A25 Harry Hopkins Tank & SP3 Alecto A Technical History

The Harry Hopkins was a light tank designed by Vickers-Armstrongs at Chertsey as an intended improvement to their previous Tetrarch model, featuring thicker armour and a more ergonomic internal layout. Unfortunately, it met much the same fate as the earlier vehicle due to the doubts of the War Office as to the efficacy of light tanks in general. After an aborted inititative to employ it as an airborne tank, the A25 chassis was used as the basis for the Alecto self-propelled howitzer, a mechanically superlative machine that was also stymied by uncertainty as to its importance and ultimate role. This book covers the development of both vehicles, which followed a course that was as fascinating as it was frustrating.