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Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine |
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In 1938 Vickers was invited to join inthe production programme for the newMatilda II tank, but as the companyalready had a production line establishedto produce a heavy 'Cruiser'tank known as the AIO, it was invited toproduce a new infantry tank basedupon the AIO. Vickers duly made itsplans and its AlO-derived infantry tankwas ordered into production in July1939. Up to that date the army plannershad some doubts as to the effectivenessof the Vickers submissions, resultingmainly in the retention of asmall two-man turret which would limitpossible armament increases, but bymid-1939 war was imminent and tankswere urgently required.The new Vickers tank, soon knownas the Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine,drew heavily on experience gainedwith the AIO, but was much moreheavily armoured 8-65 mm (0.3-2.55 in). As many of the AlO's troubleshad already been experienced theirsolutions were built into the Valentine,which proved to be a relatively trouble-free vehicle. Mass production beganrapidly, and the first Valentine Iexamples were ready in late 1940. By1941 the Valentine was an establishedtype, and many were used as Cruisertanks to overcome deficiencies.The Valentine was undoubtedly oneof the most important British tanks, butthe main reason for this was quantityrather than quality. By early 1944,when production ceased, 8,275 hadbeen made and during one period in1943 one quarter of all British tank productionwas of Valentines, Valentineswere also produced in Canada and byseveral other concerns in the UnitedKingdom apart from Vickers.There were numerous variants onthe Valentine, Gun tanks ran to 11 differentmarks with the main armamentincreasing from a 2-pdr (Valentine IVII)via the 6-pdr (Valentine VIII-X) toa 75-mm (2.95-in) gun (Valentine XI),and there was even a self-propelledgun version mounting a 25-pdr fieldgun and known as the Bishop. SpecialpurposeValentines ran the wholegamut from mobile bridges (ValentineBridgelayer) to Canal Defence Lights(Valentine CDL) and from observationposts (Valentine OP) to mine-clearingdevices (Valentine Scorpion andValentine AMRA). The numbers ofthese variants were legion, many ofthem being one-off devices producedfor trials or experimental purposes,typical of which were the early DuplexDrive Valentine vehicles used to testthe DD system. Actually these tanks28were so successful that the Valentinewas at one time the standard DD tank.There were also ValentineFlamethrower tanks, and one attemptwas made to produce a special tankkillerwith a 6-pdr anti-tank gun behinda shield. That project came to nothingbut the Valentine chassis was laterused as the basis for the Archer, anopen-topped vehicle with a 17-pdrgun pointing to the rear, This was usedin Europe from 1944 onwards.The basic Valentine tank was extensivelymodified throughout its operationalcareer, but it remainedthroughout reliable and sturdy. TheValentine was one of the British army'smost important tanks at one point. Itwas used by many Allied armies suchas that of New Zealand, and many sawaction in Burma. The bulk of the Canadianoutput was sent to the Soviet Union,where the type appears to havegiven good service. The Valentine didhave its drawbacks, but overall itsmain contribution was that it was availablein quantity at a time when it wasmost needed, and not many Britishtank designs could claim the same,SpecificationValentine III/IVCrew: 3Weight: 17690 kg (39,000 lb)Powerplant: one AEC dieseldeveloping 98 kW(131 bhp) in Mk IIIor CMC diesel developing 103 kW( 138 bhp) in Mk IVDimensions: length 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in);width 2.629 m (8 ft 7.5 in); height2.273 m (7 ft 5.5 in)Performance: maximum speed 24km/h (15 mph); maximum crosscountryspeed 12.9 km/h (8 mph); roadrange 145 km (90 miles); verticalobstacle 0.838 m (2 ft 9 in); fording 0.914 m (3 ft); trench 2,286 m (7 ft 6 in)
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