Vickers Mk.3

This page is about the British medium tank Vickers Mk.3. For other versions, see Vickers MBT (Family).

Vickers Mk.3

Vickers Mk.1

Vickers Mk.11

Vickers Mk.3

Vickers Mk.1

Vickers Mk.11

Britain

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.3	8.3	8.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:135 000

Purchase:380 000

Description

The Vickers Battle Tank Mk.3 was a British main battle tank, developed from the previous Vickers MBT Mk.1 and Mk.2. It was last tank made by Vickers that saw export sales . The main difference between the Vickers Mk.1 and Mk.3 is the turret, where Mk.3 features cast turret front welded to armoured body aswell as cast mantlet offering better protection compared to the flat one found on Mk.1. The Mk.3 also have increased depression from -7° at Mk.1 to -10° for Mk.3. For increased accuracy, laser range finder from Chieftain was added as the 12.7 mm ranging machine gun was deemed inadequate for the ranges the tank was supposed to engage targets. Ammo stowage of the Mk-3 is also bigger compared to Mk.1 with space for additional six rounds for a total of 50. In 1977, Kenya was the first country to order the Vickers Mk.3, with 76 tanks and 7 armoured recovery vehicles based on the Vickers chassis. Between 1981 and 1990, Nigeria ordered another 136 tanks and 12 ARV together with 26 bridge laying tanks. Last customer ordering the Vickers Mk.3 was Tanzania with 4 ARV delivered in 1989. All the countries that ordered the tank still have it in service until today.

The Vickers Mk.3 was introduced in Update "Direct Hit". Unlike its precedessor the Vickers Mk.1, the Mk.3 offers better ballistic protection of a turret, aswell as better gun depression allowing for easier position to hulldown. Unlike the Mk.1, the Mk.3 gains access to M456 shell oferring 400 mm CE penetration at all ranges againts targets where APDS would shatter or not penetrate. The Mk.3 also offers slightly better mobility due to 720 hp engine compared to the 608 hp engine found at Mk.1 while the weight increased only by 600kg. The Mk.3 also offers higher magnification optics compared to the Mk.1 although with fixed 10.0x zoom.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull80 / 30 / 20

Turret80 / 40 / 40

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

The hull armour is weak and cannot be relied upon at this battle rating, while the turret can bounce some poorly shot shells due to its sharp angles towards its side. Getting to a hull down position and utilizing the tank's ability to retreat when a shot is fired or received is necessary to prevent getting shot and damaged. The turret houses 3 of the 4 crew members, meaning that a good shot (unless protected by the gun breech) will knock out all 3 crew members and send this vehicle back to the hangar.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB56 / 13 km/h

RB and SB50 / 12 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight38.7 t

Engine power

AB1 374 hp

RB and SB720 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB35.5 hp/t

RB and SB18.6 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	56	13	38.7	1,116	1,374	28.84	35.5
Realistic	50	12		637	720	16.46	18.6

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 477 → 6 178

RB4 952 → 6 833

SB6 792 → 9 372

Total cost of modifications110 500

196 000

Talisman cost2 300

Crew training110 000

Experts380 000

Aces1 400

Research Aces830 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

140 / 200 / 250 %

208 / 208 / 208 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 8 100 Cost: 13 000 270 Suspension Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 230 Brake System Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 230 Filters Research: 7 500 Cost: 12 000 250 Transmission Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 260 Engine Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 260	Improved Parts Research: 2 400 Cost: 13 000 270 Improved FPE Research: 2 000 Cost: 11 000 230 Crew Replenishment Research: 7 500 Cost: 12 000 250 Smoke grenade Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 260	Horizontal Drive Research: 8 100 Cost: 13 000 270 Adjustment of Fire Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 230 Elevation Mechanism Research: 7 500 Cost: 12 000 250 105mm_usa_HEAT_FS_ammo_pack Research: 7 500 Cost: 12 000 250 Laser rangefinder Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 260 Artillery Support Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 260

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

105 mm Royal Ordnance L7A1 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition50 rounds

First-order9 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.7 → 6.7 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

105 mm Royal Ordnance L7A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	26.4	36.5	44.3	49.0	52.1	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					16.5	19.4	23.5	26.0	27.7

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M728	APDS	265	263	252	240	228	216
Shell L35	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M456	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M728	APDS	1,426	4.53	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
Shell L35	HESH	720	11.4	0.1	4	3.15	73°	77°	80°
M456	HEATFS	1,174	10.5	0.05	0.1	1.27	65°	72°	77°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Vickers Mk.3

