Vickers Mk VII (A17) (Tetrarch)

History

As the situation in Europe deteriorated in the late 1930s, Britain had to prepare for war with their archenemy Germany. As a result, many military programs were implemented during this period, some of which included attempts to strengthen the Army's armored forces.

With this in mind, design and testing resulted in various forms of light tanks, some adopted and some not, the product of this period was the miniature Vickers "Tetrach" light tank, which later entered service in wartime.

The design that eventually became Tetrarch began as a private venture capital program by the Vickers-Armstrong firm. The company has made great strides along the evolutionary line of light tanks, and the new three-man design should continue to offer some more mature qualities to the military market still looking for a light armored fighting vehicle.

A pilot form of the Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong) was realized in 1937, followed by tests in 1938. By this time, the car was known as "PR Tank", also known as "Purdah".

Vickers engineers deviate from previous light tank design principles when completing the Purdah. Four large wheels are mounted on each side of the track, and the width of the connecting section of the track is thin. The hull looks rather simple and places the driver in the center of the front. It sits behind a hinged armor panel with an integrated viewing slot, which provides basic protectionessentially an armor case that covers the head and shoulders to provide just the right amount of maneuvering space.

The turret accommodated the remaining two crew members (commander and gunner), and the commander had no cupola. It was also used as a loader for the main gun. Smoke projection systems (located on either side of the turret) can be used to conceal the movement of the tank during combat.

Armor, ranging from 4mm to 14mm, provides protection against small arms fire and shrapnel.

The landing gear consists of the aforementioned eight wheels in a track wheel configuration. Mounted in the rear of the fuselage, the engine consists of a Meadows 12-cylinder gasoline system that provides up to 140 miles of range and speeds of up to 40 mph.

The chassis is suspended on a coil-spring suspension system to aid off-road driving. Small tanks use a unique steering system in which each wheel rotates (simultaneously), twisting the track link and guiding the tank in the desired direction.

Primary armament is a turret-mounted QF 2lb (40mm) main gun. This provided the vehicle with a decent weapon against the light tanks of the day, while the HE grenade could be used against entrenched enemy forces.

The 50 x 40mm projectile is carried on board, and can be mixed with HE and AP (armor-piercing) rounds as needed. A "Littlejohn" adapter - a device that increases the velocity of fired shells, affecting penetration values ??and range - was fitted to the main guns of the first models.

A 7.92mm BESA machine gun was mounted coaxially with the main gun as an anti-infantry measure. This weapon typically carries approximately 2,025x7.92mm ammunition.

Several changes were made to the basic design, including better engine cooling and an improved driving area, before the trial concluded. These were achieved and the vehicle entered mass production. In September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, setting Germany on a reversible path.

In stock, the tank received the designation "Light Tank, Mk VII (A17)". Aggressive German air raids on the factory delayed the start of service until 1942.

A total of about 177 Mk VII tanks will be produced by the end of 1942 (sources vary between 100 and 177). When British troops landed on Madagascar through Operation Ironclad, this was when they were conducting initial operations with British troops.

The "Battle of Madagascar" lasted from May 5 to November 6, 1942, when British and Commonwealth troops faced off against the Vichy enemies of France and Japan. The battle ended with the armistice on November 6, 1942, and the establishment of Free French authorities on the island.

While the A17 seemed like a useful compact combat platform, the war quickly saw the light tank category as a burden as major combat powers began to introduce medium tank systems. The A17's 40mm main gun was limited in combat, especially against heavier armored enemies. The vehicle remains useful for speed and anti-infantry defense, but little else, limiting it to reconnaissance or desperate infantry support operations when needed. A batch of tanks was leased to the Soviet Army to offset losses to Germany on the Eastern Front.

During the North African campaign, a group of Mk VII tanks was observed flying the flag of the British 8th Army in action. In 1943, the Mk VII tank began to be nicknamed the Tetrarch.

All hope of the role the Mk VII tank would play in the war has not been lost, as the British Airborne Forces were formed at the behest of Winston Churchill in 1941. Churchill understood the value of airborne troops when he witnessed them using special airborne raid tactics to successfully occupy half of Europe.

This gave the little tank a second life when a new glider was designed and developed for transporting men, machinery and supplies into battle behind enemy lines - the Hamilka utility aircraft.

Hamilcar can fit an A17 tank (or JEEP type vehicle) in its cargo hold while being towed by a transporter??. Once over the drop zone, the glider detaches from its carrier aircraft and uses its capabilities (preferably) to land in an open field.

The tank can then be prepared and thrown into battle by its crew, its speed and weapons likely to shock an unprepared lightly armed enemy.

Experiments with Hamilcars and vehicles were carried out only in 1944. Once a tried-and-true tactic, the 'Lord' has been slightly reworked to play a tighter supporting role in infantry-oriented takeovers. This included the installation of a 76.2mm howitzer in place of the 40mm tank gun, which gave rise to the Tetrarch ICS ("Infantry Close Support") name.

The vehicle will follow the ground, delivering powerful strikes within a range to drive enemy troops out of their hideouts.

On June 6, 1944, D-Day - During the "Operation Overlord" invasion of northern France, the Lord's next notable service came. The tank appears in subsequent airdrop waves to protect locations from the initial attack wave. About six lords landed near the Orne as part of an airborne armored reconnaissance regiment, where the tanker crews took full advantage of what the nimble but very vulnerable light tanks could provide.

At the very least, they are a formidable defensive tool in combat - especially for airborne troops, who are often poorly equipped and underarmed for prolonged engagements. As part of Operation Varsity, the Lord's last action took place during a crossing of the Rhine in March 1945.

By this time, however, the line was almost completely abandoned by the American M22 "Locust" light tank.

Before the end of the war, several Tetrarch variants had been studied - one of which became the "Harry Hopkins" model - named after President Roosevelt's Lend-Lease administrator. The armor thickness of this model has been increased to 38mm to improve survivability on the battlefield.

Modifications also allowed engineers to redesign some of the vehicle's mechanics based on combat missions, and at least 100 brands were built as "Light Tanks, Mk VIII, Harry Hopkins (A25)".

Another Tetrarch development that was maintained until the end of the war in 1945 was the Tetrarch "Alecto", another airborne model for supporting characters. The brand was matched with 94mm howitzers for close support services, but production ended up in limited batches. Other plans are in the works to add larger field guns to the chassis, but not much has turned out.

A non-combat version equipped with bulldozer blades for engineering work was seen before the end.

The Tetrarch tanks remained in British stockpiles for several years after World War II. However, they became obsolete on the modern battlefield and were eventually scrapped in 1950 when the RAF stopped supporting the famous Hamilcar line of gliders.

Interestingly, while the Tetrarch was initially of limited value in the early days of the war, it was acquired through the Air Force and also served as Britain's first air transport tank.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

50 x 40 mm projectile.

2,025x7.92mm ammo.

Changes