Vickers Mk.E from the left |
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The Vickers Six-Tonner/ Medium Tank Mark E was a medium tank produced for the export market in the 1930s, proving to be a popular design.
The original prototype of the Six-Tonner was built in 1928. It was smaller than contemporary British tanks, and was armed with two machine guns, carried in turrets mounted side-by-side. Suspension was provided by two sets of bogies on each sides. Each bogie carried four road wheels, mounted in pairs, with each pair connected to the bogie by leaf springs. The drive wheel was in a high position at the front, with the idler lower at the rear. On the prototype a sizable engine compartment came up above the track height, but on production vehicles a low Armstrong-Siddeley engine mounted on its side reduced height, allowing the top of the hull to be almost level with the top of the tracks. It had up to 13mm armour, similar to contemporary medium tanks, and a top speed of 22mph.
Power from the engine came forward to a five speed gearbox. Steering was provided by a simple clutch and brake system, attached at each end of the front axle.
The Six-tonner didn’t attract any British orders, but it was a success on the export market. Two main versions were sold – the Type A with two Vickers .303in machine guns in side by side turrets and the Type B with a single turret that could carry a 47mm gun and co-axial machine gun. The exact gun could be changed for individual customers. The single turret was offset to the left.
The Six-Tonner was a simple relatively inexpensive tank, which was sold to Russia, China, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Thailand, Bolivia and Greece.
Russia was one of the first customers, ordering fifteen Type As in 1930. These were built in Newcastle, and were given an extension at the front of the turrets to carry the Soviet 7.62mm DT machine gun. The type was then built under licence in the Soviet Union as the T-26, which was the most numerous tank in Soviet service when the Germans invaded in 1941, with around 11,000 in service!
Greece purchased one Type A and one Type B
Finland purchased a single Type B.
Poland purchased 22 Type As and 18 Type Bs, and then developed a modified version, the 7TP.
Bulgaria ordered eight Type As
Siam (Thailand) ordered ten Type Bs, and more in 1938, four of which were taken over by the British Army in 1940 and used as training vehicles.
China ordered 20 Type As, four equipped with wireless sets.
Bolivia ordered two Type As and one Type B.
Single examples were sent to American and Portugal to be evaluated. Several elements from the Six-Tonner were included on the American T1E4 light tank, mainly the suspension.
Six-Tonner/ Medium Mk F
The Medium Mk F was a significantly modified version of the six-tonner, produced in 1934. It used a water-cooled six cylinder Rolls Royce engine which had to be moved to the left of the vehicle and carried upright. As a result the turret was moved over to the right of the hull, the opposite of on the Mk E Type B. This was a far less successful design, than the Mk E. Belgium considered the type but didn’t order it. In 1938 Siam placed a repeat order for the Mk E, for which Vickers appears to have built vehicles using the Mk F hull with Armstrong-Siddeley engine.
Stats (British & American Tanks)
Production:
Hull Length: 15ft
Hull Width: 7ft 11in
Height: 7ft 2in
Crew: 3 (commander, gunner, driver)
Weight: 15,680lb
Engine: 80hp Armstrong Siddeley 4-cylinder air cooled
Max Speed: 14mph cross country
Max Range: 100 miles road radius
Armament: Either two .303in machine guns or one 47mm gun and one .303in machine gun
Armour: 5-17mm
British Battle Tanks - World War I to 1939, David Fletcher.
An excellent history of British tanks from the earliest developments, through the battles of the First World War and on into the post-war period. Strongest on the First World War tanks, which fill the first three quarters of the book, helping to explain the problems faced by the developers, how they coped with the problems of the battlefield and how the design was improved in the light of experience, making it clear that the tanks of 1918 were actually very different from the tanks of 1916, despite looking very similar [read full review]
Vickers Mk.E from the right