Battleground Weird WWII: Mk. II Light Tank

Mk. II Light Tank

Mk. IIA Light Tank

Mk. IIA Light Tank (Indian Pattern)

Mk. IIB Light Tank

Mk. IIB Light Tank (Indian Pattern)

Notes:  The Mk. II was outclassed at the war's start and was used mostly as a training vehicle by Commonwealth troops but some did make it to North Africa and numerous were used by South African units in the Abyssinia campaign.

Date Introduced:  Mk. II (Mid '29), Mk. IIA (Early '30), Mk. IIA Indian Pattern (Late '30), Mk. IIB (Early '31) & Mk. IIB Indian Pattern (Late '31)

Users:  Commonwealth Forces (mostly as trainers) & South Africa.  The Indian Pattern models were exclusive to Indian units.

Vehicle Chart:  We use the Mk. VI Light Tank vehicle chart in the Crusade for Empire supplement.

Crew:  2 (commander & driver)

Riveted Construction:  All models of the Mk. II have riveted construction and will suffer as such if struck at the appropriate locations by enemy fire.  Any non-penetrating hits to a location with rivets will force any crew that might be at that location to take an immediate D column hit.  Apply any effects as normal with the exception of any MC or Suppression results will be considered -1 action for the effected crewman for the remainder of the battle.  Apply what locations are covered by this rule via the WYSIWYG rules.

Poor Cross-Country Mobility:  All Mk. II models have poor cross-country performance and will be treated as a wheeled-vehicle when moving off-road.

4" Smoke Dischargers:  The Mk. II has two sets of 4" smoke launchers fixed to either side of the turret loaded with smoke rounds.  The commander uses an action to fire the launchers in which both fire a smoke round that will then smoke the front 180-degrees of the turret's front.  The launchers can only be reloaded externally and it will take a crewman one action to do so for each of the two launchers.  If only one set is loaded and then fired, it will only produce a 90-degree smoke cloud to the front side of whatever launcher was fired.  Availability is 15 for all Mk. IIs issued in the field but a 5 for any other units.

Searchlight:  The Mk. II has a small searchlight fitted to the right side of the turret next to the main gun.  The searchlight will shine forward of the turret whichever direction it is pointing and illuminates a 10" wide cone that extends out to 28".
Commander as Gunner:  The commander acts as gunner for all models of the Mk. II.  Because the main guns are machine guns, there is no penalties when firing.

Police Use:  It is possible that some Mk. IIs might have found use with local law enforcement.  If gaming with a large urban police department then the Availability will be a 5 for a single vehicle.

Home Guard Use:  The possibility of the Mk. II to find its way into a British Home Guard unit is quite high thus the Availability is 12 for D4 vehicles of any model type except for the Indian Pattern.
Mk. II Indian Pattern Models:  The Mk. IIA and Mk. IIB Indian Pattern models were produced and used exclusively with Indian units.  The only difference between it and the normal Mk. II model is it is fitted with a commander's cupola.

Wargaming Piece: I don't know of anyone who makes any 1/48 or 1/50 models or die-cast toys of the Mk. II models so if you do let us know.

          Wt   Sz   HF   TF   HS   TS   HR   TR   HT   TT   Sd   Ld   TR   Ty   Smk   HMG   CMG   AAMG   Gun   AP   APCR   HEAT   HE   HE Size
*1       5      S     1      1     1      1     1      1     1     1     9    -----   S     T      *      -----      -----     -----     MMG  --       -----     -----    -----      -----
*2       5      S     1      1     1      1     1      1     1     1     9    -----   S     T      *      -----      -----     -----     MMG  --       -----     -----    -----      -----
*3       5      S     1      1     1      1     1      1     1     1     9    -----   S     T      *      -----      -----     -----     MMG  --       -----     -----    -----      -----
*4       5      S     1      1     1      1     1      1     1     1     9    -----   S     T      *      -----      -----     -----     MMG  --       -----     -----    -----      -----
*5       5      S     1      1     1      1     1      1     1     1     9    -----   S     T      *      -----      -----     -----     MMG  --       -----     -----    -----      -----
*1-Mk. II/*2-Mk. IIA/*3-Mk. IIA Indian Pattern/*4-Mk. IIB/*5-Mk. IIB Indian Pattern