Vickers F.B.12 The name of Cecil Bernard Redrup is little known even to historians. Redrup was one of the pioneers of British aviation, creating aircraft engines for which he received several patents in 1910-1914. First of all, he was engaged in the improvement of the so-called

"Vickers 12-ton", aka "Medium" Semyon Fedoseev Despite the heated debate about the need for the existence of tank units after the First World War, in 1922 in the UK they nevertheless decided to keep the Tank Corps, created five years earlier. In October

Tank "Vickers" Mk II* British exposition. Museum of Armored Vehicles in Bovington These photos were provided by our regular reader Uwe Harnach from Switzerland. A detailed story about the history of the creation and use of 12 ton tanks

VICKERS "6-TON" The history of mankind knows many examples when talented, gifted people or outstanding ideas and inventions were recognized all over the world, with the exception of their own homeland. Amazing, but true - even the history of armored vehicles abounds

The end of the 20s turned out to be a rather gloomy time for English tank building in general and the companyvickers in particular. May 9, 1928 died chief designer Sir George Thomas Buckham Company. Around the same time, orders for new tanks begin to fade. New machines of the company -A1E1 Independent andA6 Medium Tank - were not the most successful. Meanwhile,vickers finally received the first experience in the supply of tanks for export by sellingMedium tank Mark. C to Japan. The next abroad (to Ireland) leftMedium tank Mark. D, yes andMedium Tank Mk II also interested foreign customers.

This prompted the company, which in 1927 merged with Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company to form Vickers-Armstrongs Limited, to further work on creating purely export tanks. The result was a tank Vickers Mk.E- a machine that inscribed its creators and company in golden lettersvickers in general in the history of world tank building.

fresh blood

After the end of the First World War and the inevitable reduction armed forces British officers, deprived of the opportunity to build a further military career, decided their fate in different ways. Some of them tried their hand at the automotive industry. Among them was John Carden (John Valentine Carden), who rose to the rank of captain in the army. Even before the war, he was engaged in tiny cars, and after it he took up sports cars. However, he did not achieve much success in this field.

Another British Army captain, Vivian Graham Loyd, had the same passion. Two talented engineers met in 1923. Together they decided to leave the automotive industry, which by that time was overflowing with small firms, and switch to the production of military products.

Suspension unit designed by John Carden and widely used on Vickers tanks

Carden-Loyd was founded in 1925. Like Giffard Le Quesne Martel, another key figure in British tank design, Cardin and Loyd decided to try their luck with a single-seat wheeled-tracked tankette. Following the three experienced single tankettes they created, they were followed by the double Carden-Loyd Mk.IV / Mk.V.

The result of the work of talented designers was an epoch-making machine - the Carden-Loyd Mk.VI tankette, which sold a huge circulation of more than 450 copies for its time. The brainchild of Cardin and Loyd turned out to be a reference for such a class of combat vehicles as tankettes, and served as the basis for the creation of similar designs in a number of countries. Among other know-how, this vehicle was the first serial tank in which the transmission was located in the bow of the hull.

Prototype of a 6-ton Vickers tank with a Dorman engine

In addition to the construction of tankettes, Carden-Loyd was engaged in engineering. Since 1926, her close collaboration with Vickers begins. This cooperation proved to be extremely productive and mutually beneficial. The small firm acquired the patronage of the arms giant, and Vickers-Armstongs received at its disposal promising developments Cardin Loyd.

Of greatest interest was the caterpillar undercarriage, in the development of which John Carden achieved great success. He developed a balancing scheme with road wheels of a rather large diameter and leaf spring suspension. This scheme proved to be very successful when used on light tanks.

Cardin also developed another balancing suspension. It used a four-roller scheme (2 carts with 2 small-diameter road wheels each) with half-springs as an elastic element. Thanks to this scheme, a light tank received 8 road wheels on board, which was advisable for combat vehicles, which were mainly used not on roads, but on rough terrain.

