Light Tank MKVI C

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mariandavid
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Re: Light Tank MKVI C

#61

Post by mariandavid » 24 Jan 2013, 06:33

My recollection is that I obtained the information on light tanks from:

- war diaries, but which I cannot this much later recollect (though I do remember that strangely some data was held at the National Archives in Ottawa - I assume the Canadian attached to the command was an inveterate hoarder!)

- discussion arising out of the South African Official History

But I could not find out which were Mk VIC, which Mk VI AA or which were ad-hoc conversions of one to the other, so since I then lacked access to some of the sources quoted above so the extra detail is illuminating and most helpful.

David Hughes

PS glad to see my data on their presence confirmed despite my work being 'not the most reliable'!

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phylo_roadking
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Re: Light Tank MKVI C

#62

Post by phylo_roadking » 24 Jan 2013, 16:51

Not sure if we have had this picture?
But I could not find out which were Mk VIC, which Mk VI AA or which were ad-hoc conversions of one to the other
I hadn't been back to this thread for some time, and didn't notice Urmel's 1942 pic of a MkVI AA tank in the Desert on the previous page...because it's T-number means it's NOT a MkVIC! 8O You can clearly see "T 2011" on the front of the hull...

...which doesn't put it in ANY of the blocks of T-numbers we have for the MkVICs OR AA MkIIs!
Four contracts;
Mk VIc : J. Fowler - 34
Ruston & Hornby - 39
Vickers Armstrong - 55
Vulcan - 38

... and issued the WD census numbers
T4309 - T4342 = 34 MkVIc
T5130 - T5184 = 55 MkVIc & AA MkII
T5774 - T5812 = 39 MkVIc & AA MkII
T5853 - T5882 = 40 MkVIc
It actually looks like one of the AA, MkIs based on a VIB hull...given the similarity of the louvers and main engine hatch of the VIB to this hull...

Image

Here's an AA, MkI based on the VIA hull for comparison...spot the different engine compartment cover(s) -

Image
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mariandavid
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Posts: 83
Joined: 03 Nov 2008, 18:22

Re: Light Tank MKVI C

#63

Post by mariandavid » 25 Jan 2013, 00:53

Perhaps one caution on War Diaries and equipment: There is often a discrepancy because the British Army was much more flexible in its attitude towards 'unofficial variations' than, say, the US Army. This AA tank discussion reminds of a strange situation in armoured regiments in the months after D-Day. Each was assigned a troop of Crusader AA tanks (and as far as I know all had one) and all were ordered to disband and reassign the crews in July 1944, so one would assume that there were none in use. And indeed the War Diaries and (more important) the 21st AG armour listings suggest so. Yet when one reads some of the regimental histories it is clear that some colonels ignored the order, attaching the troop to their scout car recon sections and, no doubt, causing much grief to the Germans!

Having said that, some areas were more 'variable' than others - the 8th Army in Italy being especially flexible - and any that involved amphibious landing or transport being the opposite, hence the initial rigid following of the regulations in the first month after D-Day in Normandy.

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