Tank Valentine drawings. Tank Mk.III Valentine Engine. Weight. Dimensions. Armament. Equipment for Valentine II

Tanks "VALENTINE" in units 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 extremely poor quality and archaic design of these samples. Now that the fight against bourgeois counterfeiters 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 armored vehicles of Anglo-American production, which were used in significant quantities in units of the Red Army. This article will focus on English light tank MK.III "Valentine", which became the most popular 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 "Valentin" or "Valentina") was developed by the company " " in 1938. Like the Matilda, it was an infantry tank, but in terms of mass - 16 tons - it was rather light. True, 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 cannon. On "Valentine I" they used a carburetor AEC with 135 hp, which was replaced in subsequent modifications by AEC and GMC diesel engines with a power of 131, 138 and 165 hp. tank speed was 34 km/h.
By Soviet standards, "Valentines" had an archaic design - armor plates were attached to the corners using rivets. Armor elements were installed mainly 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 performance of the crew. But that's all English cars were equipped with radio (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, differing mainly in armament and engine type. A total of 8,275 tanks were manufactured by three English and two Canadian firms (6,855 in England and 1,420 in Canada). 2,394 British and 1,388 Canadian Valentines (3,782 in total) were sent to Soviet Russia, of which 3,332 vehicles reached Russia. The Valentines were supplied to the USSR in seven modifications:
"Valentine II" - with a 42-mm cannon, AEC diesel engine, 131 hp. and an additional external fuel tank;
"Valentine III" - with a three-man turret and a crew of four people;
"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 part and a coaxial 7.62 mm Browning machine gun (instead of the 7.92 mm BESA machine gun installed on English-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 liters .With.
In addition to the main modifications of the "Valentine", in 1944 the Red Army also received the Mk.III "Valentine-Bridgelaer" - in Soviet terminology "Mk.ZM". Perhaps the Canadian version of the Valentine (modification VII) was even more reliable and technically advanced than its English predecessor. Canadian Valentines were supplied to the Red Army from 1942 to 1944, with the bulk of deliveries occurring in 1943. The most popular modifications in the Red Army were the Valentine IV and its Canadian equivalent, the Valentine VII, as well as the main variant of the final period of the war, the Valentine IX. Moreover, in Soviet Union IX was supplied predominantly with an artillery system having a barrel length of 52 calibers, while the British Army used models with a barrel length of 45 calibers. "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 War Department was indicated (Mk.II, Mk.III, Mk.IV, etc.), then the name of the vehicle ("Valentine", "Matilda", "Churchill", etc.) and indicated by it (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 British tanks adopted in the Red Army during the war: a name indicating the modification, for example: “Valentine IV”, “Valentine IX”, etc., or without indicating the modification, for example: Mk. III "Valentine".
During the four years of war, foreign-made armored vehicles received various units, subdivisions | divisions and units 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 car command staff middle and senior management often did not coincide with the opinion of the tank crew. This is understandable; the command was primarily concerned tactical characteristics equipment - weapons, speed on the march, range, etc. - and for the crew, ease of operation, placement of units and the ability to quick repair, as well as other parameters of a household and technical nature. The combination of these two points of view largely determined the presented model of armored vehicles.
In addition, the foreign one was designed with a higher culture of production and operation in mind. In many ways, it was the technical illiteracy of the crews and the lack of units necessary for maintenance that became the reasons for the failure of allied equipment. However, the “gap” of the gap was not so great, and our tankers very soon became accustomed 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, although in small quantities. At the same time, only part of the 145 Matildas, 216 Valentines and 330 Station Wagons received was used. So, on the Western Front on January 1, 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 Northwestern Front (4th Contact Army).
German documents of the 4th Panzer Group note the fact of the first use of British Type 3 tanks (Mk.III "Valentine" - Author's note) against the 2nd Panzer Division on November 25, 1941 in the Peshki area. The document stated: “For the first time, German soldiers were faced with the fact of real help from England, which Russian propaganda had been shouting about for so long. English tanks are much worse than Soviet ones. The crews that German soldiers took prisoner scolded “the old tin boxes that the British handed them.”
Judging by this report, it can be assumed that the crews of the Valentines had a very limited training period and had little knowledge of English materiel. In the units of the 5th Army, which covered the Mozhaisk direction, the first unit to receive “foreign tanks” was the 136th separate tank battalion (tb). The battalion completed its formation on December 1, 1941, having ten T-34, ten T-60, nine Valentine and three Matilda tanks (British tanks were received in Gorky on November 10, 1941, tankers were trained directly at front). By December 10, during crew training, five Valentines, two Matildas, one T-34 and four T-60s were damaged. After putting the equipment in order, on December 15, 1911, 136th detachment. was assigned to the 329th Infantry Division (SD). Then, together with the 20th Tank Brigade, he took part in the counter-offensive near Moscow.
On January 15, 1942, the battalion command compiled a “Brief Report on the Actions. Mk.Sh” - apparently documents assessing the Allied equipment:
“The experience of using Valentines has shown:
1. The tanks' cross-country ability in winter conditions is good; movement on soft snow 50-60 cm thick is ensured. Ground traction is good, but spurs are required when there is icy conditions.
2. The weapon worked flawlessly, but there were cases of the gun not firing enough (the first five or six shots), apparently due to thickening of the lubricant. Weapons are very demanding in terms of lubrication and maintenance.
3. Observation through instruments and slits is good.
4. The motor group worked well up to 150-200 hours, then a decrease in engine power is observed.
5. Good quality armor.
The crew personnel passed special training and handled tanks satisfactorily. The command and technical staff of the tanks had little knowledge. 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, cars had difficulty starting in the cold and therefore remained hot all the time, which led to a large consumption of motor resources. In a battle with German tanks (December 20, 1941), three Valentines received the following damage: one had its turret jammed by a 37-mm shell, the gun of another was jammed, the third received five hits on the side from a distance of 200-250 meters. In this battle, the "Valentines" knocked out two medium German tank T-3.
In general, the Mk.Sh is a good combat weapon powerful weapons, good maneuverability, capable of operating against enemy personnel, fortifications and tanks.
Negative sides:
1. Poor adhesion of the tracks to 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 State Committee Defense about the rearmament of "Valentine" with a domestic artillery system. This task and within a short timeframe were carried out at plant No. 92 by the design bureau under the leadership of Grabin. In December 1941, within two weeks, one Valen-Tayne was armed with a 45-mm tank gun and a DT machine gun. This car received the factory index ZIS-95. At the end of December, the tank was sent to Moscow, but things did not go further than a prototype.
A large number of Valentine tanks took part in the battle for the Caucasus. In general, the North Caucasus Front in the period 1942-1943 had a very significant “share” of the British American tanks- up to 70% of the total number of cars. This situation was explained primarily by the proximity of the front to the Iranian supply channel for the Red Army with equipment and weapons, as well as the convenience of transporting tanks along the Volga that arrived at the northern ports of the USSR.
Of the armored units of the North Caucasus 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 German units in the Alkhanch-urt valley. In this battle, the crew of Captain Shenelkov's Guard in his "Valentine" destroyed five tanks, one self-propelled gun, a truck and 25 soldiers. 15 Over the next few days, fighting in this area continued. In total, during the fighting in the Malgobek area, the brigade destroyed 38 tanks (of which 20 were burned), one self-propelled gun, 24 guns, six mortars, one six-barreled mortar, and up to 1,800 enemy soldiers. The brigade's losses were two T-34s, 33 Valentines (eight of them burned out, 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 decision- these tanks began to be used comprehensively, together with Soviet equipment. In the first echelon (according to documents from 1942) there were KV and Matilda CS tanks. (with a 76.2 mm howitzer), in the second echelon there are T-34s, and in the third echelon “Valentine” and T-70. This tactic very often gave 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.
For the attack, forces from the 56th Army were brought in: the 5th Guards Tank Brigade (as of August 1, 1943 it had 13 M4A2, 24 Valentine, 12 T-34) and the 14th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment (16 KV- 1C), as well as the battalion of the 417th Infantry Division.
Exactly at six o'clock in the morning on August 6, 1943, a Katyusha salvo was fired at the village of Gorno-Vesely (Object of attack), and immediately behind the barrage of fire, three KV-1S rushed forward, followed by three Valentines under the command of Guard Senior Lieutenant G. P. Polosina. The infantry moved behind the slippers. Next, it is not without interest to cite the memories of battle participant G.P. Polosin:
“Maneuvering among shell explosions (a thirty-minute artillery barrage, of course, did not completely suppress the enemy’s fire system), my “Valentine” unexpectedly found itself literally in front of the houses of the farm. What luck! But what about other tanks?..
I looked around through the viewing slits. I saw that two more "Englishmen" of my platoon - Poloznikov's and Voronkov's vehicles - were walking slightly behind. But heavy HFs are not visible. Maybe they fell behind or were taken to the side: The infantry, of course, had been cut off from the tanks even earlier...
Destroying enemy machine-gun emplacements and bunkers along the way, our tanks reached the ravine. We stopped here. I gave the order over the radio:
-Don't shoot without my order! Take care of the shells. It is still unknown how long it will take... And then we will have to fight our way to our own people...
The tank commanders answered briefly:
-Understood.
Then he tried to contact the guard company commander, Senior Lieutenant Maksimov. And I couldn't. The airwaves were filled to the limit with hysterical teams on German. Apparently, the Nazis were seriously concerned about the unexpected breakthrough of Russian tanks in this sector of their defense.
But our position was also unenviable. It just so happened that they were separated from the main group conducting reconnaissance in force, and their fuel was running out, they were alone behind enemy lines, who, 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 ravine into the open space and saw a strange picture. There were Germans on Voronkov’s car, which was 30-40 meters to the right. They mistook the Valentines for their equipment, banged their butts on the armor and did not understand why the tankers did not get out. After waiting until there were up to a dozen Germans, I ordered a machine gun to hit them. Then, having fired smoke grenade launchers (this is where these weapons, which were only on British tanks, came in handy) and, having installed a smoke screen, the vehicles returned through the ravine to the location of their troops. The battle was still going on near Gorno-Vesely. The HFs were shot down. One of them stood without a tower. Another a little further from him buried his gun in the ground. At its right, spread out caterpillar, two tankers fired their pistols away from the advancing Germans. Having dispersed the enemy infantry with cannon and machine gun fire, we dragged both wounded men into our Valentine. It immediately became clear that having failed to penetrate the armor of the KV anti-tank artillery, the Germans used guided mines against them."
During this short raid behind enemy lines, a platoon of guard senior lieutenant G.P. Polosin destroyed five anti-tank guns, crushed five bunkers, 12 machine guns, and shot up to a hundred Nazis. But most importantly, with his unexpected attack from the rear he forced the enemy to fully open his fire system. Which, in fact, was what was needed.
It remains to add that all 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 tracks of the Valentine tanks, increasing the track area. Shod in such “bast shoes”, the car did not fall through the snow and did not get stuck in the marshy soil of central Russia. Mk.III were actively used in positional battles on the Western and Kalinin fronts until the beginning of 1944. Cavalrymen were very fond of the Valentine for its mobility and maneuverability. Until the end of the war, the Valentine IV and its further development, the Valentine IX and X, remained the main tank of the cavalry corps. The cavalrymen noted the lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells for the cannon as the main drawback. And one more thing: it was not recommended to make sharp turns on the Valentine, since this would bend the sloth’s crank and cause the caterpillar to jump off.
By the end of the war, modifications of the Valentine IX and X (along with the American Sherman) remained the only types of tanks that the USSR continued to request for delivery to the Red Army. For example, on 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 ended their military career in the Far East in August-September 1945. The 1st Far Eastern Front included 20 Mk.III Valentine-Bridgelayer bridge tanks, 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 Transbaikal Front.
Attached to tank brigades by armies 15 and 16, tank-bridge companies (10 Mk.IIIM each) marched together 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 could be provided with Mk.IIIM.
Canadian tanks "Valentine IV" in Soviet terminology were also designated as "Mk.III", so it is quite difficult to determine which are actually English and which are Canadian vehicles. Several Valentine VII vehicles took part in the liberation of Crimea. In the 19th Perekop Tank Corps there was the 91st separate motorcycle battalion, which had a Valentine VII bottom, ten BA-64s, ten Universal armored personnel carriers and 23 motorcycles.
However, this does not in the least diminish the Canadian share of supplies to the USSR. After all, almost half of the Valentines delivered were Canadian-made. These tanks, along with British products, took part 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 locality Maiden Field in November 1943. 139 TP (68 infantry brigade, 8 Mk, 5th Army) entered operational subordination to the 5th 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 battle until November 20. After the preparation of the material unit for battle was completed, on November 20, 1943, in cooperation with the 57th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment, armed with KV and T-34 vehicles, and the infantry of the 110th Guards Rifle Division, the tanks of the 139th Tank Division 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 tanks attached anti-tank guns. 30 Soviet tanks took part in this operation. The enemy did not expect such a massive rapid attack and was unable to provide effective resistance to the advancing units. When the first line of defense was broken, the infantry dismounted and, unhooking their guns, began to occupy enemy positions, preparing to repel a possible counterattack. The remaining units of the 110th Guards Infantry Division were brought into the breakthrough. However, the German counterattack did not take place; the German command was so stunned by the Soviet breakthrough that it was unable to organize resistance within 24 hours. During this day, our troops marched 20 km into the depths of the German defense and captured Devichye Pole, losing 4 tanks (KV,

