VICKERS MK6B's resto

[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...

[David Dunlop]

I don’t think that casing deflector needs to be spring loaded, Bruce. If I am seeing the design of it correctly, the bottom edge hinge is bolted to the leading face of the tray itself, and the upper narrow face is bolted to the forward lower lip of the gun barrel guard assembly. The combination of hinges thereby allow the entire deflector assembly to expand and contract rather like a bellows as the guns are raised and lowered.

The odd case may hang up behind the lower hinge from time to time, as Colin has demonstrated, but when one factors in that the vehicle will be bouncing about when in motion, and the guns frequently elevated and lowered, the entire deflector assembly is probably quite self cleaning.

David

[David Herbert]

Yes but they could easily have fitted the bottom hinge an inch higher so there was no possibility of a case being trapped. I assume that the folding 'splash guard' was thought of after the tray and retrofitted, they might not have wanted to have to cut away the front of the tray and weaken it a little but that would have been the best solution. Sorry to say but this is not a very well thought out design. Could it be that the splash guard on the Bovy one is incorrectly fitted ?

David

[Lynn Eades]

The No.10 M.G. is a 50 cal gun is it not?
Bigger shells, same result?

[Ryan]

This is such a great thread.
I love visiting it.