+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. Developed by Vickers, it proved to be both strong and reliable, which was unusual for British tanks of the period. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialized 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 also supplied in large numbers to the USSR and built under license in Canada.
The Valentine started as a proposal based on Vickers' experience with the A9 and A10 specification cruiser tanks and the A11 (Infantry Tank Mk I). As a private design by Vickers-Armstrong, it did not receive a General Staff "A" designation; it was submitted to the War Office on 10 February 1938. The development team tried to match the lower weight of a cruiser tank, allowing the suspension and transmission parts of the A10 heavy cruiser to be used, with the greater armor of an infantry tank, working to a specification for a 60 mm (2.4 in) armor basis (the same as the A11).
The tank was to carry a 2-pounder gun in a two-man turret (the A11 was armed only with a heavy machine gun), have a lower silhouette and be as light as possible, resulting in a very compact vehicle with a cramped interior. Compared to the earlier Infantry Tank Mk II "Matilda", the Valentine had somewhat weaker armor and almost the same top speed. By using components already proven on the A9 and A10, the new design was, however, easier to produce and much less expensive.
The War Office was initially deterred by the size of the turret, since they considered a turret crew of three necessary, to free the vehicle commander from direct involvement in operating the gun. Concerned by the situation in Europe, the War Office finally approved the design in April 1939 and placed the first order in July for deliveries in May 1940. At the start of the war, Vickers were instructed to give priority to the production of tanks. The vehicle reached trials in May 1940, which coincided with the loss of much of the army's equipment in France, during Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk. The trials were successful, and the vehicle was rushed into production as "Tank, Infantry, Mark III"; no pilot models were required as much of the mechanics had been proven on the A10, and 109 had already been built by the end of September. During late 1940 and early 1941, Valentines were used in the cruiser tank role in British-based armored divisions, and they were supplied to tank brigades of the Eighth Army in North Africa from June 1941, where they saw extensive use.
Among the many variants and the special vehicles that had been developed on the Valentine’s chassis was a single anti-aircraft variant. First tests began in March 1943, and conversions started in July. This Valentine SPAAG was based on the contemporary late Mk. II/early Mk. III chassis, outfitted with a new turret, and consequently designated Mk. IIIAA.
The turret was a relatively small and a low, polygonal design, reminiscent of the A13 “Covenanter” cruiser tank’s turret shape. It featured heavy armor, with a front strength of 2.36 in (60 mm), the same as on the hull front, so that the tank could operate under full armor while firing and even face enemy tanks or artillery head-on. As a consequence, however, it offered only poor situational visibility for spotting approaching aircraft.
Armament consisted of twin Oerlikon 20 mm guns for anti-aircraft use, which offered a devastating combination of speed and firepower, especially deadly for low-flying aircraft. Each gun could fire 450 rounds per minute in cyclic mode, but 250-320 rounds per minute were more practical. Muzzle velocity was 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) and range against low-flying aircraft, firing HE rounds, was 1,000 yd (914 m). Maximum firing range was 4,800 yd (4,389 m). Normal provision was 600 rounds for the Oerlikon guns. The guns were coupled with a targeting .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers GO machine gun with 2.000 rounds, typically tracer ammunition, to be used as a targeting aid for the main guns. This arrangement, together with the Valentine’s small turret ring bearing, made the turret interior rather cramped, but the weapons were easy to handle and could fire almost vertically while offering the crew very good protection.
The Valentine Mk. IIIAA’s crew consisted of four and the vehicle was powered by an AEC A190 131 hp 6-cylinder diesel engine. To save overall weight and material, the side armor was reduced from the early models’ 60 mm (2.4 in) to 50 mm (2.0 in), but this did not improve the type’s limited performance. To increase range in the North-African desert, a jettisonable auxiliary external fuel tank could be mounted and it almost doubled the vehicle’s rather limited range of just 90 miles (140 km). The radio was furthermore moved to the hull in order to free space inside the turret.
The Valentine Mk. IIIAA was put in use in the final stages of the African campaign, in Tunisia, and then fought in Sicily, Italy and Normandy. In France, however, Allied air dominance was such that they were relegated to secondary duties and primarily used against ground targets. Furthermore, the AA troops - attached to HQ squadrons - were disbanded after the Normandy landings and the need for this kind of vehicle waned. In June 1944 the production was stopped, after a total of 268 Mk. IIIAA SPAAGs had been built or converted from existing/refurbished tanks.
Specifications:
Crew: Three (driver, commander, gunner, radio operator/loader)
Weight: 17.05 tons
Length: 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) overall
Width: 8 ft 7.5 in (2.63 m)
Height: 7 ft 7.5 in (2.33 m)
Ground clearance: 8 in (20.3 cm)
Climbing: 3 ft (91 cm) vertical obstacle
Trench Crossing: 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
Fording: 3 ft (91 cm)
Gradient: 32°
Suspension: Modified three-wheel Horstmann suspension "Slow Motion"
Steering system: clutch and brake
Fuel capacity: 36 gallons internal, plus provision for external 30 gal. auxiliary fuel tank
Armor:
0.31 – 2.36 in (8 – 60 mm)
Performance:
Speed: 15 mph (24 km/h) on roads
Operational range: 90 mi (140 km) on roads with internal fuel
Power/weight: 12.4 hp (9.2 kW) / tonne
Engine:
AEC A190 6 cylinder diesel engine with 131 hp (94 kW)
Transmission:
Meadows Type 22 (5 speed and reverse)
Armament:
2× 0.79 in (20 mm) Oerlikon with 600 rounds
1× co-axial 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers GO machine gun with 2.000 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Allied SPAAG is the result of recycling: I had a leftover chassis from an ESCI 1:72 Bishop SPG in the stash, effectively a Valentine Mk. III infantry tank hull, as well as a mixed media conversion set for a Crusader III, AA Mk II / Mk III tank from S&S Models. In real life, the compact Valentine never received such an update, probably because of its small hull/turret ring that offered little development potential – but in whifworld, things might look a little different.
With these ingredients, the build was a straightforward one: the Valentine chassis was built OOB and the resin turret was adapted to this basis. While it is a little wide overall, the turret’s low silhouette works well with the smaller Valentine basis. I just added a machine gun barrel to the two 20 mm guns, an aiming aid that was frequently used in real life on the Crusader SPAAGs.
Painting and markings:
This was to become a British Army vehicle from the start, but the choice of paint schemes turned out to be limited. I did not want a North African scheme, but eventually came up with a two-tone pattern in dark green/olive drab(?) and a sandy brown from the Italian TO, which I adapted for this fictional SPAAG. The basic tone is Humbrol 163 (modern RAF Dark Green), because it has a slightly brownish hue, combined with Tamiya XF-57 (Light Buff) as large contrast splotches overall.
The model received a washing with highly thinned dark brown acrylic paint and some post-shading. The decals/markings come from the scrap box, and then the model received and overall dry-brushing treatment with light grey. After a final coat of matt acrylic varnish and after the tracks had been mounted, the model’s lower areas were lightly dusted with greyish-brown mineral pigments.
A very simple and straightforward project, quickly realized in a couple of days, since no major modifications had to be made. However, the result looks quite plausible, and a Valentine SPAAG would certainly have been a useful addition to the Allied arsenal – in real life, this was taken over by Crusader and Cromwell anti-aircraft conversions with similar armament setups – but after the Allied invasion in 1944 and the resulting air superiority, not much emphasis was placed upon this type of vehicle.
