Tank Mk.III Valentine Engine. The weight. Dimensions. Armament. Tanks "VALENTINE" in parts of the Red Army Design and modifications

Built on the initiative of the Vickers-Armstrong company, the Valentine tank corresponded to the basic principle that was adopted in the interwar period in the British army and provided for the presence of two types - cruising, intended for operations previously carried out by cavalry, and heavy tanks to support the infantry. For these latter, armor prevailed over all other combat qualities. Nevertheless, in the process of developing Valentine, the Vickers designers used a number of components and assemblies from their cruiser tanks, built by order of the War Ministry, which made it possible to save time and labor costs on the development of "their" tank. As a result, when the Valentine was born, it was more of a heavily armored cruiser tank than a pure infantry tank. However, its low speed was the disadvantage that constantly made itself felt when operating in open areas.

The tank owes its name to Saint Valentine, on the day of which - February 14, 1938 - the project was submitted to war ministry. The order was placed only in July 1939, when the minister demanded that 275 new tanks be produced in the shortest possible time. The first vehicles entered service in May of 1940, with some of the tanks used to equip cavalry units to compensate for the losses suffered at Dunkirk, and only later did they appear in tank brigades, where they began to fulfill their characteristic role of supporting infantry. Serial production of infantry tanks "Valentine" was completed at the beginning of 1944, but before that, 8275 vehicles managed to get off the assembly lines of factories. About 1420 tanks were built in Canada. 1290 of them, along with 1300 vehicles assembled in the UK, went to the USSR in accordance with the Lend-Lease program. In the Soviet Union, new tanks immediately entered the front lines. tank units, where they immediately won the love of tankers with the simplicity of design and the reliability of the engine and transmission. On the other hand, the armament of the "Valentines" completely disappointed them: the caliber of the gun mounted on the tank had long become a complete anachronism on the Eastern Front. In a number of cases, instead of weak British guns, Soviet specialists installed excellent domestic 76.2-mm tank guns, which had proven themselves well on T-34 tanks.

As part of the British army "Valentine" was baptized in North Africa in 1941. All subsequent modifications of this tank were used in the same theater of operations until the end of the African campaign. A number of tanks ended up in Tunisia as part of the 1st Army. These "Valentines" were operated in the desert and earned an excellent reputation for their reliability. After the battle of El Alamein, part of them traveled another 4830 km on their own, following the 8th Army. In 1942, one squadron of "Valentines" was used in the invasion of the island of Madagascar, tanks of the same type were in service with the 3rd New Zealand Division, which fought in the Pacific theater of operations. Some of these vehicles received new armament, with the 2-pounder replaced by a 3-inch howitzer for close infantry support. A small number of Valentines were sent to Burma and operated in Arakan; several vehicles reinforced the Gibraltar garrison. In 1944, when the invasion of Normandy was being prepared, Valentine was reclassified into a battle tank, but by that time its hull and chassis had already served as the basis for the creation of many armored vehicles for various purposes, and it was in this form that Valentine was in large numbers. appeared in France.

No other tank had as many modifications as the Valentine. As a battle tank, the car was built in eleven versions, following one after another. Added to these are the Valentine DD amphibious tanks, bridgelayers, flamethrower tanks, and several types of minesweepers. The basic model was great for the most incredible experiments.

As in most tanks, the Valentine's corps was divided into three sections: control, combat and power. The driver was located along the axis of the car and did not have a single extra square centimeter of area. He got into the tank through the hatch located above his seat, and after the hatch slammed shut, his view was provided only by a narrow viewing slot and two periscopes.

The tower was located above the fighting compartment and was completely unsuccessful. In all modifications, it remained still cramped and uncomfortable. In versions with a crew of three, two tankers were constantly in the turret and performed not only their own functions, but also those of others. At least this applied to the tank commander: in addition to his main job, he had to load the gun, indicate targets to the gunner and maintain radio communications. His view was very limited, since the tower had neither a dome nor a commander's cupola, and during the battle, when all the hatches were closed, the commander had to rely on a single periscope. Naturally, for this reason, he left the hatch open to look outside from time to time. This resulted in numerous casualties among the personnel. At the rear of the turret was radio station #19, which included a small shortwave radio to communicate with the infantry during a joint operation. Thus, the tank commander had to work with two radio stations and, in addition, use the intercom to direct the actions of his crew. Considering all this, it is impossible not to understand the tank commanders who preferred the four-seat versions of the Mk III and V to all Valentine modifications, despite the fact that the volume of their towers was no larger, and the observation devices remained just as bad.

As for the gun, it was a match for the tower. 2-pound, she had only one advantage - high precision fight. However, it became obsolete as early as 1938 and remained in service at the initial stage of the fighting in the desert only because it still somehow coped with Italian and the lightest German tanks at a distance not exceeding 1 km. Another serious drawback of the gun was that it did not have high-explosive ammunition for firing at unarmored targets. The tank's ammunition consisted of 79 shots and 2000 rounds of ammunition for a BESA machine gun coaxial with a cannon. The Mk VIII, IX and X Valentines were armed with a 6-pounder gun, but even this more powerful gun proved obsolete from the moment it was introduced. In addition, due to the incredible frivolity of the Mk VIII and IX modifications, they did not have a machine gun coaxial with the cannon, and the crew had to use the main armament of the tank against the infantry. There was a machine gun on the Mk X, but it "ate" the already meager internal volume of the tank. Most Valentines had a Bren light machine gun inside the turret, which, if necessary, could be mounted on the turret. Only the tank commander could use it, while exposing himself to enemy fire. Canadian-built Valentines had American 7.62mm Brownings instead of BESA machine guns, and some (very few) tanks also had smoke grenade launchers mounted on the sides of the turret.

The rotation of the tower was carried out using a hydraulic drive, which provided good guidance, but the final rotation was carried out manually. Pointing the 2-pounder vertically was carried out by the gunner, who used a shoulder rest for this. On subsequent modifications, the gun was aimed vertically using the flywheel of the manual aiming mechanism.
The power department was complete opposite combat. It was spacious and provided easy access to the engine, which was easy to service, which was especially appreciated by drivers and repairmen. In general, the power plant of the tank satisfied almost any operating conditions. The Mk I modification had an AEC carburetor engine, but all subsequent versions were equipped with diesel engines. The transmission group included a five-speed Meadows gearbox and onboard clutches.

The armor plates of the "Valentines" were fastened with rivets and did not have rational angles of inclination. The front plates of the Canadian-made tanks, as well as the Mk X and XI versions that were built in the UK, were cast and, accordingly, more durable and cheaper, but in general, the armor of the Valentines left much to be desired. If the frontal part of the tanks had more or less satisfactory protection, then the thickness of the armor on the stern and roof was reduced from 65 mm to 8 mm, which was clearly not enough.

The undercarriage, typical for that period, was "low-speed" and consisted of two to three rollers on board, which were suspended on horizontal springs. The front and rear rollers had a larger diameter than the intermediate ones, and the hull of the tank was located quite high above the ground. Three small support rollers prevented the tracks from sagging. Generally chassis proved to be quite good, however, during the operation of the tank in the winter in the Soviet Union, the tracks often slipped in deep snow. The amphibious tank "Valentine" DD was used mainly in educational purposes, however, several of these machines participated in the invasion of Italy. The DD version was a conventional Valentine that was carefully sealed and fitted with a folding screen to keep the tank afloat when submerged. A screen was also attached to the top, which was removed after the car landed.

Not so long ago, when mentioning any equipment sent to the USSR under Lend-Lease, the authors always noted the insignificance of foreign supplies in comparison with domestic production, as well as the poor quality and archaic design of these samples. Now that the struggle against bourgeois falsifiers has successfully ended with the victory of the latter, it is possible to more or less objectively analyze the merits and demerits of individual samples. armored vehicles Anglo-American production, in significant quantities used in parts of the Red Army. This article will talk about English easy tank MK.III "Valentine", which became the most massive British armored vehicle used on the Soviet-German front, as well as in battles on Far East.