At the beginning of 1938, the British War Office offered Vickers-Armstrong Ltd. take part in the production of the Mk. infantry tank. II or develop a combat vehicle of your own design according to similar tactical and technical requirements. Drawings of the new combat vehicle were submitted to the War Ministry on February 10, 1938, and its full-size model was made by March 14, but the military was not satisfied with the two-man turret, and for a whole year they debated whether to accept the project or not. The deterioration of the situation in Europe contributed to the fact that on April 14, 1939, an order was issued for the first series of tanks. The contract, signed in June - July of the same year, provided for the supply of 625 Valentines to the British army. Two more companies were involved in their production: Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Co. Ltd. and Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co. Ltd. In June 1940, the first production tanks began to roll out of the Vickers plant in Newcastle.

Infantry tank "Valentine II" at the NIIBT Test Site in Kubinka. 1947

The Valentine infantry tank had a classic layout with rear-mounted drive wheels. The main feature of the hull and turret design is the absence of frames for their assembly. The armor plates were processed according to appropriate templates so that they were mutually locked during assembly. The plates were then fastened to each other with bolts, rivets and dowels. Tolerances for fitting various parts did not exceed 0.01 inches.

The driver's position was located in the center of the front of the tank. For landing and disembarking, he had two hatches with hinged covers at his disposal. Two more crew members - a gunner and a commander (aka loader and radio operator) - were located in the turret. In its frontal part, a 2-pound cannon and a coaxial 7.92-mm BESA machine gun were installed in a cast mantlet. To the right of them, in a separate mask, is a 50-mm smoke grenade launcher. The armament was supplemented by a 7.69 mm Bren machine gun on a Lakeman anti-aircraft mount on the roof of the turret. At the rear of the tower there was a radio station No. 11 or No. 19 and a special hole for ventilation. On the walls of the rotating floor of the turret fighting compartment there was ammunition - 60 rounds and 3150 rounds of ammunition (14 boxes of 225 pieces each) for the BESA machine gun; The seats of the crew members were also attached to the pole. The ammunition of the Bren anti-aircraft machine gun - 600 rounds (6 disc magazines) - was located in a box on the rear outer wall of the turret. 18 smoke grenades were intended for the grenade launcher.

An engine with power, lubrication, cooling and electrical equipment was installed in the spacious engine compartment. To the right of the engine is an oil filter and two batteries, and to the left is a fuel tank. The engine compartment was closed from the fighting compartment by removable blinds. To access the engine components, the armor plates of the engine compartment roof were hinged.

The transmission compartment contained a cooling system tank, two radiators, a single-disc main dry friction clutch, a five-speed gearbox, a transverse gear, two multi-disc dry clutches, semi-rigid connections of the final clutches to the final drives and an oil tank.

The undercarriage of each side consisted of six rubber-coated road wheels, three of them interlocked into two balancing bogies with special springs and hydraulic shock absorbers; drive wheel with removable ring gear and two rubber tires; a guide wheel with a tensioning mechanism and three rubberized support rollers. The track chain had 103 tracks, and their engagement was lantern, in the middle of the track.

Infantry tank MK-III"Valentine IX" at the Kubinka training ground.

The Valentine tanks were produced in 11 modifications, differing in the brand and type of engine, turret design and armament. The Valentine I variant was the only one equipped with an AEC A189 carburetor engine producing 135 hp. Starting with the Valentine II model, only diesel engines were installed on the tank, first the AES A190 with a power of 131 hp. with, then, on the “Valentine IV”, an American GMC 6004, throttled to 138 hp. Since the tankers complained about the overload of the two crew members placed in the turret, a three-man turret was installed on the “III” and “V” variants, increasing the volume of the standard one due to the mantlet moved forward new form. However, the new turret was too cramped for three tankers, and such an improvement was of little use. While the “troika” and “five” were generally identical, they differed from each other only in the engine brand - AEC A190 and GMC 6004, respectively. The weight of the tank increased by exactly a ton and reached 16.75 tons.

Before a rally to mark the transfer of the first British tanks to the Soviet Union. Birmingham, September 28, 1941.

In the fall of 1941, production of Valentine began in Canada, at the plant of the Montreal company Canadian Pacific Co. Until mid-1943, 1,420 tanks of modifications “VI” and “VII” were manufactured here, which were almost no different from the “Valentine IV”. The only difference was the brand of the coaxial machine gun: on the Valentine VI - BESA, and on the Valentine VII - Browning М1919А4. Some Canadian-made vehicles had a cast frontal part of the body.

In an effort to increase firepower tank, the British installed a 6-pounder gun on the Valentine VIII. At the same time, the number of crew members in the tower was again reduced to two. The front-mounted machine gun was also eliminated, which reduced the tank's fire capabilities.

The “Valentine IX” variant was identical to its brother, with the exception of the brand of the power plant: it had a GMC 6004 diesel engine, and the “VIII” had an AEC A190.

