The Centurion Pz 55/57 with the M-No. 78527 was officially acquired by the Centurion Club in 1992. In June of the same year, the tank was transferred from AMP Othmarsingen to Villigen, where our vehicles were based at the time. As a highlight, it was accepted into the Swiss Centurion Club on a worthy occasion in the presence of its two sponsors, Divisional Commander J.R. Huessy and Divisional Commander and former Corps Commander U. Scherrer.
Today, our SIM-Cent is located in Doettingen and is one of two exclusive Centurions worldwide equipped with SIM-74.
On 30 March 2017, we were able to take delivery of another, identical Pz 55/57 with the serial number 78517 from the HAM in Burgdorf and transfer it to Doettingen. The tank is in perfect condition, fully functional and also equipped with the SIM-74. This means that we have the only Centurions in the world that are equipped in this way. We regularly organise SIM shooting events for visitors.
Datasheet for download
SIM-74 Laser Shooting-Simulator
The Centurion Club is the only organisation in the world that still has a complete and fully functional SIM-74 laser firing simulator system, including target vehicles and spare parts, as well as the necessary expertise. For a small contribution towards expenses, visitors to the Centurion Club are given the unique opportunity to shoot realistically at defined and activated targets with a real tank! With correct hit indication, of course.
How does laser shooting work?
A computer is also installed in a normal tank to calculate the firing and hit display. This computer, the control unit, is operated by the loader. To make the simulation as realistic as possible, ammunition dosage, lead angle, distances and a time delay for loading are also built in. All control functions such as the turret lock switch, weapon selector switch and loading safety device must be operated as normal. The gunner and commander each have an additional shot firing and hit indicator mounted in front of the eyepiece of the aiming device. This enables the gunner and commander to monitor the shot and hit positions and make corrections.
A transceiver is mounted on the outside of the tank, which receives feedback from the target and sends it to the computer, as well as controlling the actual laser cannon. The laser cannon is stably installed on the 10.5 cm cannon and is responsible for the actual firing. It shoots a short, invisible (and harmless!) laser beam at the target. There, the incoming laser beam is measured with detectors and the “hit” is sent by radio to our transceiver for evaluation.
Four detectors are mounted all around the armoured turret, which evaluate the incoming shots and send the hit position back to the firing tank by radio. If the target vehicle is also an armoured vehicle (the normal case), it can of course shoot back. This creates a realistic combat and stress situation for the tank crews. A warning light “under attack” flashes in the tank being shot at, which changes to “Killed” after a short time in the event of a hit and triggers the rotating light that is normally fitted or a foul-smelling smoke petard to indicate that the tank has been shot down.
Depending on the exercise instructions, the tank remains “neutralised” for a certain period of time. After this time, the crew can reset the computer and re-engage in the “battle”. Referees and exercise leaders can also have a mobile laser rifle at their disposal with which they can shoot down a target vehicle directly.
The SIM-74 version used by the Swiss Army (manufactured in England) has a range of around 1.5 km and was used successfully in troop service throughout the entire Centurion and later Pz 68 “service life”.