Light Tank Mk V with twin 15mm Besa
guns for AA role.
Light Mk V fitted with quad Boulton
& Paul aircraft-type turret. Note folding side armour
plates.
In the early 1930s Vickers came up with the
Mark II Light Tank. Ultimately produced in Marks II through VI, the original
Mark II weighed some 9,250 pounds, had a crew of two, was powered with a 66-hp
engine, and was capable of 30 mph. It had maximum 10mm armor and armament
consisted of one .303-caliber machine gun. This reconnaissance tank was
successful in a policing role throughout the British Empire in the 1930s, but
it was totally obsolete for the World War II battlefield. Under battlefield
exigencies the British did employ a few Mark IIs in a combat role, in North
Africa and in the 1941 Abyssinian campaign. The Mark II then went through a
series of modifications, including an improved suspension in the Mark IV, which
entered service in 1934, and the Mark V, which appeared in 1935. The Mark V was
the first light tank with a three-man crew, two of whom were in the turret.
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The Light Tank Mk IV was a more powerful
development of the Mk III and reverted to the Meadows engine as used in the
Light Mk I. In the Mk IV the suspension was further modified to dispense with
the idler wheel, the bogies being respaced accordingly. The hull was re-shaped
at the rear to give more room internally. In other respects it was similar to
the Mk II and III. As with the Mk II, there was also an Indian Pattern version
with a cupola on the turret. The Light Mk V, which first entered service in
1935, incorporated several improvements intended to overcome the deficiencies
of the earlier models. The hull was lengthened slightly to allow the fitting of
a two-man turret, and two co-axial machine guns were fitted. The larger turret
incorporated a commander's cupola and the heavier weight aft of both the turret
and the extra crew member greatly improved the handling qualities; a return
roller was added to the front suspension bogies. Both the Mk IV and Mk V were
obsolete at the start of World War II, though a few remained in front-line
service with units equipped with later marks. Most were employed for training,
however, in the various tank schools in Britain and overseas.
VARIANTS
Two light Mk V chassis were used for
experiments with AA mounts in 1940. One was fitted with a twin 15mm Besa
machine gun mount in place of its turret, and the other had a Boulton &
Paul quadruple Browning power-operated aircraft turret fitted. At first this
retained the Perspex canopy, later removed. Light armour folding flaps were
fitted for crew protection. These were development vehicles only.
Summary: Light tank, based on Carden- Loyd
1920s tankette. Widely used in the 1930s throughout the British Empire and
early in World War II, when it was, however, hopelessly obsolete. Mark VIs
comprised the bulk of British armored strength in France in 1940.
Production dates: early 1933–1940 Number
produced: – (more Mark VIBs were produced than any other model in this series
of light tanks)
Manufacturer: Vickers, Woolwich Arsenal
Crew: 2 (Mk II, III, IV, V) or 3 (Mk VI)
Armament: 1 x.303-caliber Vickers machine
gun (1 x .50-caliber machine gun in some Mk IIIs); also coaxial 1 x 7.92mm and
1 x 15mm Besa machine guns in the Mk VI
Weight: 9,250 lbs. (Mk II, IIA, IIB);
10,080 lbs. (MK III); 9,520 lbs. (Mks IV and V); 10,800 (Mk VI); 11,740 lbs.
(Mks VIA, VIB, VIC) Length: 11’9” (Mk II); 12’ (Mk III); 11’2” (Mks IV and V);
12’12” (Mk VI)
Width: 6’4” (Mks II, III); 6’12” (Mks IV
and V); 6’9” (Mk VI)
Height: 6’8” (Mk II); 6’11” (Mk III); 6’9”
(Mks IV and V); 7’4” (Mk V)
Armor: maximum 14mm; minimum 4mm (Mk VI)
Power plant: Mk II: Rolls-Royce 49.2kW
six-cylinder 66-hp engine; Mks IV-VI: Meadows ESTL six-cylinder 88-hp engine
Maximum speed: 30 mph (Mk II); 35 mph (Mk
VI)
Range: 130 miles (Mk VI)
Fording depth: 2’
Special characteristics (pos/neg): fast,
with a long range but of light, riveted construction with very thin armor and
inadequate armament Special models: Efforts to convert some of these light
tanks into antiaircraft tanks mounting twin 15mm Besa guns were a failure,
although the Germans did utilize some captured models as antitank gun carriers.
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