Ordnance did not have a very good track record.
It is not easy to see why, but there is a clue in the
MacLeod Ross account of the design of their light
tank L4E1.
Compared with the commercial firm, Royal
Ordnance called in a lot of external experts for
advice whereas Vickers-Armstrongs seems
to have found the information it needed from
its own resources. Although L4E1 was touted
by Royal Ordnance as a new and much better
tank when compared with Vickers-Armstrongs’
design it seems quite clear that in many
respects there was not a lot to choose between
them. Despite claims to the contrary both tanks
had the Meadows engine, although in the case
of L4E1 this was the Meadows Type ESTR, rated
at 115hp but prone to develop faults, notably in
the failure of head gaskets.
Yet for all that L4E1 had several interesting
features, let us start with the suspension. Because
it was virtually hidden behind the external skirting
plates the temptation is to dismiss it as a copy of
the type fitted to the Mark V, as it was in principle
except that it had an extra road wheel on each side,
in effect a separate idler wheel of larger diameter.
This gave the tank a much steadier motion; it did
not pitch up and down so much as on a typical
Vickers tank. This made it a much better gun
platform which was remarked upon favourably
when it was sent to Lulworth on gunnery trials.
Inside, the big difference was the location of the
radiator and cooling fan. Instead of being mounted
horizontally above the engine, as on the Mark V, it
was moved to a vertical position, behind the engine
with the fan located directly behind it. This was
effectively at the very back of the tank on the off
side, counterbalanced by the position of the fuel
tank, at the rear on the near side.
This left room for a rear door in the hull between
the two, a very useful escape door for the crew,
which was another feature that attracted very
favourable attention from those whose job it
was to evaluate the tank. Yet, as we have seen
when it came to placing orders the authorities
settled for the Vickers design and L4E1 was never
seen again. Perhaps this was due to the chronic
unreliability of the chosen engine and the poor
performance of the one selected to replace it,
or maybe it was the cost. Whatever the reason,
this marked the end of L4E1 and, therefore the
last attempt by the tank design department to
produce a new tank for the British Army.
Perhaps it was the favourable attention of the
improved suspension on L4E1 that promptedVickers to try extending the track base on a Light
Mark V. This was done first by moving the drive
sprocket forwards, with a chain drive from the final
drive and then inserting a single sprung bogie unit
between the two double ones on each side.
This gave the tank a very odd appearance with
a two-wheeled bogie at the front, a single wheel
behind that and then another two-wheeler at the
back, the top run of the track was now supported
on two return rollers, mounted independently of
the bogies. Whether it was a serious attempt to
improve the performance of the Mark V we don’t
know but it doesn’t look like it and it only appears to
have been applied to a single example.
One Mark V from the British batch was shipped
out to the Middle East for desert trials while
another, a new construction, was sent out to India
but did not result in any further orders. Indeed, even
at home no further orders followed because an
improved design was already in the pipeline and to
that extent the Light Mark V was the last in the line
of light tanks to come from Vickers.
The new model, the Light Mark VI was very
similar, albeit with a better turret design but, most
important of all thicker armour in keeping with new
General Staff requirements.
To round this account off there is just space
to mention two other modifications carried out
on Mark V tanks. Both are early examples of
light anti-aircraft tanks developed at a very early
stage of World War Two. The first of these was
designed and built by the staff of the Gunnery
School at Lulworth. It featured an open design
of turret and mounted a pair of 15mm Besa air
cooled machine guns. In fact, the suspension
arrangements look more like a Light Mark VIA,
with an independently mounted return roller
rather than one attached to the top of the leading
bogie, but it is referred to as a Light Mark V in the
little surviving literature there is about it.
The other one is a Light Mark V and when it
first appeared it had what looked like the
complete turret from a Boulton Paul Defiant
fighter on top of the hull. That is complete with a
Perspex cover and four .50 Browning machine-
guns. Tests revealed that the Perspex turret was
a bit of a nuisance and the tank was adapted so
that the four Brownings were now exposed. The
tank was modified by the addition of folding
front, side and rear plates which entirely hid the
gun mounting when raised but could be lowered
to lay flat when it fired. The point of this is
difficult to fathom since the essence of
anti-aircraft work is instant readiness for action.
In fact, there are accounts of trouble with the
ammunition feed to these guns which may have
put paid to the project in any case.‘One Mark V
from the British
batch was
shipped out to
the Middle East
for desert trials’
L4E1, the Royal Ordnance tank with a
civilian driver, speeding along at LulworthABOVE: L4E1 from the rear, the escape door is in the
centre at the back. It weighed 5.3 tons against 4
tons 15cwt for a light Mark V
BELOW: The Light Mark V sent out to India with
enlarged cupola and flag holders on the side of the
turret but no weapons at this stage