This was the one we all played with as kids in the Dinky range complete with Tank Transporter.
Yes!
"Where was THIS 9 months ago then, eh?!" - every British tanker on seeing the Centurion for the first time
Yes I agree. Imagine those poor allied tank crews seeing Centurion but still having to climb into Cromwells and Shermans. If only Centurion had been a year earlier.
Well, they did say it tested very well, they had worked out all the bugs. Makes me wonder how much sooner might it had gotten to the field if they weren't so persnikity
In Britain’s defence you could say the Germans paid a price for throwing there concepts into battle tho I must admit the brits should never have had to of played catch up the way they did when you look at history such as the German power displays right at the beginning you can tell they weren’t playing around the the first ww2 Panzers already displayed sign’s of advanced Development way beyond are tanks
Perhaps they had remembered how the first Churchill tanks had been rushed into action too eatly
Well, the same with US troops seeing Pershing. Hoping if only they can get their hands on the tank months earlier. Instead of Sherman.
Fun fact... the cromwell killed by the centurion in Korea was my grandfathers... he was captured at the Battle of “Happy Valley”, the tank was “H for Halifax”.
His commander, LT C G Alexander was killed by shrapnel from a mortar, leading to the vehicle sliding off the road in the dark and throwing a track, when they bailed out he didn’t have time to spike the gun to prevent its use by the North Koreans.
Not that you’ll see this Mark... but if you do I’d be happy to get you some more info on it!
Great true story
Thank you and especially your Granddad.
Lt Alexander, that would be Field Marshall Alexander's nephew?
@@freebeerfordworkers I actually don’t know exactly, I’ll have to ask my family, they may know! I think he was. I know LT Alexander joined my grandfathers crew just before the battle of happy valley since he didn’t ship to Korea with them
Why hasnt Mark added here!?? O_o
As a young lad living in Herentals Belgium in 1954/55, my father was the Senior ASM (Artificer Sergeant Major) in the REME: I was allowed to accompany my father on various Saturday mornings (no Monday to Friday work routines in those days) to the REME Workshops situated just outside Herentals. I recall seeing Centurion Tanks in the workshops undergoing maintenance. One particular Saturday morning a very lucky (and extremely chuffed) young lad (me!) was allowed to travel inside the Centurion Tank whilst it was undergoing engine and gearbox trials whilst ''off road'.
I am now in my seventies but I recall that day oh so clearly - I was seated on the seat in the rear of the tank 'cabin', under strict instructions to remain still and keep quiet, which I did.
Oh happy memories. Thank you Mark for your informative and bloody good series, well worth subscribing and supporting.
I always learn so much from your channel. Keep up the good work.
It’s amazing that content of this calibre is free for everyone
Thank you Dr. Mark!
The British Centurion is an excellent tank and served well beyond it's intended design parameters. It may have missed the opportunity to fight the German tanks but it proved to be a nemesis to the more modern Russian tanks when the outnumbered Centurions inflicted heavy damage and casualties to the Russian T-55 tanks during the 6 Day War and the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East.
That is not a concrete way to compare the tanks. No matter how good the tank is, their crews how to be professionally trained to handle the equipment. Tons of M1 Abrams have been destroyed in Yemen, due to improperly trained crews
@@PerditioTempus2591 In the case of the Saudi Arabian M1 tanks in Yemen, I saw a video of Saudi soldiers abandoning their camp during the Houti rebel attacks. They did not even use the M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradleys and simply abandoned them and ran as fast as they could back to Saudi Arabia. So the Houtis burned the tanks without any fight. That's how useless and coward the Saudi forces are. So my comparison for the tanks does not include the improperly trained or coward crews but assuming the tanks were in the hands of the professional and brave soldiers on both sides. That is why I am still correct with my comparison.
@@gerrycrisostomo6571 well that would mean you assume the in the Yom Kippur war and 6 day war, that the Tank Crews of the Centurion and Soviet tanks were professionally trained, if that were the case I'd like some proof please cuz that would be a pleasant surprise
@@gerrycrisostomo6571 That makes no sense.
@@PerditioTempus2591 Different people, you can't compare Saudi soldiers to Egyptian, Syrian or Jordanian soldiers. The Saudi soldiers don't have anything to fight for, similar to Italians in WWII.
As I'm sure you know, it was the Comet that provided a challenge to the Tiger in the last months of the war. I once saw a Centurion standing next to a Conqueror. It made the Centurion look chap and tinny, but the problem with the Conqueror was that its size and weight made it very difficult to transport. But it was certainly a fine looking tank.
I love the effort put into the modern, "fill-in" footage.
