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Vickers Medium Mark I

1923

Vickers Medium Mark I History

The Vickers medium Mark I tank series was one of the few mass-produced tank systems of the 1920s. With a war-weary world severely curtailing military production, the mid-sized Mark I lived a relatively healthy life, leading the British Army into a new era of mechanized warfare.

Although this type has never been seen in combat service at any level, it served the UK well in defining key tank design characteristics and mechanized combat tactics in the field, which would become the mainstay of armoured warfare before WWII.

After the First World War, the British authorities were content to simplify and downsize their armored forces. By 1920, a new government-funded tank design, known as the Medium Mark D Light Infantry Tank, was in development for a more modern design. At the same time, Vickers is also developing its own Light Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV).

Although the medium Mark D project ultimately fell through, the Vickers company produced two working prototype versions by the end of 1921 - a "female" with a machine gun and a "male" with a cannon, collectively known as the "Vickers Light" tank".

The Vickers light tank proved too unique for its time (especially with its new, complex and unreliable transmission system), and the program was quickly discontinued in 1922. However, from 1922 onwards, a more traditional replacement was also in progress, which inevitably became the "Light Tank Mark I" under the Vickers name A2E1. The light tank Mark I was originally intended as a light armoured fighting vehicle with excellent speed and range for its time.

Its 47mm armament is also specifically designed to handle other tanks in head-to-head duels, not for support or use with advancing infantry. A three-man turret was chosen to improve communication between the tank commander and gunner, allowing for more accurate and faster targeting and engagement. Mounting the main armament in a revolving turret is also a novelty by now, as many early post-war tank systems still had the main gun mounted on a fixed superstructure or on the broadside with limited access.

Thus, the light tank Mark I was the first British tank with an azimuth turret and main gun elevation adjustment. The new system was evaluated in 1923 and deliveries to the British Army began in 1924.

In the same year, the tank was reclassified as a "Medium" class tank and renamed "Medium Tank Mark I".

The Vickers' design was a far cry from the diamond-shaped monsters on the battlefields of World War I. Like other tanks developed in the early 1920s, the Mark I had a high profile, consisting of a hull and a superstructure connected to a curved, slender turret. However, unlike most tank designs of the time, the Mark I used an efficient turret bay that accommodated three of the five crew members. This essentially became the standard for subsequent tank designs - a practice that is still used today. The five crew members include the driver, tank commander, gunner/mechanic and two full-time machine gunners. The driver is located in the front right of the fuselage, to the left of the engine.

Tank commanders, gunners and machine gunners take their places in the turret. It should be noted that the fuel tank is not partitioned inside, which means the crew shares the same cabin space as the powerplant - a bit of a disadvantage considering the noise and exhaust from the petrol engine. Ten small two-way wheels are mounted in pairs on each side of the track. The presence of the suspension system helps make speed the top attribute of the midsize Mark I. However, the tank was only assigned 8mm of armor thickness, resulting in poor overall armor protection, especially along the critical forward plate.

Crew entry and exit is via double-hinged doors along the sides of the superstructure, while an offset door on the right is mounted at the rear of the fuselage. Power is provided by a 90-horsepower Armstrong Siddeley air-cooled V-8 gasoline engine mated to a four-speed transmission, and the engine itself is derived from an aircraft engine. Top speed is 13 mph and range is 150 miles.

The operating weight is just over 13 tons.

The medium Mark I was fitted with a primary armament consisting of a 1 x 47mm QF ("quick fire") 3-pounder gun. While the gunner also doubled as a tank mechanic, the turret gunner was also assigned the dual role of tank gunner.

This seemingly odd distribution of duties was undoubtedly improved during WWII - when the coaxially mounted machine guns were now controlled by the gunner himself, the dedicated ammunition loader became a key part of the tank crew. The main weapon was 4 x Hotchkiss M1914 7.7mm Supplementation with machine guns and another 2 x 7.7mm Vickers machine guns for self-defense

Medium Mark I served in the Royal Tank Regiment until 1938, before being phased out by more modern and efficient systems. The Vickers Medium Mark II tank is a slightly improved version of the Medium Mark I detailed elsewhere on this page.