The coaxial machine gun was returned to the Valentine X. And due to the fact that the weight of the tank with a 6-pound gun increased to 17.2 tons, a GMC 6004 diesel engine with a power of 165 hp was installed on the “ten”. The 6-pounder guns came in two modifications: Mk III with a barrel length of 42.9 calibers and Mk V with a barrel length of 50 calibers. Ammunition was reduced to 58 rounds.

The last modification of the "Valentine" supplied to the Soviet Union was the "Valentine X".

The latest modification, the Valentine XI, was armed with a 75 mm cannon. At the same time, the coaxial machine gun was removed again - there was simply nowhere to put it. This version was equipped with a GMC 6004 engine, boosted to 210 hp.

On April 14, 1944, the last Valentine tank out of 6,855 combat vehicles manufactured in Great Britain left the factory floor. In addition, from the fall of 1941 to mid-1943, 1,420 of these machines were produced in Canada. Hence, total“Valentines” is 8275 units. This is the most produced British tank of the Second World War.

The only country where Valentines were supplied under Lend-Lease was the Soviet Union. Moreover, almost half of the produced vehicles were sent to the USSR: 2394 British and 1388 Canadian, of which 3332 tanks reached their destination.

According to the admissions committees of the GBTU of the Red Army, 216 tanks were accepted in 1941, 959 in 1942, 1943–1776, 381 in 1944. The Red Army received tanks of seven modifications - II, III, IV, V, VII, IX and X. As you can see, cars equipped with GMC diesel engines predominated. Perhaps this was done for the sake of unification: the same engines were installed on Shermans delivered to the USSR. In addition to the line tanks, 25 Valentine-Bridgelayer bridgelayers were delivered - Soviet designation MK.ZM. In wartime documents, “Valentines” are called differently. Most often MK.III or MK.Z, sometimes with the addition of the name "Valentine" or, less commonly, "Valentine". It is not often possible to come across modification designations “Valentine III”, “Valentine IX”, etc. At the same time, in the documents of those years, in addition to MK-3, the designations MK-5, MK-7, MK-9 come across. It is quite obvious that we're talking about about various modifications of this British tank.

The first “Valentines” appeared on the Soviet-German front at the end of November 1941. In the 5th Army, defending in the Mozhaisk direction, the first unit to receive combat vehicles This type became the 136th separate tank battalion. It was formed by December 1, 1941, and consisted of ten T-34s, ten T-60s, nine Valentines and three Matildas. The battalion received English tanks in Gorky only on November 10, 1941, so the tankers were trained directly at the front. On December 15, the 136th separate tank battalion was assigned to the 329th Infantry Division, and then to the 20th Tank Brigade, together with which it participated in the counteroffensive near Moscow. As in the case of the Matilda, already during the first battles a shortcoming of British tanks was revealed, such as the lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the ammunition load of the 2-pound gun. The latter circumstance was the reason for the State Defense Committee's order to rearm the Valentine with a domestic artillery system. This task was carried out in a concise manner at plant No. 92 in Gorky. The vehicle, which received the factory designation ZIS-95, was equipped with a 45-mm cannon and a DT machine gun. At the end of December 1941, the tank was sent to Moscow, but things did not go further than a prototype.

Tank MK-III "Valentine" moves towards the front line. Battle of Moscow, January 1942.

A large number of Valentines took part in the battle for the Caucasus. In 1942–1943, tank units of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasian fronts were equipped with almost 70% of imported equipment. This was explained by the proximity to the so-called “Persian Corridor” - one of the routes for supplying goods to the USSR, passing through Iran. But even among the troops of the North Caucasus Front, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade stood out, whose tankers from mid-1942 to September 1943 mastered five types of vehicles: Valentine, MZl, MZs, Sherman and Tetrarch, and this not counting domestic technology!

The brigade began fighting in the North Caucasus on September 26, 1942 in the Grozny direction in the Malgobek - Ozernaya area. At that time, the brigade had 40 Valentines, three T-34s and one BT-7. On September 29, tankers attacked German troops in the Alkhanch-urt valley. In this battle, the crew of Captain Shepelkov’s guard on his “Valentine” destroyed five tanks, a self-propelled gun, a truck and 25 enemy soldiers. In total, over several days of fighting in this area, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade destroyed 38 tanks (20 of them burned), one self-propelled gun, 24 guns, six mortars, one six-barreled mortar and up to 1,800 enemy soldiers. Our losses amounted to two T-34s and 33 Valentines (eight of them burned down, and the rest were evacuated from the battlefield and restored), 268 people were killed and wounded.

"Valentine II" in ambush. Battle of Moscow, January 1942.

Tank MK-III "Valentine VII" of the 52nd Red Banner Tank Brigade is heading to the front line. A white diamond is clearly visible on the tower - the tactical sign of the 52nd brigade. Transcaucasian Front, November 1942.

Canadian tank "Valentine VII" from the 52nd Red Banner Tank Brigade, knocked out near the city of Alagir. North Caucasus, November 3, 1942. In addition to the War Department number clearly visible on the turret, this vehicle's belonging to the Valentine VII modification can be judged by the barrel of the coaxial Browning machine gun and the cast frontal part of the hull.

Practicing interaction between tanks and infantry. 1942

Since most of the brigades that were armed with imported equipment had a mixed composition, already in 1942 the most correct solution was found - to use domestic and foreign tanks in a comprehensive manner so that they complement each other in terms of their combat qualities. So, in the first echelon there were KB and Matilda CS tanks with a 76-mm howitzer, in the second - T-34, and in the third - Valentines and T-70. This tactic often yielded positive results.

The 5th Guards Tank Brigade acted in a similar way during the battle to break through the Blue Line, the German defensive line in the North Caucasus in 1943. Then, in addition to the forces of the brigade (13 M4A2, 24 Valentine, 12 T-34), the 14th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment (16 KB-1C) was brought in for the attack, and the battle formations were built exactly this way, which ultimately contributed to success of the battle. However, in this regard, it will be interesting to get acquainted with the memories of G. P. Polosin, a participant in this battle:

“Maneuvering among shell explosions (the thirty-minute artillery barrage, of course, did not fully suppress the enemy fire system), my “Valentine” unexpectedly found itself literally in front of the houses of the farm (Gorno-Vesyoly. - Note author). What a success! But how are other tanks?..

I looked around through the viewing slits. I saw that two more “Englishmen” of my platoon - the cars of Poloznikov and Voronkov - were walking a little behind. But heavy KBs are not visible. Maybe they fell behind or were taken to the side... The infantry, of course, had been cut off from the tanks even earlier...

Destroying enemy machine-gun emplacements and bunkers along the way, our platoon tanks entered the ravine. We stopped here. I gave the order over the radio:

Don't shoot without my order! Take care of the shells. It is still unknown how long it will take... And then we will have to fight our way to our own people...

The tank commanders answered briefly: they understood.

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

But our position was also unenviable. It just so happened that they were separated from the main group conducting reconnaissance in force, ammunition and fuel were running out, alone in the rear of the enemy, who, 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 ravine 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 the Valentines for their equipment, banged their butts on the armor and didn’t understand why the tankers weren’t getting out. After waiting until there were up to a dozen Germans, I ordered a machine gun to hit them. Then, having fired smoke grenade launchers (this is where these weapons, which were only on British tanks, came in handy) and setting up a smoke screen, the vehicles returned through the same ravine to the location of their troops. The battle was still going on near Gorno-Vesely. KB tanks were knocked out. One of them stood without a tower. Another a little further from him buried his gun in the ground. Near its right, flattened track, two tankers were firing pistols at the advancing Germans. Having dispersed the enemy infantry with cannon and machine gun fire, we dragged both wounded men into our Valentine. It immediately became clear that, having failed to penetrate the KB armor with anti-tank artillery, the Germans used guided mines against them.”

A very interesting episode. It is worth paying attention to one significant detail: the platoon’s successful actions are largely due to the presence of reliable radio communications between the vehicles. Which is not surprising, since radio stations were installed on all Lend-Lease tanks without exception!

"Valentine" shot down on the Eastern Front. Army Group Center, February 1942.

Another example of the use of such tactics was the battle of the 139th Tank Regiment of the 68th Mechanized Brigade of the 5th Mechanized Corps of the 5th Army for the capture of the village of Devichye Pole in November 1943. The regiment had 20 T-34 tanks and 18 Valentine VII tanks. On November 20, 1943, in cooperation with the 56th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment, which was armed with KB and T-34s, and the infantry of the 110th Guards Rifle Division, the tanks of the 139th Tank Regiment went forward. The attack was carried out at high speeds (up to 25 km/h) with a landing of machine gunners on armor and with anti-tank guns attached to the tanks. A total of 30 Soviet combat vehicles were involved in the operation. The enemy did not expect such a swift and massive attack and was unable to provide effective resistance. After breaking through the first line of enemy defense, the infantry dismounted and, unhooking their guns, began to take up positions, preparing to repel a possible counterattack. The remaining units of the 110th Guards Rifle Division were brought into the breakthrough. However, there was no German counterattack - the German command was so stunned by the actions of the Soviet troops that they could not organize a counterattack within 24 hours. During this time, our troops advanced 20 km into the depths of the German defense and captured Devichye Pole, losing one KB, one T-34 and two Valentines!

