General Facts

TYPE
Main battle tank

ORIGIN
United Kingdom

NICKNAMES
Vijayanta (Indian nickname)

DESIGNED
Early 1960's

DESIGNER
Vickers

PRODUCTION
1965 - 1995

PRODUCERS
India - Avadi
United Kingdom - Vickers

QUANTITY
About 2.500 produced.

UNIT COST
$ 1.6 million

CHARACTERISTICS
Good firepower
Simple and reliable design
Limited production costs
Limited armor protection
Low speed

Introduction

The Vickers MBT is a main battle tank of UK origin. It was developed by Vickers in the early 1960's for export sales. The Chieftain that was developed for the UK army would be too heavy and far too costly for export to Asia and Africa. The Vickers MBT was developed as a budget tank and uses various components of the Centurion and Chieftain designs.

Layout

The Vickers MBT has a conventional layout. The driver is seated in the front. The turret is placed in the middle and seats the commander, gunner and loader. The engine and drive train are placed at the rear. Many automotive parts are also used on the Chieftain. Sleek straight side skits make the Vickers MBT easy to recognize. The original Mk 1 has a squared turret with large gun mantlet. The Mk 3 has a cast turret and various other improvements, including a more powerful engine. Based on the same chassis a recovery vehicle and bridgelayer were developed.

Firepower

The main armament of the Vickers MBT is the 105mm L7 rifled cannon. The proven L7 cannon provides serious punch and has good accuracy. Against modern main battle tanks the L7 is of limited use, but it is more than adequate for the threats the users of the Vickers MBT face. A 7.62mm machine gun is installed as a coaxial weapon and a 12.7mm ranging machine gun aids in firing the main gun. An additional 7.62mm machine gun is fitted on the turret roof for anti-aircraft use.

Protection

For a main battle tank the Vickers MBT has poor armor protection. The steel armor is up to 80mm thick at the turret front, 60 to 80mm thick at the hull front and 20 to 40mm at the hull sides. This provides the crew protection from small arms fire and shell splinters all around and autocannon and weak anti-armor weapons over the frontal arc. An NBC system is present as are smoke grenade dischargers.

Mobility

The Vickers MBT has a reasonable mobility. The maximum speed is rather limited, being below 50 km/h. The tracked chassis and reasonable power to weight ratio ensure a good off road capability. The Mk 1 uses a 650 hp multifuel engine while the Mk 3 uses a 720 hp turbocharged diesel engine.

Users

The first and main user of the Vickers MBT is India. About 2.200 were produced in India and over 500 remain in service today. They are to be replaced by newer models. The second nation to order was Kuwait. From 1977 to 1995 batches were acquired by various African nations.

Vickers Mk 3

Vickers Mk 1: The Vickers Mk 1 is the first production model of the Vickers MBT. It features a squared box-like turret with large gun mantlet. The Leyland L60 multifuel engine that was developed for the Chieftain provides propulsion. The Vickers Mk 2 was to be a Mk 1 fitted with a Swingfire missile on each side of the turret. The Mk 2 was never put in production.
Vickers Mk 3: The Vickers Mk 3 is a much improved version of the Vickers MBT. The Mk 3 features a cast turret, more powerful engine, a commander's cupola and laser range finder. It also carries more ammunition and has improved fire controls.

Specifications:
Vickers Mk 3

Type	Main battle tank
Crew	4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader)
Length	7.65 m (hull), 9.79 m (gun forward)
Width	3.17 m
Height	2.48 m (turret roof), 3.10 m (without MG)
Ground clearance	0.41 m
Weight	36.1 t unloaded, 38.7 t combat load
Ground pressure	0.88 kg/cm2
Wheelbase	Tracked chassis, 6 roadwheels, idler front, drive sprocket rear, 4.28 m length, 0.52 m width, 2.52 m track
Turn radius	?
Engine	Detroit Diesel 12V-71T V12 diesel, 720 hp at 2.500 rpm

Power ratio	18.6 hp/t
Transmission	David Brown TN12 automatic, 6 forward, 2 reverse
Speed	50 km/h
Fuel	1.000 L
Range	490 km
Wall	0.9 m
Trench	2.4 m
Gradient	60% gradient, 30% slope
Fording	1.1 m
Armor	Steel
NBC equipment	Yes

