Centauro I 120

Centauro I 120

Centauro I 120

Description

The Blindo Pesante Centauro, 120 mm is a rank Italian tank destroyer with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour of the Centauro MGS is the same as the previous Centauros, mediocre against everything but calibres smaller than 14.5 mm HMG fire. It has additional armour plates which give it decent armour protection to artillery fire and fragmentation as well as autocannons. However, it is still prone to hullbreak. The lack of armour is however compensated by adopting a playstyle based on the increased mobility to position your vehicle in unexpected spots. This is what the Centauros excel at. Fast speed, manoeuvrability and relatively small profile helps it disguise, move and stay under cover at almost all times.

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	15 mm (80°)	15 mm Top 15 mm Bottom	15 mm	10 - 15 mm
Turret	20 mm Turret front 20-40 mm Gun mantlet	20 mm	20 mm	20 mm
Cupola	20 mm	20 mm	20 mm	20 mm

Composite Appliqué Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (80°) upper glacis 50 mm (44°) lower glacis	30 mm Top 50 mm Bottom	N/A	N/A
Turret	50 mm Turret front 5 mm Gun mantlet	5-20-30 mm	5 mm	5 mm

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				739			__.__
Realistic				460			__.__

Like the previous Centauros, it has one of the best mobility for wheeled vehicles. It has the same performance as the Blindo Armata B1 Centauro despite the additional armour and a heavier gun. It still lacks performance on snow and somewhat on sand. However, it has the best weight/power ratio for wheeled vehicles of similar size. It should be noted that the MGS, as previous Centauros, is not amphibious.

Armaments

Main armament

The Centauro MGS has access to the powerful 120 mm OTO Melara 120/45 smoothbore cannon, the same cannon mounted on the Ariete MBT. It has the same handling as it utilizes the same ammunition and has the same ballistic performance.

120 mm OTO Melara 120/45					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	33	-6°/+16°	±180°	Two-plane	25.20	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					17.00	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

The Centauro MGS has access to a wide variety of ammunition which are the deadliest at the game, specially the CL3143.

• DM12A1: this is the starter HEAT-FS round when it comes stock. It can be considered mediocre as the MBTs faced at the battle-rating are more than capable of withstanding it. However, it is specially useful when dealing at long distances and when lightly armoured vehicles are seen (SPAA for example) as they will be hull broken once hit.
• DM33: this is a round seen in most NATO MBTs in the game (or similar to them), it has decent performance and is able to kill pretty much everything it faces with exception of Russian MBTs with CONTACT-5 ERA (unless the K5 is destroyed first).
• CL3143: this is the best performance round in the Italian tree and the second best in game (first one is DM53/63). It is able to penetrate and destroy all MBTs in the game, even Russian MBTs with CONTACT-5 ERA.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
DM12A1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
DM33	APFSDS	481	478	470	461	450	440
CL3143	APFSDS	625	622	613	601	588	575

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DM12A1	HEATFS	1,140	13.5	0	0.1	2,150	65°	72°	77°
DM33	APFSDS	1,640	4.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
CL3143	APFSDS	1,705	4.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
33	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
___	___ (___)	___	N/A	N/A

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
___	___ (___)	___	-__°/+__°	±__°

Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• 120 mm APFSDS offers improved penetration and damage over the 105 mm gun
• Extremely fast and mobile on road
• Has night vision devices and generation 1 gunner thermals
• Good turret traverse speed
• Smoke grenades cover player when there is danger
• 12.7 mm MG is effective against similar light vehicles/helicopters

Cons:

• Little to no protection against most projectiles
• Hull-breakable by chemical and armour-piercing rounds
• Tall and long
• Very sluggish on soft terrain (mud, snow or sand)
• Rearward turret placement, sometimes frontal hull is exposed while turret is still behind cover
• Only -6 degrees of gun depression

History

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Media

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See also

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• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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