The news about the testing of the Italian wheeled tank "Centauro" and the possible purchase of a license for its production made a lot of noise. Supporters and opponents did not skimp on the arguments. Wrote about "Centaur" and in "Safe Fatherland". We would like to bring to your attention a really balanced article by an expert who considers not only the Centaur, but also other wheeled combat vehicles as an independent subclass military equipment.
We must immediately state that neither the Soviet nor the Russian army ever had machines of this class. After the Second World War, they were not engaged in the creation of armored vehicles in our country - they were not needed for a big war using nuclear weapons, namely, the USSR was preparing for it. In the West, a slightly different approach was professed, since in addition to preparing for a global armed confrontation with the Moscow-led socialist camp, attention had to be paid to colonies, overseas territories, etc.
The demand for them in third world countries, not so rich as to buy large quantities of main tanks, also had a significant impact on the development of KBM. Well, demand, as you know, creates supply. Over the past 70 years, many armored vehicles of various classes have appeared abroad - from light to heavy. The category of the latter includes the "Centaur". Yes, yes, the "Centaur" is an armored car or, as such equipment is classified according to modern domestic terminology, a wheeled armored vehicle with heavy weapons. The term " wheeled tank does not officially exist. However, in the Italian army, the Centaur is called a light tank destroyer.
In the photo: KBM "Stryker", USA
Tactical technical requirements for the "Centaur" were identified in 1984. According to them, it was planned to design a mobile KBM equipped with a 105-mm gun, with high dynamic characteristics, a large power reserve, increased cross-country ability and a computerized fire control system unified with the FCS of the main Ariete tank.
The production of "Centaurs" for the Italian army began at the end of 1990 at the IVECO-Fiat plant in Bolzano and ended in 1996. The troops received 400 vehicles, currently 320 remain (in eight cavalry regiments). The status of the 80 KBM of this type is unclear. Rome sold another 84 armored vehicles to Spain (perhaps 80 of them were just from the presence of the Italian army) and six KBM to Oman. Moreover, the latter are armed with 120-mm guns. Thus, the total number of Centaurs produced is either 410 or 490 units.
What is the B1 Centauro tank destroyer?
The body of the machine is welded from steel armor plates of various thicknesses. In the frontal part, the armor is resistant to 25-mm shells, from the stern and sides - bullets of 14.5 mm caliber. At the same time, however, it is not reported from what distances. The engine compartment is located in the front of the case on the right side. The engine is a six-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled diesel engine with a turbocharger IVECO MTSA with a capacity of 520 horsepower. KBM used a German automatic (five speeds forward, two - reverse) gearbox ZF 5HP-1500.
In the photo: KBM "Ruikat" (Lynx), South Africa
The engine, cooling system and gearbox are structurally made in the form of a single unit and are separated from the rest of the body by fireproof partitions. If necessary, the power unit can be replaced within 20 minutes. To the left of the MTO there is a control compartment with a driver's workplace (the seat is adjustable in height), which, outside the combat situation, controls the vehicle, observing the terrain through an open hatch. In combat, observation is carried out with the help of three periscope devices, and it is planned to replace the middle one with a non-illuminated night vision device.
Triple welded tower mounted closer to the stern of the hull. It is manufactured as a single module and supplied to the assembly of an armored car, completely ready for installation on the chassis. The KBM commander sits to the left of the gun, the gunner to the right, the loader behind the gunner. Hatches in the roof of the hull are located above the seats of the commander and loader.
The 105-mm gun with a barrel length of 52 calibers is similar in internal ballistics to the 105-mm L7/M68 tank gun and is equipped with a device for purging the bore after firing, a highly effective (absorbs up to 40% recoil) muzzle brake, and a thermal protective cover. The recoil of the gun when fired is 14 tons. A special hydropneumatic recoil system with a barrel stroke of 750 millimeters after a shot is called upon to extinguish it. Shooting is possible with all standard 105 mm NATO ammunition, including HEAT. Ammunition - 40 shells, 14 of them are stored directly in the tower. A 7.62 mm M42 / 59 machine gun is paired with the cannon (located on the left side of it). Another machine gun can be mounted on the roof of the turret. Ammunition for machine guns - 4000 rounds. Four smoke grenade launchers are mounted on the sides of the tower.
Gun and turret drives are electro-hydraulic with manual override. Cannon elevation angles vary from -6º to +15º (slightly less than on main battle tanks due to the low turret profile).
The Centaur is equipped with the Officine Galileo TURMS FCS, the same as on the Ariete main battle tank. Its main components are a commander's panoramic day sight with a stabilized aiming line in two planes, a gunner's combined periscope (day/night) sight with a stabilized aiming line and an integrated laser rangefinder, a digital ballistic computer, a set of firing conditions sensors, a barrel bending accounting system and control panels. commander, gunner and loader.
The commander's sight has a fixed 2.5x and 10x magnification. The swing angle of the head mirror varies from -10º to +60º, the angle of rotation of the sight head horizontally is 360º. For observation and firing at night, the commander uses a television monitor, which displays an image from the gunner's thermal imaging sight.
The gunner's sight located on the roof of the tower combines four main modules (head stabilized mirror, optical day channel, laser transceiver and thermal imager) in one housing. The daytime channel has a fivefold increase, and the thermal imaging channel provides the display of two fields of view - wide and narrow - on the monitor.
In the photo: KBM "Piranha 4"
, from the Swiss company Mowag
The digital ballistic computer determines the initial settings for firing, controls the operation of all subsystems of the FCS (optical sight, laser rangefinder, servo drives), as well as sensors for firing conditions, built-in systems for monitoring the performance of the FCS SITE and crew training, provides reconfiguration of the system operation algorithms from normal mode to duplicating in case of its partial failures.
The MSA includes three main sensors for firing conditions: meteorological, heading angle and bore wear.
The gunner has an Officine Galileo OG С102 telescopic sight with an eightfold magnification and three sighting scales that are switched manually as a backup.
Suspension of the car - hydropneumatic. Two pairs of front and last pair of rear wheels are swivel, which provides relatively small turning radii. The rear pair of wheels is controlled only at speeds up to 20 kilometers per hour. Centralized system Tire pressure control is standard on the KBM. Adjustment is carried out from the driver's seat while driving and provides increased cross-country ability.
In the niche of the tower there are elements of the Sekur protection system against weapons of mass destruction, similar to that used on the Arieta tank. It prevents contaminated air from entering the armored car by creating excess pressure in it. The built-in air conditioning system allows the crew to work normally at ambient temperatures ranging from -30º to +44ºС.
Part standard equipment"Centaur" includes a winch located in front and fire-fighting systems in the power and fighting compartments.
In the standard version, the combat weight of the Centaur is 25 tons. The crew is four people, the maximum speed on the highway is 105 kilometers per hour, the fuel range is 800 kilometers.
It should be noted that 251 cars are made in the so-called long version. Her hull in the stern is extended by 22 centimeters, which makes it possible to equip places for four infantrymen of the patrol group there.
After the use of the "Centaurs" by the Italian contingent in Somalia in 1992, their booking increased. When additional armor protection modules are installed on the KBM, its mass increases to 28 tons.
On the chassis of the tank destroyer "Centaur", a command and staff vehicle, infantry fighting vehicles, variants of KBM with 120- and 60-mm guns were developed.
What is depressing
This is in general terms the appearance of the "Centaur". As you can see, it is a completely modern lightly armored combat vehicle. At the same time, its armament is at the level of the main battle tank (especially in the case of installing a 120-mm smoothbore gun with a barrel length of 45 calibers), and tactical mobility is significantly higher. "Centaur" can really be considered one of the best examples in its class.
All this is true, the reader will say, even if the Centaur is a good car, but the question is not how good it is, but how much it is needed by the Russian army. Russia does not seem to have overseas regions with rebels, nor large desert spaces. True, there are rebels on their own territory and restless and poorly predictable southern neighbors. In addition, the Russian Federation is not Europe, where after driving 300 kilometers, you can get to another country. In our country, even in the European part, the distance between regional centers is sometimes twice as large. Under such conditions, it is hardly worth neglecting the possibility of quickly transferring a motorized rifle formation to a given area under its own power. Indeed, in some cases, transportation by air or by railway takes much more time. True, a quick transfer under its own power is possible only if there are no tracked vehicles in service.