The geography of the use of "Valentines" was very wide - from the southernmost sections of the Soviet-German front to the northern. In addition to units of the Transcaucasian Front, they were, for example, in service with the 19th Tank Corps of the Southern Front (from October 20, 1943 - 4th Ukrainian Front) and took an active part in the Melitopol offensive operation, and then in the liberation of Crimea. MK.III tanks were actively used in positional battles on the Western and Kalinin fronts until the beginning of 1944. It should be noted that in many military units Imported tanks were modified mainly to improve cross-country ability in snow and marshy soil. For example, in the 196th Tank Brigade of the 30th Army of the Kalinin Front, which participated in the capture of Rzhev in August 1942, steel plates were welded to each track, increasing its area.

Until the end of the war, Valentines remained the main tanks of cavalry corps. The cavalrymen especially highly appreciated the maneuverability of the vehicle. Most likely, for the same reason, the “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.

"Valentine" on the right bank of the Dniester. 1943

Tanks "Valentine V" (with a three-man turret) on the march. 1st Belorussian Front, 1944.

"Valentine VII", hit by German anti-tank artillery. Vitebsk area, January 1944.

Column of "Valentines" on the approaches to Baranovichi. In the foreground is "Valentine V". Belarus, 1944.

Tanks of the Valentine IX and Valentine X modifications, armed with 57-mm cannons, along with Shermans, continued to be requested by the Soviet Union for deliveries under Lend-Lease almost until the end of the war. Largely due to this, the serial production of “Valentines”, which were no longer available in British army, continued to persist until April 1944.

In the Red Army, “Valentines” were used until the end of World War II. For example, on June 22, 1944, the 5th Guards Tank Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front had 39 Valentine IX tanks, and the 3rd Cavalry Corps had 30 Valentine III units. The Valentine IX tanks were in service with the 1st Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Guards Tank Army during the Vistula-Oder offensive operation in the winter of 1945. Combat vehicles of this type ended their combat career in the Red Army in the Far East in August 1945. The 267th Tank Regiment fought as part of the 2nd Far Eastern Front (41 “Valentine III” and “Valentine IX”), in the ranks of the cavalry-mechanized group of the Trans-Baikal Front there were 40 “Valentine IV” tanks, and, finally, as part of the 1st On the Far Eastern Front, there were two tank bridge companies with i0 Valentine-Bridgelayer bridge layers in each.

It is quite difficult to find a more or less complete assessment of the Valentine tank in foreign literature. Its exploitation in the English army was too limited in time and scale. It is mainly noted that the tank crews praised the tank for its reliability, but criticized it for the cramped fighting compartment and the lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the ammunition loads of 2- and 6-pound cannons.

Since several thousand combat vehicles of this type fought on the Soviet-German front, under extremely harsh operating conditions, let’s try to analyze the reviews that Soviet tank crews gave to the Valentine. However, due to the reasons already mentioned, this will not be easy to do. Memoir literature could not avoid being assessed in an exclusively negative manner. A typical example of a biased and contradictory assessment of the Valentine tank can be found in the memoirs of Major General A.V. Kazaryan.

On the eve of the events described, in the spring of 1942, he completed his training in the 38th training tank regiment. In June he arrived at the 196th tank brigade for the position of tank commander. Here is an excerpt from his memoirs.

What can you say about this episode? A young commander, who had just completed an accelerated (4-5 months) course of training, arrived at the unit. In his own words, he was not familiar with the Valentine tank (the 38th training tank regiment was only transferred to training tank crews for operating foreign equipment in March 1942). For a thorough study of such complex military equipment as a tank, three days are clearly not enough, especially for its commander. However, the company commander gave an objective and completely fair assessment of the battle. With such preparation, the result would be the same regardless of the military equipment involved: be it a T-34 or a Sherman, a KB or a Valentine. About the latter, by the way, in the above passage you can find interesting information. It turns out that the armor is weak (it’s 60 mm!), the engine is low-power, and the speed “you can’t get more than 25,” although “according to the technical description it should give all 40.” Such “information” can cause nothing but a smile. Behind it lies complete ignorance of the entrusted material part and the features of its use not only by the tank commander, but also by the entire crew. Hence the complaints about low speed, and references to the mythical technical description with a speed of 40 km/h! "Valentine" is an infantry escort tank, and it does not need high specific power and speed. Moreover, average speeds in an attack, as a rule, do not exceed 16–17 km/h (this is the endurance threshold for the crew members of any tank when moving across terrain), and even less with infantry support - it is difficult to imagine an infantryman running into an attack with speed of 40 km/h! As for the maneuverability of the tank, they are ensured not only and not so much by the high power density, but mainly by the L/B ratio. The smaller it is, the more maneuverable the car. For “Valentine” it was 1.4, and in this indicator it was superior to the T-34 (1.5).

Go West! Soviet tanks (Valentine IX) entered Romanian territory. 1944

Tanks "Valentine IX" pass through the streets of Botosani. Romania, April 1944.

Valentine IX tanks of the 5th Guards Tank Army are advancing to combat positions. 1st Belorussian Front, summer 1944.

A slightly different assessment of the Valentine is contained in the memoirs of N. Ya. Zheleznov, who was able to get acquainted with this vehicle in the summer of 1942 at the 1st Saratov Tank School:

“For about a month we trained on English Matildas and Canadian Valentines. I must say that “Valentine” is very lucky car. The gun is powerful, the engine is quiet, the tank itself is short, literally the height of a man.”

In fairness, it must be said that A.V. Kazaryan later fought quite successfully on the “Valentine” in battles in the Rzhev direction, was awarded, became a platoon commander, and then a company. True, somewhere from July 1942, he called his “Valentine” (by the way, models III or V) “thirty-four”, although, judging by the documents, until November 1942 in the 196th Tank Brigade, tanks of domestic production, except T -60, it wasn't. And the “thirty-four” is kind of strange - with a three-man turret and an anti-aircraft machine gun.

In a word, the given fragment of memories did not add clarity. Let's try to turn to a more impartial source: documents from the war years. In particular, to the “Brief Report on the Actions of MK.III”, dated January 15, 1942, which was compiled by the command of the 136th separate tank battalion, which participated in the counteroffensive near Moscow from December 15, 1941. This report, apparently, can be considered one of the first documents containing an assessment of Lend-Lease equipment.

“The experience of using “Valentines” has shown:

1. The tanks' cross-country ability in winter conditions is good; movement on soft snow 50–60 cm thick is ensured. Ground traction is good, but spurs are required when there is icy conditions.

2. The weapon worked flawlessly, but there were cases of the gun not firing enough (the first five or six shots), apparently due to thickening of the lubricant. Weapons are very demanding on lubrication and maintenance...

3. Observation through devices and crevices is good...

4. The engine group and transmission worked well up to 150–200 hours, after which a decrease in engine power is observed...

5. Good quality armor...

The crew personnel underwent special training and had satisfactory command of tanks. The command and technical staff of the tanks had little knowledge. 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 insulation, cars had difficulty starting in the cold and therefore remained hot all the time, which led to a large consumption of motor resources. In a battle with German tanks (December 20, 1941), three Valentines received the following damage: one had its turret jammed by a 37-mm shell, the gun of another was jammed, the third received five hits on the side from a distance of 200–250 m. In this battle The Valentines knocked out two T-3 medium tanks.

In general, the MK.III is a good combat vehicle with powerful weapons, good cross-country ability, and capable of operating against enemy personnel, fortifications and tanks.

Negative sides:

1. Poor adhesion of the tracks to the ground.

2. Greater vulnerability of the suspension bogies - if one roller fails, the tank cannot move.

3. There are no high-explosive fragmentation shells for the gun.”

There is no reason to doubt the objectivity of this report, compiled in hot pursuit. It is interesting to note that Soviet tank crews, like their English colleagues, noted as a drawback the lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the cannon's ammunition load, but did not notice the cramped fighting compartment, apparently because the T-34, for example, still had it closer. Row design features The tank caused criticism exclusively in parts of the Red Army. It goes without saying that in England or Western Europe, and even more so in North Africa or Burma, the water in the tank cooling system did not freeze due to the absence of frost. Most of the shortcomings of “Valentine” (and not just him), mentioned in our documents and memoirs, are associated with climatic factor, which made operation difficult. And here we come to another reason for the negative assessments of this combat vehicle among some of our tankers (usually, however, those who fought on it for only a short time).

Tank "Valentine IX" on the street of Iasi. Romania, August 1944.

Valentine-Bridgelayer bridge layer at the NIIBT Test Site in Kubinka. 1945

There was a lot of trouble! Flushing the cooling system and pouring antifreeze into it is a hassle! At temperatures below -20 °C, tractor kerosene must be added to domestic diesel fuel (we simply did not have diesel fuel required quality, and the “Valentines” had diesel engines) - trouble! To keep the engine warm, you need to cover the radiators with plywood, tarpaulin or an old overcoat (on the Valentine, by the way, for this purpose it was recommended to turn off one of the fans by removing the drive belt) - again trouble! Of course, domestic equipment also required similar measures, but, firstly, it was created taking into account the quality of domestic fuels and lubricants and the level of technical maintenance, and therefore, for these reasons, it broke down less often. In addition, broken domestic equipment was punished less than imported equipment, for which it was “paid in gold.” This circumstance could not cause anything other than persistent hatred of foreign combat vehicles, including the Valentine, among the deputy technicians and technicians. And what feelings might a driver-mechanic experience, for example, when reading the following provisions of the operating instructions:

“If after 4-5 attempts you cannot start the engine of an English tank, you must, if you have a device for starting with ether, load the pistol with an ampoule, press the primer puncture lever and use the starter to start the engine. After starting the engine, do not allow it to run above 800 rpm until the oil temperature reaches 2TC (80°F) and the oil pressure rises to 60–80 psi.