MK.III "Valentine" (according to the documents of the Red Army "Valentine" or "Valentina") was developed by Vickers in 1938. Like "Matilda", he belonged to infantry tanks, however, in terms of mass - 16 tons - it was rather light. True, at the same time, the thickness of the Valentine's armor was 60-65 mm, and the armament (depending on the modification) consisted of a 40-mm, 57-mm or 75-mm gun. On "Valentine I" they used a 135 hp AEC carburetor engine, replaced in subsequent modifications by AEC and GMC diesel engines with a capacity of 131, 138 and 165 hp. Max Speed tank was 34 km / h.

By Soviet standards, "Valentines" had an archaic design - armor plates were attached to the frame from the corners with rivets. Armored elements were installed, basically, almost vertically, without rational angles of inclination. However, "rational" booking was not always used on German cars - this approach Significantly reduced the working internal volume of the tank, which affected the performance of the crew. But on the other hand, all British cars were radio-equipped (radio station No. 19), and also had a diesel engine, which facilitated their operation along with Soviet models.

"Valentines" were produced from 1940 to the beginning of 1945 in 11 modifications, which differed mainly in armament and engine type. A total of 8275 tanks were manufactured by three British and two Canadian firms (6855 in England and 1420 in Canada). 2394 British and 1388 Canadian "Valentines" were sent to the Soviet Union (3782 units in total), of which 3332 vehicles reached Russia. In the USSR, "Valentines" of seven modifications were supplied:

"Valentine II" - with a 42-mm cannon, AEC diesel engine, 131 hp. and an additional external fuel tank;

"Valentine III" - with a triple tower and a crew of four;

"Valentine IV" - "Valentine II" with a GMC diesel engine of 138 hp;

"Valentine V" - "Valentine III" with a GMC diesel engine of 138 hp;

"Valentine VII" - a Canadian version of the "Valentine IV" with a one-piece frontal hull and a coaxial 7.62-mm Browning machine gun (instead of the 7.92-mm BESA machine gun, which was installed on British-made Valentines);

"Valentine IX" - "Valentine V" with a 57-mm cannon with a barrel length of 45 or 42 calibers, mounted in a two-man turret without a coaxial machine gun;

"Valentine X" - "Valentine IX" with a 57-mm cannon with a barrel length of 45 or 42 calibers [most likely a typo. Further in the text - 52 caliber. A.A.], coaxial with a machine gun and a 165 hp GMC engine.

In addition to the main modifications of the "Valentine", in 1944 the Red Army also received the Mk.III "Valentine-bridgelayer" (Valentine-Bridgelaer) - in Soviet terminology "Mk.ZM". Perhaps the Canadian version of "Valentine" (modification VII) was even more reliable and technically more advanced than its English predecessor. Canadian "Valentines" were supplied to the Red Army from 1942 to 1944, with the bulk of the deliveries occurring in 1943. The most massive modifications in the Red Army were "Valentine IV" and its Canadian counterpart "Valentine VII", as well as the main version of the final period of the war - "Valentine IX". Moreover, the Soviet Union mainly supplied the IX model with an artillery system having a barrel length of 52 calibers, while the British army used models with a barrel length of 45 calibers. Model "XI" with a 75-mm cannon was not supplied to the USSR.

It should be noted that the designation system for British armored vehicles was quite complex and cumbersome. First, the index assigned to the tank by the Ministry of War was indicated (Mk.II, Mk.III, Mk.IV, etc.), then came the name of the vehicle ("Valentine", "Matilda", "Churchill", etc.) and its modification was indicated (in Roman numerals). Thus, the full designation of the tank could look like this; Mk.III "Valentine IX", Mk.IV " Churchill III", etc. To avoid confusion, we will use the designations of English tanks adopted in the Red Army during the war years: the name with the modification, for example: "Valentine IV", "Valentine IX", etc., or without indicating modifications, for example: Mk.III "Valentine".

During the four years of the war, foreign-made tanks and armored vehicles received various connections, subdivided | divisions and parts of the armored forces of the Red Army. Therefore, there were many reports on their operational and combat characteristics. Moreover, the assessment of the same vehicle by the middle and senior command staff often did not coincide with the opinion of the tank crew. This is understandable, the command was primarily concerned with the tactical characteristics of equipment - armament, speed on the march, power reserve, etc. - and for the crew, ease of operation, placement of units and the possibility of quick repairs, as well as other parameters of household and technical nature. The combination of these two points of view largely determined the conclusion about the presented sample of armored vehicles.

In addition, foreign equipment was designed with the expectation of a higher culture of production and operation. In many ways, it was the technical illiteracy of the crews, the lack of units needed for maintenance that became the reasons for the failure of allied equipment. However, the "chasm" of the gap was not so great, and our tankers very soon got used to foreign cars, having finalized many of them for the specifics of operation on the Soviet-German front.

The first "Valentines" appeared in parts of our active army at the end of November 1941, albeit in small numbers. In this case, only a part of the received 145 Matildas, 216 Valentines and 330 Universals was used. So, on the Western Front on 01/01/1942 "Valentines" were part of the 146th (2-T-34, 10-T-60, 4-Mk.Sh), 23rd (1-T-34, 5 Mk. .III) and 20th (1-T-34, 1-T-26, 1-T-, 60, 2-Mk.Sh, 1-BA-20) tank brigades operating in battle formations 16, 49 and 3rd Army, as well as as part of the 112th TD (1-KV, 8-T-26, 6-Mk.Sh and 10-T-34), attached to the 50th Army. The 171st separate tank battalion, also equipped with Valentines (10-T-60, 12-Mk.II, 9-Mk.III), fought on the North-Western Front (4th Army).

German documents of the 4th Panzer Group note the fact of the first use of English Type 3 tanks (Mk.III Valentine. - Author's note) against the 2nd Panzer Division on November 25, 1941 in the Peshka area. The document stated: "For the first time, German soldiers were confronted with the fact of real help from England, about which Russian propaganda was screaming for so long. English tanks are much worse than Soviet ones. The crews that German soldiers took prisoner scold "the old tin boxes that the British handed them to them."

Judging by this report, it can be assumed that the crews of the Valentines had a very limited training period and did not know the English materiel well. In units of the 5th army, which covered the Mozhaisk direction, the first unit to receive "inotanks" was the 136th separate tank battalion (otb). The battalion completed its formation on December 1, 1941, having ten T-34 tanks, ten T-60 tanks, nine Valentines and three Matildas (English tanks were received in Gorky on November 10, 1941, tankers were trained directly on front). By December 10, during the training of the crews, five Valentines, two Matildas, one T-34 and four T-60s were broken. After bringing the materiel in order, December 15, 1911 136 otb. was given 329 rifle division(sd). Then, together with the 20th tank brigade, he participated in the counteroffensive near Moscow.

On January 15, 1942, the battalion command compiled a "Brief report on the actions. Mk.Sh" - apparently one of the first documents with an assessment of the Allied equipment:
"The experience of using "Valentines" showed:
1. Patency of tanks in winter conditions good, movement is ensured on soft snow 50-60 cm thick. Grip with the ground is good, but spurs are needed when icy conditions.

2. The weapon operated flawlessly, but there were cases of undershot guns (the first five or six shots), apparently due to the thickening of the lubricant. The weapon is very demanding on lubrication and maintenance.

3. Observation in devices and slots is good.
4. The motor group and transmission worked well up to 150-200 hours, then a decrease in engine power is observed.
5. Good quality armor.

Personnel crews passed special training and tanks owned satisfactorily. The command and technical staff of the tanks knew little. A great inconvenience was created by the crews' ignorance of the elements of preparing tanks for winter. As a result of the lack of necessary heating, the cars hardly started in the cold and therefore kept hot all the time, which led to a large consumption of motor resources. In a battle with German tanks (12/20/1941), three "Valentines" received the following damage: one 37-mm projectile jammed the tower, the other had a cannon, the third received five hits on the side from a distance of 200-250 meters. In this battle, "Valentines" knocked out two medium German tanks T-3.

