Vickers 6-ton
| Vickers 6-ton / Vickers Mark E. | |
|---|---|
A Vickers 6-tone type A delivered to Poland |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 3 |
| length | 4.88 m |
| width | 2.41 m |
| height | 2.08 m (version A) 2.16 m (version B) |
| Dimensions | 7.20 t (version A) 7.35 t (version B) |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | 5-13 mm |
| Main armament | 2 × 7.7 mm Vickers MG (design A) 1 × 47 mm Vickers QF tank cannon (design B) |
| Secondary armament | 1 × 7.7 mm Vickers MG coaxial (design B) |
| agility | |
| drive | Armstrong-Siddeley "Puma" 4-cylinder gasoline engine, air-cooled 67 kW (92 PS) |
| suspension | Leaf springs |
| Top speed | 35 km / h |
| Power / weight | 12.8 hp / t |
| Range | 160 km / 90 km (road / terrain) |
The Vickers 6-ton , also known as the Vickers Mark E (Mk. E) , was a British light tank . It was developed on its own initiative by Vickers -Armstrongs Ltd. developed. The Vickers 6-ton was the first tank in the world to be equipped with coaxial armament.
history
The Vickers 6-ton was developed in 1928 in the Vickers-Armstrong works in Elswick (Tyne and Wear) . Two variants were designed and built. On the one hand, version A with two separate small machine-gun turrets and, on the other hand, version B with a large turret, in which a cannon and a coaxial machine-gun were to be installed. The version A was intended as an anti-infantry tank, while the version B should serve as fire support. Another variant C, which was intended for anti-tank combat, was not built, but was delivered to the Japanese Empire for testing in 1927. Based on the Vickers Mark E, a tank with a more powerful engine and a longer tank hull was developed for Belgium in 1934. Only one example of this tank, called Vickers Mark F, was built because the Belgians were not satisfied with the performance. For unknown reasons, the modified longer tub of the Mark F was used for the last Vickers Mark E version B.
The patented chassis suspension was a new design, developed by vehicle specialists Sir John Carden and Vivian Loyd. It was later used on other tanks, including the Czech Škoda LT vz.35 and the Hungarian T-21 .
The Mark E has been tested and rated by the British Army. But they showed no interest in it, because they feared that the landing gear was a weak point in the tank. The tank was then released for export. Due to numerous advertising campaigns in various military magazines and at trade fairs, the tank could be sold in many countries, including the USSR , Greece and Poland. In addition, licenses to replicate the vehicle were sold to the USSR and Poland. This later resulted in further developments of the T-26 , which was produced in large numbers of over 12,000 copies , and the Polish 7TP .
Most of the Vickers Mark E were used in various conflicts, with the modern design proved to be on a par with or superior to other tanks. It was only at the beginning of the Second World War that the Vickers 6-ton could no longer grow due to its weak armor, enemy tanks and anti-tank weapons.
A total of 153 copies of the Vickers 6-ton were produced, as well as numerous licensed buildings and further developments.
technology
The Vickers Mark E had a classic design, that is, the power transmission and controls were located in the front part, the crew compartment and armament in the middle and the engine in the rear. The armored hull and the superstructure consisted of armor plates riveted together, which in turn were riveted to a frame. The thickness of the armor plates was 13 mm at the front, the sides and on the entire tower, while the rear was eight, and the top and bottom were only five millimeters thick. The tank was 4.88 m long, 2.41 m wide and 2.16 m (Ausf. A 2.08 m) high. When ready for use, it had a weight of 7.35 t in version B. The turret in variant B was on the left side of the armored hull. The last copies of version B received an extended armored hull (from the Mark F) and the turret moved from the left to the right side.
The chassis consisted of two pairs of swing arms on each side, each equipped with a leaf spring . On each of these arms there were two horizontally movable rocker arms, each with two rollers . The front rollers had rubber bands, in contrast to the rear, which were made entirely of steel. The drive wheels were mounted in the front area of the vehicle and the idlers accordingly at the rear. The 230 millimeter wide chains with 102 to 103 links each were also guided over four small support rollers.
