Valentine Tanks in NW Europe 44

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The book ‘AFV Profile 6: Valentine Mark III’ has the following to say about the use of Valentine type tanks in NW Europe:

“The Valentine chassis was also adapted for a number of special armoured vehicles and self-propelled mountings. Of the specialised armour the Valentine Bridgelayer was operationally the most important: these were issued on an establishment of six per armoured brigade equipped with cruiser or medium tanks and were used in Italy, North-West Europe and in Burma.”

“The Valentine, although by 1944 armed with the 75mm gun, had been rendered obsolescent … However, it was found still possible to give them a useful role as battery commanders’ vehicles – retaining full armament – in self-propelled 17pdr anti-tank regiments equipped with Archers, which were themselves developed from the Valentine … In this function the Valentine was in at the final stage of the war in Europe.”



The top right and bottom pictures show a Valentine XI used as a command vehicle in a Corps Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, North-West Europe 1944-45.

The Valentine was also used elsewhere later in the war. A small number of Valentine DD tanks were used in Italy in 1945 and the 3rd New Zealand Division used some Valentines – some of which were armed with 3-inch howitzers - during their operations in the SW Pacific in 1944. A squadron of Valentines was also used for the defence of Gibraltar.