In short, the Centaur is the best suited for equipping mobile forces or rapid deployment forces. Machines of this class would be useful to both the Marine Corps and the Airborne Forces. KBM could also replace tanks in light motorized rifle brigades, if, of course, the formation of such formations is provided for by military reform. As part of other formations of the Russian army - classic tank and motorized rifle brigades, a niche for vehicles like the Centaur is poorly visible. Contrary to some opinions, the Centaur is not a reconnaissance vehicle, but a fire support vehicle or a tank destroyer.
And it’s not the very fact of turning to imported equipment that is depressing here, since, unlike the Lynx, the Centaur really has no analogue in Russia. By appointment, the 2S25 Sprut-SD self-propelled guns are closest to it, but it has a tracked chassis and is clearly not needed in its present form by the Russian army. Some kind of unsystematic approach suggests unhappy reflections.
Logically, it is necessary to create a whole range of wheeled armored vehicles on a single platform. There is an example to follow - the Stryker KBM family. A reconnaissance vehicle, a 120-mm self-propelled mortar, a command-staff, engineering and sanitary evacuation vehicle, a self-propelled ATGM, a radiation-chemical reconnaissance vehicle and, finally, a fire support vehicle with a 105-mm gun were developed on the basis of an armored personnel carrier with an 8x8 wheel formula. A 155-mm self-propelled howitzer is being designed. The mechanized Stryker brigades of the US Army are equipped with all this equipment. The same path is now followed in the armies of many other countries. There is no need to explain how the presence of a single chassis reduces the cost of production and operation of combat vehicles, and facilitates the training of personnel. If the Centaur is adopted by the Russian army, there can be no question of any unification.
In fairness, it should be noted that attempts to design unified families of combat vehicles on the chassis of wheeled armored personnel carriers were also made here, but again, some unsystematic ones. The BTR-60 served mainly as the base for numerous command posts, control vehicles, etc. The same can be said about the BTR-70 - it did not go beyond the creation of communication vehicles and mobile command posts. However, in 1968-1973, the Burevestnik Central Research Institute (the leading research institute for medium and large-caliber artillery weapons) developed the 85-mm towed anti-tank gun 2A55 Sting-B and the 85-mm self-propelled anti-tank gun 2S14 Sting-S. The latter was a rotating turret with a gun mounted on the body of the BTR-70. To do this, the troop compartment had to be eliminated in the armored personnel carrier. Both systems successfully passed ground tests, but were not accepted into service. The fact is that the armor penetration of the 85-mm sub-caliber projectile was 1.5 times less than the ammunition of the 125-mm D-81 tank gun. Apparently, this was the main reason for the cessation of work on the Sting guns. The prototype 2S14 is now in the tank museum in Kubinka.
The BTR-80 was a little more fortunate - in addition to various kinds of command and staff vehicles, an BREM, an armored medical vehicle, an RHM vehicle and a 120-mm Nona-SVK self-propelled gun were created on its basis. However, he did not become a real single platform for KBM either.
A more or less full-fledged fire support vehicle was created only on the BTR-90 chassis. We are talking about a machine with a combat module "Bakhcha-U" and a weapon system equivalent to the BMP-3, demonstrated at the IDEX-2001 exhibition.
Apparently, the reason for the failures in the creation of KBM with heavy weapons on the chassis of domestic armored personnel carriers was their layout. Western armored personnel carriers with an aft troop compartment are much better suited for placing heavy weapons.
So, we made sure that there is a place for the Centaur in the Russian army. Such a machine will obviously not be superfluous. But a systematic approach is required, it is necessary to develop a domestic armored car of this class based on a unified 8x8 platform and within the framework of the KBM family. In its present form, "Centaur" we do not need. As a temporary measure, in principle, the appearance of some intermediate synthesized sample is acceptable, for example, a Centaur chassis, but with an Octopus turret or something like that. In the end, the weapons on the Centaur do not suit us in any case. Or did the Ministry of Defense decide to switch to NATO calibers? Wouldn't be the last to know.
Yes, and in general it is somehow strange that everything happens with us. How the Mistral was chosen (and why?) is not clear, the Lynx is also not clear. Now here's the Centaur. And why, in fact, "Centaur"? Why not Ruikat or some Movag. Why Italians again, IVECO again? Or is the Ministry of Defense not aware of the existence of other types of KBM with heavy weapons? If it's just an introduction, then there's nothing to worry about. If it’s about acquiring a license, then it becomes somehow sad from the lack of alternative choice and the secrecy of the process. Alas, not the first time.
material from the site.
Official designation: Cruiser Tank Mk.VIII
Alternative designation: “Centaur”, A27L
Start of design: 1941
Date of construction of the first prototype: July 1942
Stage of completion: 3134 tanks were built, only Centaur IVs were used in combat operations.
The arrival of the A15 "Crusader" cruiser tank in late 1940 only briefly allowed the RTC (Royal Tank Corps) to gain some advantages over the main German Pz.II and Pz.III tanks. Since next year in Germany, they rapidly increased the production of more powerful Pz.IV tanks, which immediately put the newest British cruisers on a lower level. Their biggest weaknesses were the 2-pounder guns and the unreliable Nuffield-Liberty engines.
To eliminate the backlog, at the end of 1940, the Tank Committee developed requirements for a heavy cruiser tank: frontal armor of the hull - 65 mm, frontal armor of the turret - 75 mm, speed - 24 miles per hour (39 km / h), weight - up to 24 tons. But most importantly, the clearly outdated "two-pounder" had to give way to a 6-pounder gun in a new type of turret on a wider chase.
Several companies took up the development of the new tank at once, however, projects based on the A15 design were considered the most promising. Thus, the Nuffield company presented “its vision” of a cruising tank based on a serial chassis with an old power plant, but with a new hull and turret. In parallel, the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCWC) and Rolls-Royce jointly proposed their own project, which involved the use of an adapted Merlin aircraft engine and a new type of transmission on an identical chassis.
Both variants were approved by the General Staff in January 1941, but due to delays in testing the new power plant, an "intermediate" version of the tank had to be developed. A27L "Cromwell II"(the index "L" denoted the brand of the engine - in this case it was "Liberty"). Also, this combat vehicle became known under the designation Cruiser Tank VIII.
The design of the A27L was entrusted to English Electric, which began work at the end of 1941. The project was ready by the spring of next year and was in many ways similar to the A24 tank from Nuffield. As mentioned earlier, the changes affected the power plant and transmission. According to various foreign sources, the combat weight of the tank ranged from 27432 to 28849 kg.
The undercarriage of the A27L tank consisted of five dual road wheels on each side equipped with rubber tires. An individual Christie-type "candle" suspension with vertical springs was used. The guide wheels and the track tensioning mechanism were located in the front, the drive wheels of the lantern gear were in the back. The caterpillar is small-linked with single-ridged tracks 14 inches (355 mm) wide.
The hull of the A27L tank was almost identical to the A24, differing only in the armor of the engine compartment. The layout of the body remained classic. The control compartment was located in front, where the driver's seats (on the right) and his assistant (on the left) were located. In the vertical frontal hull sheet with a thickness of 64 mm, there were two round hatches of various diameters, and viewing devices with triplexes were located along the sides.
The middle part of the hull was occupied by a fighting compartment, on the roof of which a three-man box-shaped turret (also borrowed from the A24) with a shoulder strap width of 1524 mm was installed. A twin mount of a 6-pounder (57 mm metric caliber) Mk.III or Mk.V cannon and one 7.92-mm Besa machine gun was mounted in its frontal armor plate. An anti-aircraft 7.71 mm Bren machine gun could be mounted on the roof of the turret. To the left of the gun was a cutout for a telescopic sight. On the roof of the tower there were two hatches and two periscope observation devices Mk.IV. Ammunition included 75 high-explosive and armor-piercing rounds, 4950 rounds for the Besa machine guns and 600 rounds for the Bren machine gun. A double-barreled 50.5-mm smoke grenade launcher with 30 grenades was mounted on the right side of the turret. The full crew of the tank consisted of 5 people: commander, gunner, loader, driver and assistant driver (also served the radio station).
