VICKERS MK6B's resto

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by David Herbert

Just thought, the cable cover could be to protect the bowden cable that operates the 4" bomb thrower though I think that spot light is more likely.

The slotted head screws holding the triangular cover is something I had not spotted (on a rather small screen at the time). A very odd detail.

David

Hi David,
I did the electrical installation on the Vickers that went to the Littlefield Collection and can say that the cable cover in question was not for the spotlight cable. It has to be for the bomb thrower as there was one on the other side as well.

Regarding the question of the plate on the left of the turret, maybe the photo attached will throw more light on the subject. With acknowledgment to Mike Cecil, it is a photo from his archive which he sent to me when I published an article of his on the Australian MkVIa tanks. It is a RYPA training rig and was found in the 1980's on the training area at Puckapunyal. You can see the bulbous plate is not present, but the cut out is and below it is possibly a clue. I think it possible an ammo box was stowed and the cover was to give extra space for it. I do not have any interiors of the one I worked on unfortunately. We had a lot of unanswered questions on that one, for instance we never found a picture of the retractable signalling lamp.


In case anyone is wondering, RYPA stands for Rolling-Yawing-Pitching Assembly