Once these readings are reached, the speed should be increased to 1000 per minute, and after 2–3 minutes work can be carried out at a higher speed.

The movement of the tank can be started only after the engine has completely warmed up and always from first gear in order to avoid damage (due to frozen lubricant) to the gearbox, differential and final drives.”

Like this! Not only do you need to monitor the temperature, but you also need to start only in first gear! (On the T-34, as is known, until the end of 1943, only one second gear was used; the rest simply did not engage while moving.) Indeed, it was some kind of kerosene stove, not a tank! And in general - a phenomenon of a military-technical culture that is deeply alien to us!

True, by the end of the war, as our own military-technical culture grew and the use of many foreign technical solutions on domestic technology, the complaints against “Valentine” became less and less. In any case, regarding complex design and heavy use.

In 1945, in the article “Analysis of the development of foreign tank equipment during the war years and prospects for further improvement of tanks” by Major General of the Tank Engineering Service, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor N.I. Gruzdev, published in the collection of works of the Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces, “Valentine” deserves the following rating:

“The MK-III, as an infantry (or, following the weight classification, light) tank, certainly has the most dense overall layout and among this type of tank is undoubtedly the most successful, although moving the brake drums outside the hull is certainly incorrect. The experience with the MK-III tank puts an end to the discussion about the possibility of expedient use of automotive units for tank construction.

The armored partition between the engine and fighting compartments significantly reduces crew losses in the event of a fire and preserves the engine-transmission group in the event of a shell explosion. Surveillance devices are simple and effective. The presence of equalizers in the MK-III and servomechanisms, despite the low power density, makes it possible to ensure a satisfactory average tank speed of about 13–17 km/h.

Characteristic of the British tanks MK-III, MK-II and MK-IV is the preference given to armor; speed and weapons seem to be secondary; There is no doubt that if this is tolerable in the MK-III, then in other tanks the disproportion is a clear and unacceptable disadvantage.

It should be noted that the GMC diesel engine works reliably.

Of all the existing light tanks, the MK-III tank is the most successful. We can say that in the conditions of 1940–1943. It was the British who created the type of infantry tank.”

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 extremely poor quality and archaic design of these samples. Now that the fight against bourgeois counterfeiters 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 armored vehicles of Anglo-American production, which were used in significant quantities in units of the Red Army. This article will focus on the English light tank MK.III "Valentine", which became the most popular 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 "Valentin" or "Valentina") was developed by Vickers in 1938. Like the Matilda, it was an infantry tank, but in terms of mass - 16 tons - it was rather light. True, 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 cannon. The Valentine I used an AEC carburetor engine with 135 hp, which was replaced in subsequent modifications by AEC and GMC diesel engines with 131, 138 and 165 hp. The maximum speed of the tank was 34 km/h.

By Soviet standards, "Valentines" had an archaic design - armor plates were attached to a frame made of corners using rivets. Armor elements were installed mainly 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 performance of the crew. But all English cars were equipped with radio (radio station No. 19), and also had a diesel engine, which made them easier to operate together with Soviet models.

"Valentines" were produced from 1940 to the beginning of 1945 in 11 modifications, differing mainly in armament and engine type. A total of 8,275 tanks were manufactured by three English and two Canadian firms (6,855 in England and 1,420 in Canada). 2,394 British and 1,388 Canadian Valentines were sent to the Soviet Union (3,782 in total), of which 3,332 vehicles reached Russia. The Valentines were supplied to the USSR in seven modifications:

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

"Valentine III" - with a three-man turret 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 part and a coaxial 7.62 mm Browning machine gun (instead of the 7.92 mm BESA machine gun installed on English-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 GMC engine with a power of 165 hp.

In addition to the main modifications of the "Valentine", in 1944 the Red Army also received the Mk.III "Valentine-Bridgelaer" - in Soviet terminology "Mk.ZM". Perhaps the Canadian version of the Valentine (modification VII) was even more reliable and technically advanced than its English predecessor. Canadian Valentines were supplied to the Red Army from 1942 to 1944, with the bulk of deliveries occurring in 1943. The most popular modifications in the Red Army were the Valentine IV and its Canadian equivalent, the Valentine VII, as well as the main variant of the final period of the war, the Valentine IX. Moreover, the Soviet Union was mainly supplied with Model IX with an artillery system with 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 War Department was indicated (Mk.II, Mk.III, Mk.IV, etc.), then 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 British tanks adopted in the Red Army during the war: a name indicating the modification, for example: “Valentine IV”, “Valentine IX”, etc., or without indicating the modification, for example: Mk. III "Valentine".

During the four years of the war, foreign-made tanks and armored vehicles received various units, subdivisions | divisions and units 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 mid- and senior-level commanders often did not coincide with the opinion of the tank crew. This is understandable, the command was primarily concerned with the tactical characteristics of the 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 everyday and of a technical nature. The combination of these two points of view largely determined the conclusion about the presented model of armored vehicles.

In addition, foreign equipment was designed with a higher standard of production and operation in mind. In many ways, it was the technical illiteracy of the crews and the lack of units necessary for maintenance that became the reasons for the failure of allied equipment. However, the “gap” of the gap was not so great, and our tankers very soon became accustomed to foreign vehicles, modifying many of them to suit the specifics of operation on the Soviet-German front.

The first "Valentines" appeared in units of our active army at the end of November 1941, although in small numbers. At the same time, only part of the 145 Matildas, 216 Valentines and 330 Station Wagons received was used. So, on the Western Front on January 1, 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 Northwestern Front (4th Contact Army).

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

Judging by this report, it can be assumed that the crews of the Valentines had a very limited training period and had little knowledge of English materiel. In the units of the 5th Army, which covered the Mozhaisk direction, the first unit to receive “foreign tanks” was the 136th separate tank battalion (tb). The battalion completed its formation on December 1, 1941, having ten T-34, ten T-60, nine Valentine and three Matilda tanks (British tanks were received in Gorky on November 10, 1941, tankers were trained directly at front). By December 10, during crew training, five Valentines, two Matildas, one T-34 and four T-60s were damaged. After putting the equipment in order, on December 15, 1911, 136th detachment. was assigned to the 329th Infantry Division (SD). Then, together with the 20th Tank Brigade, he took part in the counter-offensive near Moscow.

On January 15, 1942, the battalion command compiled a “Brief Report on the Actions. Mk.Sh” - apparently one of the first documents assessing the Allied equipment:

“The experience of using Valentines has shown:

1. The tanks' cross-country ability in winter conditions is good; movement on soft snow 50-60 cm thick is ensured. Ground traction is good, but spurs are required when there is icy conditions.

2. The weapon worked flawlessly, but there were cases of the gun not firing enough (the first five or six shots), apparently due to thickening of the lubricant. Weapons are very demanding in terms of lubrication and maintenance.

3. Observation through instruments and slits is good.

4. The engine group and transmission worked well up to 150-200 hours, after which a decrease in engine power is observed.

5. Good quality armor.

The crew personnel underwent special training and had satisfactory command of tanks. The command and technical staff of the tanks had little knowledge. 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, cars had difficulty starting in the cold and therefore remained hot all the time, which led to a large consumption of motor resources. In a battle with German tanks (December 20, 1941), three Valentines received the following damage: one had its turret jammed by a 37-mm shell, the gun of another was jammed, the third received five hits on the side from a distance of 200-250 meters. In this battle, the Valentines knocked out two medium German T-3 tanks.

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

Negative sides:

1. Poor adhesion of the tracks to the ground.

2. Greater vulnerability of the 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 of the State Defense Committee to rearm the Valentine with a domestic artillery system. This task and within a short timeframe were carried out at plant No. 92 by the design bureau under the leadership of Grabin. In December 1941, within two weeks, one Valen-Tayne was armed with a 45-mm tank gun and a DT machine gun. This car received the factory index ZIS-95. At the end of December, the tank was sent to Moscow, but things did not go further than a prototype.

A large number of Valentine tanks took part in the Battle of the Caucasus. In general, the North Caucasus 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 supply channel for the Red Army with equipment and weapons, as well as the convenience of transporting tanks along the Volga that arrived at the northern ports of the USSR.

Of the armored units of the North Caucasus Front, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade was considered the most eminent and experienced. The brigade began fighting 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 German units in the Alkhanch-urt valley. In this battle, the crew of Captain Shenelkov's Guard in his "Valentine" destroyed five tanks, one self-propelled gun, a truck and 25 soldiers. 15 Over the next few days, fighting in this area continued. In total, during the fighting in the Malgobek area, the brigade destroyed 38 tanks (of which 20 were burned), one self-propelled gun, 24 guns, six mortars, one six-barreled mortar, and up to 1,800 enemy soldiers. The brigade's losses were two T-34s, 33 Valentines (eight of them burned out, 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 comprehensively, together with Soviet equipment. In the first echelon (according to documents from 1942) there were KV and Matilda CS tanks. (with a 76.2 mm howitzer), in the second echelon there are T-34s, and in the third echelon “Valentine” and T-70. This tactic very 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.

