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Centurion (tank)

The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat into the 1980s. The chassis was adapted for several other roles, and these variants have remained in service. It was a very popular tank with good armour, mobility, and a powerful main armament.

Development of the Centurion began in 1943 with manufacture beginning in January 1945. Six prototypes arrived in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. It entered combat with the British Army in the Korean War in 1950 in support of the UN forces. The Centurion later served on the Indian side in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where it fought against US-supplied M47 and M48 Patton tanks, and it served with the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in the Vietnam War.

Israel's army used Centurions in the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1978 South Lebanon conflict, and the 1982 Lebanon War. Centurions modified as armoured personnel carriers were used in Gaza, the West Bank and on the Lebanese border. The Royal Jordanian Land Force used Centurions, first in 1970 to fend off a Syrian incursion within its borders during the Black September events and later in the Golan Heights in 1973. South Africa deployed its Centurions in Angola during the South African Border War.

The Centurion became one of the most widely used tank designs, equipping dozens of armies around the world, with some in service until the 1990s. In the 2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict the Israel Defense Forces employed modified Centurions as armoured personnel carriers and combat engineering vehicles. The South African National Defence Force still employs over 170 Centurions, which were modernised in the 1980s and 2000s as the Olifant (elephant).

Between 1946 and 1962, 4,423 Centurions were produced, consisting of 13 basic marks and numerous variants. In the British Army it was replaced by the Chieftain.

Development
In 1943, the Directorate of Tank Design, under Sir Claude Gibb, was asked to produce a new design for a heavy cruiser tank under the General Staff designation A41. After a series of fairly mediocre designs in the A series in the past, and bearing in mind the threat posed by the German 88 mm gun, the War Office demanded a major revision of the design requirements, specifically: increased durability and reliability, the ability to withstand a direct hit from the German 88 mm gun and providing greater protection against mines. Initially in September 1943 the A41 tank was to weigh no more than 40 LT, the limit for existing Mark I and Mark II transport trailers and for a Bailey bridge of 80 ft span. The British railway loading gauge required that the width should not exceed 10 ft and the optimum width was 10 ft, but, critically, for the new tank this restriction had been lifted by the War Office under pressure from the Department of Tank Design. A high top speed was not important, while agility was to be equal to that of the Comet. A high reverse speed was specified, as during the fighting in southern Italy, Allied tanks were trapped in narrow sunken roads by the German Army. The modified production gearbox had a two-speed reverse, with the higher reverse speed similar to second gear.

The Department produced a larger hull by replacing the long-travel five-wheel Christie suspension used on the Comet with a six wheel Horstmann suspension, and extending the spacing between the second and third wheels. The Christie suspension, with vertical spring coils between side armour plates, was replaced by a Horstmann suspension with three horizontally sprung, externally mounted two-wheel bogies on each side. The Horstmann design did not offer the same ride quality as the Christie system, but took up less room and was easier to maintain. In case of damage by mines, individual suspension and wheel units could be replaced relatively easily. The hull was redesigned with welded, sloped armour and featured a partially cast turret with the highly regarded 17 pounder (76.2 mm/3-inch) as the main gun and a 20 mm Polsten cannon in an independent mounting to its left. With a Rover-built Rolls-Royce Meteor engine, as used on the Comet and Cromwell, the new design would have excellent performance.

But even before the Outline Specification of the A41 was released in October 1943, these limits were removed, and the weight was increased from 40 tons to 45 LT, because of the need for heavier armour and a wider turret (too wide for the tank to be transported by rail) with a more powerful gun. The new version carried armour equal to the heaviest infantry tanks, while improved suspension and engines provided cross-country performance superior to even the early cruiser tanks. The War Office decided it would be wiser to build new trailers, rather than hamper what appeared to be a superb design. Historian David Fletcher states, "But was Centurion, after all, a Universal Tank? The answer has to be a qualified negative." The design mockup, built by AEC Ltd, was viewed in May 1944. Subsequently, twenty pilot models were ordered with various armament combinations: ten with a 17 pounder and a 20 mm Polsten gun (of which half had a Besa machine gun in the turret rear and half an escape door), five with a 17-pounder, a forward Besa machine gun and an escape door, and five with a QF 77 mm gun and a driver-operated hull machine gun.

Prototypes of the original 40-ton design, the Centurion Mark I, had 76 mm of armour in the front glacis, which was thinner than that on the then current infantry tanks (the Churchill), which had 101 mm or 152 mm on the Churchill Mk VII and VIII being produced at the time. However, the glacis plate was highly sloped, and so the effective thickness of the armour was very high—a design feature shared by other effective designs, such as the German Panther tank and Soviet T-34. The turret was well armoured at 152 mm. The tank was also highly mobile, and easily outperformed the Comet in most tests. The uparmoured Centurion Mark II soon arrived; it had a new 118 mm-thick glacis and the side and rear armour had been increased from 38 mm to 51 mm. Only a handful of Mk I Centurions had been produced when the Mk II replaced it on the production lines. Full production began in November 1945 with an order for 800 on production lines at Leyland Motors, Lancashire the Royal Ordnance Factories ROF Leeds and Royal Arsenal, and Vickers at Elswick. The tank entered service in December 1946 with the 5th Royal Tank Regiment.

Continued development

Soon after the Centurion's introduction, Royal Ordnance finished work on the 84 mm calibre Ordnance QF 20 pounder tank gun. With this, the Centurion went through another upgrade to mount the 20-pounder. By this point, the usefulness of the 20 mm Polsten had been called into question, it being unnecessarily large for use against troops, so it was replaced with a Besa machine gun in a completely cast turret. The new Centurion Mark III also featured a fully automatic stabilisation system for the gun, allowing it to fire accurately while on the move, dramatically improving battlefield performance. Production of the Mk 3 began in 1948. The Mk 3 proved substantially more capable than prior variants, resulting in the earlier designs being removed from service as soon as the new Mk 3s became available, and existing tanks were then either converted into the Centurion armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) Mark 1 for use by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers or upgraded to Mk 3 standard. Improvements introduced with the Mk 3 included a more powerful version of the engine and a new gun sight and gun stabiliser.

The 20 pounder gun was used until the Royal Ordnance Factories introduced the 105 mm L7 gun in 1959. All later variants of the Centurion, from Mark 5/2 on, used the L7.

Design work for the Mk 7 was completed in 1953, with production beginning soon afterwards. One disadvantage of earlier versions was the limited range, initially just 65 mi on hard roads, hence external auxiliary tanks and then a "monowheel" trailer were used. But the Mk7 had a third fuel tank inside the hull, giving a range of 101 mi. Additionally, it was found possible to put the Centurion on some European rail routes with their larger loading gauges.

The Centurion was used as the basis for a range of specialist equipment, including combat engineering variants with a 165 mm demolition gun Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE). It is one of the longest-serving designs of all time, serving as a battle tank for the British and Australian armies from the Korean War (1950–1953) to the Vietnam War (1961–1972), and as an AVRE during Operation Desert Storm in January–February 1991.

Production
The development cost of Centurion did not exceed £5 million. The cost of a Centurion tank was £35,000 in 1950, but had risen to £38,000 in 1952. Of this, "the gun control equipment costs £1,600, and the actual gadget that works the stabiliser only £100." By comparison, during World War II a Covenanter tank cost the British Government £12,000, a Crusader tank cost £13,700, a Matilda tank cost £18,000, and a Valentine tank £14,900; in 1967 a Chieftain tank cost between £90,000 and £95,000, and in 1984 a Challenger 1 tank cost £1.5 million. In 1955, Sir Edward Boyle (the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply) told the House of Commons that "the cost of the Centurion tank has been coming down recently as production has settled into its stride."

Korean War
On 14 November 1950, the British Army's 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, equipped with three squadrons (64 tanks) of Centurion Mk 3, landed in Pusan. The first recorded Centurion kill occurred near Seoul against a North Korean captured Cromwell tank. Operating in sub-zero temperatures, the 8th Hussars learnt the rigors of winter warfare: their tanks had to be parked on straw to prevent the steel tracks from freezing to the ground. Engines had to be started every half-hour, with each gear being engaged in turn to prevent them from being frozen into place. During the Battle of the Imjin River, Centurions won lasting fame when they covered the withdrawal of the 29th Brigade, with the loss of five tanks, most later recovered and repaired. In 1952, Centurions of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards were also involved in the Second Battle of the Hook where they played a significant role in repelling Chinese attacks. Centurions of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment participated in the Third Battle of the Hook repelling the PLA and also were involved in the Battle of the Samichon River in 1953. In a tribute to the 8th Hussars, General John O'Daniel, commanding the US 1st Corps, stated: "In their Centurions, the 8th Hussars have evolved a new type of tank warfare. They taught us that anywhere a tank can go, is tank country: even the tops of mountains." However, the lack of pintle-mounted machine guns on the turret meant that the Centurion was only able to fire in one direction and so was vulnerable to infantry attacks.

Deployment in Western Europe

By early 1952, with the Cold War heating up, NATO needed modern heavy tanks to meet the T-34 versions with the Warsaw Pact countries, and to deter Soviet forces by stationing them with the BAOR in West Germany, where the French had just the light AMX-13, and the Germans had none. America was keen to have Centurions supplied to Denmark and the Netherlands under the Mutual Defence Assistance Program, as production of the M48 Patton would not start until April 1952. A Mk 3 cost £31,000 or £44,000 with ammunition. The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps deployed a regiment of Centurions to Germany to support the Canadian Brigade.

Suez Crisis
During the Suez Crisis, British ground commander General Sir Hugh Stockwell believed that methodical and systematic armoured operations centred on the Centurion would be the key to victory.

The Egyptians destroyed Port Said's Inner Harbour, which forced the British to improvise and use the Fishing Harbour to land their forces. The 2nd Brigade of the Parachute Regiment landed by ship in the harbour. Centurions of the British 6th Royal Tank Regiment were landed and by 12:00 they had reached the French paratroopers. While the British were landing at Port Said, the men of the 2 RPC at Raswa fought off Egyptian counter-attacks featuring SU-100 tank destroyers.

