Britain
Light Tank Mk VIII (Harry Hopkins)

Tweet The Light Tank Mk VIII based on the existing Light Tank and was in use from 1941. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1941 Ordnance classification Quantity Produced 94 Weight unknown Crew 3 M.G's small 1 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 4.38 mtr Width 2.71 mtr Height 2.12 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 30 mph Max Cross Country Speed 20 mph Range Road 125 miles Range Cross Country unknown Fuel Type Unknown Fuel Capacity unknown Horse Power 149 hp Power/Weight unknown General Information The Light Tank Mk VIII based on the existing Light Tank and was in use from 1941. It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr which could penetrate 59 mm of flat plate at 400 metres The Light Tank MkVIII Harry Hopkins was a redesign of the Tetrarch by Vickers, first used in 1944 but never issued for service. The rear engined Meadows 149hp engine drove the tracks under the four road wheels, past the rear idler and back over the road wheels. The turret was designed for the 2pdr gun. Armour Details Turret Front 38mm @ 10° (39mm) Side 14mm @ 10° (14mm) Rear 14mm @ 10° (14mm) Top 4mm @ 90° (4mm) Superstructure Front 38mm @ 45° (54mm) Side 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Rear 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Top 5mm @ 90° (5mm) Hull Front 38mm @ 30° (44mm) Side 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Rear 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Top 5mm @ 90° (5mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 54 mm - Minimum 5 mm Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr (Anti Tank Gun) History Used both as an Anti Tank gun and as a Tank gun the 2pdr was first used in Belgium in 1939. The majority of the British guns were captured by the Germans at Dunkirk. However the 2pdr manufacture was continued but was slowly replaced by the 6pdr from 1942. Manufactured 1936 - 1944 Calibre 40mm Length L/50 Rate of Fire 22 rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content AP/T Mk I (AP Armor Piercing) 40mm 1.08Kg 792M/Sec Quoted Penetration 53mm@455m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.58 Penetration(mm@30°) 64 58 51 41 33 25 19 13 Penetration(mm@0°) 74 67 59 48 39 30 22 16 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2 HE/T Mk II after 1942 (HE High Explosive) 40mm 0.86Kg 792M/Sec 0.085Kg explosive Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 1 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 9 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 0 mm An explosion within 1 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 9 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties. The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will not cause any significant armour damage.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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Page Last Updated: 2023-04-07 16:03:03