Light AA MK2 (Late)
Hello and welcome to my second suggestion, the Light AA MK2 with it’s later armour configuration
[Would you like to see this in-game?]
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History:
The light AA is a conversion done to the Mark VI tank to provide air defence against low flying attacking aircraft. There were around a total of 50 light AA tanks, including both MK1 and MK2. The MK2 was a slight improvement as it provided a fully powered traverse, wider and more accessible turret, and better quality sights, the latter is visible in the image below. In spite of all this, the same quadruple 7.7m Besa light machine guns were kept.
The main difference between the early and late variants is the chassis as the late variant use a VIB chassis while the early used the VIA. They also had varying placement of the upper box, with the late having a lower placement which increased the vehicles stability
Below compares the late (top image) with the early (bottom image)
Despite the improvements, the MK2 couldn’t keep itself on the front line as high flying bombers proved to be hard to hit, let alone shoot down with it’s weak armament unlike the dive bombers early in the war. In a short lived lifespan, the light AA MK1 and MK2 were withdrawn sometime in 1942, two years after they entered service.
Specifications:
Mass:5 tons
Length:4.0 m
Width:2.08 m
Height:2.35 m
Crew:2 (commander/gunner,driver)
Armour:4 -14 mm
Armament:4 x 7.92 mm Besa light machine gun
Engine:Meadows 6-cylinder petrol-88 hp (66 kW)
Power/weight ratio:16.9 hp/ton
Transmission:Wilson pre-selector gearbox
Suspension:Horstmann inclined springs
Operational range:210 km
Maximum speed:56 km/h on road and 40 km/h off road
Why should it be in game: While very similar to it’s early version and not very strong, this could easily be a folder vehicle and provide more spaa options at 1.0.
You could also add the NZ operated Mk.1, with an even worse armament of only 2 BESAs. God knows why they removed half the armament, but still another variant (technically).
+1
Sounds like a simple addition that couldn’t hurt to get, ideally alongside the 15 mm BESA variant. I’d say BR 1.3 is manageable given it’s s straight upgrade across the board.
While the it might seem a bit underwhelming given the current state of the Light AA Mk.1, I think it’s worth bringing up that the Mk.1 has a gimped fire rate compared to reality, as addressed in this bug report: Light Tank Mk VI AA rate of fire
Should be around 750~850 RPM instead of 600 RPM.
This should theoretically apply to this later variant as well since they didn’t remove the accelerator until after both variants were withdrawn. This could make both versions less painful to use in-game.
Additionally, the Mk.1, and presumably the Mk.2, should feature shoulder stabilization in-game, given that the gunner controls the elevation with his body by pushing and pulling on a bar connecting the 4 MGs. I plan on making a bug report regarding this at some point soon.
I think a lot of people overlook how many “bad” vehicles are only bad because their stats aren’t correct. I’ll drop a link to the report here when I get around to filing it. I might need to find a source on the quad mount, which could be a hang-up.
Another issue worth nothing is that 7.92 mm BESA ammunition is a bit scuffed afaik. I think most tanks with co-ax BESAs are still using German ammo if I recall correctly. The AA Mk.1 uses different ammunition from most other tanks with the BESA, but I don’t think it’s entirely accurate either.
Assuming the Tank Encyclopedia article I linked prior is correct, (it’s a recent article by an author I respect, so I’ll assume so) the domestic ammunition could have slightly increased performance. For instance, we could get 16 mm of point blank penetration with AP, which is just barely enough to get through the armor of some tanks if you can flank them.
