page_title: Light Tank Mk VIII
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Light Tank Mk VIII / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: English: Vickers-Armstrong Light Tank Mark VIII
context_page_description: The Tank, Light, Mk VIII, also known as the Harry Hopkins, after American President Roosevelt's chief diplomatic advisor, was a British light tank produced by Vickers-Armstrong during the Second World War. The Mk VIII was the last in the line of light tanks the company had built for the British Army, and was intended to be the successor of the previous light tank designed by Vickers-Armstrong, the Mk VII Tetrarch. A number of changes were made to the Mk VIII, most notably increasing its width, length and weight and also increasing the thickness of the armour. The design of the tank was submitted to the War Office in late 1941, with an initial order for 1,000 models being made by the Tank Board of the War Office in the same month, a number that increased to 2,410 in November. Production began in June 1942 but immediately began encountering problems with the tank, and a number of modifications had to be made to the design after complaints were made by the War Office and the Fighting Vehicle Proving Establishment. These problems were so acute that only 6 tanks had been produced by mid-1943, and only 100 when production ended in February 1945.
context_section_description: By mid-1941 officials at the War Office and in the Army had finally decided that light tanks as a concept were a liability, and too vulnerable to be used by the British Army. This was due to the poor performance of British light tanks during the Battle of France, caused when a shortage of tanks designed to engage enemy tanks had led to light tanks being deployed against German armour; the resulting high casualties led to the War Office rethinking the suitability of the light tank design. The pre-war role of the light tank, that of reconnaissance, had also been found to be better carried out by scout cars which had smaller crews and better cross-country abilities. Consequently, by the time that significant numbers of the Mk VIII were being produced by Metro-Cammell, they had already become obsolete and did not see combat. There was a requirement for a limited number of light tanks within the organization of British armoured divisions, but this had already been met by the American-produced M5 Stuart light tank. A policy report issued in December 1942 suggested that the tank could be issued to reconnaissance regiments or special light tank regiments raised for specialized operations. These suggestions were discussed and discarded, and instead it was decided that those tanks built should be handed over to the Royal Air Force for use in defending airfields and airbases.
  The Mk VIII was also discussed in terms of another plan known as the Carrier Wing; in this plan flying surfaces, such as wings, would be fitted to the Mk VIII so that it could be towed by a transport aircraft and then glide into battle in support of airborne forces. The plan was dropped, however, after the prototype crashed after it had taken off.
  A single variant of the Mk VIII was designed, the Alecto self-propelled gun. Originally known as the Harry Hopkins 1 CS (for "Close Support"), the Alecto was eventually given the General Staff specification number A25 E2. The Alecto mounted a 95-millimetre (3.7 in) howitzer on a lightweight version of the Mk VIII chassis which had the turret removed so that the howitzer could be placed low down in the hull, and the armour was reduced to a thickness of 10 to 4 mm (0.39 to 0.16 in) to reduce its weight, resulting in a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour (50 km/h). The Alecto was designed to replace the half-tracks carrying support weapons, such as howitzers, which British airborne formations used during the conflict, and was first developed in late 1942. It could also have been used in place of 75mm gun equipped armoured cars. The War Office had ordered 2,200 Alectos but only a small number were ever produced, none of which saw service; many were converted into bulldozers for use by Royal Engineer units.
caption: Mk VIII Light Tank
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