The rear of the hull was occupied by the engine compartment, where a 12-cylinder Nuffield-Liberty gasoline engine was installed, formed up to a power of 410 hp. and equipped with a liquid cooling system. The old planetary transmission was replaced with a new one from Merrit-Brown.
An order for the manufacture of two A27L prototypes was received by English Electric on April 29, 1942, and on June 29 the first prototype was rolled out of the shop. The second prototype was ready in early July - at the same time both tanks were sent to the Farnborough training ground. Tests A27L passed without any complaints, except for the usual problems with engine cooling. Otherwise, the customer did not have big claims, and in August 1942 the first order was placed, which was placed immediately at six tank-building enterprises of English Electric, Nuffield, LMS, Harland, Fowler and Leyland. In November 1942, in order to avoid confusion with the names, the tank was renamed "Centaur". Until February 1944, 3134 A27L tanks were built in two main modifications and in the ZSU variant.
If the first option A27L "Centaur" I was almost identical to the A24, differing only in the transmission. Thanks to this, in short term managed to build 950 cars. On the second modification ( "Centaur" II) an attempt was made to equip the tank with a wider caterpillar and drive wheels with a large number of rims. So they intended to solve the problem of increased pressure on the ground, but this option did not become serial.
More successful was the modification "Centaur" III. The main goal of the improvements was to strengthen the armament - as it turned out, even the presence of a 57-mm gun did not guarantee success when meeting with the German "fours" of old types, but with the advent of modifications Pz.IV Ausf.F2 and Ausf.G (with a long-barreled 75-mm gun ) the position of the British tankers became completely unenviable. Thus, once again there was a need to install a larger-caliber artillery system - the Centaur III tanks began to be equipped with a 75-mm Mk.V and Mk.VA cannon, which, although not completely, balanced the forces of the opponents. Most machines of this type were obtained by refining the earlier "Centaur" I.
The latest model was "Centaur" IV, which was a fire support tank. Previously, such machines simply received the CS index after the name of the modification, but since 1942 it was canceled and the numbering became continuous. A 95-mm howitzer was installed on the Centaur IV, which could only fire high-explosive fragmentation and smoke shells, as well as an uprated engine. Only 80 support tanks were produced in total.
The life cycle of most Centaur tanks, so to speak, in its purest form, turned out to be short-lived. From the end of 1943, an active program of modernization of the A27L began by replacing the Liberty engine with the Meteor and bringing them up to the A27M ("Cromwell" X) standard. Another part of the tanks served as the basis for various auxiliary armored vehicles.
In 1942, a variant of an armored vehicle for artillery observers appeared. "Centaur" OP(Observation Post), on which the gun was replaced with a dummy, and an additional radio station No.19 was installed in the vacant place.
Several dozen A27L tanks were also converted into engineering armored vehicles. The modification of the "Centaur" ARV involved the dismantling of the tower and the installation of a boom crane, additional fuel tanks and other special equipment on the upper part of the hull.
Another engineering option was "Centaur Dozer", the design of which was developed in the 79th Panzer Division. On these armored vehicles, the turret with weapons was also dismantled, and a hydraulically driven bulldozer blade was installed instead. Such bulldozers were transferred to parts of the Royal Engineers and were to be distributed at the rate of one Centaur Dozer per regiment of cruiser tanks (according to other sources, to each squadron of a tank division). The construction of engineering armored vehicles was entrusted to MG Car Ltd., however, until the end of the war, the front-line units received only single copies of the Centaur Dozer.
In 1943, several Centaur tanks were converted into Kangaroo armored personnel carriers. Alterations were reduced to the dismantling of the tower and some of the internal equipment to increase the internal space of the combat compartment, which was now used as a landing bay and could accommodate 10-12 soldiers. The crew of the armored personnel carrier was reduced to two people.
The most interesting were the Centaur AA self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. When developing these SPAAGs, it was decided to use ready-made developments on serial Crusader AA self-propelled guns equipped with 20-mm twin Polsten guns. As a result, on modification "Centaur" AA Mk.I a turret from the Crusader AA Mk.II was installed, and the modification "Centaur" AA Mk.II received a turret from the Crusader AA Mk.III. In total, about 200 such ZSUs were built.
The Centaur I and Centaur III tanks did not have to take part in the hostilities. By the time of Operation Overlord, most of them had turned into A27M and auxiliary armored vehicles, and the remaining tanks were used only for training purposes. Another reason for rejection combat use there was a low reliability of the Liberty engines.
The only exception was the Centaur IV support tanks, which were used as part of the Royal Marines Armored Support Group, formed in July 1943 and acting in the interests of the fleet. The original plan for their use was as follows - the Centaur IV tanks were to be mounted on barges in pairs and provide fire support immediately after the ship's artillery transferred fire deep into enemy territory. However, after the maneuvers in February 1944, which were attended by Marshal Montgomery and King George VI, this plan was considered ineffective and had to be changed. Now the tankers were required to land on the shore along with the landing force, which required the reorganization of the landing units.
The reorganization began on March 14, 1944 - the new RMASG consisted of two regiments of a two-battalion composition, including 32 Centaur IV tanks and 8 Sherman QP tanks. The total number of tanks, including headquarters, amounted to 100 units. It is noteworthy that the tanks were planned to be used only in the first hours of the landing exclusively for fire support of the landing units.
The famous "Day D" was not very successful for the crews of the group. Of the 20 irretrievably lost Centaur IVs, more than half sank before reaching the coast of Normandy. The rest were pulled up gradually and could not provide significant fire support to the landing force. Suffice it to say that during June 6, 1944, only 21 tanks took part in the battles. The rest arrived the next day. In the battles on the coast, one unusual device was used in the form of a metal sled, on which an additional ammunition load of 60 shots was placed.
Tanks "Centaur" IV continued to participate in the battles until June 21, inclusive, first supporting parts of the 4th Brigade of the British Special Forces on the Orne River, and then paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Division. The remaining tanks by that time were taken to the rear and on June 24 were transferred to the disposal of artillery units. The further fate of the Centaur IV remains unclear.
The tanks that remained in the UK subsequently served not only the British army. During the formation of the 1st Polish Panzer Division, several Centaur IIIs were transferred to train tankers. The use of engineering armored vehicles continued for several more years after the war, but by the beginning of the 1950s. almost all of them have been decommissioned. In addition, 72 Centaur tanks were handed over to the French army.
The career of the Centaur tanks, transferred to the Greek army in the post-war period, turned out to be longer. The need for armored vehicles among the Greeks was more than acute due to the apogee of the civil war. The Allies decided to financially help the Greek government by sending 52 Centaur I tanks in May 1946, equipped with 57-mm guns and B-type turrets. During 1946-1947. these machines were actively used against communist partisans in Macedonia and Epirus. Despite the unfavorable conditions (mountainous terrain and the presence of numerous minefields), the Greek tankers were satisfied with their tanks. During operation, some tanks were equipped with 12.7 mm machine guns. The use of the Centaur I in the Greek army continued until 1957, until they were replaced by the more modern American M47 tank.
Currently as museum exhibits only five A27L tanks survived, which are in very good condition:
Cobbaton Combat Collection (UK)- during the war years, the tank would have been converted into a bulldozer and used until 1957. The semi-dismantled vehicle was discovered in 1978 and restored to the Centaur IV level (number T218477);
Musee des Blindes (Samur, France)- tank modification "Centaur" IV (two-color "sandy" camouflage);
Pegasus Bridge (Benouville, France)- tank modification "Centaur" IV (single-color green camouflage);
Hermanville-sur-Mer (France)- tank modification "Centaur" IV with a turret from A24 (single-color green camouflage);
Greek Museum of Armored Vehicles (Avlona, Greece)- tank modification "Centaur" III (incomplete, without engine, caterpillars from M113).
Also in private collections and museums there are 7 "Centaur Dozer". At least 5 more tanks and one armored bulldozer are in the UK in a dilapidated state in landfills and former artillery ranges.
