The Centurion AVRE ("Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers") was the cold war reincarnation of the Churchill AVRE Petard of WW2, already used by the Royal Engineers from 1944 for a variety of roles. The 1950s Centurion Main Battle Tank was used as a "reboot" of the concept, fitted this time with a modern 165 mm demolition gun capable of sending at 2,000 yards (1,800 m) a 60 lb (27 kg) HESH projectile, fitted with an hydraulically operated dozer blade, mine plough, fascine bundle, roll of metal Class 60 Trackway and capable of towing the Viper mine-clearance equipment or utility trailer. Produced from 1963 in limited quantities, it was used in combat, in 1972 Operation Motorman and 1991 Gulf War.

Development History

Back in 1944, "Hobart's funnies" sent a pattern that armoured vehicles could be declined into multiple variants while still offering good protection to their occupants. The first specialized vehicles were designed to deal with beach obstacles, but soon they were also employed in land for other jobs, not only dealing with German blockhaus, but also clearing minelfields, crossing trenches and gap rivers. The Royal Engineers, especially those of the 79th armoured division, operated the Churchill AVRE Petard, officially "Mortar, Recoiling, Spigot, 29 mm, Mk I", resumed as "AVRE" (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineer) and used as breakthrough tank as per the lessons of the 1942 Dieppe Raid.

The Churchill infantry tank was a large, reliable and adaptable platform with excellent protection and traction, albeit slow. The new 29 mm spigot mortar that wa sinstalled was soon dubbed the "flying dustbin" and used to range demolition charges. After trials in 1943, the Churchill AVRE was deemed ready for service and proved invaluable in the breakthrough during after the Normandy Landings in June 1944. The 79th Armoured Division completed is well. The AVRE name was resurrected in a new generation, as the last were retired due to twear and tear in the 1950s without replacement... until the idea came out of taking the Centurion Mk.5 to create such successor.

Bearing the Fighting Vehicle number FV 4003 the Centurion AVRE was designed for exacly the same missions as the Churchill AVRE in WW2, but with a few more options that made it even more useful, able to perform all possible missions thrown at the Royal Engineers and more. Initially the Centurion Mk.5 Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers was designed for clearing minefields, using a Giant Viper towed mine-clearance system. In complement it could destroy fortified positions with its 165 mm L9A1 demolition gun, firing a 60 lb (29 kg) HESH round to blast off any blockaus or any defensive line dragon teeth or tanke obstacle. Like ikts precedessor it was designed to provide cover and safe working space for engineers.

The AVRE dozer blade was used to clear up debris that were blasted by its main gun. The final result was in service by 1963 after tests performed from 1955 onwards when its study was launched to replace the Churchill AVRE, with a production approved based on plans drawn up in 1950. The first prototype was completed in 1957. It entered service in its most basic version in 1963 and about 40 Centurion mark 5 were so converted, which stayed in service until 1991, when its replacement, the Chieftain AVRE or Trojan were either not yet operationa or not deployed. This was the oldest main battle tank developed in the gulf war from any belligerent but Iraqi T-54/55s.

Design

Blueprint from the blueprints

General Layout

This was a standard Centurion Mk.5 which main gun was replaced by a specialized short barrel, high caliber, low power one firing massive HESH rounds. The tank weighed 57 tons with a similar crew of four as in the original "Cent". It kept its original turret and hull, everything that made the Mark 5 but a few details for fixing a dozen blade at the nose with welded attachement points, and all the hydraulic gearing going through the nose and powered by the transmission. There was also a back plate powered towing hook for utility systems and trailers, such as the minelaying detector Royal Ordnance Giant Viper. There were fixation points on the engine deck at the rear also to carry various payloads, like fascines.

Protection was the same offered by the Centurion Mark 5, so a classic thick steel rolled homogeneous armour, see the Centurion for more. The way the driver, commander, loader and gunner were in the hull and turret was mostly unchaged as well. Being ready by 1963 the Centurion AVRE in addition to its fire extinguishers, was compatible to NBC requirements with air conditioning and surpressure. Due to the large quantities of smoke comin from the L9 gun, turret ventilation was reworked and made more powerful. For active concealement, there were two banks of five smoke dischargers each and in 1990, it was modernized with extra add-on ERA protection to be deployed in the Gulf War.

Mobility

The Centurion AVRE was powered by the same Mark 5 650 hp Rolls-Royce Meteor engine. This engine was later replaced with a 695 hp Rolls-Royce BL60 in 1980s modernizations to keep the park revelant and replace essentially a worn out power unit. It was slow still, with a top speed was 48 km/h on paper, 30 km/h over rough terrain in reality. It was of couse not amphibious but could cross any body water over one meter high. Traction was excellent due to the wide tracks. Fording depth was indeed 1.45 m, it could also climb a maximum gradient of 60% or a vertical obstacle of 0.94 m and gap a trench of 3.35 m or much larger using its own carried fascine bundle.

