| Full Name | Light Tank Mk VII (A17) |
| Class | Heavy Vehicle |
| Movement | 7 |
| Armor Value | |
| Vs Infantry (RNG / FPR) | 5/5 |
| Vs Vehicle (RNG / FPR) | 6/5 |
| Traits | |
| Period | 1941-1944 |
| Theaters of Service |
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Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. designed this tank in the late 1930s as the latest in the company's line of light tanks. The Tetrarch improved upon its predecessor, the Mk VIC, by introducing the extra firepower of an Ordnance Quick-Firing (QF) 2-Pounder (40 mm) L/50 gun (plus one 7.92 mm Besa machine gun) in its fully-rotating turret. The type suffered significant design flaws, however (including only having room for a crew of three), and it was not used extensively during World War II (only about 177 were built between 1938 and 1942). It had a top speed of 40 mph. In May 1942, a small number of Tetrarchs formed part of the British force participating in the invasion of Madagascar. In June 1942, the 1st Airborne Division operated Tetrarchs because of the tank's air-portability (being transported and landed in specially designed General Aircraft Hamilcar gliders). A lack of gliders prevented their participation in the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, but twenty participated in the British airborne landings in Normandy in June 1944. The tanks landed by glider successfully , but they did not perform well, and in August and December 1944 Cromwell and American M22 Locust tanks replaced them. Twenty also saw service with the USSR as part of the Lend-Lease program.