The vehicle was powered by an air-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine Armstrong-Siddeley "Puma" with a displacement of 6667 cm³ and an output of 92 hp. The power was transmitted via a dry clutch and a cardan shaft to a gearbox with four forward gears and one reverse gear and then to a clutch steering gear with band brakes on the drive wheels. This also served to control the tank.
The fuel tank's content of 182 l allowed a range of 160 km on the road or 90 km off-road at a maximum speed of 35 km / h.
The crew of the Mark E consisted of the driver, who sat in the front right in the tub, while the commander and the gunner had their place in the turret (Ausf. B). A special feature was the A version, where the commander and gunner sat separately from each other in a machine-gun turret on wide fabric belts.
The Vickers 6-ton version A was armed with a water-cooled Vickers 7.7 mm MG in each turret. 6000 rounds of machine-gun ammunition were carried on board. Version B, on the other hand, had a stub barrel tank cannon type 47-mm-QF (QF = Quick Firing, German Schnellfeuer) from Vickers-Armstrong. Around 50 rounds of tank and HE shells could be accommodated in the tank. On the left side of the cannon was the telescopic sight. To the right of the cannon, a water-cooled Vickers 7.7 mm MG was installed coaxially. This made the Vickers Mark E the model for all subsequent modern tanks in terms of the arrangement of the turret armament (duplex assembly).
Some tanks, e.g. B. were delivered to Poland, received a different armament. Most of the time, however, these were weapons that came from the exporting countries and were sometimes only installed there.
Export and use
Bolivia
Bolivia ordered three Vickers 6-ton in October 1932. According to Vickers documents, it was a tank of version A and two of version B. The Bolivian Vickers Mark E were the first to be used in combat. In the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, the three chariots were successfully used by the Bolivians, especially in the second attack on the city of Nanawa from July 4th to 5th, 1933. However, one of the two single-turret tanks was destroyed by the hit from a Paraguayan 75- mm cannon destroyed. The two remaining Vickers 6-ton were then used in further operations until they were captured by Paraguayan troops on December 10, 1933. The tank in the two-tower version A was erected as a memorial in Asunción , the capital of Paraguay . In 1994 it was returned to Bolivia as a symbol of reconciliation and is now on display at the military school in La Paz . The variant B Vickers Mk. E was sold to the Spanish Republic along with some firearms in January 1937 . What happened to the tank in Spain is not known.
Bulgaria
In September 1936 Bulgaria bought eight single-tower Vickers Mk. E version B. These were delivered in 1937. The Bulgarian armed forces formed the second armored company with them. From 1941 the company belonged to the first tank division of the Bulgarian tank regiment, together with two companies of Panzerkampfwagen 35 (t) . When Bulgaria fought on the Allied side from September 1944, the Vickers 6-ton were used against the German Wehrmacht in Serbia and Kosovo . In April 1945 the last Bulgarian Mk. E retired from active service as they were meanwhile inferior to other tanks and the supply of spare parts had become increasingly difficult.
China
The Chinese government bought 16 Vickers Mark E tanks in 1935. Another four tanks were purchased in 1936. These four had Marconi radios in an additional extension on the rear edge of the tower. The 20 vehicles were stationed at the first and second tank battalions in Shanghai . During the fighting in Shanghai from August to early November 1937 against the Japanese, the Vickers Mark E was used intensively. The tank units suffered heavy losses, as the Mark E was not suitable for city combat and the tank crews were poorly trained. Half of all Vickers 6 tones were lost. The rest of the tanks were combined into a new unit and incorporated into the 200th Mechanized Division. This division suffered heavy losses in the battle of Nanjing and in 1940 at the Kunlun Pass , with the majority of the tanks being lost.
Finland
Finland bought the first Vickers 6-ton type B in 1933 and tested it extensively. In 1936 it was decided to buy another 32 Mark E of the variant B. These were to be delivered between July 1937 and January 1939. But due to delays, only 26 vehicles came to Finland from July 1938 to November 1939. The remaining six tanks were manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. after the Winter War . delivered. These Vickers Mk. E Ausf. B had the larger armored hull of the Mark F and the turrets on the right. The front armor was reinforced to 17.5 mm. A radio installation option was available, but was not used to save costs. Not satisfied with the British 47mm cannon, the last six tanks were sent to Finland without armament. Only then did the tanks receive their armament in the form of a Swedish 37 mm anti-tank gun from the Bofors company.
