Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank

The Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank (designated the A4E11 and A4E12 by the War Office),[1] was a series of British experimental pre-World War II light tanks (resembling tankettes), which, although not taken into British service, were sold to a number of other countries which produced modified versions which were then taken into service.

Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank
TypeAmphibious tank
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
Used bysee text
Production history
DesignerCarden-Loyd Tractors Ltd.
ManufacturerVickers-Armstrong
Produced1931–1932
Specifications (A4E11, A4E12)
Mass2.17 long tons (2.20 t)
Length13 ft 4 in (4.06 m)
Width6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) over tracks
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Crew2
Armour11 mm (0.43 in)
Main
armament
0.303 inch Vickers machine gun
with 1,000 rounds
EngineMeadows petrol 6-cylinder
90 bhp
SuspensionHorstmann
Operational
range
100 mi (160 km)
Maximum speed 27 mph (43 km/h) on road; 3.72 mph (5.99 km/h) in water

Users

Foreign buyers included China (29 or 32 tanks),[2] Thailand, the Dutch East Indies (two delivered in 1937)[3] and the USSR, with the latter producing some 1200 of the T-37A tanks developed from the A4E11/12. One tank with a licence was sold to Japan.[4] Poland was interested in Vickers-Carden-Loyd amphibious tanks in the 1930s, but negotiations failed and instead the PZInż works started the PZInż 130 project, an indigenous design inspired by the British concept.

Surviving vehicles
Vickers-Carden-Loyd Amphibious Tank in Kubinka Tank Museum

Notes
  1. "British Light Tanks". Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. Ledwoch, Janusz (2009), "Vickers 6-ton Mark E/F vol. II", Militaria no. 325 (in Polish), Warsaw, pp. 28–29, 34, ISBN 9788372193254
  3. Mahé, Yann (June 2011). "Le Blindorama : Les Pays-Bas, 1939 - 1945". Batailles & Blindés (in French). No. 43. Caraktère. pp. 4–7. ISSN 1765-0828.
  4. Tomczyk, Andrzej M. (2002). Japońska broń pancerna - Japanese armor. Vol 1. AJ Press. p. 43. ISBN 83-7237-097-4.
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