VICKERS MK6B's resto

[David Dunlop]

Hello Colin.

Is the Traverse Control one of the Gunner’s tasks? He must have been a very busy crew member at times.

Not sure if I was reading the drawings correctly but it looks like the brake assembly ties in with the smaller gear assembly. Is it designed as a fully engaged brake that only releases when the turret is traversed? If so, it would only need to be strong enough to prevent the weight of the guns from swinging the turret when the vehicle was crossing uneven ground.

David

[tankbarrell]

The brake is released when you squeeze the grip trigger on the hand traverse handle. This allows you to turn the handle and hence the turret. It also helps prevent the turret moving around.
This system was also used by Powered Mountings on all of their hydraulic traverse systems in nearly all British tanks and was also used by the US in their Oilgear traverse system. That is a very close copy of the PM design and was possibly the only feature of the Matilda II that impressed the Americans!
The main change was the US used iron for the castings, the British boxes all being in bronze. Many of the parts, including the brake and handle assembly will interchange between Oilgear and PM.

[colin jones]

David, unfortunately the radio is way out of my league and not to mention I still don't know exactly what was used in them.

David, your absolutely right, he would have been a very busy boy. The gearbox it located at about 10:00 in the turret and I don't know how the gunner could traverse, sight and shoot at the same time. He could only shoot one gun at once and he would have to lean over quite a bit to fire the 1/2" Vickers and get up very close and personal with the commander. As per your previous comment that it certainly does give you a different perspective what these chaps had to endure.
As Adrian said the brake is only release once the grip is squeezed. I can see that the grip is connected directly to the small pinion gear which is about 7:1 ratio and one turn gives 3 deg of turret rotation. It will be very easy to turn.

[David Dunlop]

Thanks, Colin.

I went back to Post 981 from Jordan Baker. Looks like the last photo of the Gunner captured a bit of a top view of the traverse assembly, down low forward of his left arm. So many bits and pieces to be aware of for the crew just getting in and out of their ‘work stations’.

“JOIN THE RAC! Tall and Portly need not apply!”

David

[Lynn Eades]

That applied to most vehicles. With the U.S. vehicles for example. How many Jeeps, Dodges, or GMCs had seat adjustment? Don't fit= a different job assigned.

[Jesse Browning]

The halftrack seat adjusts. I never had it in any position other than all the way back. At 6’ tall, I had to remove the seat cushion and sit on the steel pan if I wanted to see below the windshield top rail. In the Sexton, the seat had to be adjusted just right in order for my knees to clear the instrument panel, yet still be able to lift my leg high enough to work the clutch, as low as possible to reach the shortened steering levers, but not too low as that made it very difficult to shift, and lastly, be able to see out the drivers hatch. Someone about 5’ tall with massive arms would have done well.

[Mike Cecil]

I've been away for a week or so, enjoying Southern hospitality in Georgia, specifically at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, and with friends in Alpharetta. A lot warmer in Georgia at the moment compared to Spokane!

Anyway, back to the business at hand ....

Barry Temple's excellent trilogy on the .303 British Service Cartridge, Volume 2, lists 14 different rifle grenade cartridges, 8 use Cordite as the propellant, the others Ballistite (indicated by a z in the nomenclature). The earliest listed dates from March 1915, and the latest, the H Mk.7z, from the 1950s. All except the H Mk.7z have open necks closed with a variety of stoppers such as tallow, fibreboard, shellac and so on. The H Mk.7z had a crimped (closed) neck in similar fashion to the .303 Blank.

I tried to sort out which cartridge went with which grenade(s), but Landers, Bonney and Oakley's otherwise authoritative grenade book frustratingly just states 'suitable [I]blank[I] cartridge' as the propelling agent! (my italics - as Tony has pointed out, the .303 blank does not have the power to project the grenade far enough - a proper rifle grenade cartridge must be used. I'll have to rib Garry Oakley about that next time I see him!).

In March 1935, the H Mk.1z C was introduced, which is the right vintage for use in the projectors on the side of the Vickers. It was superseded in November 1939 by an improved version, the H Mk.1z L.

Edit: I've just had a look at the Matilda handbook, the Matilda having a 'Discharger, Smoke Generator, 4 inch No.2 Mk.1 on the turret side, which I'm assuming is the same type as that on the Vickers - they certainly look the same. The projector fired a Generator, Smoke, No.8 Mk.2/L or 3/L which was propelled by a Cartridge, Rifle Grenade, .303 in, H Mk.1z. A box of cartridges was stowed in the Matilda turret, and eight spare smoke generators were stowed on the turret turntable. Colin: in the absence of a stowage list/diagram, have you detected any stowage mountings in the Vickers that look like they might house spare 4 inch smoke generators?

Great job on the details, Colin, as always!

Mike