Light Tank Mk.VII Tetrarch (15mm)

[Fitz]

The Light Tank Mk.VII, called "Tetrarch" from 1941, was intended by its manufacturer to replace their Mk.VIb and VIc, but its timing , and military conservatism, turned out to be against it.
It was in production by 1938, but before it could be built in numbers, WWII kicked off. The BEF went off to France with their Mk.VI light tanks, and lost them in droves. Partly as a result of this, and partly because the military thinkers decided that reconnaissance could be better handled by cheaper, faster scout cars meant that the army soured on the idea of light tanks and plans for the Tetrarch were scaled right back.

In the end, it stayed in service until 1949, but it saw only very limited action, and it was declared officially obsolete in 1944.

This is a 15mm (1:100) 3d print. I've painted it in Khaki Green #3 and Nobel's Dark Tarmac, which would put it at about the end of '41 or beginning of '42, just before the base colour for British armoured vehicles changed over to SCC2 brown.

[has.been]

Didn't they get used as air-droppable in gliders?
Nice job on yours by the way.

[Fitz]

Didn't they get used as air-droppable in gliders?

They were redesignated for that purpose. I think some were slated for Operation Veritable, but whether they actually ended up being used there I don't know — by that time, they were changing over to the US Locust for glider-borne tanks. The Tetrarchs were kept around at the glider school for training purposes though.

[Jemima Fawr]

Absolutely lovely!

Six were used (along with six Valentines) during the invasion of Madagascar.

20 were flown in to Normandy on 6th June 1944 by Hamilcar glider with 'A' Squadron of 6th Airborne Armoured Recce Regiment (6 AARR).  Not many were left by the time they were withdrawn to the UK in early September 1944 and they'd largely been replaced by Cromwell tanks.

After returning to the UK, Tetrarch was binned altogether and replaced with Locust in the airborne role and there was also a much-reduced light tank component in the regiment:  Instead of the strong squadron previously fielded, 'A' & 'B' Squadrons of 6 AARR now each had a single Troop of 4x Locust plus 4x Cromwell.  These were meant to be swapped around for airborne/non-airborne missions and only the Cromwells were used in the Ardennes, but in Op VARSITY the Cromwells and Locusts were used simultaneously; The eight Locusts were formed into an 'Airborne Light Tank Half-Squadron' consisting of an HQ of 2 Locusts and two troops of 3x Locusts and were flown across by Hamilcar, along with the regiment's 4.2-inch Mortar Troop.  The Cromwells crossed the Rhine by conventional means along with the rest of 6 AARR.

[fred]

Lovely work Fitz, that scheme is often seen on models.

I sprayed three 10mm versions yesterday, ready to form part of 6 AARR

Great historical background JF - I now feel the need to find out more about the invasion of Madagascar.

[Jemima Fawr]

Lovely work Fitz, that scheme is often seen on models.

I sprayed three 10mm versions yesterday, ready to form part of 6 AARR

Great historical background JF - I now feel the need to find out more about the invasion of Madagascar.

One of the lads on the TWW forum has recently published (or is publishing) a book on that very subject!

[Jemima Fawr]

Lovely work Fitz, that scheme is often seen on models.

I sprayed three 10mm versions yesterday, ready to form part of 6 AARR

Great historical background JF - I now feel the need to find out more about the invasion of Madagascar.

Here's that thread.  Don't know if the book's been published yet: https://www.thewargameswebsite.com/forums/topic/help-me-choose-a-book-title/

[has.been]

I now feel the need to find out more about the invasion of Madagascar.

Watch the animated film... 'You've got to move it, move it'