Last time I was this early Centurion was on the march ... through Teutoburg Forest.
Touche...
Varus give me back my Legions
That’s not bad actually.
It seems Dr Felton was finally been located and arrested by the Empire.
So the next episode will be:
Assault of Imperial AT-AT Walkers on Hoth in 3ABY and destruction of the Echo Base as the Rebel Alliance breaks the encirclement.
I can't wait for Mark Felton to do a video on the combat capabilities of this fully operational battlestation....(cough) sorry. On the DS2 Battlestation
"The frontal armour of the AT-AT was, of course impenetrable to most rebel weapons. However, there were some vulnerabilities that were understood by the rebel alliance"
We should request a Mark Felton style history breakdown of some starwars battle as if its real history.
@@Jamie-zs8ok "Everything was seemingly proceeding as Emperor Palpatine had foreseen. The Alliance fleet had fallen into a trap...caught between a fully armed and operational Death Star battle station and an armada of several dozen Imperial Star Destroyers, led by the Star Dreadnought Executor. However, the Imperial legion stationed on Endor's Sanctuary Moon didn't count on a guerilla attack from the local indigenous population. The insurgents' target: the Imperial garrison guarding the Death Star's shield generator..."
Yet another informative & enlightening video Mark. You are the man, thank you sir.
When I was a young lad 1970s the first model I ever received a build was a centurion tank. Thank you for the wonderful presentation to this day in my heart it is my favorite tank and always will be.
Who in 1945 would know Centurion’s peak moment would happen in nearly 30 years later in 1973 in Golan height thousands miles from Europe
There are videos on you tube about that battle. The main GUN (up and down range of motion ) of the Centurion had a big advantage over the Arab Army who had Russian Tanks (that had night vison ... not on the Centurion). The extended vertical range of the Gun (measured in degrees) allowed the Centurion to be high on hill and lower the gun to shoot the Arab (Russian Tanks). The Arab Tanks (Russian makes) could not elevate their main gun high enough to shoot back.
The Eternal Anglo knew.
@@stevenhershman2660 as one always said
"Russian tank is the happiest tank"
"Why?"
"They dont have depression"
I love the stories on the Israeli successes with the Centurian in the Arab wars.
@@stevenhershman2660 ah those poor Syrians sure they have more modern tanks than the Israelis during that time and yet Israeli Centurions whoop their T-55 & modern T-62's asses
Centurion was slow (topped out at around 20 mph on roads) and had a very complicated gearbox and required a great deal of driver training. The Centurion also had a very limited range on internal fuel. Centurion had good armor and a good main gun and was upgradable to use bigger guns and more armor. When properly used and maintained it was a formidable tank and used with excellent effect by various nations such as India , Israel and various commonwealth nations. Probably the best tank of the Cold War era and it proved itself superior in combat against both American and Soviet tanks. Britain finally got it right in the tank department.
And as it's British, armor is spelt Armour.
I’m still learning things, thank you Doctor Felton, Keep up the great work!
Your videos are great, adding details and colours to a map where arrows and dates shows general movements of armies and fleets.
IF you read comments and if you happen to read this one there are two videas I would like to see in the future:
- How did the German population "welcome" the liberators, the Soviets and US/UK forces? From what I've learned not all and every German did really embrace the nazi politics, and many even sacrificed themselves in their struggles to encourage fellow citizens to oppose the nazi regim.
- For me as a Swede and living some 30 miles from the town of Lysekil, it would also be interesting to hear more about the covert operations that brought speedboats from England to Lysekil to pick up high tech material and roller bearings produced in Sweden.
Also, as my father was drafted to guard the German soldiers that were allowed to travel by train through Sweden to and fro Norway and Finland, I think it could be of interest to hear about the background (the decisions made by the Swedish government) and about the traffic.
I think the Centurion takes this hands down. Its way newer, with a great gun. It would undoubtedly only be handed to veteran crews. So I think it would mop the floor with Tigers and King tigers.
Lack of engine trouble is a huge give away that it would win. Tigers were plagued with those issues.
@@johnburns4017 your full of it, you need to look at actual German analysis reports not post war French, or some so called western expert who is just regurgitating nonsense he or her has heard from a 2nd hand source. While certainly not as reliable as the sherman if a Tiger, Panther or even a Tiger II was properly maintained and had a properly trained driver they were good for far more than the 100-150km number always given. I've read way too much to remember the exact source but there is a record of a recovery panther that had around 4000km on the clock without failure of any piece of the drive line and it was estimated that half of that was while towing another vehicle
This is the historian we're looking for.
Historians that perpetuate bullshit? Second time he calls Sherman tall.
