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Britain's Light Tank Mk VI, Mk VIA, Mk VIB, Mk VIC

Light Tank Mk VI:

Light Tank Mk VI in 1942 in the Western Desert:

Light Tank Mk VIA:

Light Tank Mk VI AA Mk II:

United Kingdom's Vickers Mk II AA Light Tank

Royal Armored Corps Tank Museum

Design

The engine was on the right side of the hull, with the transmission going forward to the front drive sprockets.⁸

The driver sat on the left.⁸

There were two 2-wheeled bogies on each side that were sprung on angled coil springs.⁸ The rear most road wheel also was used as the idler wheel.⁸

Armor

The armor on the Light Tank Mk VI was very thin and made it very vulnerable to enemy fire.⁴

Production

Production ended in 1940.¹

Light Tank Mk VI: 1,320 (?)
- Production: 1936 - 1942

Variants

Light Tank Mk VI: The engine was in the front beside the driver. Had a Number 7 radio set installed. The cupola had a hexagonal shape.
Light Tank Mk VIA: Moved the return roller.
Light Tank Mk VIB: The cupola had a cylindrical shape. Had a mounting for a Bren AA gun on the turret. Was the most numerous and widely used.⁸ Had a single piece louvre over the radiator.¹ The cupola was plainer to simplify production.¹ Had a 5-speed gearbox, and was steered through clutches and annular spur reduction on the final drive.¹
Light Tank Mk VIB India Pattern: Single periscope for the commander, located in the turret hatch.⁵
Light Tank Mk VIC: The cupola was removed and replaced by 2 domed hatches. The engine cover only had one inlet louvers and many had a deflector plate in from of the driver's vision block to reduce bullet splash.
Entered service in 1936.¹
Vickers Light Tank Mk VI AA Mk II:

Usage

By September 1939 there were approximately 1,000 in service.⁸

Defense of France

When the 1st Armored Division was sent to France in May 1940, about 1/2 of its tanks were Mk VIs.⁸

Around 550 Light Tank Mk VIAs were sent to France, and only six made it out before France surrendered.⁴

Approximately 200 Light Tank Mk VIBs were with the British Expeditionary Forces.¹¹

Mediterranean Theater

Considered mechanically reliable so was popular in North Africa.¹

The Light Tank Mk VI provided the bulk of British tank strength in France and Western Desert¹ in 1940. Used in first line units until 1942.⁴

Used in France^1,4, Greece^1,4, Crete^1,4, Malta^1,4, Persia, and with the South Africans in Abyssinian, and Australians in Syria ( July 1941)^1,4. On Malta it was used to tow wrecked aircraft off the runways.^1,4

Some in Egypt were converted to artillery observation posts. At the first siege of Tobruk the 1st Royal Tank Regiment used 16 of the Light Tank Mk VIs to deceive the Germans into thinking there were more tanks in the garrison.⁴

Australia Usage

Australia purchased some Light Mk VIs in 1939, and were used for training.⁵ Australian forces took over some from the British Army in the Western Desert in 1940.⁵

