British main tank Centurion Mk 13

The main battle tank Mk 13 “Centurion” (the Israeli name “Sho’t-Kal”) * was developed in 1971 by Vickers. It is produced serially since 1972. It is in service with the armies of Great Britain, South Africa, Egypt, Australia, Denmark, Israel, Canada, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden. Used in battles in the Middle East, the Iran-Iraq war.

British main tank Centurion Mk 13 tank museum, Kubinka photo, 2016.

British main tank Centurion Mk 13, tank museum, Kubinka, photo, 2016.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Weight – 51.8 tons
Number of crew – 4 people
Overall dimensions (length x width x height) – 9854 x 3300 x 2960 mm.
Armament
gun – 1 pc., caliber – 105 mm., ammunition-70 shots
machine gun – 2 pcs., caliber – 7.62 mm., ammunition -6000 cartridges
machine gun -1 pc., caliber – 12.7 mm., ammunition-600 cartridges
Armor Protection: the forehead of the body is 127 mm., turret – 152 mm.
Engine power – 720 horsepower
The maximum speed is 34 km / h
Cruising on the highway 185 km.
Overcoming of water obstacles – afloat (using floats)

Design Features

The base is the same for all tanks of the Centurion series; instead of the carburetor engine is installed diesel.
The overall layout is classical.

Armament – a gun with a heat shield; optical range finder; advanced commander’s turret; sighting machine gun.

Defense – the same as the tank Centurion Mk 10.
Chassis – engine 12-cylinder, four-stroke diesel; There is a device for towing a trailer with fuel.

Note

* After the Israeli modernization in the 1970s, the name “Ben-Gurion” was unofficially called, now the name “Shot Kal”