After establishing themselves in a position in downtown Port Said, 42 Commando headed down the Shari Muhammad Ali, the main north–south road to link up with the French forces at the Raswa bridge and the Inner Basin lock. While doing so, the Marines also took Port Said's gasworks. Meanwhile, 40 Commando supported by the Royal Tank Regiment remained engaged in clearing the downtown of Egyptian snipers. Lieutenant Colonel Norman Tailyour arranged for more reinforcements to be brought in via helicopter.

Vietnam War
In 1967, the Royal Australian Armoured Corps' (RAAC), 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) Squadron transferred to "A" Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment in South Vietnam. Although they successfully conducted combat operations in their areas of operations, reports from the field stated that their lightly-armoured M113A1 armoured personnel carriers were unable to force their way through dense jungle limiting their offensive actions against enemy forces. The Australian government, under criticism in Parliament, decided to send a squadron of Australian Centurion tanks to South Vietnam. The 20-pdr armed Australian Centurions of 'C' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment landed in South Vietnam on 24 February 1968, being headquartered at Nui Dat in III Corps (MR3).

Colonel Donald Dunstan, later to be governor of South Australia, was the deputy task force commander of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) in South Vietnam. Dunstan had quite possibly been the last Australian to use tanks and infantry in a combined operation during the Second World War, (as part of the Bougainville campaign), and the first since the war to command Australia's tanks and infantry in combat. When he temporarily took over command during Brigadier Ronald Hughes's absence, he directed that the Centurions be brought up from Nui Dat to reinforce firebases Coral and Balmoral, believing that they were a strong element that were not being used. Besides adding a great deal of firepower, Dunstan stated, he "couldn't see any reason why they [the Centurions] shouldn't be there". His foresight enabled 1 ATF to kill approximately 267 soldiers from the 141st and 165th North Vietnamese Army Regiments during the six-week-long Battle of Coral–Balmoral in May 1968, as well as capturing 11 prisoners, 36 crew-served weapons, 112 small arms, and other miscellaneous enemy weapons.

After the Battle of Coral-Balmoral, a third Centurion troop, which included two tankdozers, was formed. By September 1968, 'C' Squadron was brought to its full strength of four troops, each equipped with four Centurion tanks. By 1969, 'B' Squadron, 3rd Cavalry; 'A' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment; 'B' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment; and 'C' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, had all made rotations through South Vietnam. Originally deployed as 26 Centurion tanks, after three and a half years of combat operations, 58 Centurions had served in country; 42 had suffered battle damage with six beyond repair and two crewmen had been killed in action.

The Centurion crews, after operating for a few weeks in country, soon learned to remove the protective armoured side skirts from both sides of the tank, to prevent the vegetation and mud from building up between the track and the mudguards. Each Centurion in Vietnam normally carried a basic load of 62 rounds of 20 pounder shells, 4,000 rounds of .50 cal and 9,000 rounds of .30 cal machine gun ammunition for the tank commander's machine gun as well as the two coaxial machine guns. They were equipped with petrol engines, which necessitated the use of an extra externally mounted 100 impgal fuel tank, which was attached to the vehicle's rear.

Indo-Pakistani wars

In 1965, the bulk of India's tank fleet was older M4 Sherman tanks, but India also had Centurion Mk.7 tanks, with the 20 pounder gun, and also AMX-13 and M3 Stuart light tanks. The Centurion Mk.7 at that time was one of the most modern western tanks.

The offensive of Pakistan's 1st Armoured Division was blunted at the Battle of Asal Uttar on 10 September. Six Pakistani armoured regiments were opposed by three Indian armoured regiments. One of these regiments, 3 Cavalry, fielded 45 Centurion tanks. The Centurion, with its 20-pounder gun and heavy armour, proved to be more than a match for the M47 and M48 Pattons. On the other side, when Pakistani Army armoured division primary composed of M47 and M48 Pattons, they proved to be able to penetrate only a few of the Centurion tanks, as witnessed in the Battle of Chawinda in the Sialkot sector. A post-war US study of the tank battles in South Asia concluded that the Patton's armour could, in fact, be penetrated by the 20-pounder tank gun (84 mm) of the Centurion (later replaced by the even-more successful L7 105 mm gun on the Mk. 7 version which India also possessed) as well as the 75 mm tank gun of the AMX-13 light tank.

In 1971, at the Battle of Basantar, an armoured division and an armoured brigade of the Pakistani I Corps confronted two armoured brigades of the Indian I Corps, which had Centurion tanks. This resulted in a substantial tank battle, between the American-built tanks of the Pakistani Army and the Indian Army's mixture of Soviet T-55s and British Centurions. Casualties were heavily skewed against the Pakistani force, with 46 tanks destroyed.

Middle East

The first country which bought Centurion tanks was Egypt. The first tanks were received in 1950. Israel's formerly British Centurions were first delivered in 1959. Differing varieties of the Centurion were bought by Israel over the years from many different countries or captured in combat. Following their acquisition the Israelis quickly upgraded the tanks with British 105 mm L7 instead of the original 20-pounder main gun and renamed them Sho't ("scourge" or "whip").

When the Six-Day War broke out in 1967, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had 293 Centurion / Sho't tanks that were ready for combat out of a total of 385 tanks. In Sinai, Egypt had 30 Centurion tanks. All 30 Egyptian tanks were destroyed or captured by Israel during the conflict. Israel also captured about 30 Jordanian Centurion tanks from a total of 90 in Jordanian service. 25 tanks were abandoned in Hebron by the 10th Jordanian Independent Tank Regiment.

All Sho't tanks were upgraded with the more efficient Continental AVDS-1790-2A diesel engine (also used in the M48 and the M60 tanks) and an Allison CD-850-6 transmission from 1970 to 1974. The upgraded version was named Sho't Kal Alef, and was later followed by three additional sub-variants called Bet, Gimel and Dalet according to the upgrades added. The upgrades included thicker armour, new turret rotating mechanism, new gun stabiliser, improved ammunition layout with more rounds, and increased fuel capacity. A modern fire control system, an improved fire extinguisher system, better electrical system and brakes, and the capability of installing reactive armour completed the modifications. They had American radios and either the original 7.62 mm calibre MG on the commander's cupola or a 12.7 mm calibre HMG. The Sho't Kal could be distinguished from the Centurion by its raised rear deck, to accommodate the bigger engine.

The Sho't Kal version of Centurion earned its legendary status during the Battle of "The Valley of Tears" on the Golan Heights in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. 105 Sho't Kal tanks of the 7th Armoured Brigade and 20 Sho't tanks of the 188th Brigade defeated the advance of some 500 Syrian T-55s and T-62s and the Sho't Kal became emblematic of Israeli armour's prowess. During the entire war, 1,063 Israeli tanks were disabled (more than half of them Centurions), about 600 of which were completely destroyed or captured. Some 35 Israeli Centurions were captured by Egypt, dozens more were captured by Syria, Iraq and four by Jordan. On the other hand, 2,250 Arab tanks were disabled (including 33 Jordanian Centurions, 18 of them destroyed ), 1,274 of them were completely destroyed or captured (643 tanks were lost in the north and 631 were lost in the south ). After the war, to replace Israeli losses, the United States delivered 200 M60 and M48 tanks and the United Kingdom delivered 400 Centurion tanks to Israel.

Sho't Kal tanks with Blazer reactive armour package were used in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. During the war, 21 Centurion tanks were knocked out, 8 of them were destroyed.

The Israelis started to retire the Sho't Kal during the 1980s and they were completely retired during the 2000s. Most of them were converted to Nagmasho't, Nagmachon, and Nakpadon (heavy armoured personnel carriers or Infantry Fighting Vehicles) and Puma armoured engineering vehicles.

Jordan
Fifty Centurions were purchased by Jordan between 1954 and 1956 and by 1967 about 90 Centurions were in service. The Jordanian Army used its Centurion tanks in the Six-Day War. In 1967, the 10th Independent Tank Regiment was equipped with 44 Centurion Mk.V tanks armed with 20pdr guns, but was initially deployed on East Bank. Later, the unit was moved urgently to the Hebron area, in West Bank, in order to link with the supposed Egyptian advance. Some Centurion tanks were destroyed and about 30 captured by the Israeli Army. Israelis entering Hebron captured 25 Jordanian Centurion tanks. The Royal Guards Brigade had one regiment that was also equipped with Centurions.

After the 1967 war, the army was rearmed and more Centurion tanks were purchased.

In September 1970 (Black September) Jordan used Centurions of the 40th Armoured Brigade against invading Syrian T-55 tanks. Jordan lost 75 to 90 tanks out of 200 involved. Most of them were destroyed by Syrian tank fire at ar-Ramtha. But some of them were destroyed by the PLO in Amman. Palestinians used captured Centurion tanks against the Jordanian army.

In 1972, Centurion tanks were reequipped with 105 mm guns. During the Yom Kippur War, the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade was deployed in the Golan front to support Syrian troops and show King Hussein's concern for Arab solidarity. The 40th Armoured Brigade moved northward towards Sheikh Meskin, but its counterattack was uncoordinated and largely ineffective as the Israelis were in prepared defensive positions.

In 1982–1985, 293 surviving Centurions of the Jordanian Army were refitted with the diesel engine and transmission of the M60A1 tank in place of the original Meteor petrol engine, Belgian SABCA computerised fire-control system, which incorporated a laser range-finder and passive night sight for the gunner, Cadillac Gage electro-hydraulic turret drive and stabilisation system and a new Teledyne Continental hydropneumatic suspension in place of the Horstmann units. These upgraded vehicles were called the Tariq. After retirement from service with the arrival of ex-British Challenger tanks in the late 1990s, several Tariqs were converted into heavy APCs (Dawsar).

British use of Centurion AVREs
In 1972 during Operation Motorman in Northern Ireland, 165mm-armed Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVREs) with dozer blades were used to destroy barricades set up by the IRA in Northern Ireland. The 165mm demolition guns were pointed to the rear and covered up.

During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, 12 FV4003 Centurion Mk5 AVREs were deployed with 32 Armoured Engineer Regiment as part of British operations during the campaign. Three were lost in training in two separate incidents involving vehicle fires and detonation of munitions. One AVRE was destroyed on 5 February 1991 and two were destroyed in a second incident the next day. Four minor injuries were sustained. No AVRES saw action during the operation.

