(423)Ī variant of the Vickers 6-ton was the cargo vehicle Draon Medium Mk. However, in 1936 a policy decision was made to revert to wheeled vehicles for artillery towing, and so the Dragon was a dead-end development. This was soon replaced by the MkII with a more powerful engine, and then supplemented by the MkIII with gear ratios changed to permit towing medium guns of 5in and 6in calibre. It used a suspension and track unit based on the current Vickers medium tank, could carry 10 men in addition to the driver and towed an 18pdr field gun and limber at 12 mph. After 1918, with the tank's success in overcoming bad terrain in mind, the British Army looked at tracked towing vehicles for artillery, and in 1922, the Royal Carriage Department at Woolwich Arsenal built the first Dragon. Many of the tanks were sold to Israel which converted them to diesel. Replaced by Leopard C1 MBT and to a limited extent, AVGP Cougars were intended (as a cost saving measure) to replace the earlier Marks of Centurions that had been used for the training role in Canada. From 1969 to 1970 the Canadian Army lists 77 tanks based in Germany (mostly Mk 5 and Mk 11's) and the remainder in Canada (60 at CFB Wainwright AB, 59 at CFSD Longpointe PQ, 46 at CFB Gagetown NB, 30 at CFB Borden, 29 at CFB Meaford ON, 27 at CFB Calgary AB, 12 at CFB Petawawa ON, 6 at RCEME School Kingston ON and 1 at the LETE Test Establishment Orleans, CFB Ottawa ON) for a total of 347 Tanks (including 120 Mk 5's, 3 Mk 5 Recovery tanks and some Mk 11's with IR and ranging guns fitted). Towards the end of their service the Mk 5 and Mk 11's were used as combat tanks and the earlier Mk 3 was retained as a training tank. The Mk 5 (upgunned to 105 mm) were used later. Acquired for NATO use, most served with 4 CMBG in Germany and some served in Canada with units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps from 1952 to 1977.
Canada Initially ordered 274 Mk 3 Tanks, plus 9 Armoured Recovery Vehicles and 4 Bridge-layers and additional orders followed.
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