Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Oddball-CAF on March 14, 2011, 11:01:02 AM
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(http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Oddball-CAF/centaurbg_3small.jpg)
Okay, this thing is called a "Centaur" and was a British GV of WW2. It's got a howitzer for a gun
and was used, I would imagine, like the German StuGs. As you can see, it's got compass
markings all around the turret.
Any gun bunnies in here that can tell me what purpose these served and whether they were
for use by the crew of the Centaur or infantry requesting that it fire on a particular target?
Regards, Odd
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I am no tank expert, but I seem to recall that those markings were for calling in direct fire on D-Day. Ship's observers could use them to direct the tank crews via radio.
At least that was the idea, I don't know how well it worked out in practice. (I don't see how they would have been all that visible from a distance in combat.)
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There's one on static display right next to Pegasus Bridge, near Caen, and it has the same marks.
Found this using google:
"The Centaur was specifically designed to act at D-Day, day one. It was used by The English Marine Corps. The pre-1943 brown colour was used, because it was thought to be better suited to the situation at D Day 1, the beaches. the degrees marks at the tower were applied to facilitate firing the howitzer, when still aboard at a LCT.
It was armed with a 95mm howitzer to destroy pillboxes.
The Centaur proved to be a valuable support weapon and was in effect used throughout the whole Normandy campaign and thereafter."
"The Centaur mounted a 95mm howitzer instead of the usual 75mm tank gun, and was employed as a fire support vehicle for artillery purposes. The Centaurs were used for firing from the landing craft as they approached the D-Day beaches. The markings on the turret are in fact degree marks to allow artillery observers to judge the bearing of the turret on a target from a distance.
The Centaurs were issued to the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group with the order to shell targets on the Normandy beaches, this they were more than happy to do.
They were also ordered to stay on the beaches because the Liberty engine fitted in the Centaur was none too reliable. However asking the Marines to stay out of a fight is like trying to stop the Earth from turning and they promptly got off the beach and headed inland to cause as much mayhem as possible!
The main difference between the Cromwell and the Centaur was the engine. The Cromwell had the Rolls Royce Meteor (derived from the famous Merlin Aero Engine), while the Centaur had the older (and less reliable) Liberty engine. The Liberty was employed because engine production was concentrated on aero engines, meaning that not enough Meteors were available. As Meteors became more plentiful, some Centaurs were converted by the addition of the more powerful Meteor engine."
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Really cool tank, I'd love to see something like this get added to the game, bring some British tanks into the game, especially the D-Day version with the 95mm Howitzer, man could you imagine having that gun in the game :O.
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Really cool tank, I'd love to see something like this get added to the game, bring some British tanks into the game, especially the D-Day version with the 95mm Howitzer, man could you imagine having that gun in the game :O.
m4 sherman with the 105mm howitzer.
:noid
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m4 sherman with the 105mm howitzer.
:noid
because we have too many British tanks already
:noid
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(http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Oddball-CAF/centaurbg_3small.jpg)
Okay, this thing is called a "Centaur" and was a British GV of WW2. It's got a howitzer for a gun
and was used, I would imagine, like the German StuGs. As you can see, it's got compass
markings all around the turret.
Any gun bunnies in here that can tell me what purpose these served and whether they were
for use by the crew of the Centaur or infantry requesting that it fire on a particular target?
Regards, Odd
actual question: does this tank remind anyone of a panzer mkIII when looking at it from the front? it reminds me alot of the panzer, that and the turret design...
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I am by no means a tank expert but I would have pegged that for a PzK III chassis.
Nice pic, none the less. Bet that gun hurts.
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Found the answer:
(http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Oddball-CAF/RM1Medium.jpg)