![]() The first pre-series model was shown for the first time in 1987 at Monteromano, in the north of Rome, during an exhibition of new Italian weapon systems, along with the VBL Puma 4×4 and the C1 ARIETE MBT, at the time called “TRICOLORE”.Īdopted in 1989 with the name ‘B1 Centauro’, the tank destroyer was delivered to Italian Army regiments only in 1992 due to financial problems and some changes. The presented prototype of the wheeled tank destroyer was armed with the Cannone OTO-Melara 105/52 gun and would become the B1 Centauro. After long tests of firing stability, moving through rough terrain and protection (one was destroyed in shooting and mine resistance tests at a shooting range in Sardinia in 1986), the new vehicle was presented to the Italian Army High Command. Source: Īt the end of 1984, the first nine prototypes were ready. The fourth prototype of the B1 Centauro, without the thermal sleeve, different muzzle brake and other small differences from the pre-series vehicles. It was lightly armored but fast, wheeled and armed with a powerful cannon equivalent to those of first-line MBTs in service during this period. This was the first prototype of the B1 Centauro. Thus, the CIO technicians ‘stretched’ the hull, adding another wheel axle and transforming the vehicle into an 8×8. In order to meet the needs of the Italian Army, the turret was redesigned and it was realized by CIO that a six-wheeled hull was no longer able to withstand the weight of the new turret and the new cannon. In order to speed up the development and production of the vehicle, the High Command of the Army decided to spend most of the research budget available on this project by slowing down or canceling the development of other vehicles, such as the MBT C1 ARIETE and the OF-40. The AVH 6636, The vehicle derived from the Fiat 6616 armed with a 90 mm cannon. ![]() The army requested that the vehicle should mount a standard Main Battle Tank (MBT) 105 mm cannon instead of the 90 mm one. The AVH 6636, however, was not accepted and the Italian Army began thinking that developing a wheeled tank destroyer instead of a new light tank that supported the MBTs would save lots of money. The AVL 6634 prototype was accepted and, after some modifications, became the 4×4 VBL Puma (Veicolo Blindato Leggero – Eng. The last one was a 6×6 tank destroyer armed with a GIAT CN90 F4 (French: CanoN de 90 millimètres Modèle F4 – English: 90 millimeters gun F4 Model) 90 mm low pressure gun in a new OTO-Breda turret, the AVH 6636 (Armored Vehicle – Heavy). Two were IFVs using a 4×4 configuration, the AVL 6634 (Armored Vehicle – Light) and the AVM 6633 (Armored Vehicle – Medium) developed from the Fiat 6614. Italian Army) three different prototypes. In 19, CIO presented the Esercito Italiano – EI (Eng. ![]() In order to save on costs on the project, CIO tried to create a tank destroyer starting from the Fiat 66 prototypes, armed with a 90 mm cannon in turret on a modified hull. The Consortium IVECO-FIAT – OTO-Melara (CIO) at that time was working on projects for new light Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV). Such a vehicle was also meant to support the slower M60A3 Patton and Leopard 1A2 tanks in the defense of Adriatic coast areas (where the armies of the Warsaw Pact could have landed if war had broken out), defend the rear lines from paratrooper landings as well as to attack Armored Fighting Vehicles that had broken through the NATO lines towards the heart of Italy. The concept of a fast tank destroyer for the Italian Army was conceived during the Cold War in order to replace some vehicles then in Italian service, such as the then obsolete M47 Patton. Wheeled Tank Destroyer – ~493 Built Two B1 Centauros of the 19° Reggimento “Cavalleggeri Guide” in UN white as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) during multinational training exercise “Steel Storm” with other vehicles in Shama, Lebanon, 24 February 2015.
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