Sources:
P. Chamberlain and K. Alice "British and American tanks of the Second World War." Moscow. AST \ Astrel 2003
M. Baryatinsky "Cruising tank Cromwell" (Armored collection MK 2007-04)
M. Baryatinsky "English tanks of the Second World War" (Armored collection MK 2010-05)
David Fletcher "Cromwell Cruiser Tank 1942-50"
Great Britain's Cruiser Mk VIII, A27L, Centaur
Centaur in postwar Greek service Angelos Sanopoulos
Photo:
Jedsite: CENTAUR DOZER
Cruiser tank Mk VIII (A27L) "Centaur"
Archives Nationales du CANADA
PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CRUISER TANK
Cruiser Tank Mk.VIII "Centaur" model 1942
| COMBAT WEIGHT | 28849 kg |
| CREW, pers. | 5 |
| DIMENSIONS | |
| Length, mm | 6352 |
| Width, mm | 2896 |
| Height, mm | 2444 |
| Clearance, mm | 406 |
| WEAPONS | one 6-pounder (57 mm) cannon, one 7.92 mm BESA machine gun in the turret, one 7.71 mm Bren anti-aircraft machine gun, twin-barreled 50.5 mm smoke grenade launcher |
| AMMUNITION | 75 rounds, 4950 rounds of 7.92 mm caliber, 600 rounds of 7.71 mm caliber, 30 grenades |
| AIMING DEVICES | optical machine-gun and telescopic gun sight No.39 Mk.I, periscope devices Mk.IV |
| BOOKING | hull forehead (vert.) - 57-64 mm hull forehead (horizontal) - 25 mm hull board - 32 mm hull feed - 25-32 mm roof - 14 mm bottom - 6.5 mm tower forehead - 76 mm turret side - 51 mm turret feed - 44 mm tower roof - 20 mm |
| ENGINE | Nuffield-Liberty Mk.V, gasoline, 12-cylinder, 395 hp |
| TRANSMISSION | mechanical type: Merrit-Brown Z5 5-speed non-synchronized gearbox, dry friction double disc main clutch, shoe brakes, final drives |
| CHASSIS | (on one side) 5 rubber-coated road wheels with suspension on vertical springs, front guide wheel, rear drive wheel; fine-link caterpillar with steel tracks 356 mm wide and 100 mm pitch |
| SPEED | 43 km / h on the highway 24 km / h on a country road |
| HIGHWAY RANGE | 265 km |
| OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME | |
| Climb angle, deg. | 24 |
| Wall height, m | 0,91 |
| Ford depth, m | 0,91 |
| Ditch width, m | 2,286 |
| MEANS OF COMMUNICATION | radio station No.19 with whip antenna |
In the 1980s, the Italian army developed performance specifications for a promising family of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles, which were planned to enter production decades later. It was planned to create four types of such vehicles: the Ariete main battle tank, the Dardo tracked infantry fighting vehicle, the Puma multi-purpose armored vehicle with a 4 × 4 and 6 × 6 wheel arrangement and the Centauro wheeled tank destroyer with an 8 × wheel arrangement eight.
The requirements for the latter were formulated at the beginning of 1984. It was planned to create a highly mobile wheeled combat vehicle with a 105-mm NATO standard rifled gun. She should have had high speed on the roads to increase the strategic mobility of troops, a large cruising range, increased cross-country ability but rough terrain and a computerized fire control system (FCS), which has much in common with the Offeine Galileo FCS for the Ariete main battle tank.
The first prototype of the car was utov in January, and the second - in the middle of 1987. In December, four cars were already being tested. A total of nine prototypes were built. One hull was used for ballistic testing. At the same time, a pre-production batch of ten cars was produced, which was completely ready at the end of 1989.
The production of the first batch of "centaurs" for the Italian army began at the end of 1990 and ended in 1991. Initially, the army planned to order 450, but then the order was reduced to 400 vehicles.
Serial "centaurs" are significantly different from the prototypes. In particular, they have improved weapons. the ammo rack has been improved, the configuration of the rear of the turret has been changed, the folding ramp in the stern has been replaced with a door, and the accommodation of the crew has become more convenient.
At the end of 1992, eight "centaurs" with 105-mm guns were delivered to Somalia, where for four months they traveled, on average, 8400 km without serious damage.
In 1993, the British companies BAE Systems and RO Defense created ROMOR-A dynamic protection (DZ) for light vehicles and in the same year released 20 kits for Centauro. Ten sets were delivered to Italy, the rest to Somalia.
In addition, the IVEKO-Otobreda consortium for the "centaurs" developed a new package of passive armor installed on the hull and turret of the vehicle to increase its protection from small arms fire.
The last deliveries of wheeled tank destroyers "Centaur" to the Italian army were carried out at the end of 1996.
In mid-1999, the Spanish Ministry of Defense signed a contract with the IVEKO-Otobreda consortium for 70 million US dollars, which provided for the supply of 22 centaurs, their maintenance and training of specialists. The new machines arrived in Spain at the end of 2000 and under the designation VRC-105, they entered service with the 8th Light Cavalry Regiment of the Spanish Rapid Reaction Force. It is possible that Spain may order another batch of such machines in the future.
As far as is known, the Spanish VRC-105s practically do not differ from the Italian "centaurs". True, they are equipped with a DZ kit from the Spanish company Santa Barbara, which provides additional protection frontal projection of the machine from cumulative shells and grenades.
The performance characteristics of the BMP "CENTAVR" (8 × 8) with an 520 hp engine.
At the beginning of 2000, the Centaur turret with a 105-mm cannon was installed on the ASCOD infantry fighting vehicle chassis of a joint Austrian-Spanish development. Thus, a new light tank was created that successfully passed the test. At the same time, the Italians transferred sixteen “centaurs” to the US Army for temporary use to work out the new organizational and staffing structures of the brigades. Of these, twelve were in standard configuration and four were in escort vehicle configuration.
Description
The hull and turret of the wheeled tank destroyer "Centaur" are all-welded, made of armored steel. Provide protection for the crew from small arms fire and shell fragments. Frontal armor withstands 20 mm armor-piercing projectiles, the rest - 12.7 mm bullets. True, it is not indicated. at what distances.
The driver is placed in the body of the car in front on the left side, to the right of him there is a power compartment, fenced off from the interior by a fireproof bulkhead. The driver has a hatch. the lid opens to the left. Three periscopic devices are used to monitor the road situation, the middle of which can be replaced by a passive night vision device MES VG / DIL.
The tower is installed on the roof of the hull, closer to the rear of the machine. The commander is located on the left side of the gun, the gunner is on the right, the loader is in front and slightly below the gunner.
The commander's station is equipped with four periscope observation devices. providing a view forward, to the sides and back. The commander's panoramic sight is installed in front of his hatch. It allows you to conduct all-round observation without turning your head.
The gunner can leave the car through the loader's hatch, the lid of which opens back. On the right side of the turret there are five periscopic observation devices that can be used by both the gunner and the loader.
Tower "Centaur" is made as a single module. It is produced by Otobreda in La Spezia and comes fully prepared for installation on the chassis.
The main weapon of the Centaur tank destroyer is a 105 mm Otobreda rifled cannon with a barrel length of 52 calibers and a large 750 mm recoil. All types of standard 105-mm NATO rounds for the L7 and M68 fork guns can be used for firing, including shots with armor-piercing sub-caliber (APFSDS) shells. The gun has a semi-automatic vertical wedge breech block that remains open after the cartridge case has been extracted. In addition, it is equipped with a multi-chamber muzzle brake, a heat-insulating casing and an ejection device for purging the bore, as well as a system for controlling its bending. The barrel is made using autofrettage technology.
The ammunition load of the gun is forty rounds, fourteen of which are placed in the turret, and the rest in the body of the vehicle. A twin 7.62 mm MG 42/59 machine gun is mounted to the left of the gun. Another similar machine gun is located on the roof of the tower as an anti-aircraft gun. On both sides of the tower, a block of four 76-mm smoke grenade launchers was mounted. Shooting grenades is carried out using an electric trigger.
Gun and turret drives are electro-hydraulic with manual override. Cannon elevation angles vary from -6° to +15°, which is slightly less than on the main combat guns due to the low profile of the turret.
