20 PDR BREECH BLOCK COMPONENT

How many gunners remember the smallest component in the Centurion 20 Pounder breech block with the longest name: Pin securing screw retaining intermediate firing needle withdrawal lever? It was something of a challenge to remember the name. Was it pin securing screw retaining, or pin retaining screw securing? Today, 50 years on at least I’m not 100% sure. Happy to hear from old gunners with clearer recollections.

Centurions on the firing range at Puckapunyal during Annual Camp 1968.

An explanation of the function of the component is that because rounds in the Centurion main armament were fired electrically, the  firing needle which was in contact with the base of the round (there was no firing pin), could be damaged if it was not drawn clear when the breech opened. When the breech closed the needle moved forward again into a firing position in contact with the base of the round.