The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - The British Valentine Tank Feb. 14, 2006

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[alfa6]

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.

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THE VALENTINE TANK

Based on the A10 Cruiser tank, the Valentine was privately designed by the Vickers-Armstrong corporation (hence its lack of an "A" designation) and was submitted to the War Office on February 14, 1938. Like many other projects, the Valentine was rushed into production following the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk.

Several versions exist concerning the source of the name Valentine. The most popular one says that the design was presented to the War Office at St. Valentine's Day (February 14). Some sources, however, claim that the exact date the design was submitted was February 10. According to other version, the tank was called Valentine in honor of Sir John Valentine Carden, the man who led the development of the A10 and many other Vickers vehicles. Yet another version says that Valentine is an acronym for Vickers-Armstrong Ltd Elswick & Newcastle-upon-Tyne.



The War Office was initially deterred by the size of the turret and the crew compartment. However, concerned by the situation in Europe, it finally approved the design in April 1939. The vehicle reached trials in May 1940, which coincided with the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk. The trials were successfull and the vehicle was rushed into production as Infantry Tank III Valentine.

The Valentine remained in production until April 1944, becoming Britain's most mass produced tank during the war with 6855 units manufactured in the UK (by Vickers, Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon and Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon) and further 1420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2394 of the British models being sent and 1388 of the Canadian (the remaining 30 were kept for training).



The Valentine was Britain's most mass produced tank during the war, having manufactured 6855 and a further 1420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2394 of the British models being sent and 1388 of the Canadian (the remaining 30 were kept for training). In Soviet service, they were quite popular due to their small size, reliability, and generally good armour protection. In Soviet service, the Valentine was used from the Battle of Moscow until the end of the war. It was employed mostly on the southern fronts, both because of the proximity to the Persian supply route and in order to avoid using the tank in very cold climate. Although criticized for its speed and its weak gun, the Valentine was liked due to its small size, reliability and generally good armour protection.

The Valentine was something of an oddity, having the weight and size of a cruiser tank, but the armour and speed of an infantry tank. Though its armour was still weaker than the Matilda and, due to its weaker engine, it shared the same top speed, its high reliability and lower cost kept it in the war.



By 1944, in the European Theater of Operations the Valentine was almost competely replaced in the frontline units by the Churchill and the US-made Sherman. In the Pacific the tank was employed in limited numbers at least until May 1945.

There were 12 variants of the Valentine as follows:



Valentine I (350) The first model of the Valentine, it was not sent out due to problems from rushed production. It was equipped with a 2 pdr. gun and a coaxial machine gun. Its cramped turret forced the commander to also act as the guns loader. It used a 135 hp gasoline engine.

Valentine II (700) This model used a 131 hp diesel engine in order to increase its range. It first saw combat during Operation Crusader, at which point it began to replace the Matilda.

Valentine III A larger turret was installed, allowing the addition of a dedicated loader to ease the duties of the commander.

Valentine IV A II using an American 138hp GMC diesel engine. Though it had slightly lower range, it was more silent and reliable.

Valentine V Valentine III with the American GMC engine.



Valentine VI A Valentine built solely in Canada. It used a cast hull and a Browning machine gun in place of the Besa.

Valentine VII Improved version of the VI- it had jettisonable fuel tanks, new tracks and an expanded turret similar to the III. Also built only in Canada.

Valentine VIII A III upgraded with the QF 6 pdr gun. In order to fit it, the coaxial machine gun and the loader crewmember had to be removed. The side armour was made thinner to reduce weight.

Valentine IX A V upgraded to the 6 pdr. gun. Similar reductions as the VIII.

Valentine X A new turret design and better 165hp GMC engine. A coaxial machine gun could be fitted again. Also used welded construction.

Valentine XI An X upgraded with the OQF 75mm gun. Only served as a command tank.



Valentine DD Valentines fitted with Straussler's Duplex Drive. Used by crews in training for the Sherman DD's of the Normandy Landings.

[ConorMacNessa]

A snappy hand salute to our British comrades-in-arms for the Valentine.

[alfa6]

General Characteristics Length 5.4 meter
Width 2.6 meter
Height 2.2 meter
Weight 16-17 tons
Suspension Coil sprung three wheel bogies
Speed 15 mph km/h road
8 mph km/h off-road
Range 90 km (road)
Primary armament 2pdr to 6 pdr
Secondary armament 1 x .303 machine gun
Armour 8 x 65mm
Power Plant 130 to 165 hp
Crew 3 to 4 Commander, Gunner, Driver (Loader)


The Valentine chassis was the basis for several variants.

Archer



With the development of the 17 Pounder gun, the need arose for it to be mounted on a combat vehicle. The Valentine chassis was soon chosen for this role, as it was in production but rapidly becoming obsolete as a tank. It was also one of the few chassis that could accommodate the large gun.

The Valentine had a relatively small hull and it was not possible to use a turret. Instead a simple armoured open-top box surrounded the gun. The gun was mounted facing over the rear of the hull which kept the overall vehicle length short.

The rear mounting at first seemed like a liability, but it was soon made into an advantage. Combined with its low silhouette, the Archer made an excellent ambush weapon, allowing its crew to fire off a few shots, then drive away without wasting time turning around.

