Italian and Spanish coalition contingents fielded Centauro B1 105 mm wheeled tank destroyers in Iraq, with Italian vehicles documented in the 2004 Nasiriyah bridge battles and Spanish vehicles sent to reinforce the Plus Ultra Brigade.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Italian Centauro armored reconnaissance vehicles operated with coalition forces around Nasiriyah in April and May 2004. | Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned |
| Italian forces used Centauro 105 mm fire during the April 2004 Nasiriyah bridge battle. | Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned |
| Spain sent six 105/52 mm Centauro combat vehicles to Iraq to reinforce its contingent. | Sources: Espana refuerza su despliegue en Irak con seis blindados |
Timeline
El Pais reported that Spain would reinforce its Iraq contingent with six 105/52 mm Centauro combat vehicles, sent by air for added protection and firepower.
Sources: Espana refuerza su despliegue en Irak con seis blindados
Military Review described an Italian mechanized column of about 60 vehicles and eight Centauro armored reconnaissance vehicles during the April 2004 operation to reopen Nasiriyah bridges.
Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned
Cappelli described an Italian force advancing through Nasiriyah with eight troop carriers, four Centauros, and an anti-barricades tank during the May 2004 fighting.
Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned
The Centauro B1 was used by coalition forces in Iraq through Italian and Spanish deployments. Riccardo Cappelli's 2005 Military Review article on Operation Antica Babilonia describes Italian columns at Nasiriyah moving with Centauro armored reconnaissance vehicles, including eight Centauros in the April 2004 bridge operation and four Centauros in a May 2004 armored advance through the city.
El Pais reported on August 4, 2003 that Spain decided to send six 105/52 mm Centauro combat vehicles to Iraq by air to reinforce the Spanish contingent, replacing lighter VEC reconnaissance vehicles because of the need for greater firepower and protection.
Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned, Espana refuerza su despliegue en Irak con seis blindados
Spain's Centauro deployment was reported in early August 2003, during the formation of the Spanish-led Plus Ultra Brigade contribution to coalition operations in Iraq. The report framed the vehicles as a self-defense and protection upgrade for Spanish troops rather than a separate offensive mission.
Italian Centauros were then documented in the 2004 Nasiriyah fighting. During the April 6 bridge battle, Cappelli described a mechanized Italian column with eight Centauro armored reconnaissance vehicles and wrote that Italian forces fired the Centauro's 105 mm cannon against a building used by Iraqi snipers. In the May fighting, the same article described an Italian force advancing with eight troop carriers, four Centauros, and an anti-barricades tank.
Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned, Espana refuerza su despliegue en Irak con seis blindados
In Iraq, the Centauro's documented role was direct-fire support, reconnaissance escort, and force protection for coalition ground forces. The Italian contingent used Centauros as the heaviest armored vehicles in mechanized columns around Nasiriyah, where Mahdi Army fighters used small arms, RPGs, mortars, and urban positions during the bridge battles.
The Spanish deployment shows a parallel coalition use case. El Pais reported that Spain selected Centauros because the wheeled 105/52 mm vehicles offered more firepower and protection than the planned VEC vehicles while retaining mobility for the Spanish cavalry unit assigned to the Iraq contingent.
Sources: Iraq Italian Lessons Learned, Espana refuerza su despliegue en Irak con seis blindados
