Vickers Light Tank Mk II
In service 1931 - 1941 (training)
The step in the British light tank line that fixed the suspension and set the pattern for the Mk III to Mk VI.
Built byVickers-Armstrongs
Photograph pending. No clearly licensed photograph of this vehicle was found.
Development history
Developed from the Carden-Loyd line, the Mk II introduced a larger two-man turret and the leaf-spring twin-bogie suspension that all later British light tanks used. Used for colonial policing in Egypt and India and then for training, it was obsolete as a fighting vehicle by 1939 but it established the running gear and layout of the Mk VI that went to France in 1940.
Variants
One canonical record, 2 recorded variants.
Light Tank Mk IIA
1932Revised turret and improved cooling for hot-climate service.
Light Tank Mk IIB
1934Further suspension and transmission refinements; India-pattern versions built for colonial service.
Notable actions
- Colonial policing, Egypt and India