Thank you Mark . That was infomative and fun to watch and listen to ! Have a great day
I served aboard the Centurion Tank from Jan7 1966 to Sometime in 69 when we got Chieftains to replace them, thats when I left the Army ! The Centurion was fantastic, It was warm in the winter because of the fans, had a brew pot and you could cook your tins of sausage and beans on the Auxiliary Generator's (Moriis 8 side valve) exhaust. It was slow, but with that 105mm I never missed as a gunner. Bit fraught in early stages of training. We had a MKI (17 pounder at Warcop) No fume extractor meant that after 7 rounds you could not see your hand any more than 6 inches in front of your face. Breathing was almost impossible !!! My troop Sgt was in Korea with MKI's he told us about one engagement where they fired 53 rounds !!! With resupply. The acrid smoke was dreadful, like breathing neat amonia ! 2nd test firing in a MK5 (20 pounder) Again didn't miss and it was so much more pleasant with the fume extractor. Apparently the main gun 17Lb was designed as an artillery anti tank gun fired from an artillery mounting, so didn't need any fume extraction. Everyone loved em, I did ! What an honour and privilege it was to have served aboard them.
Looks like Mark Felton visited the wrong Imperial War Museum
LOL
😂 seems like Hawkins
Here's bragging rights for you. My partners dad went to school with Darth Vader. Well Dave Prose anyway.
Imperial Tour Guide: And here we see the mural of our glorious emperor destroying the evil jedi and separatist scum..
Chinless dweeb more like
From what I understand, the Centurion was one of the first tanks to have fully stabilized main armament both vertically and in traverse, increasing its accuracy when moving by a phenomenal amount, making it so much more lethal than it's contemporaries, whos main armament was only stabilized vertically, Feel free of course to correct me if I am wrong.
I believe some US tanks had a form of stabilisation before the Cent but the Cent had the first really effective stabilised Gun Control Equipment. It was all electric whereas the US went with hydraulics which used oil at high temperature at very high pressure to operate. This was a major fire risk and is only now with late model M1s have they introduced electric wheras all British tanks since the Cent were electric.
The stabilisation on the Cent was excellent and gave it a real edge - I worked for the company that developed it and subsequent tanks. The T54/55 was also electric and when our engineers got hold of one in the 1980s were surprised at how well it operated albeit quite crude and basic.
I served on the Cent and for its time there was no match - a great tank.
It did but this made loading on the move a bit risky so was usually disabled.
I think they should’ve employed a Citroën like hydropneumatic system to stabilize the weapons, rotate the turret, elevate the gun, clutching, braking, steering, actuate the transmission and power the suspension.
As Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 would say: "Missed it by that much!"
Mark, do you do the voice overs for your documentaries? I have worked in radio for over 30 years and you have a great voice for these videos. Some people have great information and videos, but the voice over and music beds ruin them. Yours is consistently spot on. And as a previous on air talent and now engineer I rarely, if ever compliment anyone on the audio production on you tube videos.
While not the Tiger, Israeli Centurions saw action against Syrian Panzer IV's and Stugs during the 1967 Six Days War. They were no match.
Yes you are right mark also made a video about it.
Yes and he has presented a video on how the Syrian army obtained the Panzers and the subsequent deployment followed by their destruction in the Six Days War.
If the Israelis would have had the Panzer IVs and the Syrians the Centurions, the Israelis still would have won.
@@rudolfschrenk6171 a big call
@@graemesydney38 , the reason lies in the quality of the crews and maintenance personnel and rampant corruption in the Arab forces. No tank design can make up the sloppyness of mechanics and the habit of mechanics to give away fuel and spare parts to relatives. The typical fate of a tank in an arab army of that time was getting abandoned in a broken down condition.
How is it that every episode achieves this degree of quality and detail? You simply became an youtube institution, Dr. Mark Felton! Thank you so much! Cheers from Portugal!
Excellent history, Mark. As always.
Great story. I visited the real thing yesterday at the Tank museum in Bovington... interesting to see how the tank has evolved from ww2 up to today. The Centurion really does look pretty modern.
Ironic that the British, having struggled to make a competitive tank throughout the war, eventually went on to produce arguably the best tank to emerge from the conflict.
BTW, Bovington is well worth a visit. Aside from the tanks, the history and testimonies presented are very sobering.
According to Nick Moran, of CZcams channel 'Inside the Chieftain's Hatch', quote ' the Centurion was, pound for pound, the best tank ever built'.
You're full of it, my wife is the. best tank ever built!
