The Vickers Medium Mark II was a British medium tank built by Vickers in the Inter-war period.
The Medium Mark II, derived from the Vickers Medium Mark I, was developed to replace the last of the Medium Mark Cs still in use. Production and rebuilding ran from 1925 until 1934. The tank was phased out of service from 1939, replaced by the Cruiser Mk I. It featured several improvements over the Vickers Mark I : a higher superstructure with the driver's vizor on top of it instead of in front of it; an improved suspension protected by armour skirts; and Rackham clutches, providing a primitive form of mechanical servo-control. Due to a slightly higher weight its rated speed was somewhat slower than that of the Medium Mark I, at 13 mph compared to 15 mph.
| Vickers Medium Mark II | |
|---|---|
| Type | Medium tank |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1925- 1939 |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Vickers |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 12 long tons (12 tonnes) |
| Length | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) |
| Width | 9 ft 1.5 in (2.78 m) |
| Height | 8 ft 10 in (2.68 m) |
| Crew | 5 |
| | |
| Armour | 6.25 to 8 mm |
| Main armament | QF 3-pounder (47 mm) |
| Secondary armament | four 0.303 (7.7 mm) Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun two 0.303 Vickers machine gun |
| Engine | Armstrong Siddeley V-8 90 hp (67 kW) |
| Power/weight | 8 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | helical springs |
| Operational range | 193 km |
| Speed | 15 mph (21 km/h) |
The Vickers Medium Mark II and its predecessor the Vickers Medium Mark I replaced some of the Mark V heavy tanks. Both tanks equipped the Royal Tank Regiments until they were phased out starting in 1938. In November 1939, some Medium Mark IIs were sent to Egypt for experiments being conducted by Major-General Sir Percy Hobart and his Mobile Division (Egypt), but the Vickers Mediums in Egypt were also phased out before Italy declared war in June 1940.
During the "Invasion Scare" of the summer of 1940, some of these outmoded vehicles were reactivated for a short time. No "mobile" Vickers Mediums faced the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940, but at least one was dug in as an armoured pillbox in the British defenses at Mersa Matruh at the time of the invasion.
