Centaur - British Armour

[Haridimos]

Originally Posted by Roddy1011

Kostas -

Are there any Greek records available today listing what the Greek Army bought or was given in the way of tracked vehicles ? When did they get such kit and what did they get ?

What we know today is that the British Army donated fifty two (52) Centaurs to the Greeks the first months of 1946 in order to complete the equipment of the latter with british materials and to use all these against the communist rebels at a second fase. Of cource, training on Centaurs was awarded to British istructors. The tanks formed three squadrons.

1. Here, Major V.J. Senior (L) and his assistant Major "Q" Kirby (R) in front of a Sherman ARV M-32 and a Centaur.
2. Before a military parade at Athens, Oct 1947.
3. Centaurs at the training campus, at Attica 1947. At left, maybe a Lynx.

centaurs 1947 _IPMS 1992 british trainers majors Senior-Beaver.jpgcentaurs 1947 _IPMS 1992 at Zappeion before parade.jpgcentaurs 1947 _IPMS 1992 c1.jpg

[easo]

What is the difference between a Centaur and a Cromwell?

There is a Cromwell here in Pucka that looks very much the same as your Centaur.

http://www.armytankmuseum.com.au/i-vd.htm

Regards Easo

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by easo

What is the difference between a Centaur and a Cromwell?

Centaur is A27L with a Liberty engine.
Cromwell is A27M with a Meteor engine.

There are usually other differences but these are related to when it was built rather than model specific.

i.e. F type hull with the drivers side escape hatch is only found on Cromwell because Centaur production had ceased by the time it was introduced.

The engine installation is designed to be interchangeable between the two though fan drives, clutch and oil cooler and filter are also different. The switchbox allows for either coil or magneto igntion as required.

[eddy8men]

hi kev

you've probably seen the cavalier for sale on milweb which would pretty much give you everything you need for your centaur but you would then be left with a stripped cavalier hull and there in lies the problem with buying one historic tank to fix another, what to do with the spare one !
whatever you decide good luck with it, when it's done you'll have the only running mk1 centaur in the world. a very worthwhile project.

rick

[Roddy de Normann]

Kostas -

Thanks for the details and great pics...I will see if I can find anything in the National Archives at Kew next time I am there...

[Haridimos]

Kevin,

I'd just let you know that there are two (!) Centaurs turrets at the War Museum of Athens in static desplay ..

Well... It won't be a bad idea to offer them an exchange or a swap with something else... but I don't have anything in mind ...

CENTAUR turret left 2012 rsz_.jpgCENTAUR turret right 2012 rsz.jpg

[eddy8men]

there are a few centaurs in portugal aswell.

download this from the excellent shaddock sites. http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Cruiser_Tanks.pdf

[kevin powles]

Hi, Is that not the same gun turret taken from another angle?. Rick, I think that Cavalier has different running gear to a Centaur, hubs, swing arms etc so would yield very little useful parts, I think it needs to go to Bovington for restoration with the turret staying with it as I understand they have another Cavalier there. At the moment I think it's the 'missing link' in there British Cruiser tank restored collection.

Kevin.

[kevin powles]

Hi, The Centaur strip continues, nearly every side armour bolt needed a nut welded to it to allow it to be removed. The shrapnel damaged division plate has been removed for a pattern for a new lazer cut one.

Hope to have all the springs and shocks off by the end of next week, some repair work then to take place on the hull before blasting and priming.

kevin.

[eddy8men]

i'm impressed mate you really are going at it hell for leather.
i have a boxed nos meteor engine from a guy in denmark that i was going to buy if i couldn't get a liberty for the centaur, obviously i have no need for it now so it's yours if you want it. the guy was asking £2600 which is a good price, let me know soonest so i can let him know either way. cheers

keep up the good work

rick

[kevin powles]

Pulled the tracks out of the molasses after 3 years of being submerged.....ekk😳, then just pressure wash off.

[jdmcm]

Three years! man you have more patience than me! They look great now! Are you going to continue with the restoration Kevin?

Regards
John

[RichardT10829]

Best to POR them post rinse, that way they won't flash rust on you

[jdmcm]

There is a product here in Canada called "Hold Tight" You mix it in with your pressure washer water when you rinse the bare metal and it will provide a minimum of 72 hours protection from flash rusting, in practice it is usually twice that. I have used it when I "wet" blast with my sandblaster...it is pretty pricey here but well worth the price in my opinion.

John

[RichardT10829]

Mind I am surprised the solution was still active after three years, usually its kaput after around six months depending on conditions.. (my findings anyway)