The Russians admired the robust and simple
automotive design of the 1940 British Mk III Valentine, but were merely polite
about the tank's main armament, which fell well below Eastern Front
requirements. Some tanks had their main armament replaced by 76.2mm (3in) guns
in factories in the USSR. The narrow tracks were also reported to be a problem
in winter, first clogging with snow, then freezing, and immobilizing the
vehicle.
Designed by Vickers-Armstrong in 1938, the
Valentine was a private venture project drawing on their experience with the A9
and A10 Cruiser designs. Rather quaintly, the Valentine took its name from the
fact that its plans were submitted to the War Office close to the date of St
Valentine's Day in February. The War Office took over a year to make up its
mind, since there were some reservations about the two-man turret, which was
thought to be too small to be upgunned. However, when they committed to the
project, they requested that Vickers-Armstrong make the first delivery in the shortest
time possible.
Production ceased in 1944 after a total of
8275 tanks had been built by three companies, representing a quarter of British
tank output. There had been plans to stop production in 1943 on grounds of
obsolescence, but it had continued for the extra year to satisfy Soviet
requirements. The Valentine was produced in Britain by Metropolitan-Cammell and
Birmingham Carriage & Wagon, as well as Vickers, and in Canada by Canadian
Pacific of Montreal; here, of the 1420 Mk VI tanks produced, all but the 30
retained for training went to the Soviet Army.
The Valentine was originally armed with a
2pdr (40mm (1.57in)) gun, but this was upgraded to a 6pdr (57mm (2.24in)) gun
in the Mark VIII, IX and X. The Mark XI, fitted with a 75mm (2.95in) gun, was
the final production type. Reliability and performance was improved when a GMC
two-stroke diesel was installed, replacing the AEC petrol or diesel engines.
Production speeded up when all-welded construction replaced all-riveted.
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