Centurion tank in the IDF/ 1973 Yom Kippur War AFV Club 1/35th scale Israeli Centurion Shot-Kal

 

    The British manufactured and Israeli modified Centurion "Shot"  ("whip" in Hebrew) tank  served with the IDF during the latter half of the 20th century as a main battle tank and later it was modified for service as an armored troop carrier.  During the Six Day and the Yom Kippur Wars, it was considered the Israeli army's most effective tank fighting on very different terrain conditions on Israel's Northern and Southern front.

   At 14:00hrs on October 6th, 1973, a massive Syrian artillery barrage fired the opening shots of the Yom Kippur war.  Shortly afterward, the Israeli 74th Tank Battalion of the 188th "Barak" Armored Brigade faced a combined Syrian armored force of hundreds of  T-54,T-55 and T-62 tanks.  Intuitively, the Israeli commander Lt.Col. Yair Nafshi had moved his battalion's position 1.5 km forward from its previous defensive position. His unilateral decision saved his men and machines from the Syrian's devastating artillery barrage.  Equipped with 36 modified Centurion SHOT tanks they fought the Syrians continuously for 3 days until reinforcements could arrive to support them.  After 4 days of fighting, the 74th tank battalion was reduced to only 5 operational tanks but they had effectively stalled the Syrian spearhead allowing the Israelis to counter-thrust into Syria. Israeli guns were now positioned to shell the suburbs of Damascus.  The battle cost the Israelis a terrible price: 102 officers and enlisted soldiers had been killed defending their positions on the Southern Golan.  

  Centurions were vulnerable to Soviet made weapons such as the RPG and "Sagger" A/T guided missiles which the Egyptians used in large numbers after crossing the Bar-Lev fortifications into the Western Sinai Desert.  It's estimated that the Israeli armed forces lost up to 40% of their southern armored groups during the first two days of the war. This highlighted the necessity for infantry support to armored groups culminating in the development of the "Merkava" tank being equipped with rear troop bays. 

  The following photos show Centurion tanks in IDF service during the Yom Kippur War. The color photos below were taken by me during the first days of the war and show the reserve forces moving up to the battlefield.  I was standing in front of  "Kibbutz Amiad" in the Upper Galilee of Israel. The urgency of that moment is conveyed in these pictures as these tanks are travelling up to the Golan Heights on their own tracks on a main highway.

THE MODEL

  The "AFV Club"  1/35th Centurion,  SHOT-Kal 1973 with a resin turret for a MK-V  from "Lionmarc".  I waited years for an accurate Centurion tank and it has finally arrived.  The turret was the only item I replaced because I had heard that there were some issues with the alignment of the loaders hatch and also a lack of a mantlet cover for the main gun.  The resin turret was a perfect drop fit and is a beautiful rendition.  See the photos below:

I made the expanding cover around the barrel with epoxy and a kitchen knife. The IR "Luna-2" spotlight was from a T-62 kit and replicates an Israeli field modification allowing the tank crew to use night vision. Israeli Centurions were not equipped with night vision at the beginning of the war and these IR projectors were scavenged from Syrian tanks as quickly as possible. The stowage (tarps and bedrolls) on the turret and hull were also made from "Apoxie" putty. I love this stuff and as I've gained experience working with it, my attempts are getting better.

I added crew figures from my parts box and modified each with "Hornet" Heads 1970s US tank helmets, and some epoxy for their hooded jackets.

So here is the final product. The Yellow sheet across the turret was used to allow for quick identification by Israeli aircraft providing close air support.