Tank freak show. There are tanks and … "tanks". In general, they all left their mark on history, but some, in the words of J. Orwell, turned out to be "more equal than others." British tanks of the "Vickers" company are also among such tanks, which are significant for the history of armored vehicles. Moreover, many of them never fought and were not accepted into service by the British army. But they had a chance to play their role in history, so today we will tell you about them.
Their story began in the very mid-1920s, when the British army finally began to receive such new tanks as the Medium Tanks Mk. I and Medium Tanks Mk. II. Note that vehicles of this class first went into production and entered service, although medium tanks were in service with the British army before that. It's just that these machines had such an innovation as a rotating tower, which they did not have before.
The design turned out to be very successful, and therefore these machines were in service for quite a long time. But the rule is this: you have adopted one good tank, immediately develop the next one. So the British military and engineers already in 1926 began to look for something to replace them in the future. It was then that Vickers, the largest British arms manufacturer, offered the army its Medium Tank Mk. III, which can be translated as "Brand III medium tank." But fate is often the villainess. Abroad, this tank gained the greatest popularity, but in England its fate turned out to be rather difficult.
What claims did the military have about the Medium Tanks Mk. I and Medium Tanks Mk. II? First of all - to the front engine. The driver had to be put in a high booth, which made it difficult to fire from the turret when lowering the gun barrel. At that time, their speed, equal to 24 km / h, seemed to be sufficient, but the military wanted more. After all, a tank is never too fast. Well, and thin armor. These tanks were sent to India for service with only machine-gun armament. It seemed to be enough, since the armor of the "mediums" held all the bullets of the then rifles. But not shells!
But the technical assignment for the new vehicle was based on the specification of 1922 … for a heavy tank. It required the engine to be placed in the back. Provide the tank with the ability to overcome trenches with a width of at least 2, 8 meters. Armament - 3-pounder (47-mm) cannon in the bow and 2 more machine guns in sponsons. That is, sheer archaic. But the company "Vickers" quickly reworked the project, so that now the cannon was installed in the tower. Machine guns were also installed in the towers, and a vehicle known as the A1E1 Independent came out. This tank, as you know, was built, tested, but because of the high cost "did not go". Although he was in military service. During World War II, it was dug into the ground in the area of the proposed landing of the German troops and turned into a pillbox.
By the way, the fashion for side machine guns had its roots. It was believed that the tank would drive into the trench and spray them with fire from these machine guns. Conceptually, this worked out well, although even then it was already known that no one was digging trenches in a straight line. All instructions indicated that they must be laid in a zigzag!
And so, based on all this, a new Medium Tank Mk. C appeared with a somewhat, let's say, unusual design. The entrance "door" is in front on the right, and on the left is a course machine gun in a ball mount. 5 crew members, who served 1 cannon in the tower and 4 machine guns: two on the sides, one forward and one more in the tower … with the barrel back. Why it was not possible to pair it with the weapon is completely incomprehensible. By the way, the legs of the driver, sitting in the center of the hull, with this arrangement rested against the armor plate, and then a special multifaceted protrusion was made for them in the center of the hull. Rejoiced at this tank, and almost immediately … the Japanese! They bought it along with a production license in 1927 and released it under the name Type 89A Chi-ro, which later replaced the Type 89B Otsu.
The funny thing is that Japanese engineers treated the British design with such reverence, as if it were a sacred cow: the door on the front armor plate of the hull was preserved, and the installation of machine guns in the hull and in the turret. In a word, they did not retreat from him almost a step to the side.
The next model, the Medium Tank Mk. D, was bought by Ireland in 1929 and used until 1940. But the cannon removed from him has survived to this day and is located at the training center of the Irish Defense Forces in Currah in County Kildare.
All these efforts, however, gave the military and engineers some experience, which the Royal Panzer Corps in 1926 laid the basis for new requirements for the development of a new medium tank. They finally abandoned on-board machine guns, but the very idea of firing on-board was recognized as correct. At the same time, the tank had to develop strong fire in the direction of movement. But this required at least three towers: two on the sides and one above them, so that if both towers were deployed to the sides, the central tower could shoot through the central sector, and, in general, fire 360 degrees.
At the same time, the combat weight had to be kept within 15.5 tons, since the British military ferries did not lift more than 16 tons. Enemy tanks had to be hit at a distance of 900 meters (1000 yards). The radio station is a must, and the fuel tanks had to be outside the hull. There was one more requirement: the tank should not make too much noise.