@@paratrooper7340 :-) You'll need a panzerfaust if she ever finds out you said that ! ;)
The best history channel on CZcams, at least for military subjects.
Mark easily has the most captivating insights
This channel makes me proud and glad to be alive in this day and age because of the wealth of information the channels like this present. Thank you so much
Surprisingly enough, there was a time when the Centurion squared off against Panzers. Except this was not in Europe, but in the Middle East; when Israeli Centurions battled against Syrian Panzers in the Golan Heights during the Six Day War in 1967.
I think Mark has covered that as well.
Only the Mark 1V.
@@Paul-hy6rp Yes, he did.
@@d3vond
Seems like the same play as state of the art Abrahams vs outdated russian tanks at the Irak wars. Not really a suprise.
Imagine how Centurions would crush IS3s if facing them. T-55 and T-62 superb compared to ISwouldnt stand a chance.
Guess not so scary as some may think after Berlin Victory Parade done by Soviets with staring the IS3.
Never boring Mr. Felton, thanks again for updating history and filling in the gaps.
Considering it is still in service today, I'd say it would have fared quite well.
As always great research and superb presentations, thank you Mark.
“I’ll leave that one for you chaps to argue out in the comments below...”
Followed by the deafening roar of 960k keyboards.
Let's just all pause for a minute and thank Mark for not taking life to seriously, First thing we see is him with Storm Troopers :D
All the cool CZcamsrs stream in their game room!
I think down votes are coming from that and also from the whole consept of pairing two tanks that never saw each other :,D
Just brilliant, thanks, made my day
The amazing miracle stories of the greatest modern tank battles you heard of 73' in the middle east are all based on few centurions facing impossible odds.
Just for your own ignorance, try reading the history of Israel and the total corruption of America by 'our' traitors that call themselves 'american politicians'.
Joe Magnets
I really like your videos... Always very well researched and interesting to both us history-buffs and others. You usually find 'lost' battles, 'forgotten' battles and so on. I have a few requests for future videos that I think you would be the best to research and produce, for example: How was the relationship between SS and Whermach? ...perhaps calling it: the battle between the army and the SS. Also, another video about a sub-camp (concentration camp) outside Witten (Germany) that was closed by the Nazies themselves because the guards were to cruel to the prisoners?!?! Another interesting video could be about Hitler's time in England (after WW1) and Lenin's time in Sweden (on the way to the revolution in Russia)
I wonder what changed amongst the British tank designers when they produced such an excellent tank after so many failures? The crews seem to have hated everything except the Churchill.
It took them a very long time to decide what they actually wanted from their tanks and what they wanted them to be able to do, so they kept coming up with tanks that were very good at doing a certain thing but severely lacked in other areas. Eventually they realised an ideal tank needs to be balanced and able to do multiple things well rather than excelling in just one area
They got tired of making hapless contraptions like Valiant.
I understand that a new design team was formed with a clean sheet and all the old rules thrown out. This meant the rail width shipping requirement was able to be exceeded. When the wider the whole of the tank design fell into place. Probably the reason why the the tank was driven 400miles in Germany. They built a special road transporter later to carry it.
The biggest limitation and 'hand brake' on development was the availability of a suitable engine. The Centurion had a detuned RR Merlin but priority was given to engines for the RAAF and it took time for the industrial capacity to be worked up.
I understand that a new design team was formed with a clean sheet and all the old rules thrown out. This meant the rail width shipping requirement was able to be exceeded. When the wider the whole of the tank design fell into place. Probably the reason why the the tank was driven 400miles in Germany. They built a special road transporter later to carry it.
Built a model of this tank back in the 50s as a kid. Still have great memories if this tank!
Dr.Felton, Thank you for your work!
Another great video by Mark. He always has the best most informative videos on his channel. While we will never know exactly how the centurion might have fared against the tigers during World War II we can easily find out how good the Israeli upgunned centurions did against the Soviet tanks they faced in the 6-day war.
Centurion: I will destroy you.
Tiger: I don't even know who you are.
I can also see the Tiger responding:
I’m endangered! I belong in a museum!
@@Assassinus2 Don't worry. You will be. At a place called Bovington
Tiger I production ended in June 1944. So the Tiger 1 was declared obsolete by the Germans themselves 1, 5 years before the first centurions entered service. So it's a bit strange to celebrate the slight supiriority of the centurion. But what can we expect from some winy angloboos.
@@HaVoC117X To be fair and its difficult to comprehend on British armour from that timeperiod the Centurion was way more reliable and easier to field maintain/repair then the Tiger.
What was the WD thinking a good tank that doesn't break down so often 🤦♂️
@@HaVoC117X Well, we can expect the ability to spell correctly for a start.
