VICKERS MK6B's resto

[tankbarrell]

Splash likely refers to bullet splash, the fluid like pieces of the bullet that find their way through the smallest of cracks when they hit the armour.

[David Dunlop]

Hello Colin.

Its interesting both tanks are sequential in their build. Were they by any chance recovered from the same location? That would make an amazing lifetime connection.

David

[Dave lean]

Hi Adrian, possibly but as they are rather thin sheet metal and limited in the area they would protect, I suspect they serve another purpose. Good to see members contributing ideas though. Guess we need an "Operators Hand Book"...) If anyone has a box full of them??

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Dave lean

Hi Adrian, possibly but as they are rather thin sheet metal and limited in the area they would protect, I suspect they serve another purpose. Good to see members contributing ideas though. Guess we need an "Operators Hand Book"...) If anyone has a box full of them??

I agree, 'bullet splash' is dealt with by thin, overlapping strips at the hatches and joints. I'm in on that box of operator's hand books (when you eventually find it) but have found that even those don't explain all the little details. The Fox has a 7/8" wrench chained to the upper right gun mantlet. No mention what it's for until I discovered it was there to tighten the gun 'travel lock'. Its secondary purpose is to shake loose from its clip and bounce off the back of the driver's head after hitting a bump.

[Richard Farrant]

Just found the description of the tray under the mantlet, here is full quote from the Light Tank manual;
"Trays, Cartridge Case
The No.8 tray is used with the No.10 M.G. mounting and is hopper shaped, bolted to the turret. A sliding shutter is provided at the bottom for emptying purposes. A hinged deflector at the front provides for the deflection of the cartridge cases into the tray at all elevations of the mounting"

It could be said that the deflector stops the empty cases from 'splashing' over the side of the tray!

regards, Richard

[colin jones]

Hi David, from the information I have, Bowerbird was found in a dump and had been buried for quite a long time. The story I heard was the person I bought it from was told there was a tank buried in a dump a long time ago and he then proceeded to dig around with a backhoe and eventually found it. it was in very poor condition and stripped out with no suspension but the hull was uncut as you can see by my earlier pictures. AS far as Wombat is concerned, I don't know its history but I will contact the previous owner and get some more history about how and exactly where he acquired them. I do know however, they were found in different locations so the sequential numbers is pure luck.

Russ, you are spot on there. When traversed 90 deg the tray does sit over the edge of the tank for ease of emptying

Here's a couple of pictures of the splash guard with a bullet in there. I would have thought they would have bolted it level with the top so they don't sit behind and put pressure on the plate when elevated. As I lifted the gun port it did jamb the casing above the hinge but I guess they never thought it would cause a problem.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by colin jones

Hi David, from the information I have, Bowerbird was found in a dump and had been buried for quite a long time. The story I heard was the person I bought it from was told there was a tank buried in a dump a long time ago and he then proceeded to dig around with a backhoe and eventually found it. it was in very poor condition and stripped out with no suspension but the hull was uncut as you can see by my earlier pictures. AS far as Wombat is concerned, I don't know its history but I will contact the previous owner and get some more history about how and exactly where he acquired them. I do know however, they were found in different locations so the sequential numbers is pure luck.

Russ, you are spot on there. When traversed 90 deg the tray does sit over the edge of the tank for ease of emptying

Here's a couple of pictures of the splash guard with a bullet in there. I would have thought they would have bolted it level with the top so they don't sit behind and put pressure on the plate when elevated. As I lifted the gun port it did jamb the casing above the hinge but I guess they never thought it would cause a problem.

Any chance that the forward sheet metal part is spring loaded? It is hinged...