South Africa

South Africa ordered 203 Centurion Mk 3 tanks from the United Kingdom in 1953. The South African Centurions entered service between 1955 and 1958, and included about 17 armoured recovery vehicles. South Africa's major strategic priorities at the time revolved around assisting the British Armed Forces and other member states of the Commonwealth of Nations during a conventional war in the Middle East or Anglophone Africa. The Centurions were procured specifically because they were compatible with Commonwealth tank tactics and pre-existing British armoured formations.

Following South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, its priorities shifted toward internal security and diversifying national arms procurement outside traditional suppliers such as the United Kingdom. To that end, 100 Centurion Mk 3s and 10 Centurion-based recovery vehicles were sold off to Switzerland in 1961. The remaining Centurions were largely relegated to reserve roles as a result of maintenance problems compounded by parts shortages and a tendency to overheat in the hot African climate. In 1972, the South African Army retrofitted some of its Centurions with the engines and transmission of American-made M48 Patton tanks in an attempt to improve technical performance. The upgraded Centurions were designated Skokiaan and proved unpopular due to their high fuel consumption and poor operating range. Tanks reentered the mainstream of South African military doctrine in 1975, following Operation Savannah, which saw the lightly armoured South African forces in Angola threatened by large formations of Soviet tanks supplied to the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and their Cuban allies. Operation Savannah was followed by further modifications and trials under Project Semel, and the South African government was obliged to finance the creation of a new private sector enterprise, the Olifant Manufacturing Company (OMC), to refurbish the Centurions. During this period South Africa managed to restore its tank fleet to its original size by purchasing a number of surplus Centurion hulls from Jordan and India. The passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, which imposed a mandatory arms embargo on the country, forced South Africa to purchase the hulls without turrets or armament. OMC upgraded each Centurion with a 29-litre Continental turbocharged diesel engine and a new transmission adopted from the M60 Patton. The refurbished Centurions were also armed with a South African variant of the Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm main gun. They were accepted into service with the South African Armoured Corps as the Olifant Mk1A in 1985.

South African expeditionary forces clashed with FAPLA T-54/55 tanks during Operation Askari in late 1983 and early 1984; however, due to the enormous logistical commitment needed to keep the Olifants operational so far from conventional repair facilities, they were not deployed. At length the South African mechanised infantry, bolstered by Eland and Ratel-90 armoured car squadrons, succeeded in destroying the tanks on their own, although severe delays were encountered due to their lack of adequate anti-tank weaponry. Morale also suffered when inexperienced armoured car crews were ordered to take on the Angolan T-54/55s in their vulnerable vehicles. Criticism in this regard led to the deployment of a single squadron of thirteen Olifant Mk1As to the Angolan border, where they were attached to the 61 Mechanised Battalion Group. Following the Lusaka Accords, which effectively ensured a ceasefire between South Africa and Angola, these Olifants were placed into storage and the tank crews rotated out. The collapse of the Lusaka Accords and the subsequent launch of Operation Moduler in late 1987 led to the Olifant squadron being reactivated on the direct orders of South African State President P.W. Botha. On 9 November 1987 the Olifants destroyed two Angolan T-55s during a heated nine-minute skirmish. This marked the first occasion South African tanks had been sent into battle since World War II. Throughout Operation Moduler, South African forces typically dispersed into an "arrowhead" formation, with Olifants in the lead, Ratel-90 armoured cars on the flanks, and the remainder of the mechanised infantry to the rear and centre. Three Olifants were abandoned in a minefield during Operation Packer and subsequently captured by FAPLA, while another two were damaged beyond immediate repair by mines but successfully recovered. A number of others suffered varying degrees of track and suspension damage due to mines or Angolan tank fire, but were able to keep moving after field repairs.

In the early 1990s, the Olifant Mk1A was superseded by the Olifant Mk1B, which incorporated major improvements in armour protection, a slightly more powerful engine, a double armoured floor for protection against mines, and a torsion bar suspension.

Sweden
At the end of the Second World War, it was clear that the mix of tanks in service with the Swedish Armed Forces was not just obsolete but also presented a large logistical problem. Kungliga Arméförvaltningens Tygavdelning (KAFT, the weapons bureau of the army administrative service) conducted a study that concluded that the most cost-effective alternative would be to purchase the newly developed Centurion Mk 3, which, while quite modern, was judged to also have upgrade potential for future requirements. A purchase request was sent to Great Britain, but the reply was that no deliveries could be made before the needs of the British Army had been satisfied, which was deemed to take between five and 15 years. Thus, in 1951, the vehicle bureau of KAFT was set to develop a Swedish alternative project, E M I L. Parallel with this, negotiations were initiated with France about buying the AMX-13.

The British stance altered in early December 1952, due to the economic necessity of increasing exports to earn scarce foreign currency. Britain offered to sell the desired Centurions immediately. Minister of Defence Torsten Nilsson arbitrarily placed an order of 80 Mk 3, with Swedish Army designation Stridsvagn 81 (Strv 81), around new year 1952/1953, with the first delivery in April 1953. In 1955, Sweden ordered a batch of 160 Centurion Mk 5 (also designated Strv 81), followed by a batch of 110 Centurion Mk 10 around 1960 (designated Strv 101). The Centurions, together with the Stridsvagn 103, formed the backbone of the Swedish armoured brigades for several decades. The Mk 3 and the Mk 5 were upgraded with a 105 mm gun in the 1960s, becoming Strv 102.

Between 1983 and 1987, the Centurions had a midlife renovation and modification (REMO) done, which included among other things night vision equipment, targeting systems, laser range finders, improved gun stabilisation, thermal sleeves on the barrel and exhaust pipes and reactive armour developed by the Swedish FFV Ordnance. Around 80 Strv 102 were upgraded with Continental diesel engines and Allison gearboxes in the early 1980s, becoming Strv 104.

The Swedish Army gradually phased out its Centurions and Strv 103 during the 1990s as a consequence of comparative tests of the T-72, Leclerc, M1A1 and Leopard 2. They were replaced with the Stridsvagn 121 and Stridsvagn 122.

Nuclear tests
An Australian Army Mk 3 Centurion Type K, Army Registration Number 169041, was involved in a small nuclear test at Emu Field in Australia in 1953 as part of Operation Totem 1. Built as number 39/190 at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Barnbow in 1951 it was assigned the British Army number 06 BA 16 and supplied to the Australian Commonwealth Government under Contract 2843 in 1952.

It was placed less than 500 yd from the 9.1 kt blast with its turret facing the epicentre, left with the engine running and a full ammunition load. Examination after detonation found that it had been pushed away from the blast point by about 5 ft, pushed slightly left and that its engine had stopped working, but only because it had run out of fuel. Antennae were missing, lights and periscopes were heavily sandblasted, the cloth mantlet cover was incinerated, and the armoured side plates had been blown off and carried up to 200 yd from the tank. It could still be driven from the site. Had the tank been manned, the crew would most likely have been killed by the shock wave.

169041, subsequently nicknamed The Atomic Tank, was used in the Vietnam War. In May 1969, during a firefight, 169041 (call sign 24C) was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). The turret crew were all wounded by fragmentation as the RPG hollow charge jet entered the lower left side of the fighting compartment, travelled diagonally across the floor and lodged in the rear right corner. Trooper Carter was evacuated, while the others remained on duty and the tank remained battleworthy.

The Atomic Tank was located at Robertson Barracks in Palmerston, Northern Territory, before being moved to RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia. Although other tanks were subjected to nuclear tests, 169041 is the only one known to have withstood a blast and to have later fought in a war.

Centurion timeline

 * 1950: Korean War – United Kingdom
 * 1956: Suez Crisis – United Kingdom
 * 1965: Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 – India
 * 1967: Six-Day War – Israel, Jordan
 * 1969: Vietnam War – Australia
 * 1971: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 – India
 * 1973: Yom Kippur War – Israel, Jordan, Kuwait
 * 1982: 1982 Lebanon War – Israel
 * 1988: South African Border War – South Africa
 * 1991: Operation Desert Storm/Operation Granby (British name)-United Kingdom, twelve FV4003 AVREs deployed to SW Asia. Three destroyed in accidents; fires and munitions. None saw action.

Centurion variant timeline

 * 1982: Falklands War-United Kingdom, single Centurion Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle (BARV).

Centurion Pilot Vehicles

 * 20 built late 1944-early 1945. Vehicle weight 42 tons.

 * P1 – P5
 * Armed with 17 pdr with 20 mm Polsten cannon and 7.92 BESA in ball mounting at turret rear.

 * P6 – P10
 * 17 pdr with linkage to 20 mm Polsten and turret rear escape hatch

 * P11 – P15
 * 17 pdr with linkage to 7.92 mm BESA and turret rear escape hatch

 * P16 – P20
 * Armed with 77mm HV and driver-operated hull machine gun

Prototypes

 * A41 [20 mm]: Centurion prototype with secondary turret-mounted Polsten cannon
 * A41 [Besa]: Centurion prototype with coaxial Besa MG—later fitted with experimental CDL

