Discover the untold Cold War story of the Dutch Centurion Mark 5/2 main battle tank and its mission to stop Soviet armor in Western Europe. Following the nineteen fifty six Budapest crisis, the Royal Netherlands Army faced an existential threat as their standard guns could not pierce the thick armor of Soviet T54 and T55 tanks. To defend the North German Plain under NATO Northern Army Group plans, the Dutch modernized their armored fleet with the legendary Royal Ordnance L7A1 one hundred and five millimeter rifled gun. Firing high velocity armor piercing discarding sabot rounds, this upgraded tank could destroy enemy armor from over eighteen hundred meters away while utilizing reinforced hull armor and unique gun depression tactics. Learn how this British designed weapon not only saved the Dutch armored corps and fortified the secret IJssel Line bunkers but also established the universal one hundred and five millimeter ammunition standard for NATO tanks like the Leopard 1 and M1 Abrams.
Music provided by Liborio Conti (
Released under Creative Commons / Free for Commercial Use.
Source: European Defense