The Cardin suspension turned out to be quite compact and easy to operate. Such a chassis, in which case, could be serviced by a mechanic of below average qualification. The smallest thing remained - to create a tank with such a chassis.

Small triplex

The development of a new light tank was complicated by the fact that the British army did not need it. At that time, the concept of British mechanized units meant the use of heavy tanks (A1E1 Independent) as breakthrough vehicles, which were supposed to support medium tanks with cannon-machine guns (Medium Tank Mk.I and Medium Tank Mk.II). The third "link" in this system were wedges (Carden-Loyd Mk.VI). Light infantry support tanks like the Renault FT simply had no place in this concept. The natural way out of the situation was to develop a tank for export.

The same base served as the basis for an artillery tractor

Despite the fact that the phrase "Carden-Loyd" is not in the name of the tank, which eventually came into being, it owes its creation to a large extent to this company. We are talking not only about the chassis, but also about the layout of the new machine. It was based on the layout of the Carden-Loyd Mk.VI tankette, while the engine moved from the fighting compartment to the rear.

As a power plant, it was decided to use an 80-horsepower Dorman water-cooled engine, which was widely used by various automobile companies. The designers placed the driver on the right in the direction of travel. In the original version, its hatch consisted of as many as five sections. The turret box of the tank could be dismantled if necessary.

Artillery tractor equipped with an Armstrong-Siddeley engine

The experimental tank, which was originally called the 6-ton Tank Experimental Vehicle, was very unusually armed. At that time, light tanks, as a rule, had a one-man turret, in which either a machine gun or a small-caliber gun was mounted. The new English tank had two turrets, and both of them were equipped with Vickers heavy machine guns.

Such a scheme of weapons clearly spoke about the purpose of the machine. As conceived by Vickers engineers, the new light tank was created as a "trenches cleaner". Due to the presence of two towers, he could fire at the same time in two directions. In addition, if necessary, both towers could concentrate fire on one point either in front or behind the tank. With a combat weight of 6 tons and a crew of 3, the new light tank had the same armor and speed as the Vickers Medium Tank Mk.II.

As you can see, the name "Vickers-Armstrongs 6 ton tank" was used quite officially

In addition to the tank, an artillery tractor was created at the same time on its basis. The “recipe” for its manufacture turned out to be extremely simple: the turret box with the turret was removed from the tank, a shield with a viewing window was installed in front, and seats were attached to the fighting compartment.

Just on the tractor, Vickers-Armstrongs engineers decided to try out a motor of their own design. The Armstrong-Siddeley engine was air-cooled. In general, it was quite an ordinary in-line "four", and the same power as the Dorman engine. But with its layout there was one significant nuance. In order to reduce the height of the engine compartment, the designers placed the engine horizontally, covering it with an oil cooler on top. As a result, the height of the engine compartment has become significantly less.

Tests carried out on an experimental tractor showed the viability of such an idea, and the creators of the car abandoned the Dorman motor. Thus, in 1929, the appearance of the new light tank was finally formed. By the same time, the chassis was slightly redone, including the suspension and tracks. The design developed by Cardin and Loyd was truly revolutionary. The caterpillar resource was 4800 km, which for that time was a truly fantastic indicator.

Vikcers Mk.E Type A in final configuration

The tank was offered to potential customers under two designations. In addition to the quite officially used Vickers-Armstrongs 6 ton tank (in the Russian version - “Vickers 6-ton”), another index was used - Vickers Mk.E. Other conspiracy theorists decipher E as "Export", but this version has nothing to do with reality. The letter E just comes next after the D, and a tank with that name - the Vickers Medium Tank Mk.D - already existed.

The basic version of the tank was the Vickers Mk.E Type A, which had two machine gun turrets. Compared to the prototype, the shape of its turrets was changed, and the machine guns received armored casings. I must say that the designation "6-ton" was only partly correct, since even the first option boldly stepped over this mark, reaching a mass of 6.6 tons.

