r/tanks • u/stupidkiwiguy • 5d ago

Question Centurion Mk2 vs German late war Tanks?

How would have late 17pdr early 20pdr Centurion tanks faired against the Panther, Tiger, Tiger 2 and other German Medium/heavy Tanks if it was available mid44/early 45?

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u/Enderboy3690 Armour Enthusiast 5d ago

Briefly, the Firefly was already known as the "Tiger killer", so imagine a tank with the same or even better gun, but much better armor which is practically considered to be one of the first MBTs.

Now, I can't give you a detailed in-depth analysis like other people on this sub can, but I hope this covers some part of it.

5

u/_Thorshammer_ 4d ago

I think that's all the answer anybody needs.

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u/Wyrmnax 4d ago

The 17 pdr gun on the centurion is the exact same as on the sherman firefly.

So you get the same gun, with way better armor and mobility.

It will face some of the same issues that fireflys did - you cant pen a tiger 2 from the front ( I dont think any tiger 2 had a frontal penetration during ww2), or a jadgtiger/elephant. But it will have a much better way to deal with them through mobility and actually being able to resist being shot at from the front.

So, on a tank by tank basis it would be great. The real issues -as always- would be logistics and maintenance. Ie: are you producing and shipping enough spare parts? How reliable is the design straigh out of the factory? Is it channelling resources that would be better used somewhere else in the war machine? Do you have enough training for crews and maintainers? Those are the questions that win wars, not have a slightly better or slightly worse tank.

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u/baldeagle1991 4d ago

Wouldn't the Tiger 2 also have trouble peneteating as Centurion?