Bishop



The Bishop was a British self-propelled artillery vehicle based on the Valentine II chassis.

A fixed metal box with large rear doors replaced the turret on top of a Valantine hull. Into this the 25 pounder gun was fitted. As a limitation of the 25 pounders mounting the resulting vehicle had a very high silhouette. At the same time the maximum elevation for the gun was limited, lowering the range considerably to about 6,400 yards (about half that of the gun on its wheeled carriage). In order to compensate, its crews would often build large ramps out of the earth - running the Bishop onto these tilted the whole vehicle back effectively gaining extra elevation.

Due to these factors, compounding the Valentine's characteristic slow speed and thin armor, the Bishop was poorly received almost universally and soon replaced by the M7 Priest and Sexton. Only around 140 of these vehicles were produced. It first saw action during the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa and continued to serve during the early part of the Italian Campaign.

Valiant



The A38 Valiant was a British tank design of the Second World War, based upon the Valentine tank but only reached the prototype stage.

It was intended as a improvment on the Valentine using as many elements of the original. The design, A38, was first suggested by Vickers in 1943 but the pilot (built by Ruston Hornsby) was not ready until the middle of 1944 and the design was dropped as the end of the war approached.

The major changes from the Valentine were a larger turret that could take the OQF 75 mm gun, as used on the Churchill and Cromwell, and thicker armour. The prototype was fitted with the 6 pounder (57 mm) gun. The project was cancelled. The Valiant II, equipped with a Meteorite engine (a half size Meteor engine) and improved transmission was suggested but nothing came of it.

For more information see...
(http://www.answers.com/topic/valentine-tank)
(http://www.junobeach.org/e/4/can-tac-arm-can-e.htm)
(http://kiwisinarmour.hobbyvista.com/valentin.htm)

[alfa6]

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NOW UPDATED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30th, 2004




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[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone. First one in the FOXHOLE!

[alfa6]

Freedom Poster;Delta 21;mostly cajun ;archy; Gringo1; Matthew James; Fred Mertz; Squantos; colorado tanker; The Shrew; SLB; Darksheare; BCR #226; IDontLikeToPayTaxes; Imacatfish; Tailback; DCBryan1; Eaker; Archangelsk; gatorbait; river rat; Lee'sGhost; Dionysius; BlueLancer; Frohickey; GregB; leadpenny; skepsel; Proud Legions; King Prout; Professional Engineer; alfa6; bluelancer; Cannoneer No.4; An Old Man; hookman; DMZFrank; in the Arena; Bethbg79; neverdem; NWU Army ROTC; ma bell; MoJo2001; The Sailor; dcwusmc; dts32041; spectr17; Rockpile; Theophilus;humblegunner


************Snippy, I bequeath to you the FR TH PL.

148 posted on 08/24/2004 11:39:45 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)

Good morning, ON THE WAY!!!!. :-)

Freedom Poster;Delta 21;mostly cajun ;archy; Gringo1; Matthew James; Fred Mertz; Squantos; colorado tanker; The Shrew; SLB; Darksheare; BCR #226; IDontLikeToPayTaxes; Imacatfish; Tailback; DCBryan1; Eaker; Archangelsk; gatorbait; river rat; Lee'sGhost; Dionysius; BlueLancer; Frohickey; GregB; leadpenny; skepsel; Proud Legions; King Prout; Professional Engineer; alfa6; bluelancer; Cannoneer No.4; An Old Man; hookman; DMZFrank; in the Arena; Bethbg79; neverdem; NWU Army ROTC; ma bell; MoJo2001; The Sailor; dcwusmc; dts32041; spectr17; Rockpile; Theophilus;humblegunner


************Snippy, I bequeath to you the FR TH PL.

148 posted on 08/24/2004 11:39:45 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)

Good morning, ON THE WAY!!!!. :-)

[Darksheare]

Doesn't an A-38 Valiant appear in a Beatles movie?

[alfa6]

Okay folks here is a new Foxhole to help amuse ourselves :-)
And a Treadhead Tuesday to boot.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

A liftr of the alfa6 lid to you sir for your service

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

It wasn't this type of Valiant, eh

I almost hate to admit this but I have never seen a Bearles Movie. I prefer the classics...

Like Animal House :-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks, alfa, and a hand salute to you, sir. The USA is the greatest nation on earth. Long may the Stars and Stripes wave in freedom!

[Soaring Feather]

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone.

[alfa6]

Incorecto my dear Ms feather, Warthogtjm was post #2

Sneaky little devil ain't he

Regards

alfa6 ;.}

[Darksheare]

LOL.
I grew up being exposed to various musical styles, some designed to induce psychosis.

[Soaring Feather]

WHAT?? I was not #1?? Well, I am shocked.

[PzLdr]

The movie was "HELP!".The tank was, I believe, a variant in the Centurion series.

[Darksheare]

Okers.
(I'm only 30, and barely recall the movie.)

;-)

[snippy_about_it]

[snippy_about_it]

Sure, it's the same old valentine I've given you before, but it's the thought that counts. :-)

[PAR35]

The Bishop has to be the ugliest piece of armor ever built. It has no visible redeeming charecteristics.