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Britain
Inf Tank Mk III (Valentine III)

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The Inf Tank Mk III was designed in 1939, manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong based on the existing fully tracked Valentine and was in use from 1941 to 1944.

Flag of World War 2 Britain
Photo of Inf Tank Mk III (Valentine III)

General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)1941 - 1944
Quantity Produced606
Weight16 tonne
Crew4
M.G's small1
M.G's large(>10mm)n/a
Length5.46 mtr
Width2.65 mtr
Height2.31 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed15 mph
Max Cross Country Speed8 mph
Range Road90 miles
Range Cross Country36 miles
Fuel TypeDiesel
Fuel Capacityunknown
Horse Power131 hp
Power/Weight8 hp/tonne
General Information
The Inf Tank Mk III was designed in 1939, manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong based on the existing fully tracked Valentine and was in use from 1941 to 1944.

The vehicle was powered by AEC 'A190' diesel powerplant producing 131 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 15 mph with a range of about 90 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was adequate providing a max speed of about 8 mph and a range of about 36 miles.

It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr which could penetrate 48 mm of flat plate at 800 metres

The Infantry tank MkIII the Valentine was a redesigned A10 to provide an infantry support tank which could move slowly with the infantry to provide AT and machine gun support.

The armour was good for this size of vehicle. The Valentine III had a larger turret to accomodate a extra crew member.

Armour Details
Turret
Front65mm@(65mm)
Side60mm@(60mm)
Rear60mm@(60mm)
Top10mm@90°(10mm)
Superstructure
Front30mm@68°(80mm)
Side60mm@(60mm)
Rear60mm@(60mm)
Top10mm@90°(10mm)
Hull
Front60mm@21°(64mm)
Side60mm@(60mm)
Rear60mm@(60mm)
Top10mm@90°(10mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 80 mm - Minimum 10 mm



Weapon Details
Flag
Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr
(Anti Tank Gun)
Blank
photo of Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr from Wikipedia
History
Used both as an Anti Tank gun and as a Tank gun the 2pdr was first used in Belgium in 1939. The majority of the British guns were captured by the Germans at Dunkirk. However the 2pdr manufacture was continued but was slowly replaced by the 6pdr from 1942.
Manufactured1936 - 1944
Calibre40mm
LengthL/50
Rate of Fire22 rpm
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
AP/T Mk I
(AP Armor Piercing)
40mm 1.08Kg 792M/Sec
Quoted Penetration 53mm@455m
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.58
Penetration(mm@30°) 64 58 51 41 33 25 19 13
Penetration(mm@0°) 74 67 59 48 39 30 22 16
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2



HE/T Mk II after 1942
(HE High Explosive)
40mm 0.86Kg 792M/Sec 0.085Kg explosive
Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2
Blast/Fragmentation Effects
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill1 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill3 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill9 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr0 mm
An explosion within 1 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal.
An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's.
An explosion within 9 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties.
The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will not cause any significant armour damage.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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