MLU FORUM - Vickers artillery tractor

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Vickers artillery tractor

Hello,

Please take a look at this picture (not complete and not very good quality - but it's all I have) of a Vickers Artillery Tractor as tested on Java around 1939.
I cannot find any references to the exact type of this vehicle and need some help here. The tractor reminds me of an early Lloyd carrier, but this scene is around 1939.

According to the text these are the data of the vehicle on the picture:
Weight: 3000 Kilo's
Length: 3 meters 74 centimeters
Width: 1 meter 96
Height without tilt: 1 meter 52
Trackwidth: 1 meter 96
Ground clearance 33 centimeters
Max speed: 32 k/h fully laden
Width of Tracks: 26,6 centimeters
Engine: 6 cyl, 90 hp
Pulling: 2800 kg and 9 fully equipped crew

Remarks: according to the text the Vickers had no problems going through small streams and the hull was waterproof.
To complicate matters the text of another article in the same magazine names no less than 3 different Vickers tractors as tested: Artillery; - Fighting; - Utility tractors.
The Vickers tractor was not selected because it would be "un-economical": more power than was needed and too expensive...? The Praga T3 won the competition.
Some more qualifications: the artillery tractor as above had front drive, 5 forward gears and the tracks produced 0,49 kilo groundpressure per square centimeter!
Some notes on the other Vickers tractors:
The Fighting Tractor had rear drive, 81 hp, 4 forward gears, the Utility 45 hp. We all know KNIL employed a number of Belgian produced Vickers Utility tractors as well.

Here's the pic of the artillery tractor: Anybody recognise this one?

Attachment 2886

Thanks,
Nuyt
Overvalwagens!

Now, I've been thinkin'...

Could it be an updated version of this ROF Light Dragon, built around 1933-35? Certainly with a better engine, as the Dragon had just 58hp...
Anyway, what was the relation between ROF and Vickers? Was ROF simply a contracted producer of Vickers designed stuff?
Kind regards,
Nuyt

Attachment 2897

Mystrerious Vickers Tractor

I got this picture from a book published in June 1933 so it must be older.

The text says: "Special Carden Loyd Light Tractor". What puzzles me is the gun. It does not look British but more like a Dutch M/1903 Krupp (-Siderius). British type steel helmets. The Dutch had another type and in Belgium they used the French Adrian type.

Number D 25 does not look British either.

So where and what type?

Attachment 2930

Stellan, I guess it's a factory picture showing a prototype. The "crew" all seem to be wearing overalls, and yes they are wearing British tin helmets.
The gun? Looks like a French 75, but if this is the Vickers factory, well, they had a lot of types there to work on...
If this was a commercial design meant for export, they would do a lot to make the picture as international as possible.
This tractor (note different running gear as opposed to the other pcitures) was used by Belgium as the T13 type 1 tractor and produced in Belgium under licence.
Portugal seems to have ordered Vickers tractors. Have you come across a picture yet?
Greetings
Nuyt

Hello,

I agree on the tractor. Looking a second time it seems as if the crew are wearing white shirts and ties under the overalls.

But the gun. No, it doesn´t look like a French soixante-quinze to me. The mussle, breach, shield and wheels does not fit in to a French M/1897 75 mm.

It looks as if the breach is of the vertical Krupp-type. I still think this is close to a Dutch 75 mm modernized M/1903.

Could it be a demonstration in NL?

Enclosed: A Citroen-Kegresse halftrack towing what I think is a French 75 mm. Nothe wheels and the rather short shield. The gun is loaded on a sprung rubber tired bogie.

Stellan

Attachment 2945

on the overvalwagen forum:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/threa...eid=1095024954

Stellan, I agree it's not a French gun.
Greetings,
Nuyt
Overvalwagens!

Belgian archives!

I have added some pictures of Vickers tractors and light tanks:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/threa...eid=1095024954

Enjoy
Nuyt
Overvalwagens!

Speaking of Dragons:

Quote:

MEMORIES OF AN ROF APPRENTICE - JOHN DAY

At the end of the month I moved to the erecting bay of the Main Machine Shop, where I spent most of my time building Mk.1 Dragons. These were gun-towing tractors that held a gun crew of six, powered by a 4 litre Meadows engine driving through a Wilson pre-selector gearbox to a front axle having two steering clutches. They were full - track vehicles with a top speed, unloaded, of about 30 m.p.h. Holes in the hull were drilled with air powered drills having four cylinders in V formation, they were quite heavy and to get faster drilling it was the practice to slip a plank into a rope loop, tied to a convenient point, and to lean on the other end giving a leverage of around 4 to 1 on the drill. Owen Stott, a large Welshman, was the ganger and he took the finished Dragons out on test with an apprentice as mate. Between the Danger Buildings and Plumstead Road was a tank testing area with built-up single figure gradients and crossed by a railway line. Owen's joy was to spot a rabbit and chase it full speed over the testing ground - one soon learnt to hang on tight when this happened. Owen gave me another lesson I have never forgotten. The Meadows engine had a ducted radiator at the rear that included an oil cooler. One leaked and I was given the job of replacing it. After the new cooler was installed I was running the engine to see the cooler was not leaking and concentrating very near the unguarded fan. Owen saw the danger and tossed a scrumpled sheet of newspaper into the fan. This produced a white explosive blur and I shot out over the three foot high hull side in one bound. You won't find me near an unguarded fan again.

Source: GREENWICH INDUSTRIAL HISTORY

Artillery Tractor 1931 High Sides

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stellan Bojerud (RIP) (Post 18581)

This site https://tankdevelopment.blogspot.com...igh-sides.html captions it as "Artillery Tractor 1931 High Sides"

Attachment 117586

"Anybody recognise this one?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuyt (Post 18212)

Please take a look at this picture (not complete and not very good quality - but it's all I have) of a Vickers Artillery Tractor as tested on Java around 1939.
I cannot find any references to the exact type of this vehicle and need some help here. The tractor reminds me of an early Lloyd carrier, but this scene is around 1939.

Seems this is the subject vehicle: https://tankdevelopment.blogspot.com...-chertsey.html (my bold):

Quote:

Artillery Tractor 1929 Chertsey Demonstration Model D42

Attachment 117587

The caption to this photograph in Album Two adds:

also
611 Light Dragon Mk IIC - Greece 1934
612 Light Dragon Mk IIC - War Office 1935
614 Light Dragon Mk IID - India 1936
615 Light Dragon - Siam & Java 1939

This is the high sided version of this vehicle.