Having worked on both the Medium Tank Mk. C and the A1E1 Independent, Vickers' engineers had already prepared all the design documentation for one more tank by September 1926. Another "medium", that is, a medium tank, received the designation A6. With a planned weight of 14 tons, its booking was supposed to be 14 mm in the frontal and 9 mm in the side projections. As on the A1E1 Independent, the driver was seated in the center of the hull, in the wheelhouse, and machine-gun turrets were positioned on either side of it. The main turret was armed with a 3-pounder gun and a coaxial machine gun. The anti-aircraft turret at the rear was quickly abandoned, which gave a serious reserve in mass for strengthening the reservation.
The motor was placed in the rear of the hull. Moreover, two engines were offered: 120 hp. (speed up to 22.4 km / h) and 180 hp. with which he, having a specific power of more than 10 hp, could have a maximum speed of 32 km / h, which, of course, pleased the military.
In the spring of 1927, a mock-up of the tank was made of wood. They looked at him and decided to build two tanks: A6E1 and A6E2. Both were equipped with a pair of machine guns in machine-gun turrets, which greatly complicated the work of the shooters, although the tank's firepower certainly increased greatly! And since the combat weight reached 16 tons, these machines began to be called "16-tonner" (16-ton), and this unofficial name stuck with him.
The first tank, the A6E1, with registration number T.404, was completed in early 1928. Externally, the tank copied a wooden model. The tank turned out to be very comfortable for the work of seven crew members. Fuel in the volume of 416 liters, as the military wanted, was in the tanks outside the fighting compartment, where, however, they nevertheless put a 37.5 liter tank in order to improve the centering. There were even two commander's turrets! But, alas, there was no place for the radio station, since there was no aft niche on the tank.
Tank A6E2 numbered T.405 had a different transmission, but externally did not differ from the first vehicle. Therefore, they were often called 16-tonner # 1 and 16-tonner # 2.
In June 1928, both vehicles were sent to the Farnborough training ground. Where an interesting fact came to light. Even with a 120-horsepower engine, the tanks easily reached a speed of 41.5 km / h, although the suspension, borrowed from the previous medium ones, turned out to be clearly weak. At the shooting range, it turned out that it was very difficult for the towers to control a pair of machine guns, so they were left with one machine gun each.
According to the test data, an improved version of the A6E3 tank was designed with machine-gun turrets taken from the A1E1 Independent tank. Their number was reduced to one, and they were also shifted to the right, so that inside they became more spacious. The commander's cupola was reduced to one.
The suspension was also improved by grouping the rollers into four groups, but this did not significantly improve it, but the mass of the tank increased and began to amount to 16, 25 tons. Anyway, in 1928 an improved version of the A6, designated Medium Tank Mk. III, entered service with the British Army.
Keep in mind that Medium Tanks Mk. III and A6 are often confused. Meanwhile, the A6 index was not assigned to the Medium Tank Mk. III. Although these tanks were very similar and had the same weight of 16 tons. The power plant was the same. The length of the tank has not changed either, but its width has become a little larger. With the A6E3 we got a new car and machine-gun turrets.
The Medium Mk. III E1 and Medium Mk. III E2 were commissioned to the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich in 1929. They were assigned the numbers T.870 and T871. Since the radio station did not fit in the conical tower A6, now the main tower was equipped with a developed aft niche, where the brand number 9 radio could be installed without problems. The commander's cupola was taken from the Medium Tank Mk. IIA.
The tanks, as they say, "went", began to participate in maneuvers - and then the economic crisis hit England. And since the fleet has always been a priority for the government of the country, the tankers' appetites were greatly curtailed.
Therefore, in 1931, Vickers built the last third Medium Tank Mk. III, and … that was it. This car was no longer produced. And by 1934, another thing had already become clear, namely that the tank was becoming obsolete right before our eyes.
Nevertheless, the tanks were actively operated until 1938. They took part in maneuvers, journalists from all over the world loved to photograph them, which is why these tanks multiplied dozens of times. The tankers themselves gave a very high assessment of their fighting qualities, and in terms of the level of serviceability, according to them, these vehicles clearly surpassed their predecessors.
The 16-ton Vickers did not go unnoticed in England and beyond. The British military liked the idea with two machine-gun turrets in front, as a result of which it soon migrated to the light Vickers Mk. E Type A tanks, and then the Cruiser Tank Mk. I and even the German heavy tank Nb. Fz.
