Centurion vs T-55: Yom Kippur War 1973

Osprey Duel #21

by Simon Dunstan, Ian Palmer (Illustrator), Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

Conceived at the height of World War II, the British Centurion and the Soviet T-55 were initially expected to counter the formidable Panther and Tiger tanks of Germany. But as the Cold War unfolded, these machines prepared instead for the coming struggle between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Though they never fought in Europe, these two tanks became the mainstay of the Cold War's proxy forces around the world. From Korea to the Middle East and on to Angola, these two armored combatants clashed repeatedly, reaching their crescendo on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War where 177 Centurions of the IDF took on a vastly superior Arab force. This book compares the design, development and deployment of these classic tanks, and analyses their battlefield performance. Presented with highly detailed digital artwork, this is a tightly focused study of two of the Cold War's first main battle tanks.

Genres: Military History, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2009

Reviews

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, concise history of the two AFVs. The majority of the volume concerns itself with the defense of the Golan Heights in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Since it is part of the Osprey series, the photos and the artwork is exquisite. The story of the Golan battles has an Israeli slant but is balanced by criticisms of the Israeli high command. In the end the battles were decided by 20 year old gunners and loaders with 30 year old colonels dying outside of the hatch as Tank Commanders. The battle was fought at ranges of 2000 yards to 20 yards. Nothing like it had been seen since Kursk. The maps were worth the price of the book. The author is clearly an expert and writes beautifully about steel tanks and iron men.

[James Yee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read that gives you the background on the two tanks, and then focuses on the armor battle along the Golan Heights in 1973.

One interesting tidbit was the Centurion's fuel consumption was so high that it had a horrendous operating range of only ~100km miles before refueling was required. In comparison, the T-55 had a range of ~500km. Subsequently, the Israelis later retrofitted the petrol engines with diesel engines to improve their range and overall performance.

For those interested in reading more about the battle, I recommend you check out "Duel for the Golan: The 100-Hour Battle that Saved Israel" by Jerry Asher and Eric Hammel. Great details in there like the story about the Syrian commander who broke through the Israeli lines, but then stopped because he couldn't believe the road ahead was undefended and thought it was a trap. He was later executed by the Syrian regime for that mis-judgement.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of these two Cold Warriors during Yom Kippur.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins by describing the origins of the Soviet T-55 (and its kin) and the British Centurion. Countries throughout the world purchased these on the weapons market. Arab countries acquired many of the Soviet tanks (although they also purchased other tanks--including some Centurions); Israel bought the Centurion.

The book begins with a brief introduction to the background of the tanks at issue in this book. Then, a chronology (pages 6-7), to provide some context. Then, "design and development" and "technical specifications" sections. A comparison of the specifications for the two tanks appears on pages 26-27. We see, for instance, that the weight of the Centurion is about 50,728 kilograms and the T-55 weighs in at 36,000 kg. Maximum road speed for the Centurion is 34.6 kilometers/hour with the T-55 topping at about 50 kilometers/hour. Training for tankers in the different armies is then discussed as well as the background to the Yom Kippur War.

Finally, the story of the tank battles at the Golan Heights. The Israeli forces were heavily outnumbered--and did not expect an attack by the Syrians. When the attack took place, Israeli forces fought desperately. The review of the battle here is done pretty well.

There is much more of an Israeli rather than a Syrian face to the tale of the battle itself. Nonetheless, this is a useful rendering, in a short space, of the tank battle at the Golan Heights.