VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS LIMITED, ELSWICK, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, NORTH EAST ENGLAND, BRITAIN

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Number of Photos: 1 Click here or on the image for this location's profile page Location Category ID: 3760 Address: Alvis Vickers Limited, Scotswood Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE99 1BX Telephone: Email: Opening Times: Official Website: Alvis Vickers – Under Construction Other Links: Google Street View Scotswood Road Recent News Armstrong’s Newcastle - PDF Wikipedia: Armstrong Whitworth Wikipedia: Vickers-Armstrongs Wikipedia: Vickers plc Vickers down the years Latitude, Longitude: 54.96549439 , -1.66872025 Location Accuracy: 7 Tanks Previously Here: Tanks confirmed built here: 1: Mark IV Light Tank - The Tank Museum - Reserve Collection, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Built March 1935) 2: Vickers-Carden-Loyd Model 1934 Light Tank - Panzermuseum, Thun, Bern, Switzerland (Manufactured August 1934) 3: Vickers-Carden-Loyd Model 1934 Light Tank - Panzermuseum, Thun, Bern, Switzerland (Manufactured August 1934) 4: Mark VIB Light Tank - The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Manufactured April 1939) 5: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - ATDU and Solitary Vehicles, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Built as a Mark 2) 6: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - Royal Armoured Corps Gunnery School, Lulworth Camp, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Built as a Mark 2) 7: Chieftain Crazy Horse Tank - The Tank Museum - Reserve Collection, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Built as Mark 1) 8: Valentine Tank - The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Built October 1940 – presumed by Vickers) 9: Valentine Bridgelayer - The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Built October 1940 – presumed by Vickers) Models of tank built here: 1: Carden-Loyd Mark VI Tankette (Sole manufacturer 1928-) 2: Praying Mantis Carrier (Design parent of base carrier) 3: Vickers 6-ton Light Tank (Sole manufacturer 1934-8) 4: Mark II Light Tank (Sole manufacturer ca1930) 5: Mark IIA Light Tank (Sole manufacturer ca1930) 6: Mark IV Light Tank (Sole manufacturer) 7: Vickers-Carden-Loyd Model 1934 Light Tank (Sole manufacturer 1934) 8: Vickers Model 1936 Light Tank - Vickers Model 1936 Commercial Dutchman (Sole manufacturer 1936-9) 9: Mark VIA Light Tank (Sole manufacturer 1936-) 10: Mark VIB Light Tank (Primary manufacturer) 11: Mark VIC Light Tank (Primary manufacturer -1940) 12: Mark VII Tetrarch Airborne Light Tank (Design parent) 13: Mark VII Tetrarch CS Airborne Light Tank (Design parent) 14: L1E3 Amphibious Light Tank (Manufacturer of sole prototype May 1939) 15: Mark VIII Harry Hopkins Light Tank (Design parent) 16: Medium Mark II Tank (Design parent and manufacturer) 17: Medium Mark II* Tank (Design parent and manufacturer) 18: Medium Mark IIA Tank (Design parent and manufacturer) 19: Medium Mark IIA* Tank (Design parent and manufacturer) 20: A9 Cruiser Mark I Tank (Design parent and secondary manufacturer) 21: A10 Cruiser Mark II Tank (Design parent and additional manufacturer) 22: A10 Cruiser Mark IIA Tank (Design parent and additional manufacturer) 23: A10 Cruiser Mark IIA CS Tank (Design parent and additional manufacturer) 24: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 1 (Additional manufacturer) 25: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 2 (Primary manufacturer 1950-52) 26: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 3 (Secondary manufacturer 1952-55) 27: Panzer 55/60 Tank (Sole manufacturer 1955-56) 28: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 5 (Design parent and manufacturer 1957-58) 29: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 5/2 (Design parent and manufacturer 1957-58) 30: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 7 (Minor manufacturer) 31: Panzer 57 Tank (Sole manufacturer 1957) 32: Panzer 57 (Diesel) Tank (Sole manufacturer 1957) 33: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 8 (Minor manufacturer) 34: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 9 (Minor manufacturer) 35: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 10 (Secondary manufacturer) 36: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 11 (Manufacturer 1959) 37: Stridsvagn 104c Tank (Manufacturer of base Mark 3 for export) 38: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 12 (Minor manufacturer) 39: A41 Centurion Tank - Mark 13 (Secondary manufacturer of base Mark 10) 40: Centurion Crocodile Flame-Throwing Tank (Primary manufacturer of base vehicle) 41: FV4006 Centurion Armoured Recovery Vehicle - Mark II (Design parent and sole manufacturer) 42: FV4018 Centurion Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle - Centurion BARV (Primary manufacturer of base vehicle) 