Vickers Medium Mark II

The Vickers Medium Mark II was a British medium tank that Vickers built during the interwar period, with production and rebuilding running from 1925 until 1934. It was derived from the Vickers Medium Mark I and was developed to replace the last Medium Mark C tanks still in use. It kept the chassis, suspension and transmission of the Mark I but gained a higher superstructure with the driver visor on top, an improved suspension protected by armour skirts and Rackham clutches that gave a primitive form of mechanical servo-control. Its turret carried a 47 mm three-pounder gun and four machine guns, and its slightly higher weight lowered the rated speed to 13 mph, 21 km/h. Many variants followed, including command, close support, tropical and export versions, among them the English Workman bought by the Soviet Union in 1931. It first saw combat against the Mohmands on the North-West Frontier in 1935, was phased out from 1939, and three survive.