VICKERS MK6B's resto

[Mike Cecil]

And all concentrated at the AFV School when it opened at Pucka in 1941.

With the degree of usage, I would not doubt that the engines were removed when worn, rebuilt, and re-issued, same as any other AFV, so it is quite possible to have the engine in this vehicle being one that is recorded as having arrived in Australia in another vehicle. With such a small purchase, I doubt there were too many spare engines purchased, if any.

The Centurion situation is a case in point: engines in tanks that arrived in Aust in 1951/52 pop up in other tanks over the years, having been removed, refurbished, and re-issued, some several times. While a much larger pool, and over a much longer period of time, it still illustrates the point. Hence, engine numbers are not the ideal way to make a positive identification: hull numbers and glacis plate markings are more reliable, as a change over of the front glacis plate is far less likely.

Mike