The tracked field-artillery tractor Vickers-Armstrongs made from 1929 to 1935 to tow small-calibre guns, the light partner of the Medium Dragon. Marks I and IA ran on Light Tank Mk II running gear, the Mark II series on Light Tank Mk III parts with a 4.5-litre Meadows six.
MODEL LINEDragon tractorsBUILT BYVickers-ArmstrongsPRODUCED1929–35OPERATED INUnited KingdomPRODUCTIONNot published for Marks ILAYOUT4 wheels
The record
The Light Dragon carried a gun crew and towed the gun behind it. The Mark I and IA had Horstmann suspension and four large spoked road wheels; the Marks II, IIA, IIB and IIC took the Meadows engine and better armour from the Light Tank Mk III. The Mark III was a new design on the running gear of the Vickers-Armstrongs VA D50, the direct ancestor of the Universal Carrier, with a steering system that shifted the tracks laterally instead of using clutch and brake.
The Army bought 69 Mark IIIs before it turned to wheeled gun tractors. Belgium trialled one, though its T-13 tank destroyer bears almost no resemblance to the Dragon.
PRODUCTION RUNNot published for Marks I–II; 69 Mark IIIs
COUNTRY OF ORIGINUnited Kingdom
OPERATED INUnited Kingdom
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINEDragon tractors
FAMILYDragon tractors
WHEELS4
BODY STYLEArtillery tractor
VARIANTS1
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