The Centaur wheeled tank destroyer is equipped with the Officine Galileo TURMS (Tank Universal Reconfigurable Modular system) FCS - the same. as on the Ariete main battle tank. Its main components are a commander's panoramic day sight with a stabilized aiming line in two planes, a gunner's periscope combined (day/night) sight with a stabilized aiming line and a built-in laser rangefinder, a digital ballistic computer, a set of firing conditions sensors, a barrel bending accounting system and control panels. commander, gunner and loader.
1 - gun barrel caliber 105 mm; 2 - power department; 3 - driver's hatch; 4 - driver's periscope instruments; 5 - tower; 6 - commander's hatch; 7 - commander's periscope instruments; 8 - loader's hatch; 9 - periscope devices loader and gunner; 10 - 7.62 mm machine gun; 11 - 76 mm smoke grenade launchers; 12 - wheel with bulletproof tires
The commander's sight has a fixed 2.5x and 10x magnification. The swing angle of its head mirror varies from -10° to +60°, the angle of rotation of the sight head horizontally is 360°. For observation and firing at night, the commander has a television monitor, which displays an image from the gunner's thermal imaging sight.
Mounted on the roof of the tower, the gunner's sight combines four main modules (head stabilized mirror, optical day channel, laser transceiver and thermal imager) in one housing. The daytime channel has a 5x magnification, and the TV channel provides a display of two fields of view - wide and narrow - on the monitor.
The digital ballistic computer determines the initial settings for firing, controls the operation of all subsystems of the control system (optical trailer, laser rangefinder, servos). as well as sensors of firing conditions, built-in systems for monitoring the performance of the SITE FCS and crew training. It also provides reconfiguration of system operation algorithms from normal mode to duplicate ones in case of partial failures.
The fire control system includes three main sensors for firing conditions: meteorological, heading angle and bore wear.
The gunner has an Officine Galileo OG С-102 telescopic sight with an 8x magnification and three sighting scales that are switched manually as a backup.
Despite the fact that the 105-mm cannon of the Centaur is stabilized, in the Italian army the main thing is to fire from it from a short stop.
The "Centaur" is equipped with a V-shaped six-cylinder four-stroke multi-fuel diesel engine liquid-cooled IVECO VTCA turbocharged. developing power of 520 hp at 2300 rpm
The engine is connected to a German automatic transmission (automatic transmission) ZF 5 HP 1500, which provides five forward and two reverse gears. The automatic transmission, in turn, transmits torque to the ZF transfer case. The transfer case and automatic transmission are manufactured in Italy in Bolzano under license. The entire power unit on the Centauro can be replaced within 20 minutes.
From the transmission, the torque is transmitted to the differential, from which it is distributed into two streams. It is transmitted to each side of the machine to the wheel gearboxes by means of cardan shafts, cardan gears and bevel gearboxes.
Suspension of the car - hydropneumatic. Two pairs of front and last pair of rear wheels are swivel, which provides relatively small turning radii. The rear pair of wheels is only steered at speeds up to 20 km/h.
A central pressure control system for bulletproof tires is standard on the machine. Adjustment is carried out from the driver's seat while the car is moving and provides increased cross-country ability on rough terrain.
The Sekur NBC protection system, similar to that used on the Ariete tank, is installed in the turret niche. It prevents the entry of contaminated air into the machine by creating excess pressure in it. The built-in air conditioning system allows the crew to work normally at ambient temperatures ranging from 30 ° to + 44 ° C.
The standard equipment of the Centaur includes a winch located in front and fire-fighting systems in the power and fighting compartments.
At the request of the customer, on the roof of the tower, sensors of the warning system for irradiation by laser rangefinders or anti-tank missile guidance systems can be installed.
In the standard version, the combat weight of the Centaur is 25 tons, when additional armor protection modules are installed on it, it increases to 28 tons.
A whole family of combat and special armored vehicles has been developed on the chassis of the Centaur wheeled tank destroyer.
Combat vehicles for peacekeeping forces and guards
As part of the Italian peacekeeping contingent in (Bosnia) there are quite a few "centaurs". These vehicles are distinguished by the presence of a package of hinged armor protection, and the 7.62-mm MG 42/59 anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the roof of the tower is protected from small arms fire on the right and left by armored shields.
The last batch of "centaurs" in the amount of 150 vehicles out of 400 delivered to the Italian army is equipped for use as security vehicles. Their main difference is the placement of four infantrymen who embark and disembark through the aft door. To do this, two 105mm ammo packs had to be removed, reducing them to sixteen, fourteen of which are in the turret and two in the hull. The seats are at the same time boxes with spare parts.
In the troop compartment, the body of the vehicle is covered from the inside with a material such as Kevlar, which reduces the likelihood of their being hit by broken off fragments of armor. The air conditioning and NBC protection systems have been changed to provide purified or cooled air to the larger crew.
"Centaur" with a 60-mm gun
The new Otobreda T60 / 70A turret with a 60-mm cannon as part of the weapons complex was installed for testing on the latest version of the Centaur chassis. It is somewhat longer and wider than the standard one and has a wheelbase of 1.605 × 1.6 × 1.6 m. The vehicle with a combat weight of 24 tons can accommodate six paratroopers. At the same time, its crew is three people.
The same chassis is used for the Centaur VBC infantry fighting vehicle with a 25 mm automatic cannon.
Infantry fighting vehicle "Centaur" \/VS (8×8)
A prototype wheeled infantry fighting vehicle "Centaur" VBC was released at the beginning of 1996 and in June was shown on international exhibition arms Eurosatory in Paris. This machine was developed as part of an initiative project, but in accordance with the requirements of the Italian army to create an infantry fighting vehicle capable of operating in conjunction with the wheeled tank destroyers "Kengavr".
Description
At the beginning of 1999, the Italian army signed a contract with IVECO-Otobreda for the design, development and construction of three prototypes of such an infantry fighting vehicle. The same two-seat Otobreda TC-25 turret with a 25-mm Oerlikon Cotraves KVA automatic gun and coaxial 7 ,62-mm machine gun, as on the tracked BMP Dardo HITFIST. The tower is located in the center, the troop compartment is in the rear of the vehicle body. It can accommodate up to eight infantrymen, their embarkation and disembarkation is carried out through a wide, hydraulically operated ramp that folds down in the stern of the vehicle. The ramp is equipped with a door in case it is not possible to tilt it. For small arms landing there are five loopholes with periscope observation devices, two on each side and one on the left side of the ramp.
The standard equipment of the vehicle includes a hinged package of additional armor to improve protection against small arms fire, power-assisted steerable swivel wheels with bulletproof tires (two pairs of front and a pair of rear tires), a central tire pressure control system, NBC protection systems, air conditioning, laser warning irradiation and fire fighting equipment.
In the armored personnel carrier version, the vehicle is equipped with a turret with a 12.7 mm machine gun and a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun. In this case, its crew consists of two people (gunner commander and driver), and up to ten infantrymen can be accommodated in the troop compartment.
According to representatives of the IVECO-Otobreda consortium, the vehicle can be equipped with more powerful diesel engines and a reinforced package of mounted armor. Then its combat weight will be 28 tons.
In 2003, at the IDEX-03 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, a wheeled tank destroyer was shown. It uses a 120 mm Otobreda 120/45 smoothbore gun with a 45 caliber barrel and a short recoil as its main weapon. Unlike its predecessor with a 105-mm cannon, two anti-aircraft machine guns are installed on the roof of the turret of the new vehicle, one of which is 12.7-mm remote-controlled, the FCS remains the same. When used as an escort vehicle, it can accommodate four infantrymen, and the ammunition load will be reduced to eleven rounds.
In addition, in Italy, on the basis of the Centaur chassis (8 × 8), the following have already been created and are being developed: a self-propelled mortar; command and staff vehicle; armored recovery vehicle; armored ambulance; floating armored personnel carrier; anti-aircraft artillery complex; 155 mm self-propelled howitzer and bridge layer.
In general, the chassis of the wheeled tank destroyer "Centaur" (8 × 8) turned out to be successful, which made it possible to create a whole range of armored vehicles for various purposes on its basis. This increases the unification of equipment in parts and connections, facilitates the supply, training of specialists and repairs.