Centurion production mark numbers

 * Centurion Mk 1: A41, armed with the 17pdr (76.2 mm) gun and Polsten cannon (or Besa machine gun). Fabricated turret with rear escape door, vehicle weight 47 tons. Six early vehicles sent to 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, 22nd Armoured Brigade at Gribbohm, in Germany, May 1945.
 * Centurion Mk 2: A41A, Up-armoured hull, fully cast turret, new commander's cupola, Polsten cannon and mount replaced with co-axial Besa machine gun, gunner's sighting periscope replacing sighting telescope, main gun armament stabilised in azimuth and elevation. Entered full production in 1946.
 * Centurion Mk 3: Upgunned to the 20pdr (84 mm) gun, slightly shorter hull, 2 stowage positions for track links on glacis, vehicle weight 49 tons. Fitted with a 2 in mortar, loaded and fired from within the turret. Entered full production in 1948, replaced earlier variants.
 * Centurion Mk 4: Projected close-support version with 95 mm CS howitzer, not built
 * Centurion Mk 5: Browning machine guns fitted to coaxial and commander's cupola mounts, turret rear escape door deleted, turret roof reshaped, deletion of 2" (51 mm) bomb thrower in turret roof, extra stowage bin on glacis, addition of guide roller in track run, vehicle weight 51 tons. Entered production in 1955.
 * Centurion Mk 5/1 a.k.a. FV 4011: Increased glacis armour, two coax machineguns: one .30 (7.62 mm) Browning & one .50 (12.7 mm) caliber Browning for ranging the 84 mm (20 pounder) main gun
 * Centurion Mk 5/2: Upgunned to the Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm gun
 * Centurion Mk 6: Upgunned and uparmoured Mk 5
 * Centurion Mk 6/1: Mk 6 fitted with IR equipment
 * Centurion Mk 6/2: Mk 6/1 fitted with ranging gun
 * Centurion Mk 7 a.k.a. FV 4007: Revised engine decks, and added a third internal fuel tank. Armed with the 20pdr (84 mm) gun.
 * Centurion Mk 7/1 a.k.a. FV 4012: Uparmoured Mk 7
 * Centurion Mk 7/2: Upgunned Mk 7
 * Centurion Mk 8: Resilient mantlet and new commanders cupola. Armed with the 20pdr (84 mm) gun.
 * Centurion Mk 8/1: Uparmoured Mk 8
 * Centurion Mk 8/2: Upgunned Mk 8
 * Centurion Mk 9 a.k.a. FV 4015: A Mk 7 uparmored and upgunned to the L7 gun.
 * Centurion Mk 9/1: Mk 9 with IR equipment
 * Centurion Mk 9/2: Mk 9 with ranging gun fitted
 * Centurion Mk 10 a.k.a. FV 4017: Upgunned and uparmoured Mk 8
 * Centurion Mk 10/1: Mk 10 with IR equipment
 * Centurion Mk 10/2: Mk 10 with ranging gun fitted
 * Centurion Mk 11: Mk 6 fitted with IR equipment and ranging gun
 * Centurion Mk 12: Mk 9 fitted with IR equipment and ranging gun
 * Centurion Mk 13: Mk 10 fitted with IR equipment and .50 (12.7 mm) caliber Browning ranging gun.

Fighting Vehicle numbers

 * FV 3802 : Self-propelled 25-pdr (88 mm) artillery prototype based on the Centurion—engine at the rear as in the gun tank, but only five road wheels per side. The gun was fitted in a barbette with 45° traverse to each side. Accepted in principle in 1954, but abandoned in favour of FV3805 in 1956.

 * FV 3805 : Self-propelled 5.5 in artillery prototype, again based on the Centurion—engine at the front and driver over the trackguard. Project stopped in 1960 in favour of the FV433 105 mm SP Abbot. The single surviving prototype of the FV3805, which had its 5.5 in gun removed, is known to be located on the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England. This prototype was converted into an artillery observation vehicle. As of August 2015, there is currently a crowd-sourced restoration project in process, with the intent to restore the vehicle to fully operational and running capacity.

 * FV 4002 Centurion Mk 5 Bridgelayer: (1963) – Mk 5 chassis with a No 5 Tank Bridge. The 52 by bridge could be launched in less than two minutes, could span a gap of 45 ft and with a height difference of up to 8 ft and could bear up to 80 tons.

 * FV 4003 Centurion Mk 5 AVRE 165: (1963) – AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) vehicle with a 165 mm demolition gun with a range of about 2,000 yd and firing a 60 lb HESH projectile for breaching obstacles. It was fited with a hydraulically operated dozer blade or a mine plough and could carry a fascine bundle or a roll of metal Class 60 Trackway, tow the Viper mine-clearance equipment or a trailer. This variant had a five-man crew and was used in the 1972 Operation Motorman and in the 1991 Gulf War.

 * FV 4004 Conway : "FV 4004 Self-propelled gun, 120 mm, L1 gun, Mk 3" prototype based on a Centurion Mark 3 hull with a larger calibre 120 mm L1 gun in a turret designed by Auster and made by Chubb of rolled plate. Due to the long recoil of the gun, the gun had to mounted higher up to avoid striking the turret ring and had limited elevation and depression. It was intended to be an interim design until the Conqueror tank, which had the same gun entered service. One was built before the project was cancelled in 1951.

 * FV 4005 Stage1/Stage 2: An experimental tank destroyer with a 183 mm gun L4, which was a modified version of the BL 7.2 in howitzer. The project started in 1951/52, as an effort to quickly put the gun on a Centurion hull alongside the intended FV215 Heavy Tank project, and developed in July 1955. The Stage 1 used an open mount fixed gun with a loader assistant device for firing trials, this was then developed into the Stage 2 with a lightly armoured, fully enclosed and traversable turret but with the loading assist removed. By August 1957, the tank destroyer was dismantled. It was later reassembled, replacing the original Centurion Mk.3 Hull with Mk.12 Hull, and put on display in the Bovington Tank Museum. In November 2023 the turret was removed from the Mk.12 Hull before being placed on an Mk.3 hull and restored to running condition.

 * FV 4006 Centurion ARV Mk 2: (1956) – Mk 1 / Mk 2 / Mk 3 hull with the turret replaced by a superstructure housing a winch. The winch was powered by an auxiliary engine and was capable of pulling of up to 90 tons using a system of blocks. Armed with a single .30 in machine gun on the commander's cupola.
 * FV 4007 Centurion Mk 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8/1, 8/2
 * FV 4008 Duplex Drive Amphibious Landing Kit: 12 lightweight panels forming a skirt around a permanently fixed deck; the panels were jettisoned with explosive charges.
 * FV 4010 a.k.a. Heavy Tank Destroyer G.W. Carrier: Malkara Anti Tank Guided Missile launcher vehicle
 * FV 4011 Centurion Mk 5
 * FV 4012 Centurion Mk 7/1, 7/2
 * FV 4013 Centurion ARV Mk 1: (1952) – Based on Mk 1 / Mk 2 hull. Turret replaced by a superstructure housing a winch driven by a 72 hp Bedford QL truck engine. About 180 units were built, some of them were used in the Korean War. After 1959, they were used solely as training vehicles.
 * FV 4015 Centurion Mk 9
 * FV 4016 Centurion ARK: (1963) – Armoured Ramp Carrier. Built on a Mark 5, the vehicle itself was part of the bridge. It could span a gap of up to 75 ft, and could bear up to 80 tons.
 * FV 4017 Centurion Mk 10
 * FV 4018 Centurion BARV (1963): Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle. The last Centurion variant to be used by the British Army. One vehicle was still in use by the Royal Marines until 2003. Replaced by the Hippo, which is based on a Leopard 1 chassis.
 * FV 4019 Centurion Mk 5 Bulldozer: (1961) – Centurion Mk V with a dozer blade identical to that of the Centurion AVRE. One such tank was usually given to every Centurion-equipped squadron.
 * FV 4202 "40 ton Centurion": Used to demonstrate various concepts later used in the Chieftain. A Rolls-Royce Meteorite engine with five pairs of smaller wheels. It had a needle nose turret front carrying a 20-pounder gun, welded to the rear of a Centurion turret. The driver had a reclining seat but could not operate the vehicle in the reclined position.

Specialist variants

 * Centurion [Low Profile]
 * Variant with Teledyne Low-profile Turret. It was armed with a 105mm gun, and the hull was up-armoured to an unknown extent.

 * Centurion [MMWR Target]
 * Cobbled together radar target tank.

 * Centurion Marksman
 * Fitted with Marksman air defence turret

 * Centurion Ark (FV 4016)
 * Assault Gap Crossing Equipment (Armoured ramp carrier)

 * Centurion ARV Mk I
 * Armoured Recovery vehicle

 * Centurion ARV Mk II
 * Armoured Recovery Vehicle with superstructure

 * Centurion AVLB
 * Dutch armoured vehicle laying bridge

 * Centurion AVRE 105
 * Combat Engineer Version armed with 105 mm gun

 * Centurion AVRE 165
 * Combat Engineer Version armed with 165mm L9 Demolition Gun

 * Centurion BARV
 * Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle

 * Centurion Bridgelayer (FV 4002)
 * Class 80 bridgelayer

 * Centurion Mk 12 AVRE 105
 * Ex-Forward Artillery Observer vehicles converted to AVRE role.

 * Centurion Target Tank
 * A Gun tank with most items removed from turret and dummy gun fitted, much thicker Bazooka plates fitted and extra armour in places. Used on Lulworth Ranges c1972-5 to train guided weapon missile crews using inert missiles. Nominally driver only.

Denmark

 * Centurion Mk V, 2
 * A Mk V upgraded with the British 105 mm L7A1 gun and the Browning co-axial machine gun replaced by the German MG3. 106 Mk Vs were upgraded from 1964.

 * Centurion Mk V, 2 DK
 * Mk V, 2 with laser range finder and night vision optics. 90 units were upgraded in 1985.

Israel
All Israeli Centurion 105-mm-gunned "Sho't" variants are an upgrade and advancement of the previous variant, and were produced after one another. Sho'ts were converted to armoured personnel carriers after their service.
 * Sho't (English – "Whip")
 * A standard Israeli designation of the Centurion with a 105 mm L7.

 * Sho't Meteor
 * Centurion Mark 3, 5, and 8 tanks with the original Meteor engine, with new additions of a 105 mm L7 cannon, exterior rear fuel tank, .50 caliber M2 machine gun attached to commander's cupola, and more minor modifications. Entered service in 1963.

 * Sho't Kal Alef
 * Modernised Centurion Mark 3, 5, and 8 tanks upgraded with a new Continental AVDS1790-2AC engine, and new Allison CD-850-6A transmission, new fire control system, and more modernisation upgrades. Original British smoke launchers were removed. Entered service in 1970.Nagmashot-yossifoon01.jpg

 * Sho't Kal Bet
 * New hydraulic traverse system installed (only for one armor brigade), loader received a .30 caliber M1919 machine gun mounted closely to the loader's hatch, mounting points for explosive reactive armour added. Produced in 1975.

 * Sho't Kal Gimel
 * New installations of an upgraded engine (AVDS1790-2AG), new alternator, Blazer ERA, IS-10 smoke grenade launchers, new stabilisation system, and engine smoke generating system (ESS). Turret traverse mechanism from the Bet was fully installed. Manufactured in 1979.

