VICKERS MK6B's resto

[Mike Cecil]

Vickers .303 MMG ordinarily feeds from the right side,and nothing in the manuals I have mentions anything about the feedblock being reversible. Thinking back about working on a Vickers, the direction of feed is not reversible - it would require a different feed block (at least) to feed in the opposite direction. For a live demo, ...

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPv_f_aSyP4

However, the used cloth belt needs to drop into something akin to an ammo box in a tank turret - cannot have them 'dribbling' onto the floor and jambing things up. This leaves the question: where was the .303 inch belt box with the live ammunition, assuming the Vickers used was fed from the right as per normal? Maybe under the .50 cal Vickers gun adjacent?

If you look at the AWM image of the RYPA being used, it shows an angled ammunition box support on the right side of the 'turret', which I assume is the same as in the tank. This would seem to be the support for the .50 inch Vickers Short ammunition box.

See https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C11056

Mike

[colin jones]

Thanks for the info Mike. In the photo here, it clearly shows a ammo tray both sides for each gun and one in the centre which I assume is for the right fed Vickers and perhaps the spent ones drop into the other side. More questions?? Just an edit after looking again at the photo. I would have to say the live rounds come from the centre as it is connected to the gun mount so as the gun moves up and down so too does the ammo box to keep is flowing at the same angle as the gun. It is making more sense now.

[Mike Cecil]

Hi Colin,

Yes, makes much more sense now. The belt feeds from the ammo box in the centre tray attached to the mount which, as you have said, moved with the gun's elevation, thereby retaining the correct belt feed-belt port angle as the cloth belt feeds through the gun, and into the catch tray/box on the left side which fits into the bump-out in the turret wall.

Vickers MMG spent cases were ejected downwards from the centre line of the weapon, and would normally be collected in a canvas catch bag attached to the underside of the gun or down a short chute into a box. They would not be allowed to free-fall into the lower reaches of the turret for obvious reasons.

As I understand it, the Vickers .50 HMG was essentialy an MMG on steroids - ie fed the same way, so both weapons in the MkVIA fed from the right, ejected spent cases from the underside, and fed the empty cloth belt out the left side. NOPE - see edit.....

EDIT: I've just had a look at some images of Royal Naval use of the .50 inch Vickers (common in the early stages of WW2 as a close-in AA weapon on ships), and it shows drum magazines feeding from either left or right, so maybe the .50 in the tank fed from the left side (from the ammo box in the tray fixed to the mount) and the empty belt fed out the right side into the box mounted in the holder mounted on the turret wall, as visible in the AWM RYPA image. That would make the most sense given the configuration of the ammo box holders in the various images.


Mike

[Lynn Eades]

From a quick squiz at a Vickers book, the .5" inch cal. is descibed as a MkV gun, which is an AFV gun. It can be used and fed as a right or left fed gun.

[George Moore]

Colin,
The turret bulge issue looks to be solved, but I think there has been some confusion as to the extractor fan.

Looking again at the drawings, I note that on the page that gives multi view drawings of the turret, I now see the bulge detail is totally different (cannot quote a number).

That drawing is for the Mk VI C, as is probably that one showing the fan.

The Mk VI C had the 15mm and 9.2mm BESA's fitted.

I have one photo of a captured Mk VI C from a Japanese magazine which shows this cover, and is most definitely for extracting fumes. So I think we have mix of drawings.

George.
PIC 217.JPG

[George Moore]

TanklightMarkVIc6.jpg

This is the drawing I referred to earlier.

George

[Mike Cecil]

Thanks, Lynn, for the confirmation.

I think that pretty much confirms that both MGs fed from ammo boxes in the tray fixed to the mount, the .303 from the right, the .50 from the left, with the empty belts going into the 'collector'trays/boxes mounted on the left and right turret walls respectively. Empty cases ejected into some sort of bag or box under each gun: anyone got any references to that aspect?

George - in the Japenese image, the tank seems to have a Wermacht number plate, so an image of a captured vehicle perhaps? Pity I cannot read Japanese. As for the fan, the Besa was renowned for being a 'fumy' weapon - plenty of references to the 7.92 Besa in the Mk3 Centurion producing overpowering fumes - maybe that's why the Besa-armed Vickers needed an extractor fan?

Mike

[David Herbert]

The 7.92 Besa was almost universally used as the co-ax weapon in WW2 British tanks so must have been acceptable then.

I note that in the Japanese photo the bowden cable that fires the 4" smoke discharger can clearly be seen coming out of the protecting cover behind it. So that removes any doubt about that.

David