Vickers M1936 Light tank replica

[Rob Dyba]

Anyone who can provide assistance your imput will be welcome. I am proposing to take the cut bren carrier hull as pictured, and using a second hull in far worse condition but with wheel assembly's still attached, make a working replica of a M1936 Vickers light tank.

Powered by a Ford or Crysler Hemi 6 cylinder engine & automatic gearbox, by moving the front carrier cross-tube forward, installing an additional cross tube & twin bogie setup approx. where the rear wheel station would normally go, installing an up-side down carrier diff to the front & std idlers to the rear, I hope to make a reasonably accurate copy of the tank pictured below. Visually accurate on the outside, with the interior made more to function rathar than historical accuracy, I hope this will be a project that takes shape easily, uses readily available components & that can, when completed, be painted up to look either like a Vickers Light Tank (opposing the Germans), or a Japanese Type 97 tankette (The Jap tank was based on one of these). Upper armour made from lighter material than original, possibly angle iron & 3mm plate, with easily detachable panels designed with pyrotechnics in mind. (Boom!) Hopefully paying it's way with movie work just down the road at Movie World- The Gold Coast.

What ya all recon- am I mad??????

Rob Dyba

[Rob Dyba]

Anyone with photos, engineer brawings of this tank please submit or PM me, info is scarce on these. Note the length, track, etc similarities to a carrier.

[cliff]

I placed a similar thread in the armour forum looking for info on these Vickers which is hard to come by.

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8219

Cheers
Cliff

[Rob Dyba]

Painted up it should be able to be passed off as one of the Type 97's. Sure most of us would know but would the average person even notice????

Rob Dyba

[Rob Dyba]

Different model Cliff, the one I hope to copy was supplied to Belguim and known to them as a Char leger Model T15. Closest thing tocarrier running gear- only reference material I have is a few piccs & some illistrations from "Tanks & other armoured fighting vehicles" by B.T. White. Straight carrier running gear apart from return rollers, different due to the location of the driving sprocket. This has been chewing my mind for several weeks, and within my "farmers engineering skills" tee hee....

Rob

[mudeng]

Hi,
I think your best starting point would be to contact David Fletcher, the Librarian at the Tank Museum Bovington.

He has a wealth of information on inter-war tanks, and possibly the original or copies of the Vickers drawings.
There is certainly some three or four view drawings taken from the makers plans, but I doubvt if there are any actual detail drawings.

This particular vehicle is mentioned in his book Mechanised Force, the history of tanks between the wars, and I think it is a subject he has a lot of interest in himself.

If you have a copy of the book, details are on page 88.

George.

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi Rob
I have just nominated you for the second month 2008. We are going to have to pull our respective fingers out to get a couple of interesting vehicles to Corowa next year.
Put up your shopping list and I'll see what I can find. A hi-res image would be nice as well.
Bob

[cliff]

Originally posted by Bob Moseley
I have just nominated you for the second month 2008. We are going to have to pull our respective fingers out to get a couple of interesting vehicles to Corowa next year.

does my power wheelchair count as an interesting vehicle?

cheers
Cliff

[Rich Payne]

Rob,

Do you know this image from the French ECPA archive (DAT 119L34) taken from "Mei 1940" by Peter Taghon ?



Background is the main square in Bruges.

There is another less clear picture from Passendale.

If you'd like me to e-mail a better scan, just shout,

Rich.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by robobmc
Anyone with photos, engineer brawings of this tank please submit or PM me, info is scarce on these. Note the length, track, etc similarities to a carrier.

Rob,

If you choose to copy the Vickers shown in the picture, you will be building a replica of the Model 1936 "Dutchman" as built for and used by the Netherlands East Indies Army. An excellent choice, as these saw combat in 1941 and some of them were later captured by the Japanese.

You are lucky there is one survivor, which is located in the Tank Museum at Bovington. See forum member Dennis Trowbridge's walkaround photos for much needed detail close ups.

Regards,
Hanno

[Tony Smith]

Another candidate could be the Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light tank Mk VI. A little smaller, more Carrier-sized. Make the hull top with angle iron, marine ply and domed coach bolts!
This tank is on display at Puckapunyal Museum:

[Richard Farrant]

Originally posted by Tony Smith
Another candidate could be the Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light tank Mk VI. A little smaller, more Carrier-sized. Make the hull top with angle iron, marine ply and domed coach bolts!
This tank is on display at Puckapunyal Museum:

You might find a hull out in the bush, there are 7 of the MkVI Light Tanks supplied to Australia in 1937, unaccounted for.

[Rob Dyba]

Yes, I chased a rumour of a Vickers in central QLD down a year ago with no luck at the end.......

I thought the "Dutchman" was a good as it was very close to carrier components, size very similar & it "looks right". I always thought the later Vickers-Carden-lloyd Light Tank looked like it would flip over if you took off too fast!!!!!!

Will be in contact with Bovington as soon as the hulls are retrieved (This week-end) and work commences. Thanks for the Piccs guys, keep them coming!!!

Rob

[Tony Smith]

Originally posted by Richard Farrant
You might find a hull out in the bush, there are 7 of the MkVI Light Tanks unaccounted for.

I am told that John Belfield has the remains of 2 in the back paddock.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally posted by Tony Smith
I am told that John Belfield has the remains of 2 in the back paddock.

Tony,

If that is right, it is amazing that 50% of a prewar batch of tanks are known to survive in some form. It did help in that they did not go in to action as such.

[ron]

Hi Rob,
Tried ringing you but could not get you just got home from a quick trip, I found a cut down carrier fitted with two sets of bogies double ones its badly cut arond in the front, interesting in that it is fitted according to the late owners son with a gear box from a two man tank that was aquired from NEw Guinee after the war its driven by chains, I was not able to get any good pics of it as its mostly buried under a pile of dead trees but I will be going back the week after next, it has British track and all steel wheels no rubber on the road wheels but the top rollers are the usual rubber ones,no numbers at all,
regards,
Ron

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Ron - as stated above, keep looking. We have to find an alternative drive system for Rob so I can get the Phoenix rear assembly out of him.
Bob

[Lynn Eades]

Tony, the old photo at the start of this thread appears to have "U" section spokes on a couple of the wheels, like the five spoke wheels you have previously talked about.