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Vickers 6-Ton (Mark E)

1928 SPANISH CIVIL WAR WINTER WAR WORLD WAR 2

History

The Vickers 6 ton (Mark E) was a light tank evaluated by the British Army but ultimately rejected. When the British Army rolled out the system, the tank was (successfully) sold to operators around the world. The system continued to serve its owners well and was even produced under license in the USSR under the designation "T-26", where more than 10,000 copies were produced, in Poland (as a modified "7TP"). Built in France with the Renault FT-17 light tank, the Vickers Mark E was the second most produced tank system of the 1930s and had such a long range that the small three were used in the 1933 Bolivia-Paraguay "Chaco War" Tanks, in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, and the French-Thai War in 1941.

About 158 ??were produced - the total number in the thousands excluding licensed production of this type by foreign operators.

Mark E was originally a privately owned business of Vickers, a company that included engineers Vivian Loyd and John Valentine Carden (name preceded by the name of the classic 1929 Carden-Loyd Tankette collection). The prototype was developed in 1928 and produced in two distinct forms. The first, known as the "Type A", was interestingly equipped with two single turrets, each with a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun. The second, designated "Type B", had a more modern design with a short-barreled 47mm main gun and a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun, both mounted in a one-man turret system.

The weapon is called a "twin mount" - a radical departure from previous tank design approaches. Mounting both types of weapons in one central location allows the crew to use concentrated fire. The idea of ??designing towers for multiple crews is also a departure from the norm.

It makes it easier for turret crews to communicate when attacking and firing targets, which translates directly to better rate of fire. The turret was mounted on a smaller structure protruding from the center of the upper hull.

The crew consisted of three people, two in the turret and the third in the fuselage as the driver and offset to the right of the superstructure. The driver controls the fuel tank via the clutch and brake system. The crew communicates through a "throat" system.

In both cases the tank is powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Puma petrol engine ranging from 80 to 95 hp (power varies by tank version). The engine was separated from the crew compartment by a firewall and mounted in the rear of the fuselage.

This allows for a listed top speed of over 17 mph and a range of 124 miles. Armor thickness is impressive, ranging from 19mm at the rear to 25mm at the front fairing. The hull is riveted and made of sheet steel. Eight wheels were mounted in pairs on one side, and the track arrangement produced the distinctive "hull" appearance common to tanks after the First World War.

The drive sprocket is mounted on the front of the fuselage. The suspension system consisted of a leaf spring bogie, itself a departure from the tried-and-true Christie shape common in many previous and current tank designs of the time.

The British Army took a closer look at Mark E. While the type offered excellent range and good speed, the British Army did not believe in the unique suspension system, which used two axles, dual bogies and leaf springs. However, the Christie suspension benefits from providing excellent high-speed off-road capability while promoting a low profile. As a result, the British Army abandoned the production purchase of the domestic Mark E, citing reliability issues with the suspension system.

However, we keep four examples for training purposes. Mark E's legacy is - it seems - left to another country to write.

An F-type version of the Vickers 6-Ton exists. They were fitted with a completely new turret with a Marconi G2A type radio system, but closely related to the B type.

Vickers wastes very little time in providing export products. The final winners are Bolivia, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal, the USSR, Spain and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

First was the Soviet Union, which became the first owner of the new Vickers product (six systems were purchased in 1930), and eventually licensed in 1931 to locally build the T-26 - basically a direct copy of the British version Taste. Thousands of these vehicles were eventually produced in both A and B forms, with some sources putting the production in excess of 12,000.

The T-26 chassis inspired other Red Army battlefield equipment when needed, including dedicated OT-26 flamethrower tanks and engineering vehicles. Some Soviet T-26s fought against the IRA during the Spanish Civil War.

The Poles also turned their attention to the Vickers light tank and eventually produced the licensed model 7TP (Vickers Mk. E). The 7TP features Polish machine guns, enlarged engine air intakes to better cool its new diesel engine, and a useful 360-degree periscope. The 7TP played a role during the invasion of Poland in the upcoming World War II and was also made into a C7P artillery tractor. About 140 examples of this tank were produced.

However, prior to the production of the 7TP, Poland received the A and B Vickers tanks in their original form.

During the Winter War (1939-1940) and the Continuing War (1941-1944), the Finns used the Mark E (Type B) with very limited success against Soviet tanks. They ended up with a 37mm Bofors gun and one with a 7.92mm machine gun. Once in service, many of these early Finnish tank crews were doomed due to reliability issues and general inexperience.

From 1940, the Finnish Mark E was armed with a Soviet 45mm gun and used the designation T-26E. Most notably, both the British Vickers 6-ton and the Soviet T-26 were used by the Finnish army which survived the war and served as training tanks until 1959.

Bolivia used A and B versions of the Vickers 6 ton in the 1933 war with Paraguay, although this only included two B and one A model. These were the first tanks to see combat action anywhere in the United States, and also marked the beginning of the Vickers 6-ton battle line.