In general, the Mk.Sh is a good combat vehicle with powerful weapons, good maneuverability, capable of operating against enemy manpower, fortifications and tanks.

Negative sides:

1. Poor grip of the tracks with the ground.
2. Great vulnerability of suspension bogies - if one roller fails, the tank cannot move. There are no high-explosive fragmentation shells for the gun."

Apparently, the latter circumstance was the reason for the order State Committee Defense on the rearmament of "Valentine" with a domestic artillery system. This task and in a short time was carried out at the plant number 92 by the design bureau under the leadership of Grabin. In December 1941, for two weeks, one "Valen-Tyne" was armed with a 45-mm tank gun and a DT machine gun. This machine received the factory index ZIS-95. At the end of December, the tank was sent to Moscow, but further prototype things didn't work out.

A large number of tanks "Valentine" participated in the battle for the Caucasus. In general, the North Caucasian Front in the period 1942-1943 had a very significant "share" of Anglo-American tanks - up to 70% of the total number of vehicles. This situation was explained primarily by the proximity of the front to the Iranian channel for supplying the Red Army with equipment and weapons, as well as the convenience of transporting tanks along the Volga that arrived in the northern ports of the USSR.

Of the armored units of the North Caucasian Front, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade was considered the most eminent and experienced. fighting in the Caucasus, the brigade began on September 26, 1942, covering the Grozny direction to the Malgobek, Ozernaya area (at that time the brigade had 40 Valentines, three T-34s and one BT-7). On September 29, the brigade counterattacked the German units in the Alkhanch-Urt valley. In this battle, the crew of Captain Shenelkov's Guards destroyed five tanks, one self-propelled gun, a truck and 25 soldiers on their "Valentine". 15 for the next few days, fighting in the area continued. In total, during the fighting in the Malgobek area, the brigade destroyed 38 tanks (of which 20 burned down), one self-propelled guns, 24 guns, six mortars, one six-barreled mortar, up to 1800 enemy soldiers. The losses of the brigade amounted to two T-34s, 33 Valentines (of which eight burned down, the rest were evacuated and restored), 268 people were killed and wounded.

Returning to the use of the Valentine tank on the Soviet-German front, we can say that our commanders found the right solution - they began to use these tanks in an integrated manner, together with Soviet technology. In the first echelon (according to the documents of 1942) there were tanks KV and "Matilda CS;" (with a 76.2-mm howitzer), in the second echelon T-34, and in the third "Valentine" and T-70. This tactic has often yielded positive results. An example of this is the reconnaissance in force of the fire system of the German defensive zone in the North Caucasus - the Blue Line.

Forces from the 56th Army were involved in the attack: the 5th Guards Tank Brigade (as of 1.08. 1C), as well as a battalion of the 417th Infantry Division.

Exactly at six o'clock in the morning on August 6, 1943, a volley of Katyushas was fired at the Gorno-Vesely farm (the Object of attack), and immediately behind the fire shaft, three KV-1S rushed forward, followed by three "Valentines" under the command of the guard senior lieutenant G. P. Polosina. The infantry moved behind the slippers. Further, it is interesting to cite the memoirs of G.P. Polosin, a participant in the battle:

“Tacking among the shell bursts (thirty-minute artillery preparation, of course, did not fully suppress the enemy fire system), my Valentine suddenly found itself literally in front of the farmhouse houses. That’s luck! But how are the other tanks? ..

I looked around through the peepholes. I saw that two more "Englishmen" of my platoon - the cars of Poloznikov and Voronkov - were walking a little behind. But heavy HF is not visible. Maybe they fell behind or took it aside: The infantry, of course, was cut off from the tanks even earlier ...

Destroying enemy machine-gun emplacements and bunkers along the way, our tanks reached the hollow. Stopped here. I gave the order over the radio:

Do not shoot without my order! Save your projectiles. It is still unknown how much it will take like this ... And then to get through to your own ...

The tank commanders answered shortly:

Understood.

Then he tried to contact the commander of the guard company, Senior Lieutenant Maksimov. And I couldn't. The ether was filled to the limit with hysterical commands on German. Apparently, the Nazis were seriously worried about the unexpected breakthrough of Russian tanks in this sector of their defense.

But our position was unenviable. It just so happened that the main group, conducting reconnaissance in force, broke away, ammunition and fuel were running out, alone behind enemy lines, which, however, had not yet fully understood the situation, but this was a matter of time.

Having crushed a German anti-tank gun along the way, our tank jumped out of the hollow into the open space and saw a strange picture. On Voronkov's car, which was 30-40 meters to the right, there were Germans. They mistook "Valentines" for their equipment, pounded their butts on the armor and did not understand why the tankers did not get out. After waiting until the Germans had accumulated up to a dozen people, I ordered to hit them with a machine gun. Then, firing from smoke grenade launchers (this is where this weapon, which was only on British tanks, came in handy) and, having installed a smoke screen, the vehicles returned through the same hollow to the location of their troops. Near Gorno-Vesely, the battle was still going on. The KV tanks were knocked out. One of them stood without a tower. Another a little farther from him buried his cannon in the ground. At its right, flattened caterpillar, two tankers fired their pistols from the advancing Germans. Having dispersed the enemy infantry with fire from cannons and machine guns, we dragged both wounded into our "Valentine". It immediately became clear that, unable to penetrate the armor of the KV with anti-tank artillery, the Germans used guided mines against them.

During this short raid behind enemy lines, a platoon of guards senior lieutenant G.P. Polosin destroyed five anti-tank guns, crushed five bunkers, 12 machine guns, shot up to a hundred Nazis. But most importantly, with his unexpected blow from the rear, he forced the enemy to fully open his fire system. Which is exactly what was needed.
It remains to be added that all crew members of Polosin's platoon were awarded for this government awards. Personally, Georgy Pavlovich Polosin received the Order of the Red Star.

In the 196th Tank Brigade (30th Army of the Kalinin Front), which participated in the capture of the city of Rzhev, in August 1942, steel plates were welded onto each of the Valentine tank tracks, increasing the track area. Shod in such "bast shoes", the car did not fall through in the snow and did not get stuck in marshy ground middle lane Russia. Mk.IIIs were actively used in positional battles on the Western and Kalinin fronts until the beginning of 1944. For mobility and maneuverability "Valentine" was very fond of cavalrymen. Until the end of the war, "Valentine IV" and its further development "Valentine IX and X" remained the main tank of the cavalry corps. As the main drawback, the cavalrymen noted the absence of high-explosive fragmentation shells for the cannon. And one more thing: it was not recommended to make sharp turns on the "Valentine", since at the same time the sloth's crank bent and the caterpillar jumped off.

By the end of the war, modifications of the Valentine IX and X (along with the American Sherman) were the only types of tanks that the USSR continued to request for supplies to the Red Army. For example, in the 5th Guards tank army(3rd Belorussian Front) on June 22, 1944, there were 39 Valentine IX tanks, and 30 Valentine III tanks in the 3rd Cavalry Corps. These vehicles completed their military career in the Far East in August-September 1945. The 1st Far Eastern Front included 20 bridge tanks Mk.III Valentine-Bridgelayer, the 2nd Far Eastern Front included 41 Valentine III and IX (267th Tank Regiment) and another 40 Valentine IV were in the ranks of the cavalry -mechanized group of the Trans-Baikal Front.

Attached to tank brigades by armies 15 and 16, tank-bridge companies (10 Mk.IIIM each) marched along with tanks, but were not used, since tanks and self-propelled guns overcame small rivers and streams themselves, and large obstacles (over 8 m) were not Mk.IIIM could be provided.

