The Valentine tank was the direct successor of the Matilda. A bit faster and with a bit thinner armour, it was a more balanced design than the Matilda. A weak point however was the 2-pounder gun, that was too light to fight the second generation of German tanks, and for which no high explosive shell was available to fight infantry and anti-tank guns.
Valentine Mk.I
The Valentine was developed by Vickers Armstrong, based on the proven technology of lighter and faster cruiser tanks. Thus the new model could be developed much faster. The small size of the Valentine limited the crew to three, which was insufficient for a battle tank. Improved models with a heavier gun and a three man turret also were not very succesful. From 1942 on the Valentine was replaced in front-line service by the better armed, better armoured and much roomier Churchill tank.
Valentine equipped for desert warfare.
Notwithstanding her grave limitations, the Valentine became one of the important British tank designs of the war. From the second half of 1941 it was the most numerous tank of the Eight Army in North Africa. Almost 4.000 Valentines were exported to the Soviet Union. In South East Asia the Valentine was used by the New Zealand army against the Japanese. In Britain the Valentine had an important role in training tank crews. With more than 8.000 produced it was the most produced British tank from WW2. And although obsolete as a battle tank from the beginning of its career, its reliable chassis proved useful as a base for many special vehicles, like self-propelled guns (Bishop), tank destroyers (Archer), bridgelayers, mine-clearing and flamethrower tanks.
Valentine bridgelayer tank.
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