S. SUVOROV, candidate of military sciences
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In 1984, the command of the Italian army formulated requirements for a highly mobile wheeled tank destroyer armed with a 105-mm rifled gun with ballistics similar to the guns of the Leopard-1 and M60A1 tanks. The aiming system of the gun was to be unified with the fire control systems of the promising Ariete main battle tank and the VCC-80 tracked infantry fighting vehicle. The terms of reference were developed within the framework of integrated program rearmament of ground forces. Heavy armored vehicles were assigned the role of main battle tanks.
Work on the "wheeled tank" began by OTO Melara and Fiat at the end of 1984 and was based on the experience of creating in 1982-1983. armored car Fiat 6636 wheel formula 6x6. The installation of a turret with a 105-mm gun increased the mass of the vehicle by at least 6-7 tons, so a fourth had to be added to the three axles so that the vehicle's cross-country ability would not deteriorate. The choice of overall dimensions of the machine was determined by an intractable compromise between the need for a larger internal volume of the hull to accommodate the turret turret and the restrictions imposed by the dimensions of the cargo compartment of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft.
In April 1985, tests of a demonstrator vehicle without booking began. The main purpose of the tests was to work out the running gear, especially the new hydropneumatic wheel suspension, and to test the layout of the machine in relation to the ease of maintenance of the 105-mm gun.
The first B-1 vehicle with full armor and armament was handed over for testing in January 1987, followed by five more by the end of the year. In total, ten B-1 armored vehicles of an experimental batch participated in the tests. In 1990, the Italian armed forces received the first ten B-1 Centaur armored vehicles, and in 1991 their full-scale production began at the IVECO Fiat plant in Bolzano with a production rate of ten vehicles per month.
BM B1 Centaur
It should be noted that the B-1 "Centaur" armored car occupies special place among armored wheeled vehicles. Formally, it is classified as a BRM - a combat reconnaissance vehicle, but which is not entirely correct. Exceptionally powerful armament for a wheeled vehicle (a 105-mm rifled gun with a high muzzle velocity) makes it possible to remove quotes from the expression "wheeled tank" in relation to this vehicle, especially since in the Italian army the "Centaurs" replaced the tanks - the American M47 .
The body of the armored car is welded from steel armor plates of various thicknesses. In the frontal part, the armor is resistant to 20-mm projectiles, from the stern and sides - to 12.7 mm bullets. The engine compartment is located in the front of the case on the right side. The engine is a six-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine with a turbocharger IVECO Fiat MTSA V-6 with a capacity of 520 hp. With. In addition to the Centaur armored vehicles, various variants of the V-6 diesel are installed on the VCC-80 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, the Argentine TAM tank and the Italian Ariete main battle tank. The car used a West German automatic six-speed (five forward, one reverse) gearbox ZF SHP-1500. The engine, cooling system and gearbox are structurally made in the form of a single unit and are separated from the rest of the body by fireproof partitions. An automatic fire extinguishing and alarm system is installed in the engine compartment.
BTR Centaur
To the left of the engine compartment there is a control compartment with a driver's workplace (the driver's seat is height adjustable). Outside of a combat situation, the driver controls the vehicle, observing the terrain through an open hatch. In combat, observation is carried out using three observation periscope devices. Instead of a central observation unit, a non-illuminated night vision device can be installed.
The central part of the hull is occupied by fuel tanks and a turret floor. In the stern there are two ammunition racks of 12 shells for the gun, rechargeable batteries, a filter-ventilation unit and a hydraulic winch with a pulling force of 10 tons. There is a hatch in the aft armor plate used to load shells.
All eight wheels are driving, the first two pairs are steerable, but at speeds up to 20 km / h, you can also turn the rear pair of wheels. The wheels are controlled by hydraulic boosters. Wheel suspension independent hydropneumatic. The machine is equipped with a centralized tire pressure control system. All wheels are equipped with disc brakes.
BM B1 Centaur
The triple turret, armed with a 105-mm LR 52-caliber cannon, was developed by OTO Melara. It is installed closer to the stern of the hull. The commander of the armored car is located to the left of the gun, the gunner is to the right, the loader is behind the gunner. Hatches in the roof of the hull are located above the seats of the commander and loader.
The LR gun is similar in internal ballistics to the 105mm L7/M68 tank gun. The gun is equipped with a device for purging the bore after a shot, a highly efficient device that absorbs up to 40% of recoil, a muzzle brake and a thermal protective cover. The recoil of the gun when fired is 14 tons, in order to extinguish it, a special hydro-pneumatic recoil system with a barrel stroke of 750 mm after the shot is installed. Shooting is possible with all standard 105 mm NATO rounds, including HEAT rounds. The ammunition for the gun is 40 shells, 14 of them are stored directly in the turret. A 7.62 mm M42/59 machine gun is paired with the gun (mounted on the left side of the gun), another machine gun can be mounted on the roof of the turret. Ammunition for machine guns 4000 rounds. On the sides of the tower there are four smoke grenade launchers.
The rotation of the tower and the aiming of the gun in the vertical plane is carried out using electro-hydraulic drives. Gun elevation angles from -6° to +15°.
The armored car is equipped with a Galileo modular fire control system. Its main subsystems are the commander's and gunner's sights, a digital ballistic computer, atmospheric state sensors, indicators and control panels for the gunner, commander and loader. The commander of the armored car has a stabilized daytime panoramic sight with 2.5x and 10x magnification. An image intensifier is integrated into the sight, which allows for observation and aiming in low light conditions. The sight has a circular rotation in the horizontal plane, in the vertical - from -10° to +60°. The gunner has a combined stabilized day/night sight with a built-in laser rangefinder. The day channel has a 5-fold gain, the image from the infrared channel is duplicated on the indicator installed next to the commander's seat. The shooter also has a telescope with an 8x magnification paired with the main sight. The commander observes the left sector through four periscope viewing devices, the gunner - the right sector through five fixed periscope viewing devices. The ballistic computer is based on a 16-bit Intel 8086 processor. Despite the fact that the gun is stabilized in two planes and has modern system fire control, according to Western press reports, the Centaur cannot fire on the move.
But some changes were made to the test results of the first six machines in the design: the width of the hull was slightly reduced (for more convenient placement in the "womb" of the C-130), the bottom was given a small V-shape for better mine protection, the size of the hatch in the aft armor sheet was reduced .
Mass production armored vehicles B-1 "Centaur" ended in 1996. 400 vehicles were transferred to the armament of three armored cavalry regiments of the Italian army. Interest in armored vehicles of this type is shown by the command of the armed forces of Spain, which intends to purchase 30 wheeled tanks.
Checking in combat conditions armored vehicles. "Centaur" took place during the peacekeeping operation "Restore Hope", held in Somalia under the auspices of the UN. At the end of 1992, eight wheeled tanks from the 19th Cavalry Regiment were sent to the African continent as part of a mixed armored company (in addition to the Centaurs, it included five more M60A1 tanks). Two airborne regiments, which formed the backbone of the Italian contingent of UN forces, were reinforced with heavy equipment. "Centaurs" were widely used to conduct reconnaissance raids, blockade the main lines of communication of the separatists and escort convoys with humanitarian cargo. During the first four months of 1993, seven armored vehicles covered 8400 km on Somali highways and off-road. For all the time there was not a single serious case of equipment failure. The eighth car was not used, as its engine failed immediately upon arrival in Somalia. Before the end of the UN mission in Somalia, the eighth Centaur was commissioned, and two more vehicles were transferred from Italy.
Under the conditions of constant tire damage, the system of centralized pressure regulation in pneumatics proved to be especially good; of course, it could not get rid of punctures, but it allowed to complete the task.
For the whole company, there were no worthy targets for 105-mm guns, of which they fired only at firing practice at an impromptu training ground in the Gialalksi area. But the commander's panoramic sight with an image intensifier was very useful. "Centaurs" were very often used as mobile observation posts along the Imperial Highway. The vehicles occupied positions 500 meters from the road and the crews, using sights as night vision devices, monitored night life, if necessary, pointing Italian patrols at its suspicious manifestations.