43: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - Prototypes (Turret design parent and vehicle manufacturer) 44: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - Mark 1 (Secondary manufacturer) 45: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - Mark 2 (Secondary manufacturer) 46: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - Unknown Model (Secondary manufacturer) 47: Chieftain AVRE Engineer Vehicle (Sole manufacturer) 48: FV4204 Chieftain Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle - Chieftain ARV (Sole manufacturer) 49: Vickers MBT Mark 4 Valiant Tank (Design parent and sole manufacturer) 50: A1E1 Independent Tank (Manufacturer of sole prototype 1926) 51: A11 Matilda I Tank (Sole manufacturer) 52: Valentine Tank - Mark I (Probable primary manufacturer) 53: Valentine Tank - Mark II (Probable primary manufacturer) 54: Valentine Tank - Mark III (Probable primary manufacturer) 55: Valentine Tank - Mark IV (Probable primary manufacturer) 56: Valentine Tank - Mark V (Probable primary manufacturer) 57: Valentine Tank - Mark VIII (Probable primary manufacturer) 58: Valentine Tank - Mark IX (Probable primary manufacturer) 59: Valentine Tank - Mark X (Probable primary manufacturer) 60: Valentine Tank - Mark XI (Probable primary manufacturer) 61: Valentine Tank - Unidentified Model (Probable primary manufacturer) 62: Valentine Bridgelayer - Valentine Bridgelayer (Primary manufacturer of base vehicle) 63: Archer Tank Destroyer (Design parent and sole manufacturer) 64: FV433 Abbot Self-Propelled Howitzer (Design parent and sole manufacturer) Long term: 1: FV4203 Centurion AVRE 105 Engineer Vehicle - The Tank Museum - Reserve Collection, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Presumed remainder of conversion to AVRE April 1981) 2: Chieftain Willich AVRE Engineer Vehicle - The Tank Museum - Reserve Collection, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (1971) 3: Valentine Tank - The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Restored to running order) Short term: 1: Mark VII Tetrarch CS Airborne Light Tank - The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Restored 1984-5) 2: Medium Mark II* Tank - The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Dorset, South West England, Britain (Restored 1984/5) In 1847, engineer William George Armstrong founded the Elswick Works at Newcastle. It originally built hydraulic machinery but soon branched out into manufacturing bridges (including the opening machinery for Tower Bridge in London) and then into armaments, notably the Armstrong breech-loading gun, which re-equipped the British Army after the Crimean War. In 1882 it merged with the shipbuilding firm of Charles Mitchell to form Sir WG Armstrong Mitchell & Company. In 1884 a shipyard was opened at the Elswick site which had the facilities to build and equip a warship from start to finish. HMS Victoria was the first battleship to be built at Armstrong’s Elswick shipyard and was launched in April 1887. Armstrong’s became the most successful exporter of warships in the world and by 1895 was the largest employer in Newcastle with an 11,000 strong workforce. At the time its works extended for over a mile along the bank of the River Tyne. The workers all lived locally, some in housing provided by Armstrong. He also provided schools and leisure facilities for his employees. Armstrong Mitchell merged again with the engineering firm of Joseph Whitworth in 1897. In 1899 Armstrong built another armaments works nearby at Scotswood. The company expanded into the manufacture of cars and trucks in 1902, and created an “aerial department” in 1913, which became the Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft subsidiary in 1920. During the First World War the company manufactured tanks, shells and guns. After the War Armstrong Whitworth converted the Scotswood Works to build locomotives, and from 1919 it rapidly penetrated the locomotive market due to its modern plant. In 1927 Armstrong Whitworth merged with Vickers Limited to form Vickers-Armstrongs Limited, at which point its automotive interests and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft were purchased and spun off by J.D. Siddeley as Armstrong Siddeley. At this point Vickers-Armstrongs possessed a major shipyard on each coast of Britain; the Naval Construction Yard of Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and the Naval Yard of Armstrong Whitworth at High Walker on the River Tyne. Vickers-Armstrongs was one of the most important warship manufacturers in the world. Vickers-Armstrongs was instrumental in the rearming of Britain leading up the Second World War. The company was known for its tank designs, starting with the widely used Vickers 6-Ton. It also produced the influential Independent A1E1 tank. One of the company's most important designs was the Valentine Infantry Tank, produced in the thousands in World War II. During this time employment rose to 18,500 across the two sites.

