VICKERS MK6B's resto

[David Dunlop]

Colin.

If the turret fan is mounted in the upper front left area, odds are is would be blowing air to the right side, across the guns.

Is it possible the intent was to direct the gun fumes towards that side of the vehicle because of the presence of the large, long external shroud locate on the right side of the vehicle? Perhaps, with the vehicle in motion, airflow passing that shroud drew air out of the interior of the tank in some way, and the fan helped the process along. That shroud assembly might be multifunctional.

David

[David Herbert]

I have no detail knowledge of the light tanks but normal British practice was that the fan extracted air from the turret so was normally placed as close as possible to the gun. Fresh air that replaced that extracted would then carry any fumes towards the fan, thus concentrating and then removing them.

Regarding the replacement of Scorpion turrets, this was done to take them out of the count of British tanks when we were agreeing to a reduction in our forces under the CFE treaty. Fume build up could have been solved with fans etc.

The Foxes were taken out of service because people kept rolling them - they are great fun to drive !

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

I expect the fan is drawing air across the guns and out (suction). If it was going the other way (blowsion?) the fumes would just disburse into the turret despite a vent on the opposite side. The Fox has a similar fan on the left (vent) and a slot with a cover on the right (intake). At first I thought the fan was for crew comfort. Silly me.

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Colin.

If the turret fan is mounted in the upper front left area, odds are is would be blowing air to the right side, across the guns.

Is it possible the intent was to direct the gun fumes towards that side of the vehicle because of the presence of the large, long external shroud locate on the right side of the vehicle? Perhaps, with the vehicle in motion, airflow passing that shroud drew air out of the interior of the tank in some way, and the fan helped the process along. That shroud assembly might be multifunctional.

David

[George Moore]

Sorry and apologies for getting my "facts" mixed up re the Scorpion and Fox turrets.

I am sure however the fan was a "sucker" rather than a "blower", which made me look for any form of vent or opening. However this idea is based on those fitted to armoured cars.

What does surprise me is that the fan is shown on the drawings, but there are no circuit or wiring references on any of the wiring diagrams I have seen.

George.

[colin jones]

Sorry for the lack of response as we have been away for a couple of weeks and just got back today. I have missed my shed terribly I need to do some more homework as to the exact use of that part as everything I have shows that it is a fan and there is no intake from the pyramid. I will make contact with the Pucka museum in Victoria and ask if they would kindly take an internal photo for me.

[colin jones]

George, that is fantastic detail that you have done and every part most certainly looks very clear to me. I have also put a phot of the bovington one here so you can definitely see that there is no air intake holes.

[David Herbert]

I am almost certain that the triangular bump is simply to provid clearance to something inside - amunition tray possibly ? The fitting shown in the top right photo above is a standard AFV fitting of the day and protects a hole in the plate it is fixed to and would normally have a cable coming through it, I expect for a spot light.

David

[George Moore]

There is that probability, the opening it covers would allow some movement or extra space in that area.
I note that is fixed by screws, and not riveted in place, so was it perhaps removable ??
The other fitment is a cable cover, a common fitting on other armoured vehicles and carriers especially.
The turret drawing showing the fan in place like a lot of other stuff asks more questions than it answers, and I am still at a loss as to why there is no mention in any of the wiring diagrams, it must have been able to switch on and off, but there is no circuit shown.

Having got this far into the rebuild it is annoying not to know.....just for the heck of it if nothing else.

George.