 * Sho't Kal DaletMAR-290-Centurion-beyt-hatotchan-2.jpg
 * New thermal sleeve for the L7 cannon, all .30 caliber M1919 machine guns were replaced with FN MAG 60-40's, a new FCS was installed. Production began in 1984.

 * Nagmashot / Nagmachon / Nakpadon
 * Israeli heavy armoured personnel carriers based on the Centurion tank's chassis.

 * Puma
 * Israeli combat engineering vehicle on Centurion tank chassis.

 * Eshel ha-Yarden
 * A quadruple tubular launcher for 290 mm ground-to-ground rockets mounted on Centurion tank chassis. The project was cancelled after a single prototype was built. Both this vehicle and an earlier version based on Sherman chassis are often referred to as MAR-290.

 * Tempest
 * Operated by Singapore, modernised with Israeli assistance, similar to Israeli variant, with diesel engine and new main gun, and possibly reactive armour.

Netherlands

 * and Mk 5/2 NL
 * Circa 1965, Dutch Mk 5 and 5/2 tanks were equipped with infrared headlights, searchlight, and viewing equipment, of Philips design instead of the types used on British tanks. Around the same time, a .50-caliber ranging machine gun was added, as was a spare wheel bracket on the rear of the turret, and from 1969, the M1919 Browning machine guns were replaced by FN MAGs. From 1973, the tanks' radio sets were replaced by Philips-designed ones.

 * Between 1962 and 1965, 17 Mk 5 gun tanks were converted to bridge layers (Dutch: bruggenlegger), using the same bridge and mechanism as the American M48 and M60 AVLBs.
 * Between 1962 and 1965, 17 Mk 5 gun tanks were converted to bridge layers (Dutch: bruggenlegger), using the same bridge and mechanism as the American M48 and M60 AVLBs.

 * Also in 1962–65, 17 Mk 5s with 20-pounder guns were converted to dozer tanks by fitting adapted blades from old M4 Sherman dozers. Once ammunition stocks for the 20-pounders were exhausted, the guns were removed and the turrets fixed facing to the rear, with the smoke grenade launchers relocated to the now front of the turret with spotlights installed there as well to assist dozer operations at night.
 * Also in 1962–65, 17 Mk 5s with 20-pounder guns were converted to dozer tanks by fitting adapted blades from old M4 Sherman dozers. Once ammunition stocks for the 20-pounders were exhausted, the guns were removed and the turrets fixed facing to the rear, with the smoke grenade launchers relocated to the now front of the turret with spotlights installed there as well to assist dozer operations at night.

South Africa

 * Olifant
 * Centurion tanks redesigned and rebuilt by with the help of Israel; considered the best indigenous tank design on the African continent. The name, 'Olifant' derives from the Afrikaans word for 'elephant' - being a heavy animal and indicating the heaviest combat vehicle in the South African Army.

 * Semel
 * (1974) 810 hp fuel-injected petrol engine, three-speed semi-automatic transmission.

 * Olifant Mk 1
 * (1978) 750 hp diesel engine, semi-automatic transmission.

 * Olifant Mk 1A
 * (1985) Retains the fire control system of the original Centurion but has a hand-held laser rangefinder for the commander and image-intensifier for the gunner.

 * Olifant Mk 1B
 * (1991) Torsion bar suspension, lengthened hull, additional armour on the glacis plate and turret, V-12 950 hp diesel engine, computerised fire control system, laser rangefinder.

 * Olifant Mk 2
 * Redesigned turret, new fire control system. Can mount an LIW 105 mm GT-8 rifled gun or a 120 mm smooth bore gun.

Sweden
The designations follows the pattern of main gun calibre in centimetres followed by the service order number. Hence the Strv 81 is read as the first tank with an 8 cm gun, while the Strv 101 is the first tank with a 10 cm gun that was accepted into service.

 * Stridsvagn 81
 * Swedish Army designation for both the initial 80 Mk 3 Centurions (20 pdr gun) and the 1955 purchase of 160 Mk 5 Centurions, all with Imperial instrumentation, Swedish radios, etc. Pre-NATO threading made the screws incompatible with the later Strv 101.

 * Stridsvagn 101
 * Swedish Army designation for its 110 Mk 10 Centurions (105 mm gun) bought in 1958 with Swedish instrumentation and radios, etc.

 * Stridsvagn 102
 * Swedish Army designation for Stridsvagn 81 upgunned in 1964–1966 to 105 mm main gun.

 * Stridsvagn 101R
 * Swedish Army designation for Stridsvagn 101 upgraded in the 1980s with Renovation/modification (REMO).

 * Stridsvagn 102R
 * Swedish Army designation for Stridsvagn 102 upgraded in the 1980s with REMO and frontal armour matching the 101R.

 * Stridsvagn 104
 * Swedish Army designation for the 80 Stridsvagn 102 which in addition to the REMO received the same powerpack as the Sho't Kal Alef, consisting of a Continental diesel and an automatic gearbox from Allison.

 * Stridsvagn 105
 * Swedish Army designation for Stridsvagn 102R upgraded with new suspension, firecontrol systems etc. Prototype only.

 * Stridsvagn 106
 * Swedish Army designation for Stridsvagn 101R upgraded with new suspension, etc. Not built.

 * Bärgningsbandvagn 81
 * Swedish Army designation for Centurion ARV.

Switzerland
All swiss Centurion Tanks were used with a retrofitted Swiss MG 51 / 71 as secondary armament.
 * Panzer 55
 * 100 Centurion Mark 3's ordered in 1955 and delivered between 1956 and 1957.
 * 100 additional Centurion Mark 5's were ordered from South Africa in 1960 and delivered between 1962 and 1964
 * 150 of the vehicles were subsequently re-armed with the 105 mm L7.

 * Panzer 57
 * 100 Centurion Mark 7's ordered in 1957 and delivered between 1958 and 1960
 * 12 used (Canadian) Centurion Mark 12's were ordered in 1975/76 and delivered in 1976/77

Jordan

 * Tariq
 * Jordan designation.

Current operators

 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Gun tanks retired, many hulls converted to Nagmachon APCs, Nakpadon ARVs or Puma CEVs.
 * 🇯🇴 Jordan: Chassis re-used for the modern Temsah APC
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa: In service as the indigenously developed and upgraded Mk1A/B and Mk2 Olifant tank

Former operators

 * 🇦🇺 Australia: Replaced by Leopard 1.
 * 🇦🇹 Austria: Now fixed in bunkers.
 * 🇨🇦 Canada: Initially ordered 274 Mk 3 tanks, plus nine armoured recovery vehicles and four bridge-layers and additional orders followed. The Mk 5 (upgunned to 105 mm) were used later. From 1969 to 1970, the Canadian Army lists 77 tanks based in Germany (mostly Mk 5 and Mk 11's) and the remainder in Canada (60 at CFB Wainwright AB, 59 at CFSD Longue-Pointe QC, 46 at CFB Gagetown NB, 30 at CFB Borden, 29 at CFB Meaford ON, 27 at CFB Calgary AB, 12 at CFB Petawawa ON, six at RCEME School Kingston ON and one at the LETE Test Establishment Orleans, CFB Ottawa ON) for a total of 347 tanks (including 120 Mk 5s, three Mk 5 recovery tanks and some Mk 11s with IR and ranging guns fitted). Replaced by Leopard C1. Many of the tanks were sold to Israel, which converted them to diesel. Some are still in use as variants.
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: 216 augmented by Leopard 1.
 * 🇪🇬 Egypt: Replaced by T-55s, T-62s, M60A3s and M1A1s.
 * 🇮🇳 India: Retired
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq: Retired
 * 🇰🇼 Kuwait: 50. Handed over to Somalia in the later half of 1979.
 * 🇱🇧 Lebanon

 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Initially received 435 Mk 3 tanks beginning in 1953, increased to 592 by 1956; all were paid for by the United States as part of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act. As one was lost to an accidental fire in 1953, 591 gun tanks were on strength, and were soon upgraded to Mk 5 standard with 20-pounder gun and the British radio sets replaced by American types; one fuel mono-trailer was also available per tank. From 1956 to 1958, 66 ARV Mk 2s were procured, and in 1959–60, 70 Mk 7 tanks were delivered from the UK; these were all held in war reserve until 1969, when they were disposed of. Over the years 1960–72, 343 Mk 5 tanks were gradually upgunned with 105 mm guns to Mk 5/2 standard, as were 19 Mk 7s (to Mk 7/2) in 1966–68. Between 1962 and 1965, 17 Mk 5 tanks were converted to bridge layers, using the same bridge and mechanism as the American M48 and M60 AVLBs; at the same time, another 17 Mk 5s with 20-pounder guns were converted to dozer tanks. As an experiment, one Mk 5/2 and one Mk 7/2 were converted by installing a diesel engine in 1968; though successful, it was not adopted because the cost approached that of buying a new Leopard 1. All Centurions were replaced by Leopard 2 MBTs in the 1980s, after having been used alongside Leopard 1s in the 1970s. Many Mk 5 and all Mk 7 tanks were returned to the United States (which had paid for them), which appears to have shipped most to Israel.
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand: Used 12 vehicles in the variant Mk 3 (three tanks) from UK, Mk 5 and 5/1 (total eight tanks) from British Army in Hong Kong and one ARV from UK. Retired from services in 1968 and seven tanks together with the ARV sold to Australia. Two have been preserved and have been handed over to the museum. The other two went to the Waiouru training ground as hard range targets.
 * Socialist Republic of Romania: Defector Ion Mihai Pacepa claimed Romania received one example from Israel in 1978 in exchange for increased immigration of Romanian Jews to Israel. Pacepa further states that Nicolae Ceaușescu had planned to produce the Centurion under license.
 * 🇸🇬 Singapore: 63 Centurion Mk3 and Mk7s bought from India in 1975 and more from Israel in 1993–1994, all upgraded to Israeli standard with new main guns and diesel engines It has since been placed into storage and replaced by the Leopard 2SGs.
 * 🇸🇴 Somalia: Christopher F. Foss, writing in the second edition of Jane's Main Battle Tanks said that 'Kuwait was believed to have supplied Somalia with about 35 Centurions.' The Military Balance 1987–88 (p. 112) listed 30 Centurions held by the Somali Army.
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden: Replaced by Stridsvagn 121 (Leopard 2A4)
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland: Replaced by Leopard 2
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Replaced by Chieftain

Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

 * T-54/55 (Soviet Union)
 * T-62 (Soviet Union)
 * M26 Pershing (US)
 * M46 Patton (US)
 * M47 Patton (US)
 * M48 Patton (US)

title: Centurion (tank)


text:
Talk:False killer whale

Psuedorca
There are at least 2 False Killer Whales at Seaworld in Florida which are also referred to as "Psuedorca" (Correct as of May 2006)

Paul Walsh, Stockton, England

Diet (and naming)
From this article: "As killer its name implies, the False Killer Whale shares characteristics with the more widely known orca ("killer whale"). The two species look somewhat similar and, like the orca, the False Killer Whale attacks and kills other cetaceans."

