Britain Inf Tank Mk III (Valentine VIII)

Tweet The Inf Tank Mk III was designed in 1939 based on the existing fully tracked Valentine and was in use from 1943 to 1945. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1943 - 1945 Quantity Produced 0 Weight 16 tonne Crew 4 M.G's small 1 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 5.46 mtr Width 2.65 mtr Height 2.31 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 15 mph Max Cross Country Speed 8 mph Range Road 0 miles Range Cross Country unknown Fuel Type Diesel Fuel Capacity unknown Horse Power 165 hp Power/Weight 10 hp/tonne General Information The Inf Tank Mk III was designed in 1939 based on the existing fully tracked Valentine and was in use from 1943 to 1945. The vehicle was powered by AEC 'A190' diesel powerplant producing 165 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 15 mph with a range of about 0 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was adequate providing a max speed of about 8 mph and a range of about 0 miles. It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 6pdr 7cwt MKI-III which could penetrate 96 mm of flat plate at 200 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 turret had power traverse with a 6pdr A/T gun. The armour was good for this size of vehicle. The Valentine VIII was the upgraded Valentine III which had a larger turret to accomodate a extra crew member. Armour Details Turret Front 65mm @ 0° (65mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Superstructure Front 30mm @ 68° (80mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Hull Front 60mm @ 21° (64mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 80 mm - Minimum 10 mm Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 6pdr 7cwt MKI-III (Anti Tank Gun) History The 6pdr Mk II—differed from the pre-production Mk I in having a shorter L/43 barrel, because of shortage of suitable lathes. The subsequent Mk IV was fitted with an L/50 barrel, with muzzle brake. Manufactured 1942 - 1945 Calibre 57mm Length L/43   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Shot, AP, Mks 1 to 7 (AP Armor Piercing) 57mm 2.86Kg 853M/Sec Quoted Penetration 68mm@915m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.12 0.24 0.5 1.09 1.78 2.61 3.61 4.86 Penetration(mm@30°) 90 83 74 63 53 44 35 28 Penetration(mm@0°) 105 96 86 73 62 51 41 33 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 77 41 22 8

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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