Armstrong Works (previously Scotswood Works) Post war, employment at Vickers declined steadily and the majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s. Its shipbuilding interests were renamed as Vickers-Armstrongs Shipbuilders in 1955, changing again to Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group in 1968. The Barrow yard was nationalised and became part of British Shipbuilders in 1977, was privatised as VSEL in 1986 and remains in operation to this day as BAE Systems Submarines. Meanwhile the Naval Yard at High Walker on the River Tyne passed to Swan Hunter in 1968, was nationalised and became part of British Shipbuilders in 1977, was privatised still as Swan Hunter in 1986 but closed down during the 1980s. The steelmaking division became part of British Steel and the remaining interests, including military vehicle manufacture, were divested as the public company Vickers plc. The Scotswood Works closed in 1979, shortly followed by the Elswick works. The buildings on the Scotswood site were demolished in 1982 but a new tank factory was built on the site and remains in business. In 1980, Vickers plc acquired Rolls-Royce Motors. In 1986, Royal Ordnance Factory Leeds (ROF Leeds) was purchased and became the core component of Vickers Defence Systems. These interests were primarily centred on land warfare products and brought the Challenger 1 tank into Vickers' portfolio. Vickers would later develop this into the Challenger 2 tank, the current main battle tank of the British Army and Oman. In 1990, the Cosworth automotive engineering group was purchased. However, Vickers divested its automotive interests in 1998, selling Cosworth and Rolls-Royce Motors to Volkswagen Group. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce plc (the nationalised aero engine manufacturer) had been privatised in 1987 and in a turn-about of affairs, purchased Vickers plc in 1999 for its marine engineering businesses. In 2002, Vickers Defence Systems was purchased by Alvis plc to form the subsidiary Alvis Vickers. In 2003, Rolls Royce renamed its remaining Vickers subsidiaries Vinters plc, so the Vickers name lived on only in Alvis Vickers. In September 2004, BAE Systems plc purchased Alvis and announced the creation of BAE Systems Land Systems, a new company bringing together the BAE subsidiaries, RO Defence and Alvis Vickers. This saw the end of the famous Vickers name after 176 years. In 2005, the further acquisition of United Defense Industries in America led to the creation of BAE Systems Land and Armaments Group. During the early 1980s Vickers Defence Systems at Scotswood was involved in restoring and preserving armoured vehicles. It restored a Tetrarch I CS Light Tank, a Vickers Medium Mark II Tank and a Praying Mantis Machine Gun Carrier for the RAC Tank Museum at Bovington (q.v.), Dorset. These arrived back at Bovington on 7th June 1985. The company also owned a couple of vehicles with historic links to the company. These were intended to be displayed outside the factory on a plinth in the Visitors Car Park at the east of the factory, one at a time and alternated infrequently. Currently a Challenger 2 tank occupies this position. Location ID: 3762 Latitude, Longitude: 54.96757149, -1.68544114 Location Accuracy: 7 1) FV4034 Challenger 2 Tank British Number of Photos: 1 Click here or on the image for this tank's profile page Unique ID: 1204 Serial Number: Registration: Name: Other Identification: This tank is currently on display on a sloping plinth in the car park at the main entrance to the factory. It is V9, the last of the Challenger 2 prototypes. It is to the Oman build but has been disguised to look like a UK vehicle. It is believed to be complete but unarmoured. (Source: R. Griffin/HMVF).

2) FV433 Abbot Self-Propelled Howitzer British Number of Photos: 0 Click here or on the image for this tank's profile page Unique ID: 1203 Serial Number: Registration: Name: Other Identification: This Abbot was displayed outside the factory in the 1980s.