Night vision	Yes
Smoke	2x6 smoke grenade dischargers
Remarks	-
Armament	105mm L7 cannon 7.62mm coaxial MG 12.7mm ranging MG 7.62mm roof MG
Weapon1	105mm L7 cannon in turret 50 rounds, 18 ready to fire -7 to +20° elevation, powered 360° traverse, 24°/s powered stabilized in both axis
Weapon2	7.62mm coaxial machine gun 2.400 rounds in total traverse and elevation as main armament
Weapon3	12.7mm ranging machine gun 700 rounds traverse and elevation as main armament
Weapon4	7.62mm machine gun on turret roof 2.400 rounds in total manual traverse and elevation non-stabilized
Weapon5	-
Weapon6	-

Vickers ARRV

Vickers ARRV: The Vickers Armored Repair and Recovery Vehicle is based on the Vickers MBT chassis. Instead of a turret it has an armored superstructure that houses the crew. The engineering equipment includes a 25 t winch, an earth anchor and a 4 t crane. A 7.62mm machine gun is fitted for self defense. In India a recovery version based on the Vickers chassis was also developed. It features a box shaped superstructure and has an A-frame instead of a crane.

Specifications:
Vickers ARRV

Type	Armored recovery vehicle
Crew	4 (commander, driver, 2 engineers)
Length	7.56 m (hull), 8.38 m (with spade)
Width	3.16 m
Height	2.89 m (overall)
Ground clearance	0.43 m
Weight	38.0 t combat load
Ground pressure	0.79 kg/cm2
Wheelbase	Tracked chassis, 6 roadwheels, idler front, drive sprocket rear, 4.28 m length, 0.52 m width, 2.52 m track
Turn radius	?
Engine	Detroit Diesel 12V-71T V12 diesel, 720 hp at 2.500 rpm

Power ratio	18.9 hp/t
Transmission	David Brown TN12 automatic, 6 forward, 2 reverse
Speed	50 km/h on road
Fuel	1.000 L
Range	600 km on road
Wall	0.9 m
Trench	3 m
Gradient	60% gradient, 30% slope
Fording	1.1 m
Armor	Steel
NBC equipment	?

Night vision	?
Smoke	?
Remarks	25 t winch, 4 t winch, earth anchor, 4 t crane
Armament	7.62mm MAG machine gun
Weapon1	7.62mm L37A1 (MAG) machine gun on commander's cupola 100 rounds ready to fire -10 to +90° elevation, manual 360° traverse non-stabilized
Weapon2	-
Weapon3	-
Weapon4	-
Weapon5	-
Weapon6	-

Vickers AVLB

Vickers AVLB: The Vickers armored bridgelayer is based on the Vickers MBT chassis. Instead of a turret it carries a single piece 13 m MLC 60/70 bridge which it can launch and recover using the front mounted frame. During launch and recovery the frame rests on the ground.
Kartik: The Kartik is an AVLB developed in India and is based on the lengthened Vickers chassis that is also used for the Catapult self propelled gun. It uses a BLG-60 type 20 m scissor bridge and has a different method for launching the bridge than the original Vickers AVLB.

Specifications:
Vickers AVLB

Type	Vehicle launched bridge
Crew	3 (commander, driver, engineer)
Length	13.7 m (with bridge)
Width	4.16 m (with bridge)
Height	3.25 m (with bridge)
Ground clearance	0.43 m
Weight	43.9 t with bridge
Ground pressure	?
Wheelbase	Tracked chassis, 6 roadwheels, idler front, drive sprocket rear, 4.28 m length, 0.52 m width, 2.52 m track
Turn radius	?
Engine	Detroit Diesel 12V-71T V12 diesel, 720 hp at 2.500 rpm

Power ratio	16.4 hp/t
Transmission	David Brown TN12 automatic, 6 forward, 2 reverse
Speed	?
Fuel	1.000 L
Range	600 km on road
Wall	0.9 m
Trench	3 m
Gradient	60% gradient, 30% slope
Fording	1.1 m
Armor	Steel
NBC equipment	?

Night vision	?
Smoke	?
Remarks	13.4 m MLC 60 bridge
Armament	7.62mm MAG machine gun
Weapon1	7.62mm L37A1 (MAG) machine gun on roof 100 rounds ready to fire manual traverse and elevation non-stabilized
Weapon2	-
Weapon3	-
Weapon4	-
Weapon5	-
Weapon6	-