Canadian tanks "Valentine IV" in Soviet terminology were also designated as "Mk.III", so it is quite difficult to determine where the actual English and where Canadian vehicles. Several cars "Valentine VII" took part in the liberation of the Crimea. The 19th Perekop tank corps had the 91st separate motorcycle battalion, which had a Valentine VII tank, ten BA-64s, ten Universal armored personnel carriers and 23 motorcycles.

However, this does not detract from the Canadian share of deliveries to the USSR. After all, almost half of the Valentines delivered were Canadian-made. These tanks, along with British products, participated in many operations of the Great Patriotic War.
One example of the use of Canadian vehicles was the battle of the 139th tank regiment of the 68th mechanized brigade of the 5th mechanized corps of the 5th army to master locality Maiden's Field in November 1943. 139 TP (68 Mbr, 8 Mk, 5 Army) entered the operational subordination of the 5 Army on November 15, 1943. With 20 T-34 tanks and 18 Valentine VII tanks, the regiment was fully equipped and was not used in battles until November 20. After the preparation of the material part for the battles was completed, on November 20, 1943, in cooperation with the 57th Guards Tank Breakthrough Regiment, armed with KV and T-34 vehicles, and the infantry of the 110th Guards Rifle Division, the tanks of the 139th TP went forward. , the attack was carried out at high speeds (up to 25 km / h) with a landing of machine gunners (up to 100 people) and with anti-tank guns attached to tanks. 30 Soviet tanks participated in this operation. The enemy did not expect such a massive swift strike and was unable to provide effective resistance to the advancing units. When the first line of defense was torn, the infantry dismounted and, having unhooked their guns, began to occupy enemy positions, preparing to repel a possible counterattack. The remaining units of the 110th Guards Rifle Division were brought into the breach. However, the German counterattack did not take place, the German command was so stunned by the Soviet breakthrough that they could not organize resistance during the day. During this day, our troops went 20 km into the depths of the German defense and captured the Maiden's Field, while losing 4 tanks (KV, T-34, two Valentine VII). At the end of the war, Valentine tanks were used mainly as part of tank companies of motorcycle reconnaissance regiments (in the state - 10 tanks), mixed tank regiments (standard staff M4A2 "Sherman" - 10, Mk.III "Valentine" (III, IV, VII, IX, X) - 11 vehicles) and various cavalry formations: cavalry corps and mixed cavalry-mechanized groups. Modifications "IX" and "X" prevailed in individual tank and motorcycle regiments, and modifications "IV" - "VII" prevailed in the cavalry corps. Tanks Mk.III "Valentine" III-IV were used on the Soviet-German front in much smaller numbers than other modifications and for some reason (?) prevailed in the North-Western theater of operations as part of the Baltic fronts.

After the end of the Second World War, the equipment supplied under Lend-Lease was to be returned former owners. However, most of the tanks were presented by the Soviet side as scrap and destroyed, and a smaller part of the corrected tanks was handed over to the Chinese National Liberation Army.

Let's move on to allies. The USSR became the only country where Valentines were supplied under the Lend-Lease program. We were sent 3,782 tanks during the war, or 46% of all Valentines produced, including almost all vehicles made in Canada.

3332 of them reached their destination, 450 cars went to the bottom along with the transports carrying them. Tanks of seven modifications were supplied to us: 2-7, 9 and 10, and the Valentines of the Mk IX and Mk X modifications continued to be requested by the Soviet side for Lend-Lease deliveries almost until the very end of the war.

In the Red Army "Valentines" received different ratings. The command highly appreciated the tanks because of performance characteristics and in August 1942 even sent a request to increase their supplies to the USSR. Tankers had their own opinion. Vali-Tani, like the rest of the British equipment, were difficult to operate and often failed. Especially in hands that had no idea about the proper maintenance of British technology.

Expectedly and quite logically, "Valentines" turned out to be completely unadapted to the climatic conditions of our country. The 40-mm cannon was frankly weak, and there were no HE shells for it. This resulted in attempts to install a domestic 45-mm cannon on the Mk.III, but in the end it turned out to be easier to start producing high-explosive fragmentation shells in 1942.

"Valentines" fought on the entire Soviet-German front, starting from Murmansk and ending with the Caucasus, where they were driven through the Iranian lend-lease channel. Especially appreciated "Valentine" our cavalrymen. For maneuverability and good (when finalized with a hammer and file) patency.

The last use of "Valentines" in the Red Army took place already in the Far East during the offensive Soviet troops in Manchuria.

This is the short one. What can be said, surveying the tank not in terms of numbers, but by touching it with your hands?

Reviews "they" are not enough, which is explained by the fact that half of the tanks out of 8 thousand produced fought with us. British historians noted the excellent reliability of the propulsion system and the tank as a whole, especially in comparison with other British vehicles of that period.

I will not comment at all, it is possible that compared to others, Valentine was just a handsome man.

What did the British scold?

Surprisingly, criticism was caused by ... the tightness of the fighting compartment, poor working conditions for the driver, a two-man turret and an insufficiently powerful 40-mm cannon, in addition to which there were no fragmentation shells.

I spoke about the cannon and shells above. I agree. As for the rest ... It was the British who were just mad with fat. They didn’t get into the T-34, so they criticize.

In fact, the tank is very comfortable and roomy. That is, a boar of non-tank dimensions (I) is placed there.

Probably, the 75-mm cannon took its place with pleasure, but nevertheless, its appearance, albeit on a light (if classified by weight) tank after 1943, is quite justified. But there are also purely British things that can be applauded.

An armored partition (not very impressive, but again - there is!) Between the engine and fighting compartments significantly reduces losses in the crew in case of fire and saves the engine-transmission group during the explosion of shells.

Surveillance devices are simple and effective.

The 6-pounder left no room in the turret for either the coaxial BESA machine gun or the 2-inch breech-loading smoke grenade launcher. They tried to make up for the loss of the latter by installing two four-inch single-shot smoke grenade launchers on the right side of the tower.

To avoid ruinous for the remaining former power plant increase in mass, the British again went to reduce the thickness of the armor - up to 43 mm.

According to Vickers data, the production of Valentines with a 6-pounder gun began in December 1941. If so, the Valentine VIII was the first British tank armed with this gun, as the similarly equipped Churchill III and Crusader III left the factory floors in March and May 1942, respectively.

Valentine IX

Variant of the Valentine V tank with a 6-pounder gun in a two-man turret. On the last 300 machines of this modification, a forced diesel GMC 6004 with a power of 165 hp was installed. at 2000 rpm, which made it possible to slightly improve dynamic characteristics tank, the mass of which reached 17.2 tons.

Infantry tanks Mk III at the NIBTPolygon in Kubinka. Above - Valentine IX, below - Valentine X

Valentine X

In February 1942, the Tank Board decided that the initiative to modernize the Valentine should be left entirely to Vickers. The fact is that the military already considered this combat vehicle unpromising, preferring the more powerful Churchill. Less than three months later, Vickers announced the creation of a new tank, called the Vampire, and designed to replace the Valentine. However, no documentation was presented at the same time, and the topic was soon closed, especially since the company was supposed to be widely involved in the program for the production of the A27 cruiser tank. However, the production of this machine was managed without Vickers, and therefore it was decided to continue the production of Valentine until the end of 1943.

At the last stage of production, the Valentine X became the main model. This machine was a late-production Valentine IX (with a 165 hp engine) equipped with an independent BESA machine gun mount to the right of the cannon. To accommodate the machine gun, it was necessary to reduce the ammunition load of the gun by nine shots. Despite the fact that during the tests the imbalance of the machine gun mount and the limited ammunition capacity of machine gun cartridges were revealed, from June 1943 brand new Valentine X began to come out of the factory shops.

Valentine XI

The last serial modification of the infantry tank Mk III. Soon after the release of the Valentine X, it became obvious that instead of the 6-pounder, it was quite possible to install a 75-mm gun, the breech of which had almost the same dimensions and weight. Apart from the gun and the GMC 6004 engine boosted to 210 hp, the Valentine XI was almost identical to the previous version.