From Orca: "The Orca is the only cetacean species to regularly prey on other cetaceans."

Obviously, at least one of these statements is misleading, if not totally incorrect. I've never even heard of the False Killer Whale before today, so I'm in no position to identify which article needs some clarification.

Also, as a side point, is there any other common name for this dolphin? With "orca" increasingly being preferred over "killer whale," it seems surprising that "false killer whale" would continue to be accepted as a meaningful name.

Dayv 02:01, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

 * Not really. Orcas are huge business and so have undergone a bit of political rebranding. False Killer Whales are pretty rare and not really known to the public at large and haven't.

 * The word "regularly" is probably the get-out here that might make both statements true. I'll have a look at my texts when I get home to be sure. It could be the that the (heavily and haphazardly edited) Orca article is just plain wrong. Thanks for the feedback! Pcb21| Pete 08:47, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

False Killer Whales prey on other cetaceans, but are kept in captivity with other dolphins, and even perform and mate with them? I understand that predation in captivity is unlikely since they are fed, but it seems like their co-captives would recognize them as a predator species and be somewhat less than comfortable around them.--70.156.126.4 (talk) 02:26, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree that the species is desperately in need of a new vernacular name, such as "Owen's dolphin" or "gray/grey dolphin" (I would have said "black dolphin", but that's already another name for the Chilean dolphin). I wonder how one goes about popularizing a new vernacular name. —Mahāgaja · talk 07:45, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

Human interaction (from main article)
Question — "100 False Killers were beached at Geographe Bay, Western Australia on 2 June 2005. The pod of 160 were moved back out to sea with only one death after the intervention of 1,500 volunteers coordinated by the Department of Conservation and Land Management." — Which is it? 100, or 160? No source is listed... ~ Ross (ElCharismo) 22:14, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

--chris_huh 17:54, 30 May 2006 (UTC) What i found is a number of different estimates varying from 80 to 140 that were actually stranded, the entire pod included members that were not stranded and may have been closer to 180.

Beaching
The use of the word "fortunately" to describe the whales which were saved prior to euthanasia does not seem entirely neutral. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.158.137.223 (talk) 23:09, 23 July 2009 (UTC)
 * If only there were some way that we could edit it... Rogerborg (talk) 00:28, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

False Killer Whales Human Interaction
So we know that recently Seaworld's last False Killer Whale passed away recently. In the section that currently says "Several public aquaria display false killer whales. For example, Sea World Orlando displayed false killer whales until their last one died in 2012.[7]" How about instead of includind a location that no longer has False Killer Whales we include some place like the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan as it still has False Killer Whales?

"Several public aquaria display false killer whales. For example, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium's Okichan Theater in Japan." --192.195.66.3 (talk) 19:15, 5 June 2012 (UTC)
 * That's good as long as there is a reliable source. Rlendog (talk) 21:58, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

third largest...
There reads: third largest member of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae).

The killer whale is probably the largest, but what is the second largest? 85.217.23.194 (talk) 20:46, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Self Contradictory
This sentence contradicts itself: "The false killer whale has not been hunted extensively, for example in the West Indies and Indonesia. In Japan, a large number are killed every year during the annual slaughter in Taiji." And as there is no citation it is hard to know which it is. In addition I looked at the Annual slaughter in Taiji and did not see anything on false killer whales. I will remove this sentence later if there are no objections. VViking Talk Edits 21:38, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Population and distribution
Shouldn't "Lakshwadweep islands" be "Lakshadweep islands"? Dawright12 (talk) 18:47, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
 * It's a difference of a single letter. What do you think? SHFW70 (talk) 19:03, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Endangered status
I changed the back the endangered status in the infobox from EN→DD, since that's what's given in the IUCN website (Pseudorca page). I would guess that was misled by the fact that the Hawaii population of false killer whales was listed as endangered by the US Federal government in 2012. I will also update the corresponding Japanese page which lists it as "Least Concern", which is old data on the IUCN website.--Kiyoweap (talk) 10:33, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree with you. The status for the article on the species should reflect the status of the species, not of individual populations. Rlendog (talk) 15:18, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Habitat map
The habitat map in the article (File:Cetacea range map False Killer Whale.svg) is quite different from the one from IUCN. Is there any particular reason for that? Leyo 19:06, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

 * I wouldn't say they were very different. The article's map extends the range to the Black Sea and to the Baltic; the IUCN's doesn't, but its accompanying text says the species has been sighted in the Baltic (calling these sightings "extralimital", whatever that means) and lists it as "Native" to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. I note in passing that per Lyall Watson Whales of the World (Hutchinson 1981, p215), the first non-fossil observation of the species was in 1860(-ish) when 100 beached themselves in the Bay of Kiel in the Baltic. Oh, I now see the article also alludes to this.
 * The main difference is that the article's map doesn't join up the East and West coast ranges in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans through their mid-ocean areas, as the IUCN's does. This might reflect different assumptions, such as actual sightings versus assumed travel routes between known areas through areas where fewer observers have been present. Another factor might be recent range changes due to warming oceans – the dates and source data for both maps are not obvious.
 * Further reliable sources might be required to resolve this. You might enquire at WikiProject Cetaceans. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.198.140.169 (talk) 21:57, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:False killer whale


text:
Discovery

Discovery may refer to:
 * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
 * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
 * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence

Discovery, The Discovery or Discoveries may also refer to:

Film and television

 * The Discovery (film), a 2017 British-American romantic science fiction film
 * Discovery Channel, an American TV channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery
 * Discovery (Canadian TV series), a 1962–1963 Canadian documentary television program
 * Discovery (Irish TV series), an Irish documentary television programme
 * Discovery (UK TV programme), a British documentary television programme
 * Discovery (U.S. TV series), a 1962–1971 American television news program
 * Star Trek: Discovery, an American television series
 * USS Discovery (NCC-1031), a fictional space craft on Star Trek: Discovery
 * "The Discovery," the eighth and final episode of Pokémon Evolutions

Literature

 * The Discovery (Frances Sheridan play) (1763)
 * The Discovery (Animorphs), children's book
 * Discovery, a fictional space ship in Ursula Le Guin's Paradises Lost

Music

 * Discovery Records, a record label
 * Discovery (band) an indietronica side project from members of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend
 * Discovery, Op. 13, a song cycle by Howard Ferguson

Albums

 * The Discovery (album), a 2011 album by Born of Osiris
 * Discovery (Larry Carlton album)
 * Discovery (Daft Punk album)
 * Discovery (Electric Light Orchestra album)
 * Discovery (music video)
 * Discovery (Jewelry album)
 * Discovery (Mr. Children album)
 * Discovery (Mike Oldfield album)
 * Discovery Tour 1984
 * Discovery (box set), a box set of Pink Floyd albums
 * Discovery (Shanice album)
 * Disc-Overy, a 2010 album by Tinie Tempah

Songs

 * "Discovery" (song), a song by Mamoru Miyano
 * "Discovery", a song by Chris de Burgh from Beautiful Dreams
 * "The Discovery", a 1974 instrumental Tyner McCoy from Echoes of a Friend

Schools

 * Discovery College, a college in Hong Kong
 * Discovery College, a college in Hong Kong

Air and space

 * Space Shuttle Discovery
 * Aero Concepts Discovery, an American homebuilt aircraft design
 * Offpiste Discovery, a British hang glider design
 * SC Discovery, a Ukrainian paraglider design

Land

 * Land Rover Discovery & Discovery Sport, a 4×4 SUV

Marine

 * Discovery (1602 ship)
 * Discovery (fireboat), a fireboat operating near the mouth of the Columbia River
 * MV Discovery, a cruise ship
 * HMCS Discovery, a Vancouver stone frigate
 * HMS Discovery (1741), a 6-gun storeship
 * HMS Discovery (1774), an 8-gun discovery vessel
 * HMS Discovery (1789), a 10-gun sloop
 * HMS Discovery (1874), a wood screw storeship
 * Discovery (HBC vessel), built 1905, see Hudson's Bay Company vessels
 * HSC HSS Discovery, a high-speed ferry
 * RRS Discovery, the ship on Captain R.F. Scott's Antarctic expedition
 * RRS Discovery (1962), a British Royal Research Ship
 * RRS Discovery (2013), a British Royal Research Ship

Other uses

 * Age of Discovery
 * Discovery (apple), an apple cultivar
 * Discovery (elm cultivar)
 * Discovery (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse
 * Discovery (synth), a VSTi software synthesizer by discoDSP
 * Discovery, Inc., a former American global media and entertainment company
 * Warner Bros. Discovery, successor company formed by merger with WarnerMedia
 * Discovery, Weymouth, a science centre in Dorset, England
 * Wikimedia Discovery, a search engine project by the Wikimedia Foundation
 * Discovery District, an area in Toronto that features hospitals and research institutions
 * Discovery doctrine
 * Discovery Institute, a non-profit public policy think tank
 * Discovery Limited, a South African–based financial services group
 * Discovery Program, a NASA space science program
 * Service discovery on a computer network
 * Discovery, a generation of Roomba robotic vacuuming devices
 * Discovery Walks, natural trails in select parks in Toronto
 * Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus, a 1992 video game
 * Discovery (video game), a Minecraft clone

title: Discovery


text:
Talk:List of companies named after people

[Untitled]
What about:

 * Edison
 * Edison Records ? Jay 06:41, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Ben and Jerry's
 * various car companies (perhaps later absorbed by bigger firms)
 * which ones ? Jay 06:41, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Are there articles on Goldwyn and Meyer of MGM (Metro Goldwyn Meyer) ? Jay 06:41, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Rockwell Automation - Williard Rockwell, founder Allen Bradley - Lynde Bradley and Dr. Stanton Allen, co-founders Collins Radio Company - Aurthur Collins, founder

Why?
Is there any reason for this list to exist? Propaniac (talk) 13:14, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

 * I'm going to be nominating this article for deletion pretty soon. Propaniac (talk) 23:25, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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How about a list of companies named after people who were not the founder?
For example, Tesla, named after Nicola Tesla who was not the founder of the car company. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:185:8280:2240:BF27:B72A:F9AF:2E36 (talk) 03:07, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 22:53, 20 May 2017 (UTC)


text:
Tuks

Tuks may refer to:
 * Tuks Senganga, South African rapper
 * a colloquial name for the University of Pretoria

title: Tuks


text:
Talk:The Best of Both Worlds (Jay-Z and R. Kelly album)

Fair use rationale for Image:Best of Both Worlds.jpg
Image:Best of Both Worlds.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 01:45, 1 June 2007 (UTC)


text:
Talk:Pi (film)

Why Black and White?
"π was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, and filmed on high-contrast black-and-white reversal film."

