Dave
great research on the Vietnam Centurions, best to go to the source! I have always been a Centurion fan, fascinated in part because as a kid it was one of the first actual tanks I had ever seen up close and in person in the form of a gate guard at Sarcee Barracks in Calgary, that Centurion now at the War Museums of Alberta. They had actually welded handles on the Centurion and Sherman to make climbing on them even easier...ahh the good old days before lawyers ruined the world.
As I have learned more about the Australians use of the Centurion in Vietnam, I have to say I have a newfound excitement and appreciation for this tank, reading and watching the documentaries about the Centurions in action at Binh Bah and the defense of FOB Coral and Balmoral is fascinating. When you think of tanks in Vietnam, which really isn't something usually equated with that conflict, you think of M48's, maybe M41's and the occasional T54 and PT76. I think the use of the Centurion and the Australian modifications to same is something every Centurion fanatic should immerse themselves in. And to get the information right from the tankers that served on these machines is amazing. The Centurion tank, definitely one for my bucket list.
|