* * *

On April 14, 1944, the last Valentine tank out of 6,855 military vehicles made in the UK left the factory floor. In addition, from autumn 1941 to mid-1943, 1420 of these machines were produced in Canada. Consequently, total"Valentines" is 8275 units. This is the most massive British tank of the Second World War.

Production was carried out within the framework of no less than 19 orders. All vehicles received identification numbers of the British War Department (War Department - WD): 15946-16345, 16356-16555, 17360-17684, 18071 - 18095, 20419-20493, 27121 -27720, 32471 -32700, 327321 -3279047 , 59684-60183, 66466-67865, 82163-82617, 120690-121149 and 121823-123632.

Valentine IX

Canadian tanks had numbers: 23204 - 23503, 40981 - 41430, 73554-74193 and 138916 - 138945. However, it cannot be said that all vehicles under these numbers were manufactured. There is also no way to give exact data on the number of produced cars of one or another modification (with the exception of the above), as well as indicate which numbers correspond to them. It is only known that the tanks of the Valentine II modification began with the WD number T16122, the Valentine III with the T66591, and the Valentine IV with the T47314. The numbers were applied with white paint on the sides of the hull or turret and, as a rule, are clearly visible in photographs, which makes it easier to identify combat vehicles. The tanks produced by Vickers also had the WD number stamped on a "company" cast plate riveted to the hull.

However, even in the strict statistics of the pedantic Englishmen, who numbered everything and everyone, there is confusion. For example, in a series of well-known photographs of the Valentine I and Valentine II tanks from the 16th Tank Brigade of the 1st Corps of the Polish Armed Forces in the West combat vehicles carry WD numbers T1290248, T1290295, etc. The origin of these seven-digit numbers is unknown to the author.

A story about the modernization of the Valentine tank would not be complete without mentioning two more combat vehicles that were being prepared to replace it. It's about the Vanguard project. This car, apparently, should be considered as a modification of the Valentine, since in the documents of those years it goes under the name Valentine-Vanguard. The combat weight of the vehicle was 16.5 tons, the armament was a 6-pound cannon and a coaxial BESA machine gun, the crew was 3 people. The tank was supposed to reach a speed of 8 km / h more than the "Valentines" of the latest models. Judging by the documents, this machine was tested in 1943, and they did not end well. In any case, nothing more is known about this tank, except that the individual components designed for it were used to create the Archer self-propelled gun.

The latest production version of the infantry tank Mk III - Valentine XI

Infantry tank A38 Valiant

In 1942 - 1943, the A38 Valiant tank began to be developed as a weighted version of the Valentine. Its mass is 27 tons, and the maximum thickness of the armor reached 112 mm. In the initial project, a 6-pounder gun was provided as the main armament, with the possibility of replacing it in the future with a 75-mm gun. The twin installation of a gun and a machine gun was located in a massive cast mask, which practically made up the entire front of a large three-man turret. The mask was attached to the welded turret with ten huge bolts with a bulletproof head. The increased weight of the tank required changes to the chassis. In 1944, two prototypes were built, differing from each other in the type of power plant and chassis. The Valiant 1 tank was equipped with an American GMC diesel engine with an HP 210 power. and undercarriage with six road wheels taken from Valentine (only large-diameter rollers were borrowed). Valiant 2 was equipped with a 450 hp Rolls-Royce Meteorite carburetor engine. and chassis from experienced tank AZZ. The end of the war and the concentration of work by the British tank industry on the creation of the Centurion tank put an end to the design of the Valiant.

Design Description

LAYOUT the tank is classic with a stern transmission.

The department of management occupied the front of the car. It contained the driver's seat, controls, instrument panels, two six-volt batteries, an outlet for starting the engine and recharging the batteries from external source current, a call for signaling the driver from the stern of the tank, TPU, interior lighting devices.