For an additional fee, the manufacturer offered to install a radio station with an antenna behind the turrets on the tank, while the ammunition capacity of machine guns was reduced from six to four thousand rounds.

A special device for overcoming trenches, developed by the Hungarian designer Nicholas (Miklos) Straussler

It was this modification that became the first tank that brought a truly serious commercial success to Vickers-Armstrongs in the foreign market. In 1930, 15 tanks were ordered by the Soviet procurement commission, headed by the head of the Department of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army (UMM) Khalepsky. Each tank cost £4,200. It is unlikely that this deal pleased the Poles, who got acquainted with the Vickers Mk.E back in 1927, when it was just being designed. As a result, Poland acquired 38 of these machines.

Another Type A went to Greece, one double-turreted tank was bought by Bolivia and Portugal. Also, for the purpose of studying, one tank was acquired by the Japanese and the Americans. The sale of 58 tanks is very good, especially in the context of the global financial crisis and the British army, which is not in a hurry with new orders.

Vickers Mk.E Type B in service with the Kuomintang army

In 1930, foreign buyers were offered the next version of the tank - Vickers Mk.E Type B. The combat weight of this modification of the Vickers 6-ton exceeded 7.2 tons. Its main difference was that instead of two machine-gun turrets, the tank received one, shifted to the left of the longitudinal axis. The tower was displaced so that its crew would not interfere with the driver. In addition, thanks to this solution, the gunner's and commander's legs were not so disturbed by the transmission shaft running above the floor from the engine to the transmission.

Inside the double conical turret, the designers placed a short-barreled 47-mm Vickers QF gun. The Vickers machine gun was paired with the cannon. Despite the modest barrel length, the armor-piercing projectile of the 3-pounder gun pierced armor 25 mm thick from a distance of 500 meters. This was quite enough to confidently penetrate the armor of almost all tanks of that period, including the French Renault NC, which was also exported. In addition to armor-piercing ammunition, the 47-mm gun also included high-explosive fragmentation ammunition, which was unusual for British tank weapons of that period.

Tank of the 3rd series with a turret niche in which there was a radio station

Around the same time, potential buyers may have been offered a very specific variant known as the Vickers Mk.E Type C. It was a Type A with 37 mm anti-tank guns installed in the front and rear plates. However, since even the schemes of this machine have not been preserved, there is a suspicion that it existed only in someone's imagination. This is also supported by the fact that 37 mm cannons were not used in principle on British tanks.

Export variations

The first Vickers Mk.E Mk.B was ordered by the Greeks, who received their tank in August 1931. The Bolivians were next, ordering 2 tanks. Siam (Thailand) received 2 more tanks, the Finns and the Portuguese ordered one vehicle each.

However, it was an easy warm-up compared to what began in 1934. Vickers-Armstrongs has a major, in every sense of the word, client - China. The first 12 Vickers Mk.E Type Bs were ordered by the Chinese in March 1934. In total, they ordered 20 tanks in three series. Starting from the second series, a stern niche appeared in the tank turret, in which a radio station was installed. Another 8 tanks in the Mk.B variant were ordered by Bulgaria. In addition to this, Poland acquired 22 turrets to remake part of the previously purchased tanks of the first modification.

Vickers Mk.F on trials, 1934

Meanwhile, Vickers-Armstrongs engineers did not sit still. With all the advantages of an air-cooled engine, it had one significant disadvantage - overheating, which was a fairly common occurrence. Here the compact dimensions of the power compartment affected, which created problems for effective cooling.

A simple and at the same time radical solution to the cooling problem was the replacement of the power plant. A new engine was found rather quickly, it was a 120-horsepower Rolls-Royce Phantom II. It was unrealistic to place an in-line 6-cylinder engine with a volume of 7.67 liters in the existing power department, so the designers went for a trick. The engine was right in the fighting compartment, on the left in the direction of travel. Because of this, the tower had to be shifted to the right and as far back as possible so as not to interfere with the driver.