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
50	39 (+11)	35 (+15)	10 (+40)	1 (+49)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Racks 1 and 2 deplete from left to right.
• Rack 4 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 9 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 4 - 1 - 2 - 3.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 4. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

Additional armament

12.7 mm L21A1 machine gun

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity3 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

0.6 → 0.5 s

Fire rate300 shots/min

12.7 mm L21A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,000 (3)	300	N/A	N/A

Machine guns

7.62 mm L3A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 machine gun

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate1 001 shots/min

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	2,000 (200)	600	-10°/+50°	±120°

7.62 mm L3A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

There are multiple ways to play this tank. The most common way is utilising your good acceleration and speed to get into key sniping points on the map. Here the use of your laser rangefinder can help you snipe up to 2 km effectively. For this role, APDS is recommended due to its higher velocity than the HEATFS shell and yet still have decent penetration. Use your first shot to make the enemy tank immobile and then finish them off as it is highly unlikely they shall be able to locate you at a distance, find the proper range (unless they they happen to also have laser rangefinders which is more likely in a uptier battle) and then shoot you. To snipe, it is also advised to go hull-down and use the 10* of gun depression to reduce the amount of area exposed to enemy fire. Although not comparable to other tanks at its BR, the reverse speed of 11 km/h is still decent to get out of sticky situations.

The Vickers Mk.3 can also be used in CQC and urban fighting maps as it has good mobility and turret traverse to be able to react to an enemy in different directions. The commander's machine gun on top of the turret can be used to mark targets for friendly players as well as be able to deter incoming planes or damage them.

A mixture of APDS and HEATFS shells are good as the APDS can reliably damage an enemy tank upon penetration due to its better post-penetration damage than the HEATFS shell. The HEATFS shell can be used in scenarios such as an uptier where the APDS shell may be too lacking for penetrating much better armoured tanks and MBTs

Notable enemies and how to engage them

• T-55: The UFP can be penetrated by the APDS shell. It is best to shoot the right side of this tanks when head-on as it will incapacitate the driver, gunner and commander, leading to the tank's destruction. Although the left side where the ammo and fuel is stored is still a viable option, it is inconsistent and may not cause the tank to get destroyed.
• M48/M60: The UFP can bounce the APDS shell when at shot at irregular angles, it is recommended to use the HEATFS shell or attempt to hit its ammo by shooting the LFP with APDS
• Leopard A1A1: Similar to all NATO tanks, the left side of the weak front hull can be shot and knock out 3 crew members, resulting in a death or aim for the lower hull side on the left to hit the ammo storage area.

How to counter the Vickers Mk.3

• Aim for the left side of the hull in a head on to defeat the driver, gunner and commander.
• Aim for the lower left side to detonate the frontal ammo storage.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good mobility, including good reverse speed
• Equipped with a laser rangefinder
• Gun depression angle of -10°
• Gunsight with 10x zoom
• Access to a HEATFS shell
• Stock APDS shell retains good penetration at an angle

Cons:

• Poor and unreliable armour
• 10x zoom can be impractical while aiming at close targets
• The large ammo rack in the front is still present
• Small-calibre machine guns don't offer much penetration and the rangefinding 12.7 mm MG fires only tracer bullets that have low penetration power

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Vickers Mk.3 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Vickers Mk.3: handy upgrades

Vickers-Armstrongs Limited
Ships
Tribal-class	HMS Eskimo · HMCS Haida
Invincible-class	HMS Invincible*
Kongō-class	IJN Kongo**
Tanks
Light Tanks	VFM5*** · Vickers Mk.11***
Light Tank Mk VI	Light AA Mk I
Light Tank Mk VII	Tetrarch I
Light Tank Mk VIII	Alecto I
Tank, Infantry, Valentine	Valentine I · Valentine IX · Valentine XI · Archer
Vickers MBT	Vickers Mk.1 · Vickers Mk.3 · Vickers Mk.7***
Heavy Tanks	Independent****
Export	▂МК-IX "Valentine" · Vickers Mk.E****
See also	Vickers-Armstrongs Aircraft Limited
	*Previously Armstrong Whitworth
	**Built for Japan
	***Vickers Defence Systems
	****Previously Vickers Limited