Vickers Model 1931


The Vickers Model 1931 was a British anti-aircraft gun used during the Second World War. The design was rejected by the British and Vickers exported the gun worldwide during the 1930s.

Design

The cruciform carriage had two pneumatic or solid rubber wheels that were removable. Two legs locked together for transport and the barrel was secured to them. The other two legs folded in half and were elevated almost vertically into the air.

Operational history

Romania

Romania bought a license for 100 in 1936, although hundreds more were built during the war. The second batch of 100 pieces was started in July 1941, the production rate being of 5 pieces per month as of October 1942.

Finland

Finland bought a dozen to help reduce balance of payment problems with the British in 1936. The Finnish guns, designated 76mm ItK/34 V, were chambered in their standard caliber.

Others

Denmark also bought a license, designating it as 75 mm lange luftværnskanon model 1932. Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Turkey, Switzerland and China bought numbers of guns directly from Vickers.
During World War II, those weapons captured after the German conquest of Europe were taken into Wehrmacht service as the 7.5 cm Flak M.35 , 7.5 cm Flak M.35 or 7.5 cm Flak M.35 . Similarly the Soviet Union used those guns it captured from Lithuania after the occupation of the Baltic states in 1940. Supposedly it saw limited British service with Home Defense "barrage units" in 1940 – 1943.

Variants

Romanian 88 mm anti-tank variant

In 1944, Romania developed an anti-tank adaptation of the 75 mm Vickers M1931. A January 1944 report by Colonel Radu Davidescu mentions how the "75 mm Vickers anti-aircraft gun, adapted as an anti-tank gun" was proposed to be mounted on the Mareșal tank destroyer. A later report from June 1944 describes how this anti-tank gun adaptation of the 75 mm Vickers was materialized, and its caliber was increased to 88 mm. During trials, this new Romanian 88 mm anti-tank gun was compared to a German 88 mm Flak gun. The Romanian gun performed better in terms of rounds per minute, combat weight and traveling weight. In other aspects, the two guns were similar. The new 88 mm gun was also proposed to be mounted on the R-2 light tank chassis. Only four examples are known to have been produced in the short time that remained before Romania was overrun by Soviet forces.