For the attack, forces from the 56th Army were brought in: the 5th Guards Tank Brigade (as of August 1, 1943 it had 13 M4A2, 24 Valentine, 12 T-34) and the 14th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment (16 KV- 1C), as well as the battalion of the 417th Infantry Division.

Exactly at six o'clock in the morning on August 6, 1943, a Katyusha salvo was fired at the village of Gorno-Vesely (Object of attack), and immediately behind the barrage of fire, three KV-1S rushed forward, followed by three Valentines under the command of Guard Senior Lieutenant G. P. Polosina. The infantry moved behind the slippers. Next, it is not without interest to cite the memories of battle participant G.P. Polosin:

“Maneuvering among shell explosions (a thirty-minute artillery barrage, of course, did not completely suppress the enemy’s fire system), my “Valentine” unexpectedly found itself literally in front of the houses of the farm. What luck! But what about other tanks?..

I looked around through the viewing slits. I saw that two more "Englishmen" of my platoon - Poloznikov's and Voronkov's vehicles - were walking slightly behind. But heavy HFs are not visible. Maybe they fell behind or were taken to the side: The infantry, of course, had been cut off from the tanks even earlier...

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

Don't shoot without my order! Take care of the shells. It is still unknown how long it will take... And then we will have to fight our way to our own people...

The tank commanders answered briefly:

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

But our position was also unenviable. It just so happened that they were separated from the main group conducting reconnaissance in force, ammunition and fuel were running out, alone in the rear of the enemy, who, 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 ravine into the open space and saw a strange picture. There were Germans on Voronkov’s car, which was 30-40 meters to the right. They mistook the Valentines for their equipment, banged their butts on the armor and did not understand why the tankers did not get out. After waiting until there were up to a dozen Germans, I ordered a machine gun to hit them. Then, having fired smoke grenade launchers (this is where these weapons, which were only on British tanks, came in handy) and, having installed a smoke screen, the vehicles returned through the same ravine to the location of their troops. The battle was still going on near Gorno-Vesely. KV tanks were knocked out. One of them stood without a tower. Another a little further from him buried his gun in the ground. At its right, spread out caterpillar, two tankers fired their pistols away from the advancing Germans. Having dispersed the enemy infantry with cannon and machine gun fire, we dragged both wounded men into our Valentine. It immediately became clear that, having failed to penetrate the KV’s armor with anti-tank artillery, the Germans used guided mines against them.”

During this short raid behind enemy lines, a platoon of guard senior lieutenant G.P. Polosin destroyed five anti-tank guns, crushed five bunkers, 12 machine guns, and shot up to a hundred Nazis. But most importantly, with his unexpected attack from the rear he forced the enemy to fully open his fire system. Which, in fact, was what was needed.

It remains to add that all 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 tracks of the Valentine tanks, increasing the track area. Shod in such “bast shoes”, the car did not fall through the snow and did not get stuck in the marshy soil of central Russia. Mk.III were actively used in positional battles on the Western and Kalinin fronts until the beginning of 1944. Cavalrymen were very fond of the Valentine for its mobility and maneuverability. Until the end of the war, the Valentine IV and its further development, the Valentine IX and X, remained the main tank of the cavalry corps. The cavalrymen noted the lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells for the cannon as the main drawback. And one more thing: it was not recommended to make sharp turns on the Valentine, since this would bend the sloth’s crank and cause the caterpillar to jump off.

By the end of the war, modifications of the Valentine IX and X (along with the American Sherman) remained the only types of tanks that the USSR continued to request for delivery to the Red Army. For example, on 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 ended their military career in the Far East in August-September 1945. The 1st Far Eastern Front included 20 Mk.III Valentine-Bridgelayer bridge tanks, 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 Transbaikal Front.

Attached to tank brigades by armies 15 and 16, tank-bridge companies (10 Mk.IIIM each) marched together 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 could be provided with Mk.IIIM.

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

However, this does not in the least diminish the Canadian share of supplies to the USSR. After all, almost half of the Valentines delivered were Canadian-made. These tanks, along with British products, took part 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 infantry brigade, 8 Mk, 5th Army) entered operational subordination to the 5th 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 battle until November 20. After the preparation of the material unit for battle was completed, on November 20, 1943, in cooperation with the 57th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment, armed with KV and T-34 vehicles, and the infantry of the 110th Guards Rifle Division, the tanks of the 139th Tank Division 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 the tanks. 30 Soviet tanks took part in this operation. The enemy did not expect such a massive rapid attack and was unable to provide effective resistance to the advancing units. When the first line of defense was broken, the infantry dismounted and, unhooking their guns, began to occupy enemy positions, preparing to repel a possible counterattack. The remaining units of the 110th Guards Infantry Division were brought into the breakthrough. However, the German counterattack did not take place; the German command was so stunned by the Soviet breakthrough that it was unable to organize resistance within 24 hours. During this day, our troops marched 20 km into the depths of the German defense and captured Maiden Field, losing 4 tanks (KV, T-34, two Valentine VII). At the end of the war, Valentine tanks were used mainly in tank companies of motorcycle reconnaissance regiments (10 tanks per staff), mixed tank regiments (standard M4A2 Sherman staff - 10, Mk.III Valentine (III, IV, VII, IX, X) - 11 vehicles) and various cavalry formations: cavalry corps and mixed cavalry-mechanized groups. In individual tank and motorcycle regiments, modifications "IX" and "X" predominated, and in the cavalry corps, modifications "IV" - "VII" predominated. Mk.III "Valentine" III-IV tanks were used on the Soviet-German front in significantly smaller numbers than other modifications and for some reason(?) prevailed in the Northwestern theater of operations as part of the Baltic fronts.

After the end of World War II, equipment supplied under Lend-Lease had 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 repaired tanks was transferred to the National Liberation Army of China to fight against the Kuomintang forces.

KITOGRAPHY

Oddly enough, the 1/35 scale model of the British tank is produced exclusively in Russia. It was developed by the St. Petersburg company Alan, which was later divided into Alan itself and UM. The Tank went to UM. Some of the castings were sold to the Korean Dragon, which packed them in their own boxes. Then the Moscow “Maket” bought the mold from UM. So I dwelled in detail on the fate of the “Valentine IV” Mk.III model so that you are not confused by its diversity boxes - the plastic inside is the same.Recently, "Maket" added a new turret, rollers and accessories to the set, turning the tank into a Mk.Sh "Valentine X" or XI, depending on the gun barrel used (both are given).

Thus, only MK.III "Valentine IV" and "Valentine X/XI" exist in the form of models.

(I’ll add on my own behalf - 1/72 “Valentine Mk. III” was previously made by ESCI, now it seems Italeri will reissue it. A.A.)

One of the first serial tanks Valentine I at the training ground. Great Britain, 1939

The most successful light (according to the classification accepted in most countries) and the most popular 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 ones - Canadian Pacific Pailway and Montreal Works produced 8275 tanks (including 1420 in Canada).

DESIGN AND MODIFICATIONS

Valentine I - the first production version. The main feature of the design of the hull and turret was the absence of frames for their assembly. The armor plates were processed according to the appropriate templates so that they were mutually locked during assembly. Then they were fastened to each other using bolts, rivets and dowels. The vehicle was equipped with a 2-pound gun and 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 single-disc main dry friction clutch J-151, a four-way, five-speed Meadows type 22 gearbox, a bevel transverse gear, multi-disc dry side clutches and double planetary final drives. Fuel tank capacity is 257 l. Some cars have a special bracket

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

Valentine II - AEC A190 diesel engine with 131 hp. at 1800 rpm, bulwarks and an additional external fuel tank connected to the engine power system. Cruising range with external tank – 176 km.

Valentine III is a three-man turret with a rear 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 GMC 6004 diesel engine with 138 hp. and transmission.

Valentine V – Valentine III with American GMC 6004 diesel engine and transmission.

Valentine VI – Valentine IV, made in Canada. It differed from the English version in a number of components and parts made in Canada or America. Some tanks had a one-piece front part of the hull.

Valentine VII – Valentine VI with a coaxial Browning М1919А4 machine gun of 7.62 mm caliber, American-made instead of a British BESA. Made in Canada.

Valentine VIII – Valentine III with 6-pounder (57 mm) gun in a two-man turret Coaxial machine gun and smoke breech-loading grenade launcher were missing. On the right side of the turret, two smoke grenade launchers of 101.6 mm caliber were mounted on a special bracket. The thickness of the side armor of the hull has been reduced. Ammunition - 53 artillery rounds, combat mass– 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 cars were equipped with forced GMC 6004 diesel engines with a power of 165 hp. at 2000 rpm.

Valentine X – Valentine IX with an autonomous installation of a 7.92 mm BESA machine gun. The gun's ammunition load has been reduced to 44 rounds. The machine gun's ammunition capacity is 3150 rounds. Engine GMC 6004 with 165 hp.

Valentine XI – 75 mm gun. Ammunition 46 rounds 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 new material 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 fall of 1940, to the 1st Polish Tank 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 British 8th Army that took part 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 included in the 32nd Army Tank Brigade, which was part of the garrison of Tobruk besieged by Italian-German troops. .