The Finnish Vickers 6-ton have been modified many times during their service life. Among other things, the use of a 9 mm Suomi MP in the front panel next to the driver was tested. These machine guns were later installed in the six tanks with an extended hull and a fourth man was integrated into the crew.
During the winter war with the Soviet Union in 1939/40, the 13 ready-to-use Vickers tanks were combined in one company. In use, eight of the 13 tanks were lost due to enemy fire and getting stuck in the area. The Finns managed to capture a large number of T-26 tanks and use them for their purposes. For reasons of easier maintenance, it was decided to equip the remaining Vickers Mark E with Soviet 45mm cannons and coaxial DT-MG from destroyed T-26s. These were then referred to as T-26E (E = English ). The remaining Vickers tanks were used together with the captured T-26s between 1941 and 1944 in the war against the Soviet Union . In 1945 19 T-26E were still available and were used for training purposes until 1959.
Three Vickers tanks have been preserved in a museum to this day. These are two T-26E's and an original Vickers 6-ton from 1940.
Greece
In November 1930 Greece bought a Vickers 6-ton type A and a type B. So far there is no information on the history of the tanks.
Great Britain
The only examples of the Vickers 6-ton used in the British Army were four from the second shipment to Thailand. They were confiscated at the beginning of World War II and used for training purposes until the end of the war. The vehicles were Mark E, version B, with the modified longer armored hull (Mark F), with the turrets, like the first 6-ton Vickers, on the left side of the armored hull.
One of the four tanks has been preserved to this day. It's in the Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset .
Poland
In the 1920s, the Polish army was only equipped with outdated Renault FT tanks. In order to equip the armored weapon with modern equipment within a short period of time, the Polish government decided in 1926 to contact Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. in the UK. The Poles were offered the medium tanks from the Medium Mark C and D series, but these were rejected. When the Vickers 6-ton was developed in 1926, it was also offered to the Polish government. However, the first attempt to buy it in 1927 failed because of the high price, so that the first step was to look for a new tank in France. The Renault NC envisaged there turned out to be unsuitable. Therefore, in 1930, Vickers was contacted again. The Vickers 6-ton was again demonstrated to the Poles at a trade fair in London and in September of the same year also directly in Poland. In the course of the negotiations, the Polish envoys decided to buy the Vickers Mk. E. In addition, the license to replicate this tank was acquired, as they wanted to realize their own designs, but had no experience with them. The Vickers 6-ton was therefore seen as a good basis for the further development of Polish tank construction.
In 1931 the final purchase contract for 38 vehicles with spare parts was signed and all tanks were delivered between June 1932 and February 1933. The vehicles were without exception the two-tower version A-tank. Each Vickers 6-ton cost around 100,000 zloty .
After extensive tests, large sheet metal air intake ducts were installed on the rear at the request of the Poles in order to provide the engine with better cooling. Then the tanks were tested again and then finally accepted by the Polish army. In the same year, 22 Vickers Mark E were converted into the single-tower version B.
Although a license to replicate had been acquired, no further Mark E were manufactured in Poland. Instead, the Polish engineers developed the Vickers tank further into the 7TP . In order to improve on the existing Vickers 6-ton, a vehicle was brought up to par with the 7TP in 1936, that is, it received a more powerful diesel engine , improved chassis suspension, a new gearbox and stronger armor. However, since the cost of the conversion was too high, the other Mark E.
The tanks were delivered unarmed. In Poland, an air-cooled 7.92 mm MG model wz.25 from Hotchkiss was installed in each tower . After a short time these were at 16 Vickers 6-ton but against an air-cooled 13.2 mm Hotchkiss wz.30 -MG in the right turret, in which the tank commander sat and a water-cooled 7.92 mm Browning wz.30 - MG exchanged. The armament was also reinforced in 1933. In six Mark E tanks, the machine gun in the right turret was temporarily replaced by a 37 mm SA-18 Puteaux L / 21 cannon. Since both the 37 mm cannon and the 13.2 mm machine gun were not ballistically sufficient for fighting tanks , it was ultimately decided to convert 22 Vickers Mk. E into the single-turret variant B. Corresponding turrets with a 47 mm QF gun from Vickers were purchased for this in Great Britain. The tanks were converted between 1934 and 1935, with the water-cooled Browning wz.30 being installed as a coaxial MG. The remaining 16 two-turret Vickers 6-ton each turret also received a Browning MG. A conversion of the two-turreted Vickers tank to the 37 mm Bofors cannon, planned in 1937, was not carried out, again due to the cost.