VHF radio stations installed on armored vehicles turned out to be not powerful enough, it was recognized as necessary to have a medium-range HF radio station at least on command vehicles. Oddly enough, in a very hot climate, the crews did not use the air conditioning system, preferring to open all the hatches for plowing.
Typical counterguerrilla operations were carried out in Somalia. The enemy was poorly armed and poorly trained, however, it quickly became clear that the armor protection of the Centaurs (as well as all other armored vehicles) was clearly not sufficient, it did not "hold" the armor-piercing bullets of the DShK machine guns, not to mention the RPG-grenades 7. As a matter of urgency, the British company Royal Ordnance ordered twenty sets of dynamic protection units for the turret and sides of the ROMOR-A hull. Ten sets were installed on the "Somali" "Centaurs".
In the summer of 1997, Centaurs, together with Fiat 6614 armored vehicles of the Guards Cavalry Regiment, took part in Operation Alba to prevent a civil war in Albania.
"CENTAUR" II
In 1996, the Italian armed forces issued technical requirements for the second generation Centaur wheeled tank. The prototype was made in the same year, and in 1997 it was submitted for testing. The aft part of the hull was lengthened by 335 mm, which made it possible to increase its internal volume. Ammunition for the 105-mm cannon on the new version of the Centaur BRM is placed only in the tower, and in the enlarged aft compartment there are places for four soldiers with full armament. Additional armor plates are installed around the tower, the upper parts of the two rear pairs of wheels are covered with screens of steel armor plates. As a result of the improvements, the combat weight of the vehicle increased by 1 ton, the ammunition capacity of the cannon shells decreased from 40 to 16. It is expected that the Italian ground forces will order 150 Centaur II armored vehicles for use as armored reconnaissance vehicles.
Armored personnel carrier "CENTAUR"
An experienced armored personnel carrier was built in 1996. The body of the vehicle was lengthened by another 80 mm compared to the "Centaur" II, and the wheelbase also increased, from 4.5 m to 4.8 m. For ergonomic reasons, the body was made higher, the height of the APC on the roof of the body is 1.93 m compared to 1.75 m for the Centaur. The experience of peacekeeping operations in Somalia has shown the need to strengthen armor protection: the armor of the armored personnel carrier can withstand hits of 12.7 mm armor-piercing bullets in the stern and from the sides, and in the front - hits of 25 mm shells. The demonstration vehicle was fitted with a two-man OTO Breda turret, armed with a 20 mm automatic cannon and coaxial with a non-7.62 mm machine gun. During the tests, the 20 mm gun was replaced with a 25 mm gun. In the configuration with the turret installed, the BTR crew consists of three people (commander, gunner, driver) and six more paratroopers are located in the aft fighting compartment. The combat weight of the armored personnel carrier is 24 tons. The turretless armored personnel carrier based on the Centaur can carry 11 people, including the driver.
The armored personnel carrier based on the Centaur meets almost all the requirements set by the French army for the promising VBM wheeled vehicle, the German army for the GTK vehicle and the British army for the MRAV armored car. The only exception is the width of the vehicle, since the armed forces of France and Germany limited the width of the prospective armored car to three meters, while the width of the armored personnel carrier based on the Centaur is 3.28 m. It is possible to reduce the width of the armored personnel carrier by removing the additional hull armor or replacing it to another type. It is very likely that the armored personnel carrier will take part in the competition for the supply of armored wheeled vehicles for the armed forces of these countries.
In 1999, the Italian Ministry of Defense signed a contract providing for the development of a command and staff vehicle, an ambulance, a self-propelled mortar and an ATGM carrier based on an armored personnel carrier. The Italian army plans to purchase 240 vehicles of all modifications. The width of the base model destined for Italy has been reduced to 3m.
The anti-tank variant will be equipped with Breda's HITFIST OTO rotating turret. A 25 mm Oerlikon Contraverse automatic cannon, a 7.62 mm machine gun coaxial with it, and two TOU ATGM launchers are mounted in the turret.
The command and staff vehicle has an increased height of the fighting compartment (the total height of the vehicle on the roof of the hull is 2.1 m). Armament - a 12.7 mm machine gun on a pivot mount. There are no loopholes in the sides of the hull and the ramp on the KShM.
The self-propelled mortar variant involves the installation of a 120-mm TDA smoothbore mortar on a rotary base inside the fighting compartment. Shooting is carried out through a large hatch in the roof of the hull. For self-defense, a 12.7 mm machine gun on a pivot mount will be used. The crew of a self-propelled mortar consists of a commander, a driver and four combat crew members.
On the basis of the armored car "Centaur", a 155-mm self-propelled gun was created and tested.
Wheel formula .................................................. ..8x8
Combat weight, kg .............................................. .24.800
Hull length, m ............................................... .. 7.40
Length with gun forward, m ........................................ 8.56
Width, m ............................................... ........ 2.94
Hull height, m ............................................... .1.75
Height on the roof of the tower, m ........................................ 2.44
Wheelbase, m ....................................... 1.60 / 1.45 / 1.45
Track width, m .............................................. ... 2.51
Ground clearance, m .............................................. 0 .42
Maximum speed on the highway, km / h ............................... 108
Range on the highway, km .......................................... 800
Fuel tank capacity, l .............................. 540
Overcome obstacles:
climb................................................. ........... 60%
wall height, m ............................................... .. 0.55
trench width, m ............................................... .. 1.55
fording depth, m ............................................... .... 1.2
Crew, pers. ................................................. ..... four
B1 "Centaur" (Italian: Centauro) is an Italian heavy armored car, often also classified as a tank destroyer. It was created by the Iveco FIAT Oto Melara concern by order of the Italian Army for the role of a reconnaissance vehicle, also capable of fighting enemy armored vehicles. Serial production of the Centaur was carried out from 1991 to 2006, a total of 484 machines of this type were produced, some of which, in addition to Italy, were exported to Spain.
In addition to the armored car, the Freccia infantry fighting vehicle was created on a common base with it, which is in service with the Italian Army, as well as an armored personnel carrier that did not go beyond the prototype stage.
History of creation
In 1984, the command of the Italian army formulated requirements for a highly mobile wheeled tank destroyer armed with a 105-mm rifled gun with ballistics similar to the guns of the Leopard-1 and M60A1 tanks. The aiming system of the gun was to be unified with the fire control systems of the prospective Ariete main battle tank and the VCC-80 tracked infantry fighting vehicle. The terms of reference were developed as part of a comprehensive program for the rearmament of the ground forces. Heavy armored vehicles were assigned the role of main battle tanks.
Work on the "wheeled tank" began by OTO Melara and Fiat at the end of 1984 and was based on the experience of creating in 1982-1983. armored car Fiat 6636 wheel formula 6x6. The installation of a turret with a 105-mm gun increased the mass of the vehicle by at least 6-7 tons, so a fourth had to be added to the three axles so that the vehicle's cross-country ability would not deteriorate. The choice of overall dimensions of the machine was determined by an intractable compromise between the need for a larger internal volume of the hull to accommodate the turret turret and the restrictions imposed by the dimensions of the cargo compartment of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft.
In April 1985, tests of a demonstrator vehicle without booking began. The main purpose of the tests was to work out the running gear, especially the new hydropneumatic wheel suspension, and to test the layout of the machine in relation to the ease of maintenance of the 105-mm gun.
The first B-1 vehicle with full armor and armament was handed over for testing in January 1987, followed by five more by the end of the year. In total, ten B-1 armored vehicles of an experimental batch participated in the tests. In 1990, the Italian armed forces received the first ten B-1 Centaur armored vehicles, and in 1991 their full-scale production began at the IVECO Fiat plant in Bolzano with a production rate of ten vehicles per month.
It should be noted that the B-1 "Centaur" armored car occupies a special place among armored wheeled vehicles. Formally, it is classified as a BRM - a combat reconnaissance vehicle, but which is not entirely correct. Exceptionally powerful armament for a wheeled vehicle (a 105-mm rifled gun with a high muzzle velocity) makes it possible to remove quotes from the expression "wheeled tank" in relation to this vehicle, especially since in the Italian army the "Centaurs" replaced the tanks - the American M47 .