Valentine II, equipped for desert operations. The vehicle was equipped with a 135-liter fuel tank and wings that reduced the cloud of sand dust from the tracks

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

Valentine IV infantry tank. Most of these tanks were sent to the Soviet Union

Five months later, at the start of the Battle of El Ghazal, the 1st Army Tank Brigade was completely re-equipped with Valentines. This formation, consisting of the 8th, 42nd and 44th Royal Tank Regiments, numbered 174 Valentines.

One squadron of "Valentines" took part in the landing on the island. 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 number of Valentines continued to be used in this unit until 1945. Only in May 1945 was the regiment finally rearmed with Shermans.

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

The only country where Valentines were delivered under Lend-Lease was the Soviet Union. Moreover, almost half of the produced vehicles were sent to the USSR: 2394 British 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 you can see, vehicles equipped with GMC diesel engines predominated. Perhaps this was done for the sake of unification; The same engines were installed on American Shermans delivered to the USSR.

Valentine V, A 135-liter fuel tank is installed on the left fender. An embrasure for firing personal weapons is visible on the side of the turret.

Valentine VIII infantry tank. The first modification armed with a 6-pounder gun

Infantry Valentine tanks X (center) and Valentine XI (left). Characteristic distinctive features These tanks had a Besa machine gun in an autonomous installation to the right of the gun and a bracket with 101.6mm 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

A unit of Valentine IV tanks on the march. Western Front, 1942

In addition to linear tanks, 25 bridge layers were supplied. The first "Valentines" appeared on the Soviet-German front at the end of November 1941. Already during the first battles, a shortcoming of British tanks was revealed, such as the lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the ammunition load of the 2-pound gun. A large number of "Valentines" took part in the battle for the Caucasus. In 1942 – 1943 The tank units of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasian fronts were equipped with almost 70% of imported equipment. This was explained by the proximity to the so-called “Iranian corridor,” that is, one of the routes for supplying goods to the USSR, passing through Iran.

The geography of use of "Valentines" was very wide - from the southernmost sections of the Soviet-German front to the northern. In addition to units of the Transcaucasian Front, they were, for example, in service with the 19th Tank Corps of the Southern Front (from October 20, 1943 - 4th Ukrainian) and took an active part in the Melitopol offensive operation, and then in the liberation of 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 cavalry corps. The cavalrymen especially highly 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 the Valentine IX and Valentine X modifications, armed with 57 mm cannons, continued to be requested by the Soviet Union for deliveries under Lend-Lease almost until the end of the war. Largely due to this, serial production of Valentines, which were no longer supplied to the British Army, continued until April 1944.

In the Red Army, "Valentines" were used until the end of World War II. Combat vehicles of this type ended their combat career in the Red Army in the Far East in August 1945.

Tank "Valentine IX" of one of the Red Army units on the street of Iasi. 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 2 lb (40 mm) caliber, 1 8ESA machine gun 7.92 mm caliber. 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. 24B Mk I. RESERVATION, mm: front – 60, side and stern – 60, roof – 10 – 20, bottom – 7 – 20; tower – 60 – 65.

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

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

CHASSIS: six rubber-coated road wheels on board, a rear drive wheel (lantern engagement in the middle of the track), blocked suspension, balanced with a spiral spring spring and a hydraulic shock absorber; three rubberized support rollers; each caterpillar has 103 tracks with a width of 356 mm, track pitch is 112 mm.

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 32.

POWER RESERVE, km: 150.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. – 40, wall height, m ​​– 0.75, ditch width, m – 2.2, ford depth, m – 1.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station No. 19.

The first British tanks (20 vehicles) were delivered to Arkhangelsk by caravan PQ-1 on October 11, 1941. At the same time, to improve the selection and supply of armored vehicles necessary for the needs of the Red Army, three officers of the Red Army Armored Directorate arrived in London. They were sent to the central tank depot in Chilville. Together with military experts from other regions, tankers became part of the Engineering Department of the People's Commissariat Foreign trade, which was headed by Captain 1st Rank Soloviev. A similar group of military specialists was sent to the United States, where they arrived in January 1942.

The MK.P "Matilda II" and MK.III "Valentine I" tanks sent to the USSR, in accordance with the British concept, belonged to the infantry class and therefore were slow-moving, but well armored.

The infantry tank "Matilda I" was adopted by the British on the eve of the Second World War. This 27-ton vehicle was protected by 78 mm armor, which was not penetrated by any German tank or anti-tank gun(with the exception of the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun), and was armed with a 40-mm cannon or a 76-mm howitzer. The engine used was a pair of LES or Leyland diesel engines. total capacity 174 or 190 hp, which allowed the tank to reach speeds of up to 25 km/h.

In total, until August 1943, 2987 Matildas were produced in Great Britain, of which 1084 were sent, and 916 arrived in the USSR (the rest died en route).

The English tank bridge layer "Valentine" (Valentine-Bridgelayer) is being tested at the NIBT training ground of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army. Kubinka, 1944

MK.1P "Valentine" (according to the documents of the Red Army "Valentin" or "Valentine") was developed by Vickers in 1938. Like the Matilda, it was an infantry tank, but in terms of mass - 16 tons - it was rather light. True, 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 cannon. The Valentine I used an ABS carburetor engine with 135 hp, which was replaced in subsequent modifications by AEC and GMC diesel engines with 131, 138 and 165 hp. The maximum speed of the tank was 34 km/h.
"Valentines" were produced from 1940 to the beginning of 1945 in 11 modifications, differing mainly in armament and engine type. A total of 8,275 tanks were produced by three English and two Canadian companies (6,855 in England and 1,420 in Canada). 2,394 British and 1,388 Canadian Valentines (3,782 in total) were sent to the Soviet Union, of which 3,332 vehicles reached Russia. Seven modifications of “Valentines” were supplied to the USSR:
"Valentine II" - with a 40-mm cannon, AEC diesel engine with a power of 131 hp. and an additional external fuel tank;
"Valentine 111" - with a three-man turret 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 solid frontal part of the hull and a coaxial 7.62 mm Browning machine gun (instead of the 7.92 mm BESA machine gun installed on the English-made Valentines);
"Valentine IX" - "Valentine V" with a 57-mm cannon with a barrel length of 42 calibers, installed in a two-man turret without a coaxial machine gun;
"Valentine X" - "Valentine IX" with a 57 mm cannon with a barrel length of 50 calibers, coaxial with a machine gun, and a GMC engine with a power of 165 hp.
In addition to the main modifications of the Valentine, in 1944 the Red Army also received the MK.II1 Valcntine-Bridgelayer - in Soviet terminology, MK.ZM.
Perhaps the Canadian version of the Valentine (modification VII) was even more reliable and technically advanced than its English predecessor.
Canadian Valentines were supplied to the Red Army from 1942 to 1944, with the bulk of deliveries occurring in 1943.
Another vehicle that began supplying allied weapons to the USSR is the English armored personnel carrier “Universal” (in Soviet terminology, MK.I “Universal”, or U-1, or “Bren”). This light tracked vehicle weighing about 3.5 tons was the most popular armored personnel carrier of the Second World War. From 1935 to 1945, 89,595 vehicles of this class were produced in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, of which 2008 (English and Canadian production) ended up in the USSR. The Universal armored personnel carrier was armed with Bren machine guns and a Boys anti-tank rifle; the armor thickness was 7-11 mm. Ford engine 85 hp. allowed a 3.5-ton vehicle with a crew of two and three to four paratroopers to reach speeds of up to 50 km/h.
In the first year of operation of the supply system, the Red Army received 361 MK.P Matilda and MK.III Valentine tanks, as well as 330 Universal armored personnel carriers. True, only a few of this number were used in battles in 1941, so the role British armored vehicles in the battles near Moscow she was more than modest.
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 War Ministry was indicated (MK.II, MK.Sh, MK.IV, etc.), then 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.Sh “Valentine IX”, MK.IV “Churchill III”, etc. To avoid confusion in this book we will use the designations of British tanks adopted in the Red Army during the war: a name with an indication of the modification, for example, “Valentine IV”, “Valentine IX”, etc., or without an indication, for example MK.IV "Churchill", MK.Sh "Valentine", MK.II "Matilda", etc.

