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Britain
Light Tank Mk VIII (Harry Hopkins)

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The Light Tank Mk VIII based on the existing Light Tank and was in use from 1941.

Flag of World War 2 Britain

General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)1941
Ordnance classification
Quantity Produced94
Weightunknown
Crew3
M.G's small1
M.G's large(>10mm)n/a
Length4.38 mtr
Width2.71 mtr
Height2.12 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed30 mph
Max Cross Country Speed20 mph
Range Road125 miles
Range Cross Countryunknown
Fuel TypeUnknown
Fuel Capacityunknown
Horse Power149 hp
Power/Weightunknown
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 74 mm of flat plate at 100 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
Front38mm@10°(39mm)
Side14mm@10°(14mm)
Rear14mm@10°(14mm)
Top4mm@90°(4mm)
Superstructure
Front38mm@45°(54mm)
Side10mm@(10mm)
Rear10mm@(10mm)
Top5mm@90°(5mm)
Hull
Front38mm@30°(44mm)
Side10mm@(10mm)
Rear10mm@(10mm)
Top5mm@90°(5mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 54 mm - Minimum 5 mm



Weapon Details
Flag
Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr
(Anti Tank Gun)
Blank
photo of Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr from Wikipedia
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.
Manufactured1936 - 1944
Calibre40mm
LengthL/50
Rate of Fire22 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)1002004008001200160020002400
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)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
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% kill1 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill3 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill9 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr0 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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