Tanks "VALENTINE" in parts of the Red Army

Not so long ago, when mentioning any equipment sent to the USSR under Lend-Lease, the authors always noted the insignificance of foreign supplies in comparison with domestic production, as well as the poor quality and archaic design of these samples. Now that the struggle against the bourgeois falsifiers has successfully ended with the victory of the latter, it is possible to more or less objectively analyze the advantages and disadvantages of individual models of Anglo-American armored vehicles, which were used in significant quantities in the Red Army. This article is about English. light tank MK.III "Valentine", which became the most massive British armored vehicle used on the Soviet-German front, as well as in battles in the Far East.
MK.III "Valentine" (according to the documents of the Red Army "Valentine" or "Valentina") was developed by the company "" in 1938. Like the Matilda, it belonged to infantry tanks, but in terms of mass - 16 tons - it was rather light. True, at the same time, the thickness of the Valentine's armor was 60-65 mm, and the armament (depending on the modification) consisted of a 40-mm, 57-mm or 75-mm gun. On Valentine I, a 135 hp AEC carburetor was used, replaced in subsequent modifications by AEC and GMC diesel engines with a capacity of 131, 138 and 165 hp. tank was 34 km / h.
By Soviet standards, "Valentines" had an archaic design - armor plates were attached to the corners with rivets. Armored elements were installed, basically, almost vertically, without rational angles of inclination. However, "rational" armor was not always used on German vehicles - this approach significantly reduced the working internal volume of the tank, which affected the crew's performance. But on the other hand, all British cars were radio-equipped (radio station No. 19), and also had a diesel engine, which facilitated their operation along with Soviet models.
"Valentines" were produced from 1940 to the beginning of 1945 in 11 modifications, which differed mainly in armament and engine type. A total of 8275 tanks were manufactured by three British and two Canadian firms (6855 in England and 1420 in Canada). 2394 British and 1388 Canadian "Valentines" were sent to Sovietsky (a total of 3782 units), of which 3332 vehicles reached Russia. In the USSR, "Valentines" of seven modifications were supplied:
"Valentine II" - with a 42-mm cannon, AEC diesel engine, 131 hp. and an additional external fuel tank;
"Valentine III" - with a triple tower and a crew of four;
"Valentine IV" - "Valentine II" with a GMC diesel engine of 138 hp;
"Valentine V" - "Valentine III" with a GMC diesel engine of 138 hp;
"Valentine VII" - a Canadian version of the "Valentine IV" with a one-piece frontal hull and a coaxial 7.62-mm Browning machine gun (instead of the 7.92-mm BESA machine gun, which was installed on British-made Valentines);
"Valentine IX" - "Valentine V" with a 57-mm cannon with a barrel length of 45 or 42 calibers, mounted in a two-man turret without a coaxial machine gun;
"Valentine X" - "Valentine IX" with a 57-mm cannon with a barrel length of 45 or 42 calibers (most likely a typo. Further in the text - 52 calibers. A.A.), coaxial with a machine gun and a GMC engine with a power of 165 l .With.
In addition to the main modifications of the "Valentine", in 1944 the Red Army also received the Mk.III "Valentine-bridgelayer" (Valentine-Bridgelaer) - in Soviet terminology "Mk.ZM". Perhaps the Canadian version of "Valentine" (modification VII) was even more reliable and technically more advanced than its English predecessor. Canadian "Valentines" were supplied to the Red Army from 1942 to 1944, with the bulk of the deliveries occurring in 1943. The most massive modifications in the Red Army were "Valentine IV" and its Canadian counterpart "Valentine VII", as well as the main version of the final period of the war - "Valentine IX". Moreover, the IX was delivered to the Soviet Union mainly with an artillery system having a barrel length of 52 calibers, while in the British army models with a barrel length of 45 calibers were used. "XI" with a 75-mm cannon was not supplied to the USSR.
It should be noted that the designation system for British armored vehicles was quite complex and cumbersome. First, the index assigned to the tank by the Ministry of War was indicated (Mk.II, Mk.III, Mk.IV, etc.), then came the name of the vehicle ("Valentine", "Matilda", "Churchill", etc.) and indicated by her (in Roman numerals). Thus, the full designation of the tank could look like this; Mk.III "Valentine IX", Mk.IV "Churchill III", etc. To avoid confusion, we will use the designations of English tanks adopted in the Red Army during the war years: the name with the modification, for example: "Valentine IV", "Valentine IX", etc., or without the modification, for example: Mk. III Valentine.
During the four years of the war, foreign-made armored vehicles received various compounds, subdivided | divisions and parts of the armored forces of the Red Army. Therefore, there were many reports on their operational and combat characteristics. Moreover, the assessment of the same vehicle by the middle and senior command staff often did not coincide with the opinion of the tank crew. This is understandable, the command was primarily concerned with the tactical characteristics of equipment - armament, speed on the march, power reserve, etc. - and for the crew, ease of operation, placement of units and the possibility of quick repairs, as well as other parameters of household and technical nature. The combination of these two points of view largely determined the presented sample of armored vehicles.
In addition, the foreign one was designed with the expectation of a higher culture of production and operation. In many ways, it was the technical illiteracy of the crews, the lack of units needed for maintenance that became the reasons for the failure of allied equipment. However, the "chasm" of the gap was not so great, and our tankers very soon got used to foreign vehicles, modifying many of them to suit the specifics of operation on the Soviet-German front.
The first "Valentines" appeared in parts of our active army at the end of November 1941, albeit in small numbers. In this case, only a part of the received 145 Matildas, 216 Valentines and 330 Universals was used. So, on the Western Front on 01/01/1942 "Valentines" were part of the 146th (2-T-34, 10-T-60, 4-Mk.Sh), 23rd (1-T-34, 5 Mk. .III) and 20th (1-T-34, 1-T-26, 1-T-, 60, 2-Mk.Sh, 1-BA-20) tank brigades operating in battle formations 16, 49 and 3rd Army, as well as as part of the 112th TD (1-KV, 8-T-26, 6-Mk.Sh and 10-T-34), attached to the 50th Army. The 171st separate tank battalion, also equipped with Valentines (10-T-60, 12-Mk.II, 9-Mk.III), fought on the North-Western Front (4th Army).
German documents of the 4th Panzer Group note the fact of the first use of English Type 3 tanks (Mk.III Valentine. - Author's note) against the 2nd Panzer Division on November 25, 1941 in the Peshka area. The document stated: "For the first time, German soldiers were confronted with the fact of real help from England, about which Russian propaganda was screaming for so long. English tanks are much worse than Soviet ones. The crews that German soldiers took prisoner scold "the old tin boxes that the British handed them to them."
Judging by this report, it can be assumed that the crews of the Valentines had a very limited training period and did not know the English materiel well. In units of the 5th army, which covered the Mozhaisk direction, the first unit to receive "inotanks" was the 136th separate tank battalion (otb). The battalion completed its formation on December 1, 1941, having ten T-34 tanks, ten T-60 tanks, nine Valentines and three Matildas (English tanks were received in Gorky on November 10, 1941, tankers were trained directly on front). By December 10, during the training of the crews, five Valentines, two Matildas, one T-34 and four T-60s were broken. After bringing the materiel in order, December 15, 1911 136 otb. was attached to the 329th Rifle Division (SD). Then, together with the 20th tank brigade, he participated in the counteroffensive near Moscow.
On January 15, 1942, the battalion command compiled a "Brief report on the actions. Mk.Sh" - apparently, documents with an assessment of the Allied equipment:
"The experience of using "Valentines" showed:
1. Tanks passability in winter conditions is good, movement is ensured on soft snow 50-60 cm thick. Grip with the ground is good, but spurs are needed when icy conditions.
2. The weapon operated flawlessly, but there were cases of undershot guns (the first five or six shots), apparently due to the thickening of the lubricant. The weapon is very demanding on lubrication and maintenance.
3. Observation in devices and slots is good.
4. The motor group and worked well up to 150-200 hours, then there is a decrease in engine power.
5. Good quality armor.
The personnel of the crews underwent special training and owned tanks satisfactorily. The command and technical staff of the tanks knew little. A great inconvenience was created by the crews' ignorance of the elements of preparing tanks for winter. As a result of the lack of necessary heating, the cars hardly started in the cold and therefore kept hot all the time, which led to a large consumption of motor resources. In a battle with German tanks (12/20/1941), three "Valentines" received the following damage: one 37-mm projectile jammed the tower, the other had a cannon, the third received five hits on the side from a distance of 200-250 meters. In this battle, "Valentines" knocked out two medium German tanks T-3.
In general, the Mk.Sh is a good combat weapon with powerful weapons, good maneuverability, capable of operating against enemy manpower, fortifications and tanks.
Negative sides:
1. Poor grip of the tracks with the ground.
2. Great vulnerability of the suspension bogies - if one roller fails, it cannot move. There are no high-explosive fragmentation shells for the gun."
Apparently, the latter circumstance was the reason for the order of the State Defense Committee on the re-equipment of "Valentine" with the domestic artillery system. This task and in a short time was carried out at the plant number 92 by the design bureau under the leadership of Grabin. In December 1941, for two weeks, one "Valen-Tyne" was armed with a 45-mm tank gun and a DT machine gun. This machine received the factory index ZIS-95. At the end of December, the tank was sent to Moscow, but things did not go beyond the prototype.
A large number of tanks "Valentine" participated in the battle for the Caucasus. In general, the North Caucasian Front in the period 1942-1943 had a very significant "share" of Anglo-American tanks - up to 70% of the total number of vehicles. This situation was explained primarily by the proximity of the front to the Iranian channel for supplying the Red Army with equipment and weapons, as well as the convenience of transporting tanks along the Volga that arrived in the northern ports of the USSR.
Of the armored units of the North Caucasian Front, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade was considered the most eminent and experienced. The brigade began combat operations in the Caucasus on September 26, 1942, covering the Grozny direction to the Malgobek, Ozernaya area (at that time the brigade had 40 Valentines, three T-34s and one BT-7). On September 29, the brigade counterattacked the German units in the Alkhanch-Urt valley. In this battle, the crew of Captain Shenelkov's Guards destroyed five tanks, one self-propelled gun, a truck and 25 soldiers on their "Valentine". 15 for the next few days, fighting in the area continued. In total, during the fighting in the Malgobek area, the brigade destroyed 38 tanks (of which 20 burned down), one self-propelled guns, 24 guns, six mortars, one six-barreled mortar, up to 1800 enemy soldiers. The losses of the brigade amounted to two T-34s, 33 Valentines (of which eight burned down, the rest were evacuated and restored), 268 people were killed and wounded.
Returning to the use of the Valentine tank on the Soviet-German front, we can say that our commanders found the right solution - they began to use these tanks in an integrated manner, together with Soviet equipment. In the first echelon (according to the documents of 1942) there were tanks KV and "Matilda CS;" (with a 76.2-mm howitzer), in the second echelon T-34, and in the third "Valentine" and T-70. This tactic has often yielded positive results. An example of this is the reconnaissance in force of the fire system of the German defensive zone in the North Caucasus - the Blue Line.
Forces from the 56th Army were involved in the attack: the 5th Guards Tank Brigade (as of 1.08. 1C), as well as a battalion of the 417th Infantry Division.
Exactly at six o'clock in the morning on August 6, 1943, a volley of Katyushas was fired at the Gorno-Vesely farm (the Object of attack), and immediately behind the fire shaft, three KV-1S rushed forward, followed by three "Valentines" under the command of the guard senior lieutenant G. P. Polosina. The infantry moved behind the slippers. Further, it is interesting to cite the memoirs of G.P. Polosin, a participant in the battle:
“Tacking among the shell bursts (thirty-minute artillery preparation, of course, did not fully suppress the enemy fire system), my Valentine suddenly found itself literally in front of the farmhouse houses. That’s luck! But how are the other tanks? ..
I looked around through the peepholes. I saw that two more "Englishmen" of my platoon - the cars of Poloznikov and Voronkov - were walking a little behind. But heavy HF is not visible. Maybe they fell behind or took it aside: The infantry, of course, was cut off from the tanks even earlier ...
Destroying enemy machine-gun emplacements and bunkers along the way, our tanks reached the hollow. Stopped here. I gave the order over the radio:
- Don't shoot without my order! Save your projectiles. It is still unknown how much it will take like this ... And then to get through to your own ...
The tank commanders answered shortly:
-Understood.
Then he tried to contact the commander of the guard company, Senior Lieutenant Maksimov. And I couldn't. The broadcast was filled to the limit with hysterical commands in German. Apparently, the Nazis were seriously worried about the unexpected breakthrough of Russian tanks in this sector of their defense.
But our position was unenviable. It just so happened that they broke away from the main group conducting reconnaissance in force, and the fuel was running out, alone behind enemy lines, which, however, had not yet fully understood the situation, but this was a matter of time.
Having crushed a German anti-tank gun along the way, our tank jumped out of the hollow into the open space and saw a strange picture. On Voronkov's car, which was 30-40 meters to the right, there were Germans. They mistook "Valentines" for their equipment, pounded their butts on the armor and did not understand why the tankers did not get out. After waiting until the Germans had accumulated up to a dozen people, I ordered to hit them with a machine gun. Then, firing from smoke grenade launchers (this is where this weapon, which was only on British tanks) came in handy and, having installed a smoke screen, the vehicles returned through the same hollow to the location of their troops. Near Gorno-Vesely, the battle was still going on. HF were hit. One of them stood without a tower. Another a little farther from him buried his cannon in the ground. At its right, flattened caterpillar, two tankers fired their pistols from the advancing Germans. Having dispersed the enemy infantry with fire from cannons and machine guns, we dragged both wounded into our "Valentine". It immediately became clear that, unable to penetrate the armor of the KV with anti-tank artillery, the Germans used guided mines against them.
During this short raid behind enemy lines, a platoon of guards senior lieutenant G.P. Polosin destroyed five anti-tank guns, crushed five bunkers, 12 machine guns, shot up to a hundred Nazis. But most importantly, with his unexpected blow from the rear, he forced the enemy to fully open his fire system. Which is exactly what was needed.
It remains to add that all the crew members of Polosin's platoon were awarded government awards for this. Personally, Georgy Pavlovich Polosin received the Order of the Red Star.
In the 196th Tank Brigade (30th Army of the Kalinin Front), which participated in the capture of the city of Rzhev, in August 1942, steel plates were welded onto each of the Valentine tank tracks, increasing the track area. Shod in such "bast shoes", the car did not fall through the snow and did not get stuck in the swampy soil of central Russia. Mk.IIIs were actively used in positional battles on the Western and Kalinin fronts until the beginning of 1944. For mobility and maneuverability "Valentine" was very fond of cavalrymen. Until the end of the war, "Valentine IV" and its further development "Valentine IX and X" remained the main tank of the cavalry corps. As the main drawback, the cavalrymen noted the absence of high-explosive fragmentation shells for the cannon. And one more thing: it was not recommended to make sharp turns on the "Valentine", since at the same time the sloth's crank bent and the caterpillar jumped off.
By the end of the war, modifications of the Valentine IX and X (along with the American Sherman) were the only types of tanks that the USSR continued to request for supplies to the Red Army. For example, as of June 22, 1944, the 5th Guards Tank Army (3rd Belorussian Front) had 39 Valentine IX tanks, and the 3rd Cavalry Corps had 30 Valentine III tanks. These vehicles completed their military career in the Far East in August-September 1945. The 1st Far Eastern Front included 20 bridge tanks Mk.III Valentine-Bridgelayer, the 2nd Far Eastern Front included 41 Valentine III and IX (267th Tank Regiment) and another 40 Valentine IV were in the ranks of the cavalry -mechanized group of the Trans-Baikal Front.
Attached to tank brigades by armies 15 and 16, tank-bridge companies (10 Mk.IIIM each) marched along with tanks, but were not used, since tanks and self-propelled guns overcame small rivers and streams themselves, and large obstacles (over 8 m) were not Mk.IIIM could be provided.
Canadian tanks "Valentine IV" in Soviet terminology were also designated as "Mk.III", so it is quite difficult to determine where the actual English and where Canadian vehicles. Several cars "Valentine VII" took part in the liberation of the Crimea. The 19th Perekop tank corps had the 91st separate motorcycle battalion, which had a Valentine VII tank, ten BA-64s, ten Universal armored personnel carriers and 23 motorcycles.
However, this does not detract from the Canadian share of deliveries to the USSR. After all, almost half of the Valentines delivered were Canadian-made. These tanks, along with British products, participated in many operations of the Great Patriotic War.
One example of the use of Canadian vehicles was the battle of the 139th tank regiment of the 68th mechanized brigade of the 5th mechanized corps of the 5th army to capture the village of Devichye Pole in November 1943. 139 TP (68 Mbr, 8 Mk, 5 Army) entered the operational subordination of the 5 Army on November 15, 1943. With 20 T-34 tanks and 18 Valentine VII tanks, the regiment was fully equipped and was not used in battles until November 20. After the preparation of the material part for the battles was completed, on November 20, 1943, in cooperation with the 57th Guards Tank Breakthrough Regiment, armed with KV and T-34 vehicles, and the infantry of the 110th Guards Rifle Division, the tanks of the 139th TP went forward. , the attack was carried out at high speeds (up to 25 km / h) with a landing of machine gunners (up to 100 people) and with anti-tank guns attached to tanks. 30 Soviet tanks participated in this operation. The enemy did not expect such a massive swift strike and was unable to provide effective resistance to the advancing units. When the first line of defense was torn, the infantry dismounted and, having unhooked their guns, began to occupy enemy positions, preparing to repel a possible counterattack. The remaining units of the 110th Guards Rifle Division were brought into the breach. However, the German counterattack did not take place, the German command was so stunned by the Soviet breakthrough that they could not organize resistance during the day. During this day, our troops went 20 km into the depths of the German defense and captured the Maiden's Field, while losing 4 tanks (KV,