Armament

The original Mark 5 gun had been replaced with the L9 (later L9A1), a short 6.5-inch (165 mm) demolition gun firing enormous HESH demolition charges to devastate field fortifications and other obstacles. The charge weighed approximately 30 kg, half made of PE4 explosive. For comparison the same as six 120 mm HESH shells combined. This gun was remarkable accurate at a maximum range of about 1,800 m. At 1,300 m it could hit a bunker, t 730 m it could hit the steel beams of a bridge. This range was obtained by an elevation of +20° and depression of -10°. There was also a 7.62 mm machine gun installed coaxially with the cannon, and another in the turret for anti-aircraft defense.

Equipments

Mounted at the front, there was a hydraulic shovel to clear obstacles on the battlefield or creating firing positions. The vehicle can also carry and deploy Class 30 or 60 aluminum plates, enabling a firmer artificial path to traverse muddy terrain. A fascine can also be carried at the front and thrown into a large anti-tank ditch. The Centurion AVRE was also designed for towing a trailer carrying additional equipment: Explosives, 165 mm shells, or the Royal Ordnance Giant Viper mine-detection system. It had an optional forward mine-clearing plow, usable as soon as a minefield is detected, with its base hydraulically lowered to the ground in front of each track. As the AVRE advanced, mines are unearthed and pushed to the sides by the two bases. This equipment was developed by the firm T.B. Pearson and Sons Ltd. according to British Army standards, and was also found on the later Chieftain AVLB and AVRE of the engineering corps.

The vehicle carried a wooden frame used to cross various gaps and trenches, or any similar obstacles and enabled following armoured vehicles to cross in turn. Despite this was in wood, this frame weighed 5 to 8 tons and could support the weight of a tank, and that included the 52 tonnes AVRE itself. The hydraulic backfill blade usable for crossing various obstacles and digging emplacements on the fly—in the ground was improved in shape and power over the years. It only took about 7 minutes to excavate a low-profile bunker position for another tank for example and prepare an ambush positions in the field. A large trench for infantry could be also dug up in no time. The AVRE could also perform many tasks and with other engineering modules and specialized trailers, eveything the Royal Engineers could think of.

Combat History

The 40 or so vehicles made from 1963 onwards and probably until 1969 or 1970s were used in a variety of exercises, and only saw combat at two occasions with a hug gap in between: The Centirion mark 5 AVRE was used in the 1972 Operation Motorman, and in the 1991 Gulf War. Operation Motorman was its first "combat" application, when it was used in Ulster and northern Ireland during the "troubles", helping demolishing barricades notably. Operation Motorman was a large operation carried out by the British Army from 31 July 1972 with the aim of retaking the "no-go areas" controlled by residents, and Irish republican paramilitaries established in Belfast and other urban centres. In Derry, Operation Carcan was executed as part of Motorman. The Centution AVRE proved invaluable at this occasion.

Then followed a long and gradual inactivation as no conflict was thought for them. They were considered too heavy to fight in the Falklands in 1982, and the conditions there never required its use as the Argentines only created quickly made defensive positions and there was no heavy defenses in these cold and windy, barren islands. Soon, a replacement was on order, and studied started already on the basis of the replacement tank for the Centurion, the Chieftain. Its AVRE variant was studied from 1963 onwards and it entered service in 1967 with 70 made. However In 1990, the Royal Engineers still had their park of Centurion AVRE.

Only twelve could be made fully operational, called the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ for the Gulf war, with Explosive-Reactive Armor (ERA) applied all over the front half of the vehicle. The breaching was however done by the US 1st Infantry Division. These tanks also used American 165 mm ammunition from the M728 CEV as theor own stocks were low. Losses were heavy and unrelated to combat: Three were lost in two separate training incidents (fires and detonation of ammunition) one on 5th February 1991 and two on the following day. The latter due to the Giant Viper launch rockets self-igniting while testing the firing circuits. They saw no real combat but saw some used to clear off the Multa Pass, North of Kuwait. After the war, the Cent. AVRE was retired, but outlived by the BARV, maintained until 2003.

2019 detailed article of Tank Encyclopedia

Centurion AVRE specs.
Dimensions	8,69 m long, 3,96 m wide, 3 m high.
Total weight	51,809 tons
Crew	5: Driver, Commander, Gunner, two loaders.
Propulsion	Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk IVB 12 cyl. diesel 484,7 kW.
Maximum speed	34,6 kp/h
Transmission	Same as Mark V
Suspension	Torsion Bars
Range	177 km
Armament	165 or 105 mm gun, HESH rounds, 2x 7.62mm LMGs
Armor	As Centurion Mark 5
Total production	c40

Gallery

Centurion AVRE ‘Easy Posse’, Operation Granby, 1990-1991.

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Links on the Centurion AVRE

norfolktankmuseum.co.uk
armoredwarfare.com
fv4003-centurion-avre TE
The Chieftain AVRE on TE