In addition, an air intake appeared in the upper frontal sheet of the hull, on the left side. The silencer from the aft hull migrated to the left side of the turret box.

Longitudinal section of the Vickers Mk.F. The difference in layout with the Vickers Mk.E is clearly visible

In 1934, a prototype tank, designated the Vickers Mk.F, was tested by the Belgians, for whom it was originally intended. From the idea to place a large, noisy and hot engine in the fighting compartment, customers were not delighted. In addition, the cooling of the new engine still left much to be desired, and the air intake in the front of the hull proved to be an excellent target. The Belgians abandoned the Vickers Mk.F.

However, Vickers-Armstrongs found an alternative that eventually suited them. But that's another story.

A large air intake appeared on the front of the hull

Despite such a sad outcome, the history of the Vickers Mk.F continued. The engineers liked the tank hull of this modification so much that it was decided to put it into mass production. The redesigned engine compartment made room for the stock Armstrong-Siddeley motor and improved cooling. In addition, the fighting compartment has become noticeably more spacious.

Finnish Vickers Mk.E Type B, with a Vickers Mk.F hull

It was these tanks that the British delivered to Finland. On July 20, 1936, the Finns ordered 32 Vickers Mk.E Type Bs. Often these vehicles are confused with Vickers Mk.Fs, although they were Mk.Es with Armstrong-Siddeley engines. Siam ordered 12 exactly the same tanks in 1938, but in this case only 8 vehicles reached the customer.

In service on the second try

As already mentioned, there was no place for the Vickers Mk.E in the British army weapons system. Despite this, the British military still tested a prototype tank, and at the same time a tractor based on it. The two-turreted machine-gun vehicle did not impress the military, and the price, which was half that of the Medium Tank Mk.II, did not convince them either. It was not possible to sell the Vickers Mk.E to "their" army. As in the case of the Belgians, a completely different, much lighter tank, also developed with the participation of Carden-Loyd, managed to interest the British military.

Serial sample of the artillery tractor Dragon, Medium Mk.IV

The failure to test the experienced Vickers Mk.E, meanwhile, did not mean that the vehicles based on it were completely closed off the road to English army. The tractor, tested in 1930, was proposed to be finalized. In 1932, a heavily redesigned artillery tractor appeared, designated the Vickers B12E1. Due to the displacement of the driver's seat forward, the volume of the car's interior has increased significantly. However, this car was also rejected by the military.

In the end, a heavily redesigned vehicle appeared - the Dragon, Medium Mk.IV. Instead of the Armstrong-Siddeley engine, a 90-horsepower AEC engine was installed on it. On the sides there were stacking for shells, quite a lot of alterations turned out to be in the cabin. The British Army ordered 12 of these vehicles. Serial Dragon, Medium Mk.IV differed slightly from the prototype. Their main purpose was the transportation of 60-pound (127-mm) guns.

By the way, this tractor turned out to be the only machine from the Vickers Mk.E family that actually fought in the British army. In 1940, the tractors were sent as part of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) to France, where they remained after the evacuation in June 1940. The Germans became the owners of the tractors.

In addition, 18 Dragon, Medium Mk.IV was ordered by India and 23 by China.

Very similar to the Dragon, the Medium Mk.IV was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun ordered by Siam. 26 vehicles armed with 40-mm Pom-Pom automatic anti-aircraft guns went there.

Vickers Mk.E Type B in 44 RTR, 1940. The machine has WD number 10677 and its serial number is V.A.E.1986

Another story is connected with Siam. As mentioned above, in 1938, an order was received from this country for 12 Vickers Mk.E Type B. 4 tanks with serial numbers V.A.E.1983-1986 never got there. In June 1940, when the BEF lost most of its equipment, including tanks, during the evacuation from France, the British military began to frantically search for any replacement vehicles. The same four Vickers Mk.E from the Siamese order caught my eye. These tanks were immediately assigned to the British Army. The vehicles, which received WD numbers 10674-10677, were included in the 44th Royal Tank Regiment.