One of the first production tanks Valentine I at the range. UK, 1939

The most successful light (according to the classification adopted in most countries) and the most massive British tank of the Second World War. Developed on an initiative basis by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd. in 1938. It was mass-produced from 1940 to the beginning of 1944. During this time, three British companies - Vickers, Metro, 3RCW - and two Canadian companies - Canadian Pacific Pailway and Montreal Works produced 8275 tanks (including 1420 in Canada).

DESIGN AND MODIFICATIONS

Valentine I is the first production version. The main feature of the hull and turret design was the absence of frames for their assembly. The armor plates were processed according to the corresponding templates so that they were mutually closed during assembly. Then they were fastened to each other with bolts, rivets and dowels. The car was equipped with a 2-pounder gun, a 6-cylinder AES A189 carburetor engine with a power of 135 hp. at 1900 rpm. The transmission of tanks with AEC engines included: a J-151 single-disk dry-friction main clutch, a four-way, five-speed Meadows type 22 gearbox, a bevel transverse gear, multi-plate dry clutches and double planetary final drives. The capacity of the fuel tanks is 257 l. Some machines on a special bracket

a Lakeman anti-aircraft mount for a 7.7-mm Vgep infantry machine gun was attached to the roof of the tower. Combat weight 15.75 tons, crew 3 people.

Valentine II - AES A190 diesel engine with a power of 131 hp. at 1800 rpm, bulwarks and optional external fuel tank connected to the engine power system. Power reserve with an external tank - 176 km.

Valentine III is a three-man turret with a stern niche. The thickness of the hull sides has been reduced from 60 to 50 mm. Combat weight 16.75 tons, crew 4 people.

Valentine IV - Valentine II with American diesel GMC 6004 with 138 hp. and transmission.

Valentine V - Valentine III with American GMC 6004 diesel and transmission.

Valentine VI - Valentine IV made in Canada. different from English version a number of components and parts of Canadian or American production. In some tanks, the front part of the hull is made of one-piece cast.

