Centurion Mk 5 Bridgelayer

USER
HA
ND
Centurion Mk 5 Bridgelayer
BOO
Digitally reproduced from original Army documents
When the designs were made for Centurion to
become Britain’s main battle tank it was recognised
that a suitable replacement for the Churchill
bridgelayer would also be needed. The FV4002 was
created from the Centurion Mk 5 hull to launch and
recover the aluminium alloy No. 6 Tank Bridge. Not
only was the Centurion faster but the heavier class
of bridge could span a gap of 45 feet and carry 80
tons. Thus a bridge capable of being used by tanks
could be deployed in 2 minutes and recovered
within 4 minutes. To enable the deployed bridge to
be used by smaller vehicles a central roadway was
installed by hand between the main bridge sections.
The Centurion Bridgelayer was introduced in the
1960s and remained in service until 1974 when it
was replaced by the Chieftain version. It was
manufactured by the Royal Ordnance Factory.
The vehicle carried a crew of 3 with the driver
located in the same position as in the gun tank.
The other members of the crew were located
towards the left and centre of the vehicle within
the superstructure which replaced the original
turret. A Rolls-Royce B series petrol engine
powered the hydraulic system for the bridge
launch equipment
The User Handbook is in English and comprises 193 pages giving user operating and servicing details.
It forms the companion volume to AFV-008 Centurion User Handbook which covers the basic vehicle.
In addition to the details of bridge operation there are 90+ colour and monochrome illustrations
including vehicle wiring diagrams.
Contents
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General Data
Bridge Description
Jib
20 ton Blow-out Release
Hull details
Launching and Sliding
Mechanisms
Hydraulic System
Lighting, starting and
electrical accessories
Charging and ventilation
system
Fuel System
Bridge Operating and
Control Equipment
Hydraulic Power Unit
Fire Fighting Equipment
Operating the Bridge
Emergency Bridge
Operation
Servicing Schedule
and Charts
K