29 March 1942. Farnborough, England.
Brigadier George Davy (CO 3rd Armoured Brigade), along with the Commanding Officers of 2nd, 3rd and 5th Battalions Royal Tank Regiment were on hand as the newest tanks in the British Army were put through their paces. The Victor I pre-production tanks were in the final stages of testing, and 3rd Armoured Brigade were preparing to be issued with the first production models.
Farnborough’s Mechanisation Experimental Establishment (MEE) had become part of the Department of Tank Design within the Ministry of Supply. A new site for testing vehicles was being prepared at Chertsey (originally RAF Chobham) in Surrey. The new purpose-built site would be ready before the end of the year, already some administration elements had already moved.
The RTR men’s presence in Farnborough was quite usual, and a number were on permanent loan. The general feeling of the tankies towards the Victor tank was very positive, it was, like its predecessor the Valiant, going to be very much appreciated by its crews. Among those singing its praises was Sergeant Emmin Hall, a pre-war regular. Having joined the army in 1931, he’s served on the North-West Frontier, and having completed six years, entered the reserves, until recalled in 1939.
Having fought the defensive action back towards Dieppe, allowing 51st Division and 3rd Armoured Brigade to be evacuated, Hall had been seconded to Vickers during the summer of 1941. During his time, having the experience of fighting in the A10 cruiser, Hall had proved his value to Vickers during the design and prototype stages of the Victor’s life. His experience in war had, like all the RTR men, including the B echelon fitters and mechanics, plenty of opinions about what they liked and didn’t like about tanks, their maintenance and fighting ability.
Sir John Carden and his team had tried their best to integrate these experiences into the Victor. Compared to the A9 and A10 cruisers they’d gone to war with, the Victor was bigger, faster, better armoured, and with the 6-pdr gun (75mm HV to follow) much more capable. Various efforts had been made to make the fighting compartment as efficient as possible, with a degree of concern about the men’s well-being. A tank would never be a comfortable place to live and fight, but at least there weren’t many inherent problems causing unnecessary injuries.
The fitters and mechanics’ input about the placement of things they needed easy access to, were integrated as far as possible. The engine was relatively easy to be brought out and replaced in the tank (relative being a very broad term). The designers had had to work pretty hard to satisfy their customers. The various engine types were proving Cardin right in his assessment, that Leyland Meteor engine, built from scratch would be the most reliable. Rover and Meadows hadn’t too many problems, but it was obvious that using bits from aero-engines was likely to be the cause of something going wrong.
Sergeant Emmin Hall knew that when the tanks were issued, he would return to 5th Bn RTR as a tank commander. He would in all likelihood be one of the men training the rest of the Battalion on the use and maintenance of the new tank. After that, the Brigade, currently still part of 1st Armoured Division, would be involved in exercises to get them ready to return to the fray.
The fact that the Royal Tank Regiment was getting these tanks first, would mean that they’d write the handbook on the tank for the rest of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was a job that Hall and his RTR comrades were keen on doing, after all they were the professionals who’d brought the era of tank warfare to birth.