Design
The body of the armored car is welded from steel armor plates of various thicknesses. In the frontal part, the armor is resistant to 20-mm shells, from the stern and sides - to hit by 12.7 mm caliber bullets. The engine compartment is located in the front of the case on the right side. The engine is a six-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine with a turbocharger IVECO Fiat MTSA V-6 with a capacity of 520 hp. With. In addition to the Centaur armored vehicles, various variants of the V-6 diesel are installed on the VCC-80 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, the Argentine TAM tank and the Italian Ariete main battle tank. The car used a West German automatic six-speed (five forward, one reverse) gearbox ZF SHP-1500. The engine, cooling system and gearbox are structurally made in the form of a single unit and are separated from the rest of the body by fireproof partitions. An automatic fire extinguishing and alarm system is installed in the engine compartment.
To the left of the engine compartment there is a control compartment with a driver's workplace (the driver's seat is height adjustable). Outside of a combat situation, the driver controls the vehicle, observing the terrain through an open hatch. In combat, observation is carried out using three observation periscope devices. Instead of a central observation unit, a non-illuminated night vision device can be installed.
The central part of the hull is occupied by fuel tanks and a turret floor. In the stern there are two ammunition racks of 12 shells for the gun, batteries, a filter-ventilation unit and a hydraulic winch with a pulling force of 10 tons. There is a hatch in the stern armor plate used for loading shells.
All eight wheels are driving, the first two pairs are steerable, but at speeds up to 20 km / h, you can also turn the rear pair of wheels. The wheels are controlled by hydraulic boosters. Wheel suspension independent hydropneumatic. The machine is equipped with a centralized tire pressure control system. All wheels are equipped with disc brakes.
The triple turret, armed with a 105-mm LR 52-caliber cannon, was developed by OTO Melara. It is installed closer to the stern of the hull. The commander of the armored car is located to the left of the gun, the gunner is to the right, the loader is behind the gunner. Hatches in the roof of the hull are located above the seats of the commander and loader.
The LR gun is similar in internal ballistics to the 105mm L7/M68 tank gun. The gun is equipped with a device for purging the bore after a shot, a highly efficient device that absorbs up to 40% of recoil, a muzzle brake and a thermal protective cover. The recoil of the gun when fired is 14 tons, in order to extinguish it, a special hydro-pneumatic recoil system with a barrel stroke of 750 mm after the shot is installed. Shooting is possible with all standard 105 mm NATO rounds, including HEAT rounds. The ammunition for the gun is 40 shells, 14 of them are stored directly in the turret. A 7.62 mm M42/59 machine gun is paired with the gun (mounted on the left side of the gun), another machine gun can be mounted on the roof of the turret. Ammunition for machine guns 4000 rounds. On the sides of the tower there are four smoke grenade launchers.
The rotation of the tower and the aiming of the gun in the vertical plane is carried out using electro-hydraulic drives. Gun elevation angles from -6° to +15°.
The armored car is equipped with a Galileo modular fire control system. Its main subsystems are the commander's and gunner's sights, a digital ballistic computer, atmospheric state sensors, indicators and control panels for the gunner, commander and loader. The commander of the armored car has a stabilized daytime panoramic sight with 2.5x and 10x magnification. An image intensifier is integrated into the sight, which allows for observation and aiming in low light conditions. The sight has a circular rotation in the horizontal plane, in the vertical - from -10° to +60°. The gunner has a combined stabilized day/night sight with a built-in laser rangefinder. The day channel has a 5-fold gain, the image from the infrared channel is duplicated on the indicator installed next to the commander's seat. The shooter also has a telescope with an 8x magnification paired with the main sight. The commander observes the left sector through four periscope viewing devices, the gunner - the right sector through five fixed periscope viewing devices. The ballistic computer is based on a 16-bit Intel 8086 processor. Despite the fact that the gun is stabilized in two planes and has a modern fire control system, according to Western press reports, the Centaur cannot fire on the move.
But some changes were made to the test results of the first six machines in the design: the width of the hull was slightly reduced (for more convenient placement in the "womb" of the C-130), the bottom was given a small V-shape for better mine protection, the size of the hatch in the aft armor sheet was reduced .
Serial production of armored vehicles B-1 "Centaur" was completed in 1996. 400 vehicles were transferred to the armament of three armored cavalry regiments of the Italian army. Interest in armored vehicles of this type is shown by the command of the armed forces of Spain, which intends to purchase 30 wheeled tanks.
Modifications
- B1 "Centaur"- basic serial modification
- B1 "Centaur" 120 mm- upgraded version with 120 mm smoothbore gun and improved chassis
- Draco- modification equipped with a 76-mm automatic cannon and radar. In 2010, the Centauro was demonstrated with the new Draco turret and the Scudo active protection system. Development work was planned to be completed in 2012. The first serial sample can be delivered in 2014.
Combat use
Checking in combat conditions armored vehicles. "Centaur" took place during the peacekeeping operation "Restore Hope", held in Somalia under the auspices of the UN. At the end of 1992, eight wheeled tanks from the 19th Cavalry Regiment were sent to the African continent as part of a mixed armored company (in addition to the Centaurs, it included five more M60A1 tanks). Two airborne regiments, which formed the backbone of the Italian contingent of UN forces, were reinforced with heavy equipment. "Centaurs" were widely used to conduct reconnaissance raids, blockade the main lines of communication of the separatists and escort convoys with humanitarian cargo. During the first four months of 1993, seven armored vehicles covered 8400 km on Somali highways and off-road. For all the time there was not a single serious case of equipment failure. The eighth car was not used, as its engine failed immediately upon arrival in Somalia. Before the end of the UN mission in Somalia, the eighth Centaur was commissioned, and two more vehicles were transferred from Italy.
In conditions of constant tire damage, the system of centralized pressure regulation in pneumatics proved to be especially good, of course it could not get rid of punctures, but it allowed to complete the task.
For the whole company, there were no worthy targets for 105-mm guns, of which they fired only at firing practice at an impromptu training ground in the Gialalksi area. But the commander's panoramic sight with an image intensifier was very useful. "Centaurs" were very often used as mobile observation posts along the Imperial Highway. The vehicles occupied positions 500 meters from the road and the crews, using sights as night vision devices, monitored night life, if necessary, pointing Italian patrols at its suspicious manifestations.
VHF radio stations installed on armored vehicles turned out to be not powerful enough, it was recognized as necessary to have a medium-range HF radio station at least on command vehicles. Oddly enough, in a very hot climate, the crews did not use the air conditioning system, preferring to open all the hatches for plowing.
Typical counterguerrilla operations were carried out in Somalia. The enemy was poorly armed and poorly trained, however, it quickly became clear that the armor protection of the Centaurs (as well as all other armored vehicles) was clearly not sufficient, it did not "hold" the armor-piercing bullets of the DShK machine guns, not to mention the RPG-grenades 7. As a matter of urgency, the British company Royal Ordnance ordered twenty sets of dynamic protection units for the turret and sides of the ROMOR-A hull. Ten sets were installed on the "Somali" "Centaurs".
In the summer of 1997, Centaurs, together with Fiat 6614 armored vehicles of the Guards Cavalry Regiment, took part in Operation Alba to prevent a civil war in Albania.
Technical specifications
Wheel formula .................................................. ..8х8 Combat weight, kg....................................... ....24.800 Hull length, m.......................................... ....... 7.40 Length with gun forward, m.................................. ...... 8.56 Width, m ....................................... ................. 2.94 Hull height, m .............................. ............... 1.75 Height on the roof of the tower, m .................... .................... 2.44 Wheelbase, m ............................... ............... 1.60/1.45/1.45 Gauge, m ............... .............................. 2.51 Ground clearance, m .............. ............................... 0.42 Maximum speed on the highway, km / h ........ ...................... 108 Cruising range on the highway, km .............................. .................................. 800 Fuel tank capacity, l .............................. ................. 540 Climbing obstacles: climbing .............................. ......................... ..... 60% wall height, m....................................... ......... 0.55 trench width, m .............................. .............. 1.55 fording depth, m .............................. ............... 1.2 Crew, pers. ................................................. ..... four