The man, the legend! Truly my favorite youtube channel!
Ive been subscribed for a while. But started binging the videos. I love them and i thank you for teaching this old girl some new things
Mark, you do your research. I've learned more off of your channel than most any movie or documentary I've ever watched. My dad and his brother are both WWII vets and had some things to say but definitely not as filling as your materials.
9:20 perfectly sums up the whole situation. Also my new reaction gif :) They really broke the mould with the Centurion.
In that picture with the storm troopers I bet Dr. Felton is all like: “this isn’t the historian you’re looking for!“
Maybe he's upset someone and needs an armed gaurd.
Yeah, the History channel
I am continually impressed with the histories that Mark Felton addresses. I look forward to watching every new episode. In this episode, "Centurion - Tiger Tanks Nemesis", mention is made of an M-26 Chaffee at 9:17. I know of the M-26 Pershing and the M-24 Chaffee. Is there an experimental tank called the M-26 Chaffee, I can find no info on it.
I suspect Mark made a booboo there.
Fantastic again, I applaud the care and attention to detail that Mark puts into this superb pieces, a pleasant counter point to most of the shrill, noisy Trans Atlantic alternatives on CZcams.
9:16 small detail, M26 was the Pershing's designation, Chaffee's was M24. Very minor, loved the vid as always sir!
Glad someone else caught it too.
But now the question is "was mark talking about the Chaffee or the pershing?" I'm gonna assume the pershing
It is the Pershing.
Hope you reach that well deserved 1 million subs very soon Mark, much love from Amsterdam!
I hope so too!
This channel is unrivalled - many thanks
2:10 Base Borden Ontario Canada Centurion. Funny , I haven't been there in years but I still remember how fantastic the museum and grounds were. The M5 in the top right was what got me remembering. There are 2 if I recall and there is a Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind parked close by . I was working at the base and got paid to tour the grounds and museum :) Thanks for the memories and first rate content Mr. Felton.
I think the Centurion would easily have given most, if not all German tanks a run for their money. It was the one thing most German heavy tanks were not; reliable.
@@QuantumMechanic_88 yes? This is pretty much agreed apon by even the most fervent wehraboos.
Had they focused more on engine development than weapon/armor development, either way it would go wrong. Though they were failures mechanical, they were beasts in the beinning
@@QuantumMechanic_88 Yes they were beasts but they are infamously terrible with being reliable. American tanks were designed to be reliable as they could not be brought home and fixed, the germans did not have that design issue. I'm in no way saying German tanks are bad, outside of their typically transmission issues written about by every millitary facing them and even themselves.
@@QuantumMechanic_88 Most German heavy armour was notorious for gear and transmission breakdowns.
@@QuantumMechanic_88 Yes, is that a question. Over engineered and complex they were notoriously unreliable.
Mark if u read this your a bloody legend gg
Amen!
@Future_guareian5 Gaming, ur a youtuber also right
Ye lol
I remember in the Bovington Tank Museum seeing a Centurion - cut in half lengthwise! Quite a job for some unknown apprentice!
Particularly if he was down to his last hacksaw blade.
Bovington Tank Museum, Dorset, is fantastic.
My favourite time of day, accurate historical education o'clock with Dr Felton. :)
I was just thinking the SAME THOUGHT a few seconds BEFORE reading your comment above. I agree 100%. I look forward to Marks videos !
Centurion's one of the best tanks of the 20th century!
I love this channel so much! This is what History channel used to be about.
Thanks Mark. You are my history muse
Man I can’t wait for your 1 million Subscriber video. I can feel it will be the mother of all WWII videos
Centurions and Sherman fireflies were used by the Indian army successfully against Pakistani M47, M48 Pattons, Shermans and Chaffee tanks. They had killed more tanks than they had lost. India had used Centurions well into the 1970's.
Mark felton sir please make a video on this.
🙏
That would be very interesting.👍🇳🇿
@@Colonel_Blimp ya.
@@Colonel_Blimp Israeli Super Shermans vs T-54/55 is also an interesting story
@@Colonel_Blimp oh. I forgot.
75mm Shermans were also used
My dad was stationed in Germany during the 50s in a Centurion Regiment as a Radio Man. He loved them.
Hello Steve my name is Pete I served in the Saint Farmer division in Germany 56 5758 I was in the Royal Army ordnance core 0FP which stands for ordinants Field Park we have 2010 ton trucks I have three in my charge I had all the gun barrels for the centurions.
Has anyone told you that you sound like the narrator for ww2 in color I've watched that whole series like 30 times from when I was 4 you do a great job