British Expeditionary Force - Battle of France 1940. скачать в хорошем качестве

British Expeditionary Force - Battle of France 1940.

The Vickers-Armstrongs MkVIB Light Tank The Mk VI Light Tank was built by Vickers-Armstrongs for the British Army during the interwar period, the company had achieved a degree of standardization with their previous five models, the turret, which had been expanded in the MkV to allow a three-man crew to operate the tank was further expanded to give room in its rear for a wireless set. The weight of the tank was increased to 10,800 pounds (4,900 kg), which although heavier than previous models actually improved its handling characteristics; an 88 horsepower (66 kW) (Meadows 6 cylinder) engine was added to the model to increase its maximum speed to 35 miles per hour (56 km/h). The Horstmann coil-spring suspension system was found to be durable and reliable, although the fact that the tank was short in relation to its width made it pitch violently on rough ground which made accurate gunnery whilst moving exceptionally difficult. The Mk VI crew of three consisted of a driver, gunner and commander who also doubled as the radio operator, it had between 4mm (0.16 in) and 14mm (0.55 in) of armour, which could resist shrapnel, standard rifle and machine gun bullets, its armament consisted of one water-cooled 303 inch and one .50 inch Vickers machine gun. Production of the Mk VI began in 1936 and ended in 1940 with 1682 Mark VI tanks having been built. Many of those produced were actually variants designed to solve problems found with the original design. The Mk VIA had a return roller removed from the top of the leading bogey and attached to the hull sides instead, it also possessed a faceted cupola. The Mk VIB was mechanically identical to the Mk VIA but with a few minor differences to make production simpler, including the circular cupola instead of the faceted type. The Mk VIC, which was the last in the MK VI series, had the commanders cupola removed and had wider bogies plus three carburetors to improve engine performance; it was also more powerfully armed than the other models, replacing the .303 and .50 Vickers guns with co-axial 15mm (0.59 in) and 7.92mm (0.312 in) Besa machine guns. A small number of specialized variations were also built based on the Mk VI chassis. The Light Tank Anti-Aircraft MkI & MkII were built in the aftermath of the Battle of France and were intended to act as a counter-measure against attacks from aircraft. It featured a power-operated turret fitted with four 7.92 mm Besa machine guns; also a variant on the Mk VIB was produced for service with the British Indian Army in which the commander's cupola was removed and replaced with a hatch in the turret roof. When the Mk VI was first produced, the Imperial General Staff considered the tank to be superior to any light tank produced by other nations and well suited to the dual roles of reconnaissance and colonial warfare. Like many of its predecessors, the Mark VI was used by the British Army to perform imperial policing duties in British colonies in the Empire; a role for which the Vickers-Armstrongs light tank was found to be well suited. When the British government began its rearmament process in 1937, the Mk VI was the only tank with which the War Office was ready to proceed with manufacturing. The development of a medium tank for the Army had hit severe problems with cancellations due to costs involved, cheaper models only existed as prototypes and a number of mechanical problems. As a result of this, when the Second World War began in September 1939, the vast majority of the tanks available to the British Army were Light Tanks.When the Battle of France began in May 1940, the majority of the tanks possessed by the British Expeditionary Force were Mark VI variants.