The film was produced in 1998. So why black-and-white? I think it would be good if someone can mention why the producers chose to use high-contrast black-and-white reversal film. --ADTC (talk) 18:51, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Here's a possible citation with Aronofsky commenting on it: "Matty was brave enough to take on Reversal film, which many of us shot in film school, and its black and white Reversal, extremely hard film stock to expose. We didn't want it to end up looking like "Clerks" and be all gray. We wanted it to be black or white. We were inspired by "Sin City" by Frank Miller -- he just does white scratches into black ink..." Hope this helps. — Erik (talk • contrib) 17:39, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

 * I interpreted the black and white filming (as well as the black and white pieces in the game Go) to represent binary, further representing logic/predictability and underscoring the theme of mathematical patterns.
 * There's also the idea of perception: he talks about vision, staring into the sun, etc. . .and it could interrelate with that as well.
 * 74.46.63.6 (talk) 03:53, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

Migraine
I'm not sure, but there is written about hallucinations, and headaches. I'm a migrenic myself, and I find the hallucianations in this movie, similar to the hallucinations during very strong migraine strike. I would change this little fragment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.201.36.36 (talk • contribs) 15:14, 14 July 2009

 * Max's medication list is consistent with migraines. In particular, he lists caffergot suppositories.

2001:470:8917:9:6CBE:6D1A:4EDA:E875 (talk) 17:32, 8 July 2016 (UTC)
 * They are cluster headaches, as the article states. Aronofsky himself said they were based on a friend's experiences with cluster headaches, which can suicidally (literally) worse than migraines. As for medications, there is an intersection of treatments for both, such as immediate inhalation of pure oxygen. This link discusses both cluster headaches and their (infernal) inspiration in the movie: www.vice.com/en_us/article/gvvenq/the-worst-pain-clusterheads-have-headaches-that-feel-like-a-hand-in-their-brains JohndanR (talk) 06:49, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

The number 216
I have not seen this film, nor have I read much about it, but I saw the number 216, and I remembered that number as a third power. It is 6 raised to the 3rd power... 6*6*6... three sixes... 666... the number of the beast... . I wonder if this is just a coincidence? 68.200.98.166 (talk) 00:33, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

 * Coincidence? Helll no!  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.113.32.63 (talk) 06:42, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

Number with 216 digits
I've been trying to figure out where the number that's been posted on the page comes from and why it's considered related to this article. But I've found nothing. Who is Massimo Nardotto? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.90.31.57 (talk) 01:33, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

 * I don't know. Apparently he's just the guy who inserted the number into this article (see http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pi_(film)&diff=prev&oldid=300586618). Seems to be some kind of self-promotion. It has nothing to do with the number shown in the film, which is completely different (and has BTW actually 218 digits, if I am not mistaken). While the number in this article is mildly interesting (there are some kind of fibonacci seqences in there, if you replace double digit numbers their digit-sum), it has nothing to do with the film, therefore I remove it. --89.56.1.232 (talk) 00:22, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Since you ask... Looking at that edit, there are nine sequences of 24 numbers that follow a clear progression. The first two terms in each sequence are the same digit repeated, from 1 to 9 for each of the sequences. Subsequent terms are derived by adding the preceding two terms and, if the result is greater than 9, summing the digits (always returning a value from 1 to 9, since none of the sequences start "0 0" - a degenerate case).
 * For any such sequence with starting values  and   (each a digit from 1 to 9), the values at each step will be as follows:

 * Trivially, the digits of any integer greater than 0 that has been multiplied by 9 will reduce to 9. And adding 9 to any integer will not change the value down to which its digits reduce. Therefore you can see that the sequence will always repeat from the 25th step since  will reduce to   and   will reduce to.
 * For the sequences that start with the same two digits, the 24th value will always be 9, after which the sequences repeat. So the sequences in that edit show the 24 digits that make up these sequences before they repeat. As it happens, 24×9=216. But this is concidental since using a different base other than base-10 will lead to a different number of sequences of different lengths.
 * However this has absolutely nothing to do with the film that this Wikipedia page is about, and the text of that edit was quite rightly removed. Note also that I have nothing whatsoever to do with the user that made that edit.
 * -Stelio (talk) 16:27, 9 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I removed it again. Sequence removed included here for posterity, also for the benefit of anyone needing to recognize it again (in order to remove it)  brain (talk) 20:40, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

The true 216-digit sequence is (Naturalis Veritas, the end of the history, Massimo Nardotto, 2007): 1 1 2 3 5 8 4 3 7 1 8 9 8 8 7 6 4 1 5 6 2 8 1 9 2 2 4 6 1 7 8 6 5 2 7 9 7 7 5 3 8 2 1 3 4 7 2 9 3 3 6 9 6 6 3 9 3 3 6 9 6 6 3 9 3 3 6 9 6 6 3 9 4 4 8 3 2 5 7 3 1 4 5 9 5 5 1 6 7 4 2 6 8 5 4 9 5 5 1 6 7 4 2 6 8 5 4 9 4 4 8 3 2 5 7 3 1 4 5 9 6 6 3 9 3 3 6 9 6 6 3 9 3 3 6 9 6 6 3 9 3 3 6 9 7 7 5 3 8 2 1 3 4 7 2 9 2 2 4 6 1 7 8 6 5 2 7 9 8 8 7 6 4 1 5 6 2 8 1 9 1 1 2 3 5 8 4 3 7 1 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

I confirm that this source is not notorious. The information in itself may be pertinent and true, but there's no notorious and verifiable source for that. I don't really know who Massimo Nardotto is in real-life but I know that he's often trying to use Wikipedia as a tool of auto-promotion and/or auto-congratulation. For those who speak French and who'd be interested in his attitude, you can read this discussion between user Nardotto and me on his profile talk page of French Wikipedia. --TwøWiñgš Talk to me 16:30, 5 June 2010 (UTC)

Page Title - π
I firmly believe the title of this page should be π (film). That is, after all, the true title of the film. Does anybody know how to change a page title? Thanks! Armonkny (talk) 06:51, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Move?

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was not to move the page, per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 10:23, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Pi (film) → π (film) —
 * The movie is correctly titled π, not Pi. — Armonkny (talk) 07:11, 6 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Naming conventions says: Names not originally in a Latin alphabet, such as Greek, Chinese or Russian names, must be transliterated. --DAJF (talk) 12:44, 6 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Oppose MOS:TM 65.94.252.195 (talk) 05:01, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Oppose The movie's own website says it is Pi, not π.  TJ   Spyke   18:03, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Jenny Robeson
Perhaps I'm missing something, but I never found any evidence that Max loved Sol's daughter. I thought it was the Indian chick next door? Fullverse —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.131.39.184 (talk • contribs) 19:53, 28 March 2010

Section on Go
While Max and Sol play Go, Aronofsky deliberately focuses on the placement of stones by each player. Sol places stones in the preferred manner of veteran Go players using his fore and middle finger whereas Max places stones like you would an American Checkers piece. Perhaps this has deeper implications about how Aronofsky feels about the conversation at hand or characters at large. I'm not one to decide, perhaps Wikipedia is not the medium to discuss the topic at all. I figured since the Go wiki page devoted a small blurb about how to "correctly" place stones, it might be of some relevance in the description here.

Cheers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.255.143.16 (talk) 23:56, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

 * This was discussed before here.--– sampi ( talk • contrib • email ) 19:13, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

little mistake
..that someone should fix

in the last plot paragraph it says "Later, when a girl with a calculator comes to the apartment asking math problems" -- I think the little girl (his neighbour, not just one random kid) approaches MAX in the park.. [A] 10:19, 20 September 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ariel ALB (talk • contribs)

Also mentioned in this section is that Max "reveals" he doesn't know the answer. After seeing the film, I am inclined to say Max "claims" not to know the answer to the calculations. The "peace" he's experiencing could be attributed to his accepting that, even though his assumptions may be true, he is content not knowing or understanding everything. The exchange with Rabbi Cohen shows this, I think.KRam41 (talk) 06:48, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

The number ...
This is OR, and not for the article, but I thought you all might be interested.

I guess I've got a little Max Cohen in me, because as soon as I saw that 218 digit number, I noticed some patterns, and started playing around with them. I determined that: All of these phenomena are easily explained if the sequence was generated by someone striking the number keys at random. I would say they used the keyboard top row rather than the numeric keypad. The typist was probably not a touch typist. -- 202.63.39.58 (talk) 11:38, 21 November 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) the difference between two consecutive digits is significantly smaller than expected for a random or unstructured sequence;
 * 2) but a difference of zero (i.e. a repeat) is significantly less common than expected (in fact the chance of this few repeats is about 2 in a million);
 * 3) the difference between two digits spaced two apart is significantly smaller than expected for a random or unstructured sequence;
 * 4) but a difference of zero between two digits spaced two apart is slightly more common than expected;
 * 5) digits typed with the left hand are more common than those typed with the right hand;
 * 6) looking at pairs rather than digits, some pairs are far more common than expected by chance alone, and others less so. The high likelihood ones mostly contain the digit '2', and a couple are mirror images of each other.

