Vickers Mk.1

Vickers Mk.1

FV4202

Vickers Mk.3

Vickers Mk.1

FV4202

Vickers Mk.3

Britain

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:105 000

Purchase:300 000

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Description

The Vickers Battle Tank Mk.1 is a Rank V British medium tank with a battle rating of 7.0. It was introduced in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica".

British tanks are snipers, designed to engage with minimal threat to the tank and its crew while still being a major thorn in the enemy's side. Stick to knowledge of the maps you'll be playing on to enhance your defensive playstyle, grabbing husks of old tanks or tank ditches to your advantage then bursting out of cover to ambush enemies. The tank has a mediocre off-road top speed of 20 mph (stock), yet can do 7 mph in reverse, so don't be afraid to duck back into cover.

That being said, the Vickers has pitiful armour that rarely stands up to any punishment other than SPAA, and even then this is true for the front armour. The ~100 mm frontal armour on the turret is good for stray or hurried shots, although the lack of slopes inhibits your chances of bouncing shots, let the environment do this for you.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	60 mm (56°) Front glacis 80 mm (32°) Lower glacis	30 mm Top 30 + 4 mm Bottom	20 mm (4-5°) Top 19 mm (58°)	25 mm 5 mm Grills
Turret	80 mm (19°) Turret front 40-100 mm (1-73°) Gun mantlet	40-60 mm (1-17°)	40 mm (10°) 60 mm (1°) Turret ring	25 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
38.1	N/A	54 (AB)
		48 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	829	1021
Realistic/Simulator	473	535
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	21.76	26.79
Realistic/Simulator	12.41	14.04

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm L7A1
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
54			-7°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	10.70	14.80	18.00	19.90	21.20
Realistic	10.70	12.60	15.30	16.92	18.0
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
6.50	5.75	5.30	5.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Shot L28A1	APDS	303	302	296	277	257	252
Shell L35	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Shot L28A1	APDS	1478	5.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	75°	78°	80°
Shell L35	HESH	730	15	0.4	0.1	4,310	+0°	75°	78°	80°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Vickers MBT.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
44	34 (+10)	32 (+12)	30 (+14)	28 (+16)	26 (+18)	1 (+43)	No

Turret empty: 26 (+18)

Machine guns

12.7 mm L21A1
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,200 (3)				300	N/A	N/A

7.62 mm L3A1
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,200 (250)				500	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

Although it can be done with its excellent reload speed of 5-7 seconds (crew skill depending), mixing ranks with the enemy is ill advised: instead take upon a sniping role. Your gun has only two types of ammo, both stock so research is not required for enhanced destruction. That being said, the APDS is a potent weapon that has 302 mm on pen at 100 mm, falling to 252mm at 2500m: all ranges are within your kill-zone, with enemies moving towards more manoeuvrability over armour in the high ranks. However, the rounds lack spalling potential, so the damage inflicted on a tank interior must be in the APDS direct path past the penetration. If you aim for the turret weak-spots, the barrel or breach will be your most common hits, incurring 20-30 precious seconds of repair time.

The HESH shell is a very different story. This is an excellent weapon in urban/CQC due to its uncanny ability to rupture ammunition. You only have 127 mm of pen, but this is at all ranges. It can still reach 2800 m without too much compensation, yet with its low pen (for the rank and armour you'll be facing) it is advisable to use this in CQC and when flanking. The thing with this round is that it pens then morphs into a solid ball of HE-based death.

Some enemies to deal with:

• The Lorraine 40t will bounce more shots than you care to admit, or your hits will do minor damage. Just out the nature of the reserved play style this tank likes, any fast tanks will be a problem due to their ability to close the gap as you attempt to reach your favourite position. Engine and transmission upgrades will lessen this, in time.
• All Russian tanks are difficult to deal with, yet learning their weak spots will lead you to victory. German tanks are a problem based on their accuracy and reload, however the cheeks of their turrets are prime targets for eagle-eyed gunners.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Stock APDS shell has very high penetration values.
• Gun fires APDS shell at over 1,400 m/s.
• The addition of HESH ammo with shrapnel effect.
• Has a 12.7mm L21A1 machine gun which is used for range finding.
• Fast reload speed, at best 5 seconds.
• Above average reverse speed compared to some British tanks
• Excellent maneuverability, even over rough terrain
• A good counter to Russian heavy tanks (IS3, IS6, IS4) if you know the weak spots

Cons:

• Poor armour, even lower ranked guns are quite a threat.
• While top speed is around 49 km/h, you will rarely hit it
• Depression of only -7° which is below average for British tanks.
• APDS causes only punctual damage, meaning that killing some vehicles is a challenge
• Many SPAA vehicles can penetrate your sides or back.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

ETC.

Sources

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.