The first unit to be equipped with the Vickers 6-ton in 1934 was the newly established 3rd Tank Battalion in Warsaw . As a second unit, the 11th Panzer Battalion at the Armored Force School in Modlin was given the Vickers Mark E. There the vehicles were used intensively for training tank crews. As a result, the vehicles were used up at the beginning of the war with the German Reich and could hardly be used in combat.
The 3rd Panzer Battalion handed over its Vickers 6-ton to the 2nd Panzer Battalion in Zurawica near Przemyśl in the late 1930s .
Between September 4 and 20, 1938, 20 6-ton Vickers were used in maneuvers in Volhynia , with the tanks being combined to form a company as part of the 10th motorized cavalry brigade . The maneuvers served to prepare for the reconquest of the Olsa area , which fell to Czechoslovakia in 1918 . After the Munich Agreement had been concluded , the Polish government issued an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia on October 1, 1938, demanding the return of the Olsa area. The Czech government gave in and the 10th Cavalry Brigade occupied the Olsa area on October 2nd without a fight. The brigade with the Vickers tank company stayed there for two months.
When mobilizing at the end of August 1939, the Vickers 6-ton were divided into two light tank companies that were assigned to the two Polish motorized brigades. The first was the 121st Company of the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade. The second company was the 12th light tank company set up for the Warsaw tank brigade. Both companies had 16 Vickers Mark E each in both versions.
The 121st light tank company was made available as a reserve of the Kraków Army. From September 1, 1939, the company, along with other armored units, served as a "fire brigade" for threatened sections of the front of the 10th motorized cavalry brigade. In the course of the first few days, the Vickers tanks managed to repel attacks by the German 2nd Panzer Division , the 4th Light Division and the 3rd Mountain Division . The Germans lost three tanks and two armored vehicles on September 3, while two Vickers Mark E were destroyed on the Polish side. Another Mk. E had to be written off as a battle loss on September 6th. On September 8, the remaining tanks were held up by a lack of fuel. In a village near the city of Mielec , enough gasoline could be organized for three Vickers 6-ton so that they could continue to Nisko according to the orders . There they were placed under the command of the 6th Infantry Division in order to strengthen the morale of the troops. From September 13th, the three tanks were under the command of the 21st Mountain Division, with which they fought against the German 45th Infantry Division in the battle near Oleszyce. But on September 16, the 21st Mountain Division was encircled and had to surrender. During the last fighting, one of the Vickers 6-ton was destroyed by direct artillery hits, while the other two were captured by German troops.
The remaining Vickers tanks of the 121st light tank company that remained at Mielec managed to get to Kolbuszowa on September 9th . They were used to defend the city against the advancing 2nd Panzer Division. The heavy fighting resulted in losses on both sides. When supporting the withdrawal of Polish troops across the Łęg , three Vickers 6-ton were lost. The remaining Mark E were used in conjunction with the 6th Infantry Division. By the end of the fighting, all Vickers 6-ton were destroyed or fell into the hands of the German troops.
The 12th light tank company was not deployed until two weeks after the start of the war, as it needed time to first train the unit. The Vickers 6-ton unit made its first mission on September 13th. Because of the inexperience, the attack on the German Vistula bridgehead near Annopol was a failure. Since the tanks attacked without infantry support, the German defense concentrated fully on the Vickers tanks. As a result, two Mark E were lost.
In the next few days the tank company withdrew further and further. There were considerable failures due to technical defects, so that six Vickers 6-ton had to be left standing. The fuel supply was also poor. On September 17, the unit achieved a small victory when two Vickers Mark E with the support of a motorcycle rifle platoon destroyed two German armored vehicles.
