T-15 Light tank

Char Léger de Reconnaissance Vickers-Carden-Loyd Mod.1934 T.15
A T-15 light tank of the Belgian army, being reviewed by King Leopold III in 1940
Type	light tank
Place of origin	UK
Service history
In service	1936–1945?
Used by	Belgium, Nazi Germany
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Designer	Vickers and F.R.C.
Designed	1934
Manufacturer	Vickers and F.R.C.
Produced	1935–1938
No. built	42
Specifications
Weight	3.8 ton
Length	3.63 m
Width	1.89 m
Height	1.90 m
Crew	2 : commander/gunner & driver
Armor	7mm-9mm
Main armament	13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun
Secondary armament	7.65 mm Fusil-Mitrailleur F.N.-Browning Model 1930
Engine	Meadows 6 cylinder gasoline engine
Power/weight	23.16 hp per ton
Transmission	4 speed
Suspension	Horstmann coil spring
Operational range	230 km
Speed	64 km/hour

The Vickers T-15 light tank, full designation Char Léger de Reconnaissance Vickers-Carden-Loyd Mod.1934 T.15, was a light 4-ton tank of the Belgian Army. They were built by Vickers-Armstrong in the UK to the design of the Light Tank Mark III and outfitted with their armament in Belgium by Fonderie Royale de Canons (FRC) at Herstal. It entered service in 1935, and was used by the Belgian Army during the Battle of Belgium in May 1940. Its main armament was a 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun. The tank was intended as a replacement for the venerable but obsolescent Renault FT. Only 42 were produced.

Since the First World War, the Belgian army had been using the French designed Renault FT tanks, armed with either a machinegun or a small Puteaux SA 18 low velocity anti-infantry gun. It was still in use with the Belgian cavalry regiments but was growing clearly obsolescent by the early 1930s, so the remaining 75 FTs were to be replaced by a new light tank. This would turn out to be the T-15 light tank. Looking at tank designs from both France and the UK (Belgium's allies during the First World War) the Belgian army already had some experience with Vickers - Carden Loyd vehicles (SA F.R.C. 47mm) and was interested in other designs from the firm. French tank production and development were also considered, leading to the rather trying acquisition of the Renault AMC 35 in 1935.

One of the designs considered was the well-known Vickers 6-ton light tank. Since experience with the Polish armed forces Vickers' showed that the air cooled 80 hp engine tended to overheat, the Belgian army requested a prototype equipped with a water-cooled Rolls-Royce engine, which would not fit in the back and therefore was installed sideways in the modified 6-ton tank. This version received the designation 'Mark F'. Although the new layout of the tank was used by Vickers on other export vehicles, the Belgian army placed no orders. It is not known if this was due to design constraints or due to financial limitations, but it should also be noted that the Belgian government showed its uneasiness about buying 'tanks', which were considered to be 'offensive' weapons: Germany was not to be provoked, and the official Belgian diplomatic stance on the European conflict was to remain neutral. The neutrality doctrine has had some influence on the decision to buy a much lighter vehicle. Therefore, also, the word 'tank' or 'armored/mechanized unit' were never to be used in official unit designations, with the words 'armored/tracked motorcar' and the historical 'cavalry' being favored.