[quote=glyn;403266]
Quote:
Originally Posted by zraver
But anyway I digress, the British made the choice to trade speed for protection and so it should not be a suprise the Centurion dominated the Patton on the defensive.
Good point. The Patton could travel about 50% faster than the Centurion on paved roads. Off-road performance levelled that playing field though, and under certain conditions the Cent with its manual gearbox was quicker across country than the M-48 with its automatic gearbox. Generally their cross-country capabilities were much of a muchness.
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centurion ground clearance of .51m,Height 3.01m, leangth 7.6m ground pressure .9kg/cm^2 trench crossing 3.35m cross country speed 30km/h
M-47 ground clearence of .0478m, Hieght 3.35m, leangth .935kg/cm^2 leangth 8.51m trench crossing 2m off road speed 24km/h
M48 ground clearence .41m, Height 3.1m, Leangth 9.3m, ground pressure .88kg/cm^2 trench crossing 2.95m off road speed 35km/h
Looking up that bit of info suprised me. I figured for sure the American tanks would have an edge in mobility being lighter than the Centurion, I also figured the longer leangth, and higher profile would translate into higher ground clearence, lower ground pressure and superior trench crossing. Just goes to show how well designed the Centurion was for its time.