The Centurion Mk.3 was one of the first to be fitted with the 20pdr (84mm) cannon, being produced from 1948. Around the same time, the T-54 entered Soviet service, with an impressive armour arrangement for its weight.
The Mk.3 APDS uses a Tungsten Carbide (WC) core, which is extremely hard, but brittle. This causes it to be heavily affected by sloped armour, resulting in its line-of-sight penetration dropping significantly. The ~300BHN 100mm upper plate of the T-54 can therefore stop it at point blank range, despite having a LoS thickness of only 200mm. For reference, the Mk.3 can penetrate ~300mm at 0°.
While a very capable tank, future Centurions were both up-armoured and up-gunned to deal with their shortcomings.
Amazing thumbnail artwork from: Aleksii [ Ссылка ]
