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Vickers Commercial Light Tank

1933 WORLD WAR 2

History of the Vickers Commercial Light Tank

The First World War (1914-1918) highlighted the need for tanks in the modern army inventory. After the hostilities ended, as Europe rebuilt, many major powers pushed to buy cheap light armor systems for self-defense.

This opened the door for established tank manufacturers like British (Vickers) to offer their products to entirely new customers. Vickers-Armstrong developed "commercial light tanks" specifically for export sales, a series that must have been very lucrative for the company in the pre-war period.

The original production form was the Model 1933, with a riveted hull and turret. The turret can be made faceted or smooth (cylindrical) according to customer requirements.

The Vickers 7.7mm machine gun is the standard weapon, but customers can also mount a local weapon of similar size and function if desired. Power comes from a 90 hp Meadows ESTB liquid-cooled 6-cylinder gasoline engine mated to a five-speed transmission system. With leaf spring suspension system, the vehicle has a certain off-road value. On a prepared surface, the tank may want to hit 42 km/h. The total weight is 3.8 tons, with two operators - driver and commander/gunner.

Armor protection reaches a thickness of 9 mm.

The following year saw the introduction of the 1934 model, which featured an improved suspension system (coil springs). Turrets, weapons and radio equipment can be supplemented according to customer requirements.

The T. 15 was an offshoot of the Type 1934 developed for the Belgian Army. The tower is conical in this form. The tanks were deployed in cavalry divisions and regiments, with up to six tanks deployed.

In the early days of World War II (1939-1945), some Germans were captured en route to Brussels and confiscated as local security vehicles - a common practice in the German military during wartime.

A total of about 130 light tanks were produced from 1933 to 1940. These operated from 1933 until the end of the war in 1945 and operated under different flags - Argentina, Belgium, China, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, USSR and Switzerland were called owners. When the Soviet Union annexed the Baltic states, it took over the existing stock of commercial light tanks in Latvia and Lithuania, which were forced into combat service against the Axis powers as long as they remained viable battlefield assets.

Argentina, China, Finland and Switzerland procured a very small stock of tank samples.

The Dutch had the most of these tanks in the Dutch East Indies. The first prototypes were taken over in November 1937, but after the devastation of Dunkirk (May-June 1940), the remaining numbers were withdrawn by the British.

These were relegated to tanker training (at Bovington) during the war because their actual battlefield value was very limited.

Until March 1942, Dutch Order tanks fought against the Japanese in the East Indies (Borneo). Since then, the captured system has been used by the Japanese.