Light Tank MK VI 2-pdr Tank Destroyer - the gremlin of the 1930s

Sebbo_the_Plebbo · September 29, 2026, 11:26pm

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Introduction

The Vickers Light Tank Mk VI was the culmination of Britain’s pre-war light tank development, providing armoured units with a small, fast and relatively inexpensive vehicle. It saw considerable success, with over 1,600 built, consisting of a number of variants, including reconnaissance, command, and anti-air. It served across Europe, North Africa, and even a limited amount in the Pacific. However, its original armament of heavy and light machine guns was increasingly inadequate against the improving armour of contemporary tanks. To address this, in the late 1930s (thought to be 1938), the British experimented with mounting the much more capable Ordnance QF 2-pounder anti-tank gun onto the Mk VI chassis. For the time, this was an very hard-hitting anti-tank cannon, making this vehicle a potent Tank Destroyer.

The resulting Light Tank Mk VI 2-pdr Tank Destroyer was an extremely unusual prototype. The standard turret was replaced with a new open-topped turret mounting the 40 mm 2-pdr, while the rest of the vehicle remained a largely unchanged Mk VI. At least one prototype was constructed for testing, although unfortunately very little documentation regarding the project survives today.

In-game, this would make for a particularly interesting low-tier British tank destroyer. The combination of a tiny and highly mobile chassis with a powerful-for-the-BR 2-pdr would give it excellent offensive potential, while its extremely thin armour and open-topped fighting compartment would make it very vulnerable to return fire. It would be a great option for a tiny low-tier gremlin vehicle that is also capable of punching well above its weight if played smartly at higher BRs, whilst also representing what is essentially the peak of the Light Tank Mk VI lineage, a significant vehicle in British AFV history.

Specifications

Spoiler