 * "Like most of Aronofsky's films, Pi centers on a protagonist whose obsessive pursuit of ideas leads to severely self-destructive behavior. However, the strong psychosexual elements of the director's later work are not present."
 * I feel like these two sentences are overkill. It could be argued that the first sentence does not apply to 'most' of his films. And other than Black Swan, which of his films is psychosexual?! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Colin496 (talk • contribs) 05:40, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

"Devi, Max's friendly neighbor with whom he is in love."
I dispute this statement because it's not even really true. There's no evidence to suggest Max is in love with Devi or that he even likes her (he barely makes eye contact with her). He's a socially awkward person around pretty much everyone in the film and that's common behavior among genius minds. I'm going to delete this, unless someone objects... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.5.76.24 (talk) 03:35, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Aronofsky's Films...
"Like most of Aronofsky's films, Pi centers on a protagonist whose obsessive pursuit of ideas leads to severely self-destructive behavior. However, the strong psychosexual elements of the director's later work are not present."

I feel like these two sentences are overkill. It could be argued that the first sentence does not apply to 'most' of his films. And other than Black Swan, which of his films is psychosexual?! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Colin496 (talk • contribs) 05:40, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

Berardinelli Misquoted
The article quotes Berardinelli as saying the film "Pi" should be rated 3.1415. The quote's reference (Berardinelli, James, "π (Pi)," see http://www.reelviews.net/movies/p/pi.html ) actually states that the rating is "3.1416," which is the properly rounded value of pi to four decimal place. Noah Spamoli (talk) 03:32, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * So fix this. :) Debresser (talk) 16:35, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

Assumptions
In the plot/synopsis part of the article, I think it would be nice to state (as Max does periodically in the film) Max's assumptions: What do you guys think? KRam41 (talk) 06:58, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
 * One. Mathematics is the language of nature.
 * Two. Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers.
 * Three. If you graph the numbers of any system, patterns emerge.
 * Therefore, there are patterns everywhere in nature.

 * @KRam41:
 * This would be a great addition indeed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.130.29.155 (talk) 20:48, 22 July 2017 (UTC)

Paranoid schizophrenia
Instead of writing "... as well as extreme paranoia, hallucinations, and social anxiety disorder", one could simply write "... and suffers from paranoid schizophrenia" — Preceding unsigned comment added by Felix Tritschler (talk • contribs) 18:16, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

 * While this was an old request, I admit having wondered this myself. However, none of the existing sources discuss the movie in the context of psychosis or schizophrenia.  While the Combustible Celluloid reference does mention schizophrenia, it is in another context, that of movie making, in an interview with the director.  No matter how obvious, to add this conclusion we'd have to also find a supporting source.  It could even go in the Themes section if we can support it with sources, but not otherwise.  That said, a lot of the existing article is not well referenced.  — Paleo  Neonate  - 21:14, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Title clip is wrong
The digits of pi are wrong. — Preceding unsigned comment added by OosakaNoOusama (talk • contribs)
 * Which digits and how are they wrong? Jim1138 (talk) 07:31, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

Kabbalah
Below are a few links to interviews with Aronofsky where he talks about this particular element of the movie. It might be good to include how he drew from his own experiences with Judaism and in Israel and how seriously he took the subject's presence in Pi. ...But the links look like mirrors of long-dead sites and magazines which conducted interviews when he was still a smalltimer. I can't in good conscience add a link to Tripod or Myvideostore.com, but if anyone can find better sources... --Rhododendrites (talk) 03:42, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
 * interview
 * interview

Touch (TV series)
Those of you ever saw Fox's 2012-2013 Touch (TV series), with Kiefer Sutherland and Danny Glover, may recall its similar premise of competing conspiracies seeking a mentally handicapped math savant with a world-changing secret; in this case, an autistic 11-year-old boy under his widowed father's care. – •Raven .talk 05:50, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

Website Plagiarism When It Came Out
It's a story that seems kind of lost to time now but maybe is still interesting to people. But when this film came out it it had a pretty nice looking interactive website and the film makers were lauded for how they were using the internet to market the film. The Blair Witch Project website was another from the same time that was being praised for this - like it was this huge deal, these small films using the cheap internet to promote themselves successfully. Anyway, the funny thing with the Pi website is that after not too long it was discovered that the entire designed was plagiarised, just completely ripped from another site. Basically they just changed the images and the text. And that became a big story. And the other interesting thing is the site designer, the guy who ripped it off, was the star of Pi. He later ended up apologizing, admitting he did wrong. 123.3.87.17 (talk) 21:20, 24 May 2017 (UTC)

Plot Summary assumes everything is real
I have strong doubts that the sequence with the wall street agents and the Rabbis is suggested to be real in the movie. It seems to me that they could just be part of Max' hallucinations as it is frequently suggested that he has very sophisticated hallucinations, for instance when he believes to be touching a brain on the floor in the metro.

I also doubt that Max survives the drilling of his head given the ugly splashing of blood that emerges. The final scene could be a possible alternative ending.

If there is evidence, for instance from interviews with the director, for the hypothesis that all these elements are considered to be real, it should be provided. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.130.29.155 (talk) 20:53, 22 July 2017 (UTC)

Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reasons for deletion at the file description pages linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 03:52, 28 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Max working.jpg
 * Pi in the sky.jpg

Better source needed to make the claim that the film "strongly suggests" Max is paranoid schizophrenic
1. Linking to a medical journal about schizophrenia doesn't make the case that this film has schizophrenia as a theme. A citation for this should come from the film's creator, or a reputable analysis of the film.

2. Speculation about which events were diagetically real (and not hallucinations) should not be be used to support schizophrenia as a theme. Schizophrenia is a specific mental illness with a whole host of symptoms and specific behaviors. Hallucinations and vivid dreams, someone seeming to be there one moment and gone the next, these are all phenomena with multiple explanations.

3. The visual language of Pi doesn't leave much ambiguity about which events are diagetically real and which aren't. Even deep into the film, hallucinatory or dreamed moments are distinctly fantastical (a disembodied brain on the subway steps that summons a train when prodded with a pen). Hallucinated moments are also proximal in time to Max's episodes

4. The things max goes through are corroborated by reliable parties. Max's one-time mentor very probably approached the same breakthrough Max makes in this film, and believes it was the cause of his stroke. It is implied that returning to the pursuit is what finally killed him. What this tells us is that in the world of Pi, this number, this idea, whatever it is, actually is dangerous to the mind. Max appears to handle it a little differently, probably because of his prior exposure to some kind of mathematical clarity from his sun-staring episode as a child, which leads me to...

5. If Max had Schizophrenia, it would have been identified by the numerous doctors and psychologists he's had to see in order to get the numerous prescriptions he's constantly cycling through. Max is a thoroughly examined person. He's past the age where most schizophrenics have had the initial onset of the condition.

6. The film already gives us a cause for the way Max is. He stared into the sun as a child, and saw the spiral. He updated his program after talking to Kabbalists, the computer became slightly self-aware (as implied by Sol) and the number it spat out after that is the key to some truth too profound for the human brain, and the closer Max gets to the nature of what he glimpsed that day as a child, the more his mind recoils in horror. It may be pure science-fiction mysticism, but film analysis is not meant to find more realistic explanations for on-screen events than the movie offers. It would be more realistic for the Lord of the Rings trilogy to be a hallucination by a human Gandalf, but that's not how speculative fiction works. It is necessary to analyze a story on its own terms.

7. Looking at the film as a series of delusions and hallucinations makes it more boring. Any film in the world can be speculated to be a dream or a hallucination. Taking anything that seems magical or special and dismissing it as, "I guess he was just crazy" makes it pointless to analyze films at all. The Wedding Planner could have bee J-Lo's dream for all we know.

I'm picking nits here, but the section opened with "strongly suggests". It's not impossible that Max could be intended to have schizophrenia, but with this amount of evidence, you could say the same thing about almost any other character in any movie who daydreams. It is not a strong suggestion. It is a possibility, and a weak one at that. Unless Aronofsky or someone else has come forward to say Max has schizophrenia, I hope the other people who keep track of this page will agree with my removal of the section. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.192.204.44 (talk) 20:22, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Trepanning
Is there a reliable source that supports the article's claim that the procedure with the drill is trepanning, as opposed to, say, lobotomy or cingulotomy? Ibadibam (talk) 19:16, 29 October 2021 (UTC)

First ever film to legally be made available for download and streaming on the Internet?
The 'Release' section originally claimed that this was the "first ever film to legally be made available for download on the Internet". The provided source did not remotely make reference to this and (needless to say) failed verification. Finding the claim quite interesting, I went hunting for a legitimate source, and found this WSJ article stating that Pi was "the first film sold by download". Digging a little deeper, I found a book stating that "SightSound [sold the] first movie on [the] Internet as PPV (Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, 1998)", and a NYT article stating that Pi was streamed "in a pay-per-view window through Sightsound.com".

As it stands, the WP article lists all three sources and states that "Pi was the first ever film to legally be made available for download and streaming on the Internet". What do we think of this? The sources just say that it was the first film to be sold as a download (WSJ) and PPV (book), leaving the possibility that some other film was legally available for download and/or streaming earlier, but was just not sold. In fact, the latter is quite plausible if you look at the book, which lists several platforms that hosted films before SightSound.

I think the article should read: "Pi was the first ever film to be sold as a download or pay-per-view on the Internet. On the website Sightsound.com, the film was available for purchase as a download, as well as streaming in a pay-per-view window." — Preceding unsigned comment added by ComeAndHear (talk • contribs) 00:51, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

 * Since no one objected, I have made the above changes. ComeAndHear (talk) 01:46, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Pi (film)


text:
New Year's

New Year's is a colloquial term with unclear definition and may refer to:

 * New Year, the beginning of the calendar year
 * New Year's Eve, the last day of the Gregorian calendar year
 * Hogmanay, Scottish celebration of New Year
 * New Year's Day, the first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar

title: New Year's