One day later the last tank battle broke out, which was also the second largest of the campaign. At Tomaszów Lubelski the Warsaw tank brigade tried to break through the German front together with other Polish units in the direction of Lemberg . The last eight Vickers 6-ton of the 12th light tank company as well as some 7TP tanks and tankettes were used. Despite bitter fighting, the Polish troops failed to break through the German front. Four Vickers Mark E were lost in the fighting. After nightfall the Poles undertook another attack, in which, after dogged attacks, minimal success was achieved. But three more Vickers tanks were lost. On the morning of the next day a new attempt was made to break through the German lines. The last Vickers 6-ton and the remaining 7TP tanks were used here. Success could not be achieved with this attack either. Rather, the remaining Vickers Mk. E and all 7TPs except one were lost.
The remaining three to four Vickers 6-ton type A, which were not used in the two light tank companies, were combined in a reserve unit in Zurawica. The tank unit was attacked by Soviet tanks on September 18, 1939 on the march to the Hungarian border north of Monastyryska . Two Vickers Mark E and three tankettes were destroyed. The other Vickers tanks were already on the march, probably due to technical defects.
All Vickers 6-ton, whether destroyed, damaged or abandoned, were captured by the German and Soviet troops. They were no longer used there, but were scrapped. As a result, no Polish Vickers 6-tone has been preserved.
Portugal
Portugal acquired two Vickers 6-ton for testing purposes. It was a tank in the version with two turrets and one in the one-tower version. The version A two-turreted tank was named Portugal , while the other combat vehicle was called the Republica . So far nothing is known about the further fate of the two tanks.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was the first country to buy the Vickers 6-ton. In May 1930, 15 Vickers Mark E's in the A version with a twin machine gun turret were ordered. Furthermore, a license was acquired to replicate the tank. The Mk. E Type A were built between 1930 and 1932 and delivered to the Soviet Union, equipped with the original 7.7 mm Vickers MG. The Soviets called the tanks V-26 (V = Vickers ). From 1931 numerous tests were carried out with the vehicles. Despite some flaws, the Vickers 6-ton was considered the best foreign tank known at the time. In order to forestall a supremacy of the Poles (they had also acquired the Vickers 6-ton), the Soviets decided to build the tank in large numbers under the new designation T-26 under license (see T-26 ).
What happened to the UK-built Vickers 6-ton is not exactly known. The first copies were used as templates in the factories that were supposed to replicate the tank. Later they were probably used for training purposes and were retired before World War II.
Spain
The only Vickers 6 tone that got to Spain was a captured Bolivian Type B vehicle that was sold from Paraguay to the Spanish Republic through a Swiss middleman . To what extent the Vickers Mk. E was used is unknown. Furthermore, around 600 T-26 tanks from Soviet arms deliveries were used in the Spanish Civil War.
Thailand
In November 1932, Siam , later Thailand , bought ten B-version Vickers 6-ton. These were made in 1933 by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. delivered. In 1938 another twelve Mark E with a single tower were ordered, of which only eight could be delivered before the start of the Second World War. The remaining four were confiscated by the British government. The eight vehicles of the second delivery had the longer Mark F armored hull, but the turret on the left.
The Thais used their Vickers 6-ton in the war against French Indochina (December 1940 to January 1941). In heavy fighting near the city of Yang Dang Khum , three of the Vickers tanks used were destroyed. Nevertheless, the battle ended with the withdrawal of the French.
Thailand fell under Japanese control in December 1941. Since then, it is unknown what happened to the remaining Vickers Mark E.
References
See also
literature
- Janusz Ledwoch: Vickers 6-ton Mark E , Tank Power Volume LXXXIII, Wydawnictwo Militaria 2009, ISBN 978-83-7219-322-3 (Polish & English).
- Diethard H. Klein, Gabriella Del Siena-Buser: Tanks - Airplanes - Ships, The great book of weapon technology , Moewig Verlag 1994, ISBN 3-8118-1247-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Steven J Zaloga: "Japanese Tanks 1939-1945" Osprey Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84603-091-8 , p. 4
- ↑ The Vickers 6-ton in use in Bolivia
- ↑ The Vickers 6-ton in use in Bulgaria
- ↑ The Vickers 6-ton in use in China
- ↑ a b c The Vickers 6-ton in use in Greece, Portugal and Spain
- ^ Image of the Portugal tank ( Memento from June 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Image of the Republica tank ( Memento from May 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The Vickers 6-ton in use in the Soviet Union