Canadian Usage

Canada obtained Light Mk VIs from Britain in 1939 and used for training.⁵

	Light Mk VI	Light Mk VI A	Light Mk VIB¹¹	Light Mk VIC¹¹
Crew	Commander, gunner, driver.³ 3^{1,3,4,5,6,8,10}	3^4,8,9,10	3^{1,4,5,8,10,11}	3^{2,4,5,8,10,11}
Radio			Wireless Set No. 9¹¹	Wireless Set No. 9¹¹
Physical Characteristics
Weight	10,752 lb⁶, 11,740 lb³, 11,648 lb 4.8 tons^1,5,10, 5 tons⁴ 4,875 kg¹, 4,877 kg⁶	4.8 tons¹⁰, 5 tons⁴, 5.8 tons⁹	5 tons^1,4,11, 5.2 tons^5,8,10 5,080 kg¹	5 tons^4,11, 5.2 tons^5,10, 5.25 tons²
Length w/gun	12' 11.5"^3,4, 13'⁶, 13' 2"^1,5,10 3.96 m⁶, 4.01 m¹	12.2'⁹, 13' 2"¹⁰	13' 2"^1,5,8,10,11 4.01 m^1,11	13' 2"^5,10,11 3.94 m², 4.01 m¹¹
Length w/o gun
Height	7' 3.5"^3,4, 7' 5"^1,5,10, 7' 6"⁶ 2.235 m⁶, 2.26 m¹	7.3'⁹, 7' 5"¹⁰	7' 5"^1,5,8,10,11 2.26 m^1,11	6' 11"¹¹, 7'³, 7' 5"^5,10 2.13 m^2,11
Width	6' 9"^3,4, 6' 10"^1,5,6,10 2.08 m^1,6	6.7'⁹, 6' 10"¹⁰	6' 10"^1,5,8,10,11 2.08 m^1,11	6' 10"^5,10,11 2.06 m², 2.08 m¹¹
Ground clearance	10.5"	1' 2.2"⁹		0.27 m²
Ground contact length		7'⁹
Ground pressure	7.54 psi	6.9 psi ⁹		0.53 (kg/cm²)²
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main	.50 cal (12.7 mm) Vickers MG^1,3 .50 cal MG⁴ .5" MG⁸ .50 Vickers MG^5,10 12.7 mm (.50") MG⁶	.50 cal MG⁴ .5" MG⁸ .50 cal Vickers MG¹⁰ 2: .303 Vickers MGs⁹	.50 cal (12.7 mm) MG or 15 mm MG¹ .50 cal MG⁴ .5" MG⁸ .5 Vickers MG^5,10 1: 12.7 mm Vickers MG¹¹	1: Besa 15 mm MG^3,8,10,11 15 mm^2,6 .50 cal MG⁴ 15 mm Besa MG⁵
Secondary	.303 (7.7 mm) Vickers MG^1,3 .303 MG⁴ .303 Vickers MG^5,10 .303" MG⁸ 7.7 mm (0.303") MG⁶	.303" MG⁸ .303 MG⁴ .303 Vickers MG¹⁰	.303 cal (7.7 mm) Vickers¹ or 7.92 mm MG Besa¹ .303 MG⁴ .303" MG⁸ .303 Vickers MG^5,10	MG² Besa 7.92 mm MG^3,6,8,10 .303 MG⁴ .303 Besa MG⁵
OR	7.92 mm MG⁴	7.92 mm MG⁴	7.92 mm MG⁴	7.92 mm MG⁴
MG - coaxial			1: 7.62 mm Vickers MG¹¹	1: 7.92 Besa MG¹¹
Side arms
Quantity
Main	400¹⁰	400¹⁰	400¹⁰	175², 400¹⁰
Secondary	2,500¹⁰	2,500¹⁰	2,500¹⁰	2,500¹⁰, 2,700²
MG
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	4³, 14³, 15⁸ 4-14 or 15.⁴ 4 - 15^5,10 10 - 15⁶	15⁸ 4-14 or 15.⁴, 4 - 15¹⁰ Front: 0.47"⁹ Side: 0.47"⁹ Turret Front: 0.59"⁹ Turret Side: 0.59"⁹	15⁸ 4-14 or 15.⁴ 4 - 15^5,10	15⁸ 4-14 or 15.⁴ 4 - 15⁵
Hull Front, Upper	11-14		16	11-14²
Hull Front, Lower	11-14
Hull Sides, Upper	11-13			11-13²
Hull Sides, Lower	11-13
Hull Rear	4-6			4-6²
Hull Top	4			4²
Hull Bottom	3			3²
Turret Front	14			14²
Turret Sides	11-14			11-14²
Turret Rear	11			11²
Turret Top	3.5			3.5²
Engine (Make / Model)	Meadows^1,3,8,10, Meadows ESTL^5,6	Meadows^8,9,10	Meadows^1,8,10,11, Meadows ESTB/A OR ESTB/B ⁵	Meadows^2,8,10,11
Cooling		Water⁹
Cylinders	6^8,10	6^8,9,10	6^8,10,11	6^8,10,11
Net HP	88⁸, 88@2,800 rpm¹⁰	88⁸, 88@2,800 rpm^9,10	88^8,11, 88@2,800 rpm¹⁰	88^8,11, 88@2,800 rpm¹⁰
Transmission	5 forward, 1 reverse, Wilson pre-selector gearbox Horstmann inclined springs, parallel in bogies.¹⁰	5 forward⁹, 1 reverse⁹		5 forward², 1 reverse²
Steering		Clutch Brake⁹
Starter		Electric⁹
Ignition		Magneto⁹
Fuel type		Gasoline⁹	Gasoline¹¹	Gasoline¹¹
Octane
Capacity	74 gallons	29 gallons⁹		159 liters²
Fuel Consumption - Road		5.4 mpg⁹
Fuel Consumption - Cross Country		3 mpg⁹
Power to weight ratio	18.3 hp/ton¹⁰	18.3 hp/ton¹⁰	16.9 hp/ton¹⁰	16.9 hp/ton¹⁰
Performance
Traverse	360°³		360°	360°
Max Speed	32 mph⁶, 35 mph^1,3,4,5,8,10 51.5 kph⁶, 56 kph¹	31 mph⁹, 35 mph^4,8,10	34.78 mph^1,11, 35 mph^4,8,10 56 kph¹¹	35 mph^4,8,10,11 50.9 kph², 56 kph¹¹
Cross Country	25 mph³			25 mph
Road radius	125 miles^1,10, 130 miles³, 215 miles⁶ 200 km¹, 201 km⁶	125 miles¹⁰, 155 miles⁹	124.2 miles^1,11, 125 miles¹⁰ 200 km^1,11	125 miles¹⁰ 280 km²
Cross Country radius		87 miles⁹
Turning Radius	21'			6.4 m²
Elevation Limits	-10° to + 37°³
Fording depth	2'³			0.6 m²
Trench crossing
Vertical Obstacle
Suspension (Type)	Horstmann coil-spring.³	Horstmann⁵, 2 sets of 2 wheel bogis with springs⁹		Coil Spring²
Wheels each side	4			4²
Return rollers each side	1	1⁹
Tracks (Type)		Dry pin⁹
Length
Width	9.5"³	10"⁹
Number of links		158⁹
Pitch		1.9"⁹
Tire Tread
Track centers/tread	5' 8.5"³	5.7'⁹		241 mm²

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
Panzer Truppen The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1933-1942, Thomas L. Jentz, 1996
British and American Tanks of World War Two, The Complete Illustrated History of British, American, and Commonwealth Tanks 1933-1945, Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, 1969
World War Two Tanks, George Forty, 1995
Tanks of the World, 1915-1945, Peter Chamberlain, Chris Ellis, 1972
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
-
Tanks of World War II, Duncan Crow, 1979
Tank Data, Aberdeen Proving Grounds Series, 1968?
AFV 5: Light Tanks Marks I-VI, Major-General N. W. Duncan
Western Allied Tanks 1939-45, David Porter, 2009