VICKERS MK6B's resto

[Mike Cecil]

I just remembered I had a copy of Hopkins' 1938 report on exercises with the Royal Tank Regiment in England in which Vickers MkVIA featured.

Concerning the Vickers Mk6A:

Page 4, para 11 (a): R/T: Light Battalion (ie with Vickers 6A) is equipped with No.7 sets...'

Page 4, para 11 (b): ' Lamp signalling: Used for sending messages in morse. The present type is fitted at the right rear of the turret of the Mk VIA light tank and operated by a Morse key. Not being of the shutter type, careful and slow sending is necessary since the filament takes an appreciable time to fade after the key has been released. A further disadvantage is evident in drill formations when vision is often obscured by other tanks. '

Page 5, para 11 (c) Flag: Flag signals shown in TTI 1930 page 170, have been cancelled. A new card of flag signals is now in use in mixed and 'I' Bns. Flags are unsuitable for use in the Light Bn.

Page 5, para 11 (d) Hand Signals: Flag signals are often employed when tanks are close ....

So, now to work out what 'TTI' is and find a copy to see the flag signaling instructions, as these were extant when the Vickers MkVIA was being designed. I don't think tanks carried semaphore flags, as these were in pairs on poles about a metre long.

Mike