In this part, the tanks used as training tanks served at least until 1941. Thus, Great Britain, the birthplace of the Vickers Mk.E tank, became the last country to adopt it. One of these tanks, serial number V.A.E.1985, has survived to this day and is on display at the Tank Museum in Bovington. The tank was camouflaged with a Chinese order, although it actually wore the tactical insignia of the British Army.

The Vickers Mk.E tank had a huge impact on world tank building. It became the starting point for the creation of the American Light Tank T1E4 - the progenitor of the vast majority American tanks and self-propelled guns, which appeared between 1933 and 1944. The Vickers Mk.E had about the same impact on Japanese tank building. In fact, everything Japanese tanks, developed since the early 30s, including the Type 95 Hago, are the "descendants" of the British machine. Similarly, the situation with Italian averages and even heavy tanks military period. The British pedigree of the Polish 7TP and the Soviet T-26 is so well known that they could not even be mentioned. In this light, it is surprising that, with the exception of a few pre-war light tanks, the Vickers Mk.E had practically no effect on British tank building.

To describe such an iconic tank as the Vickers Mk.E and its career, one article is clearly not enough. In addition to the influence exerted on world tank building, he also has other merits. "Vickers 6-ton" was the most fought tank of the interwar period. His combat career began in 1933 and ended in the late 1940s. The vicissitudes of the Vickers Mk.E in the armies of a number of states will be discussed in the following materials.

Sources and literature:

• Vickers 6-ton Mark E/F vol. II, Janusz Ledwoch, Wydawnictwo Militaria 325, 2009
• Author archive

The British Vickers main battle tank did not come into being like most others. Its creation was a private initiative of a company that hopes to create an inexpensive, simple, but modern MBT that will find its customers in other countries.

For such a task, we decided to use the maximum number of components of the Centurion and Chieftain tanks. Their use made it possible to reduce the price, reduce the risks of unsuccessful decisions and ensure new car a sufficient number of necessary components and assemblies.

Tank for export

Development began in 1960, and in 1961 India became interested in the novelty, whose wishes later slightly changed the design of the MBT.

First of all, it was necessary to reduce the weight of the machine to 38 tons and install a powerful 105 mm L7A1 gun.

After agreeing on the details of the project, an agreement was reached on the production of a new MBT for India and assistance in building a plant on its territory.

Already in 1963, the first prototype was assembled, which went to India for testing, a year later the second one appeared, which remained at the test site in England.

The delivery of the first series took place in 1965, and the plant in the Indian city of Avadi, which produces the Vickers Mk 1, started operating in 1966.

Named Vyjayanta - winner in translation, the machine was produced in the amount of 2200 units.

Later, 70 MBTs were transferred to Kuwait, where they even managed to fight, and very unsuccessfully.

Design

MBT was created according to the classical scheme, which assumed the engine compartment at the rear, the control compartment at the front and the fighting compartment between them.

Since the minimum weight was important when creating a tank, the protection turned out to be much inferior to the British Chieftain.

But the Leyland L60 diesel six-cylinder engine with 640 hp. easily coped with 38 tons, accelerating to 50 km / h, and there was enough fuel for 530 kilometers.

The Vickers Mk 1 was equipped with a planetary gearbox with 6 forward and 2 reverse steps, borrowed, like the engine, from the Chieftain.

The suspension had six rubber-coated rollers, three supporting and driving wheels at the rear with telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers and torsion bar suspension.

The hull was welded from rolled armor and had a front plate thickness of only 80 mm, side 60 mm and 20 mm at the rear.

The driver was in front on the right, and his seat could be fixed in the extended position, significantly improving visibility on the march.

