The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production. The many variants included riveted and welded construction, petrol and diesel engines and a progressive increase in armament. It was supplied in large numbers to the USSR and built under licence in Canada. It was used extensively by the British in the North African campaign. Developed by Vickers, it proved to be both strong and reliable.
There are several proposed explanations for the name Valentine. According to the most popular one, the design was presented to the War Office on St Valentine’s Day, 14 February 1940, although some sources say that the design was submitted on Valentine’s Day 1938 or 10 February 1938.
White notes that “incidentally” Valentine was the middle name of Sir John Carden, the man who was responsible for many tank designs including that of the Valentine’s predecessors, the A10 and A11. Another version says that Valentine is an acronym for Vickers-Armstrongs Limited Elswick & (Newcastle-upon) Tyne. The “most prosaic” explanation according to author David Fletcher is that it was just an in-house codeword of Vickers with no other significance.
Designer: Vickers-Armstrongs
