2nd June 1937, MEE Farnborough
Sergeant Web was sitting in the Sergeants mess having some beers with some of his mates and a couple of the Czech sergeants who'd come to take care of their tank while it had been under test. It was due to be sent home in a week or so, while the earlier reports indicated they wouldn't be recommending it, the busy schedule of checking out the new Vickers tanks had slowed things down a bit.
"You know, I still don't know why you people insist on firing on the move! Its so inaccurate."
Web took a sip of his beer and gave the man a somewhat condescending look. "That's because you aren't trained to do it! When you are, well, it's a lot harder to hit us while we're moving."
Sgt Kubka shrugged. "So you say, but we tried it a long time ago and found that if you were moving fast enough to be a bad target, you couldn't hit anything either! Not to mention how long it took to train men up to do it. Our system gives you a far better chance at killing your enemy before he hits you."
*******
"So, Sir, I was thinking. As they don't have to go back for a week, the Czechs have challenged us to a shooting match. Their tank against one of ours, to see which of us is right about controlling the gun with the gunner. Of course, I'm sure we'd win, but I thought I'd mention it. It would be an interesting contest."
The Captain looked thoughtful. "It would be interesting, and after all the work we've been doing, a little exercise like this would be good for the men."
"Well, Sir, I know a few of the Sergeants at Lulworth. They said it would be pretty easy to fit us in at this time of year, so if we asked they thought it could be done. They'd set the range up and act as neutral umpires."
"I think it would be interesting, Sergeant. We know our system is better, but maybe if we showed the Czechs that they adopt it and then we might actually buy some of their tanks. I'll have a chat with Lulwort, see if we can get something in before we have to pack the LT-35 up for shipping."
8th June 1936, Lulworth Ranges, Dorset
"Well, that was rather embarrassing."
Captain Johnson nodded, as he made some notes in the margin of the report by the Range officer on the recent contest. They'd borrowed a light tank and crew from Bovington, and the results had not been as expected.
"It looks like the Czechs beat us from 1200 yards down to about 500. Then it became a lot more even. They even complained that we couldn't range at 1500 yards like they could, but judging from the results that wouldn't have helped us in the slightest."
His companion looked gloomy. "We can't even blame our crew, they actually did a bit better than the average on the targets. You don't think this idea of stopping to fire and then moving off again is better than firing while moving? That would be a shock."
Captain Johnson shrugged. "Well, firing on the move is a good idea, it is harder to hit a moving target. The problem seemed to be that it was also harder to hit them at range. I wonder if the new longer range guns have affected our assumptions?"
"Maybe they have, but I'd keep quiet about it if I were you. There are some very senior officers who take firing on the move to be holy gospel. It won't do your career any good to start attacking it."
"But what if we are wrong?"
The older man thought. "Well. Doesn't one of those new tanks you're testing have a geared elevation, like the Czech tank?"
"Yes, the Infantry one. The guns too big and heavy for a man to control on his shoulder. The Cruiser tank is shoulder managed, of course."
"Well, when they are accepted, maybe I can have some quiet words and arrange some trials. See what happens. That way we don't have to explain how we lost on our own course to some foreign tankers."
30th June 1937, War Office
The meeting on the placement of future tank orders was being chaired by Sir Hugh Elles, the Master General of Ordnance. It had been convened to go over the work of Sir Harold Browns department, who had been looking at the progress of the tanks currently under development, and comparing these to the needs of the RTC.
At the moment, they had 70 Mk IVD on order, as well as 150 of the brand new A10* Cruiser tank. While a good start, this was nothing like the number of tanks needed just to replace old, worn out ones and provide a training cadre, let alone equip the Armoured Division that was wanted.
The first issue to be considered was the Infantry tank. Of the two contenders, the Vickers A11 had gone through testing, and the MEE were pleased with it. Subject to some minor modifications that could be done on the first production batch, it looked like it was ready to be ordered. By using the smaller Kiki engine in place of the larger diesel unit they'd originally intended, they'd even been able to squeeze another 12 rounds in. The issue was how many they could order, and how fast could they be produced. Vickers were finishing rebuilding a tank production line at their Elswick site, and this would be making the A10*. A second production line would be set up at Harland & Wolf for that tank. Vickers expected to produce 10 tanks a month at Elswick, but had said that with some money from the government they could easily double that, they had made provision for expanding the plant. Harland & Wolf were currently building 35 of the MkIVD, but as they were finished they would move on to the A10*, initially at 5/month, but rising to 10 as they finished the works. Again, with further investment production could be increased considerably.
Vickers had suggested that an order for the infantry tank could be produced by their Chertsey site. This was also undergoing a rebuild, but was a little behind Elswick. Consideration had been given to also building at Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company and Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage & Wagon Company, who were already associated with Vickers. Vickers had suggested that, for the immediate future, these companies could build assemblies and components, to be assembled at the main tank plants; if a considerable increase in tank production was needed, then new tank production could be set up, with help from Vickers. However with the numbers currently projected, they felt the most efficient method was to concentrate the final construction work in fewer plants.
Originally the Army had been considering a large order of light tanks this summer, figures of up to 240 had been suggested, but these had gone out of favour, and instead the money would be better spent on more Cruiser and Infantry tanks. Instead of these, the decision was to order 90 of the A11 infantry tank from Vickers, who would start up production at the Chertsey works. Vickers expected to be able to deliver the tanks over an 18 month period, as it would take a while to finish the works and get a production line in operation. The order would allow the formation of a first tank battalion, as well as provide tanks for training.
While this covered the tank orders, these were not the only vehicles needed to make a balanced Armoured division. The Ordnance men has been impressed with the recent presentation of the Birch gun presentation; as a result an order was given for a prototype, and if this proved successful, they would be looking to order around 120 over the next couple of years. Vickers would be asked to give timescales for production once the gun had passed inspection.
The Cavalry also needed new equipment. As they would no longer be getting light tanks, the need to order armoured cars for them was getting urgent. It was hoped that the firms interested would be providing prototypes in a few months, and these were marked for priority at the testing establishment.
The final vehicle under discussion was the Lloyd Carrier. Vivian Lloyd expected to be delivering the first prototype next month, and it was again intended to order these as soon as the MEE had signed off on it. The carrier would cover a number of roles in the RTC, and they expected to order an initial 300, 200 of which would be the version with the armoured roof for troop use. This would be enough to train, and equip a number of battalions, after which they would evaluate the use in practice and then place further orders.