For observation in battle, there was a wide-angle periscope, which was replaced in the dark with a night vision device.

On the left side were 25 shells out of a total of 44.

The triple turret had an atypical shape for its time, as it was welded, like the hull. This decision was due to the fact that the tank was adapted as much as possible for production in any customer countries, for example, those that do not have casting technology.

Only the mask of the gun was cast, the forehead of the turret itself had a thickness equal to the hull - 80 mm of armor, the sides were about 40-60 mm and the rear part was 40 mm.

The commander had his own turret with six periscopes, the main observation device and a hatch, and was located to the right of the gun along with the gunner.

The loader sat to the left of the gun and had his own hatch, consisting of two parts.

The main armament was the L7A1 gun, using sub-caliber projectiles with an initial projectile flight speed of 1470 m/s and high-explosive ones with a speed of 730 m/s.

There was also a 7.62 mm machine gun coaxial with a cannon with 500 rounds of ammunition, a 7.62 mm anti-aircraft machine gun on the roof of the turret, and another 12.7 mm machine gun, which was used both against weakly protected targets and as a sighting machine in case of damage to the rangefinder. Their total ammunition consisted of 3000 rounds.

Also, a block of 6 smoke grenade launchers was attached to each side of the tower.

Modifications

The tank received several modifications in addition to the mentioned Vijayanta.

Vickers Mk 2 was created in a single copy, its differences were two installations of Swingfire anti-tank guided missiles.

Vickers Mk 3 appeared in 1875, received a Detroit Diesel 12V-71T engine with a power of 720 hp, gun stabilization, 50 shells in the ammunition load, new system EFCS 600 fire control and Simrad LV352 laser rangefinder. Its production began in 1978, Kenya and Nigeria bought a certain amount, later the Vickers Mk3 (I) modification for India received improved suspension and transmission, and the Vickers Mk 3 (M) for Malaysia received more modern system fire control and some other changes.

The Vickers Mk 4 was developed in 1977 and named the Valiant, and in 1980 a single prototype was built. It was planned to be exported by installing a new tower called "universal tower" and protecting it with some kind of "adaptive armor".

This turret allowed the choice between 105 mm L7 English, 120 mm English L11A5, 120 mm German Rh L44 and 120 mm French GIAT CN-120 F1 guns.

Additionally, a new Centaur fire control system from the Italian company Marconi was installed.

Vickers Mk 7 is often called another modification, however, it has very little resemblance to its predecessors.

Epilogue

The only combat use of the British MBT was the defense of Kuwait in 1990 against Iraq.

About 70 Vickers Mk 1s, very obsolete at that time, were destroyed, and the few survivors ended up in Saudi Arabia where they were written off.

Although the Vickers MBT did not suit the British army, which preferred armor protection to everything else, it turned out to be a very successful tank, especially considering that the company created it on its own initiative. This fact is confirmed by the large number of produced tanks and their long service life.

Light tank "Vickers-6 tons"

This tank was developed, as already mentioned, on an initiative basis by Vickers in 1929 in machine gun and cannon versions.

The company provided for the possibility of creating a series of vehicles on its basis: an art tractor, an anti-aircraft self-propelled unit, tank destroyer with a 47-mm gun, etc.

All countries that built tanks of this type soon abandoned the two-tower layout proposed by the British, who believed that these vehicles would only hit manpower. The opinion prevailed that a light tank should also have weapons suitable for combat and with equivalent equipment. The design of the Vickers-6 tons was simple: a riveted hull and turret made of rolled armor plates; in the undercarriage, two bogies with four small-diameter rubber-coated track rollers on leaf springs; air-cooled engine with horizontally arranged cylinders, which reduced the height of the engine compartment. The tank had a dry multi-plate clutch, a manual gearbox and side clutches with band brakes. The towers for horizontal aiming had a manual drive.

The original "Vickers-6 tons" the British produced only a few dozen in 1929 - 1930.