But the Medium Tank Mk. III had the greatest impact on Soviet tank building. In 1930, a Soviet procurement commission headed by the head of the UMM I. A. The Vickers company presented to the Soviet delegation its entire standard set of export combat vehicles: the Carden-Loyd Mk. VI tankette, the Vickers Mk. E light tank and the Mk. II medium tank. And they were all bought and adopted by us. The Carden-Loyd Mk. VI became the T-27 tankette, and the Mk. E turned into the T-26.
The British did not show us the Medium Tank Mk. III. But engineer S. Ginzburg saw him and naturally began to ask about him. But we didn’t get this tank that time. But on his second trip to England, Ginzburg managed to get everyone to talk to everyone, and as a result, he learned a lot about this tank. Then the British demanded 20 thousand pounds sterling for familiarization with its technical documentation and another 16 thousand for each tank. But smart people often do not need to look at the drawings, as this letter says:
“TO THE CHAIRMAN OF STC UMM (Scientific and Technical Committee of the Department of Motorization and Mechanization. - Approx. Auth.).
As a result of my conversations with the British instructors, the latter gave me the following information about the 16-ton Vickers tank.
The tank has already been tested and recognized as the best example of British tanks.
The overall dimensions of the tank are approximately equal to the dimensions of a 12-ton Vickers Mark II tank.
The maximum speed of movement is 35 klm (So in the text. - Approx. Auth.) Per hour.
Reservations: tower and vertical sheets of the fighting compartment 17-18 mm.
Armament: in the central tower - one "big" one in the side front turrets - 1 machine gun each. In total, one cannon and 2 machine guns.
Crew: 2 officers (or one), 2 gunners, 2 machine gunners, 1 driver.
The 180 HP air-cooled motor has a start-up from an inertial starter and from an electric starter (the latter is a spare). The launch is made from inside the tank. Accessibility to the motor is good.
The suspension has 7 spark plugs on each side. Each candle rests on one of its own rollers. The rollers are approximately six-tonne devices. (This refers to the "Vickers 6-ton". - Approx. Auth.) The suspension provides stability on the move of the tank no worse than that of a six-ton tank.
Rear drive wheels.
Small-link caterpillar with removable screw-on spurs. Track guidance and direction is similar to a six-ton tank.
The central tower has an optical sight and optical observation.
The driver's seat in the front center provides good visibility for driving.
Transmission - gearbox and side clutches. The gearbox is of two types: original (patented) and normal type.
The radius of action is the same as that of a six-ton tank.
NOTE. The information was received only after the translator stated that we had already bought this tank and were expecting to receive it.
Information was given by: an engineer mechanic-mechanic, a senior foreman and a driver who tested this machine. Information about the car is still classified.
APPENDIX: diagram of the plan and side view of the tank.
OUTPUT. Joining the conclusion of the above instructors that this vehicle is the best example of Andean tanks, I believe that this vehicle is of the greatest interest to the Red Army as the best modern type of maneuverable medium tank.
As a result, the purchase of this machine is of invaluable interest. This machine will be released to the army units in the present or in the near future and, therefore, the secrecy from it (as in the text. - Author's note) will be removed.
Head-to Test. groups: / GINZBURG /.
So those who say: a chatterbox is a godsend for a spy are very right. But another proverb is also true: the forbidden fruit is sweet! In the end, the Vickers 16-ton never entered service with the British army, but the Red Army, on the basis of its concept, received a massive T-28 medium tank!
Although to say that the T-28 was copied "from" and "to" from the Medium Tank Mk. III is, of course, incorrect. Ginzburg, who was engaged in its development, took from the British vehicle only the concept of a medium tank with an engine compartment in the stern and three turrets in the bow, well, and a combat weight of about 16-17 tons. From a technical point of view, it was a completely different tank.
The idea of a two-tier arrangement of tank armament in the towers, besides us, was also taken up by the Japanese, who created a whole fleet of experimental three-tower vehicles, similar to the Mk. III and T-28. The most powerful among them was supposed to be the 100-ton supertank O-I, which had three turrets with cannons and one (in the stern) with a machine gun. The guns are 105 and 47 mm. Armor: 200 mm at the front, 150 at the rear and 75 at the sides. But due to a lack of production capacity, they were able to build only one prototype from non-armored steel and without towers, and that was dismantled for metal in 1944.
This is where the history of English "mediums" is completely over!