In January 1942, 20 of the 177 MK.VII Tetrarch tanks produced (Soviet designation Vickers VII or MK. VII) were delivered to the USSR. These were light reconnaissance vehicles, weighing 7.6 tons, armed with a 40 mm cannon and a 7.92 mm BESA machine gun and protected by 16 mm armor. The 165-strong Meadows MAT carburetor engine allowed the tank to reach a speed of 64 km/h. Most likely, the supply of this type of tank is due to interest in the results of its use on the Soviet-German front.
Since the summer of 1942, heavy British MK tanks began to arrive in the Soviet Union in small batches. IV "Churchill". They were produced in Great Britain from the summer of 1941 until the end of the Second World War in 16 modifications. Only two were delivered to the USSR, differing in the way the turrets were made: “Churchill III” - with a welded turret and “Churchill IV” - with a cast turret (in Soviet documents these modifications did not differ in any way, and all tanks were designated MK.IV, MK.IV " Churchill" or simply "Churchill"). Protected by 77...175 mm armor, the 40-ton tank had a 350-horsepower Bedford carburetor engine and reached speeds of up to 25 km/h. The Churchill's armament consisted of a 57 mm cannon and two BESA machine guns. Beginning in the fall of 1942, these vehicles were sent to staff heavy breakthrough tank regiments. Of the 5,640 released and 344 sent to the USSR, only 253 ended up " Churchill III and IV".
From the beginning of 1942, the United States joined in organizing deliveries under Lend-Lease on a typical scale, and began sending to our country tanks MZ "General Stewart" (in Soviet terminology, MZ light, or MZl) and MZ "General Lee" (in Soviet terminology, MZ average, or MZs).
MZ "Stuart" was the most widespread light tank Second World War. From 1941 to 1944, two American companies manufactured 13,859 vehicles of three modifications. The USSR received modifications of the MZ and MZA1, differing in the shape of the turret, the method of manufacturing the hull and the number of machine guns. These were 13-ton vehicles, protected by 13...45 mm armor and armed with a 37 mm cannon and three (on MZA1) - five (on MZ) 7.62 mm Browning machine guns. Continental carburetor engine rated at 250 hp. (or a Guiberson diesel engine with 210 hp) accelerated the tanks to 50 km/h. In 1942-1943, 340 MZ and 1336 MZA1 were sent to the USSR, and 1232 tanks were delivered (including 211 diesel ones).

The Lee MZ, developed in 1941, was a rather archaic design with a three-tier arrangement of weapons. The production of these three-meter monsters took place at the factories of five companies, where in 1941-1942 6258 tanks of six modifications were produced, differing mainly in manufacturing technology and engine type. The USSR mainly supplied vehicles of the MZ modification, weighing 29 tons, having 22-50 mm armor and armament consisting of 75 mm and 37 mm guns and three Browning machine guns. Continental R-975-EC2 radial carburetor engine producing 340 hp. (or Guiberson diesel) accelerated this car to 42 km/h.
In 1942-1943, 1386 MZs tanks were sent from the USA to our country, and 976 vehicles were received, which were actively used in the battles of 1942-1943.

American medium tank M2A1

In addition to tanks, armored personnel carriers and various vehicles based on them came to the USSR from the USA in large quantities.
American wheeled armored personnel carriers were represented in the Red Army by the Scout Car MZA1 from White (in Soviet documents it is referred to as an “armored personnel carrier,” armored vehicle,” or “semi-armored vehicle” MZA1, or “Scout”). "Scout" was perfectly suited for reconnaissance purposes. Weighing 5.6 tons, the vehicle had an armor thickness of up to 12.7 mm and could carry 8 people (2 crew, 6 troops). The 110-horsepower carburetor engine allowed the armored personnel carrier to reach speeds of up to 105 km/h. The standard armament of the Scout included 12.7 mm heavy and 7.62 mm Browning machine guns, not counting the personal crew. In the Red Army, Scout armored personnel carriers were used as part of reconnaissance companies of tank and mechanized brigades, motorcycle battalions of corps subordination, and in separate motorcycle regiments of tank armies. During the war years, 20,894 Scout vehicles were built in the United States, of which 3,034 ended up in the armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army.
American half-track armored personnel carriers M2, MZ, M9 arrived in units subordinate to the GBTU in small quantities (118 units in total), since the bulk of these vehicles - 1082 pieces - were sent to artillery (mainly anti-tank fighter), where they were used for towing 76...100 mm guns.
In tank formations, these armored personnel carriers, capable of carrying from 10 to 13 people, were turned into command vehicles for brigades, corps, and armies. 16-mm armor, a 147 hp engine that allowed the vehicle to reach speeds of up to 72 km/h, and the presence of an awning allowed the headquarters or operational group of a mechanized unit to control the battle with satisfactory comfort. The M2's defensive armament consisted of two Browning machine guns and was identical to the wheeled Scout.

Repair and recovery tank M31 based on the MZ "Li" during testing in Kubinka.

The M17 anti-aircraft SU was armed with four 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns in an aircraft rotating mount mounted on the M5 armored personnel carrier. All 1000 Ml7 anti-aircraft SUs manufactured in the USA were delivered to the Soviet Union.
All ZSUs supplied from the United States were used as part of the mechanized and tank forces of the Red Army. They, along with Soviet towed guns, equipped individual anti-aircraft regiments, battalions and companies of corps and tank armies. For example, as of January 1945, the 7th Guards Tank Corps included the 287th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, consisting of 16 37-mm anti-aircraft guns and ten M17 ZSUs.
Standing apart among the armored vehicles supplied under Lend-Lease is the 13-ton heavy armored high-speed tractor M5. Built on chassis light tank MZ "General Stewart", the tractor had a Continental R6572 engine with a power of 235 hp. and was capable of towing guns with a caliber of up to 155 mm, while simultaneously transporting 8-9 people at a speed of 56 km/h. The cabin was open type, with a canvas roof. The driver and gun crew were located in the front of the vehicle. Of the 5,290 vehicles produced by International Harvester, 200 M5s reached the USSR in 1944-1945, which were sent exclusively to the artillery units of the RGK, where they were used to tow 122 and 152 mm hull guns.
In addition to combat vehicles, various repair and recovery equipment were supplied to the Red Army throughout the entire period of the war. Along with the already mentioned repair and recovery tank M31, the Red Army received wheeled English Scammel tractors in two modifications and American vehicles RE028XS, Diamond T-980.
The Scammel heavy emergency tractor was developed for the British Army in tank towing (Scammell TRMU/30) and recovery vehicle (Scammell PIONEER SV/2S) versions. Gardner GL diesel engine with 102 hp. made it possible, using a trailer, to tow a load of up to 30 tons along paved roads. However, during the battles in North Africa, the Scammel TRMU/30 even transported 42-ton Churchills to the front line. The recovery PIONEER SV/2S was equipped with a powerful winch-crane for repair work.
Deliveries of Scammel to our country began in 1942 and were extremely limited. However, in Great Britain itself, during the entire period of the war, 548 Scammell TRMU/30 and 768 Scammell SV/2S were produced, so several dozen of these tractors delivered to the Red Army were an impressive figure in comparison with the total production volume. Before the start of mass American deliveries, these vehicles were distributed to the fronts literally one by one. So, on the Leningrad Front, the front evacuation company had only one Scammell tractor (the rest of the equipment was Soviet-made), etc.
The American REO transporter with a special trailer was intended for transporting tanks and self-propelled guns weighing up to 20 tons on paved and dry dirt roads. The design of the trailer made it possible to load and unload equipment under its own power; when transporting faulty tanks, loading onto the trailer was done using a winch. The RE028XS transporter had a six-cylinder Cummings HB-600 water-cooled diesel engine with a power of 150 hp. For the safety of transporting tanks and self-propelled guns, there was a set of fastening devices (chains, blocks, guy wires, etc.). During 1943-1944, the Red Army received 190 of these vehicles, however, due to the general trend of increasing tank weight, a tractor capable of towing heavier vehicles was required. It was the new American ballast tractor Diamond T-980. The transporter consisted of a three-axle 8-ton tractor and a three-axle wheeled 45-ton Roger Trailer. It could be used to transport loads weighing up to 45 tons on dry dirt roads and paved roads. For ease of unloading and loading tanks, the Diamond T-980 transporter was equipped with a powerful engine-driven winch. In addition, the design of the trailer made it possible to load serviceable tanks under its own power. The Hercules DFXE engine power reached 200 hp, which ensured the transportation of cargo on a trailer at a speed of 26 km/h. From 1943 to 1945, 295 Diamond T-980 tractors were produced. These vehicles were placed at the disposal of evacuation units of fronts and armies. Thus, the 1st Guards Tank Army included the 67th evacuation squadron, which, in addition to the Voroshilovites and Cominterns, included 2 T-980s as of January 1945. Usually, no more than two vehicles were allocated to the army evacuation vehicles. On August 5, 1945, to ensure the evacuation of armored vehicles of units and formations prepared to attack Japanese troops in Manchuria, the 1st Armored Repair and Evacuation Center was created, from which mixed evacuation groups were allocated to meet army needs. The 1st Red Banner Army received 3 tractors based on the T-34 and 2 T-980 Diamond, and the 5th Army received 6 T-34 and 2 Diamond. By the end of the war, reports from repair and recovery services were full of proposals to increase the number of tractor-trailers to 4-5 per army.
In the Red Army, wheeled tractors with trailers for transporting tanks to the front line were used extremely rarely. Due to their relative scarcity and the presence of winches, the Scammell, REO, Diamond tractors were primarily necessary for the rapid evacuation of heavy armored vehicles, especially from areas with swampy terrain.

T-2 (M31) tanks in tandem are towing a heavy KV-1. NIBT training ground, winter 1942-43.

ZSU M15A1, Kubinka, 1944.

In addition, most domestic archival materials relating to Lend-Lease are still inaccessible to most researchers. Therefore, it is not yet possible to estimate the actual volumes of supplies.
The tables presented here are compiled according to data from the admissions committees of the GBTU of the Red Army and seem to the authors to be closest to the truth (Table 3, 4 and 5).
Table 3. Supplies of armored vehicles to the USSR from Great Britain and Canada from 1941 to 1945 (according to the admissions committees of the GBTU KA)

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