Valentine VII - Valentine VI with a coaxial Browning М1919А4 machine gun in 7.62 mm American production instead of English BESA. Made in Canada.

Valentine VIII - Valentine III with a 6-pounder (57 mm) gun in a two-man turret. The coaxial machine gun and smoke breech-loading grenade launcher were absent. Two 101.6 mm smoke grenade launchers were attached to the right side of the turret on a special bracket. The thickness of the side armor of the hull has been reduced. Ammunition - 53 artillery rounds, combat weight - 17.2 tons. Crew 3 people.

Valentine IX - Valentine V with a 6-pounder gun in a two-man turret. The coaxial machine gun was missing. The last 300 vehicles were equipped with forced diesel engines GMC 6004 with a capacity of 165 hp. at 2000 rpm.

Valentine X - Valentine IX equipped with a 7.92 mm BESA machine gun. Gun ammunition reduced to 44 rounds. Machine gun ammunition - 3150 rounds. GMC 6004 engine with 165 hp

Valentine XI - 75 mm cannon. Ammunition 46 shots and 3150 rounds. GMC 6004 engine boosted to 210 hp. at 2150 rpm.

Within a year after the start of mass production, the development of a new material part in the tank formations of the British army took place. One of the first in 1941 "Valentines" entered the 6th and 11th tank divisions, and even earlier, in the autumn of 1940, to the 1st Polish Panzer Division.

These vehicles received their baptism of fire in North Africa in November 1941 during Operation Crusader. Of the six divisions and five brigades of the 8th British Army participating in this operation, one division and three brigades were armored. The 1st Army Tank Brigade included the 8th Royal Tank Regiment, fully equipped with Valentines (42 units), Another 10 vehicles of this type were part of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade, which was part of the garrison of Tobruk besieged by the Italo-German troops .

Valentine II equipped for desert operations. The machine has a 135-liter fuel tank and fenders, which reduced the cloud of sand dust from the tracks

Infantry tank Valentine III. A Lakeman anti-aircraft mount for a 7.7-mm Bgep infantry machine gun is mounted on the roof of the turret.

Infantry tank Valentine IV. Most of of these tanks was sent to the Soviet Union

Five months later, by the start of the battle of El Ghazal, the 1st Army tank brigade completely re-equipped with Valentines. In this formation, which consisted of the 8th, 42nd and 44th Royal Tank Regiments, there were 174 Valentines.

One squadron of "Valentines" took part in the landing on about. Madagascar in 1942, As part of the 3rd New Zealand Division, they fought in the Pacific Islands.

Of the 11 British tank regiments that fought the Japanese in Burma, one - the 146th Regiment of the Royal Tank Corps (146.RAC) - was armed with Valentine III tanks from October 1942. Despite the subsequent arrival of 8 other types of combat vehicles, including General Grant tanks, a certain number of Valentines continued to be used in this unit until 1945. Only in May 1945 was the regiment finally re-equipped with Shermans.

By the time of the landing in Normandy, the Valentines had been withdrawn from the first line of tank units. Used as various machines special purpose- bridgelayers (Valentine-Bridgelayer), minesweepers and others. Some of the tanks were converted into Archer self-propelled artillery mounts. Quite a few "Valentines" served as armored mobile observation posts in parts of the Royal Artillery and were used as command vehicles in anti-tank divisions.

The only country where Valentines were supplied under Lend-Lease was the Soviet Union. Moreover, almost half of the vehicles produced were sent to the USSR: 2394 English and 1388 Canadian, of which 3332 tanks reached their destination. The Red Army received tanks of seven modifications - II, III, IV, V, VII, IX and X. As can be seen, vehicles equipped with GMC diesel engines predominated. Perhaps this was done for the sake of unification; the same engines were on the American Shermans supplied to the USSR.

Valentine V, A 135 liter fuel tank is mounted on the left fender. In the side of the tower is visible loophole for firing personal weapons

Infantry tank Valentine VIII. First modification armed with a 6-pounder gun

Infantry Valentine tanks X (center) and Valentine XI (left). characteristic hallmarks of these tanks were a Besa machine gun in a stand-alone mount to the right of the gun and a bracket with 101.6mm caliber smoke grenade launchers mounted on the right side of the turret

Red Army soldiers are studying the design of the English tank "Valentine II". 1942

Tank unit "Valentine IV" on the march. Western Front, 1942

In addition to line tanks, 25 bridge layers were delivered. The first "Valentines" appeared on the Soviet-German front at the end of November 1941. Already during the first battles, such a lack of English tanks was revealed as the absence of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the ammunition load of the 2-pounder gun. A large number of "Valentines" participated in the battle for the Caucasus. In 1942 - 1943. tank units of the North Caucasian and Transcaucasian fronts were equipped with imported equipment by almost 70%. This was due to the proximity to the so-called "Iranian Corridor", that is, one of the routes for the delivery of goods to the USSR, passing through Iran.

The geography of the use of "Valentines" was very wide - from the southernmost sections of the Soviet-German front to the northern ones. In addition to units of the Transcaucasian Front, they were, for example, in service with the 19th Tank Corps of the Southern Front (since October 20, 1943 - the 4th Ukrainian) and received Active participation in the Melitopol offensive operation, and then in the liberation of the Crimea. Mk III tanks were actively used in positional battles on the Western and Kalinin fronts until the beginning of 1944. Until the end of the war, Valentines remained the main tanks of the cavalry corps. The cavalrymen especially appreciated the maneuverability of the vehicle. Most likely, for the same reason, "Valentines" were in service with many motorcycle battalions and individual motorcycle regiments. The staff of the latter at the final stage of the war included a tank company of ten T-34s or the same number of Valentine IX.

Tanks of modifications "Valentine IX" and "Valentine X", armed with 57-mm guns, continued to be requested until the end of the war Soviet Union for Lend-Lease deliveries. Largely due to this, the mass production of "Valentines", which were no longer entering the British army, continued to be maintained until April 1944.

In the Red Army "Valentines" were used until the end of World War II. Fighting vehicles of this type completed their combat path in the Red Army in the Far East in August 1945.

Tank "Valentine IX" one of the units of the Red Army on the street of Yassy. August 1944

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 16.5.

CREW, people: 3.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 5410, width - 2629, height - 2273, ground clearance - 420.

ARMAMENT: 1 Mk IX cannon caliber 2 pounds (40 mm), 1 machine gun 8ESA caliber 7.92 mm. 1 anti-aircraft machine gun Vgep caliber 7.7 mm, 1 smoke grenade launcher caliber 50.5 mm.

AMMUNITION: 61 artillery rounds, 3150 rounds of 7.92 mm caliber, 600 rounds of 7.7 mm caliber, 18 smoke grenades.

AIMING DEVICES: telescopic sight No. 24V Mk I. RESERVATION, mm: forehead - 60, side and stern - 60, roof - 10 - 20, bottom - 7 - 20; tower - 60 - 65.

ENGINE: GMC 6-71 model 6004, 6-cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled, in-line diesel; maximum power 165 hp (120 kW) at 2000 rpm, factory adjusted - 138 hp at 1900 rpm. Working volume 6970 cm #179; .

TRANSMISSION: M-6004 dry-friction single-disk main clutch, Spicer synchromech three-way synchronized manual gearbox, transverse gear, dry multi-plate clutches, double planetary final drives, shoe brakes.

RUNNING GEAR: six rubber-coated road wheels on board, rear drive wheel (pinion engagement in the middle of the caterpillar), blocked suspension, balancer with a coil spring and hydraulic shock absorber; three rubberized support rollers; in each caterpillar there are 103 tracks 356 mm wide, the track pitch is 112 mm.

MAX SPEED, km/h: 32.

POWER RESERVE, km: 150.

OVERCOME OBSTACLES: elevation angle, deg. - 40, wall height, m ​​- 0.75, ditch width, m - 2.2, ford depth, m - 1.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station No. 19.