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Considered one of the more successful British tank designs of the early war years, the Valentine series served both British and Soviet forces effectively. British forces first fielded the tank in Operation Crusader, in which forces were sent to relieve their comrades at beleaguered Tobruk. The Valentine would prove its effectiveness as an infantry tank throughout Africa and in the jungles of Burma as well. It was reliable, had decent armour yet a low weight. The most common complaints were directed against the 2 pounder gun, mostly either because of the lack of HE rounds and when facing later German tanks its overall power. In Australia and New Zealand HE rounds were improvised from 40 mm Bofors shells, somewhat similar to what was done in Hungary with their 40 mm anti tank guns.

With over 8,000 produced of the type, the Valentine was a direct result of a British need to field an infantry tank based on the A10 design preceding it and to replace the aging Matilda tanks. Offered up as a proposal on St. Valentine's Day of 1938, the system was accepted into production thanks to the expediency to which it could be produced over the more complicated Matildas. Production began in 1940 in an effort to refit British units after heavy losses incurred throughout battles in France.

The Soviet Union received some 2,690 of the different models of the Valentine - most from Canadian production lines - these were first used on the eastern front during the battle of Moscow and continued to be used to 1944 on that front, they would also be used against the Japanese in 1945. Additionally, the Valentine tank appeared with Indian, New Zealand and Free French forces on a variety of fronts.

The chassis of the base Valentine produced a plethora of variants. Some notable additions to the Valentine family would include the Scorpion Flail Tank, the Bishop self-propelled guns and training vehicles converted from amphibious designs. Additionally, the Valentine would appear in ten marks varying in engine types and armament.

In FHSW the Mk II and Mk III model have a coaxial grenade launcher, launching either smoke grenades or 50 mm high explosive, it can be aimed vertically independent of the main gun.

Valentine Variants in Forgotten Hope Secret Weapon
Mk II Mk III
Valentine Mk VIII Mk VIII Gap Jumping Tank


Valentine Mk II[]

Valentine Mk II
Valentine II
General Historical Information
Place of origin Great Britain
Designer Vickers-Armstrongs
Manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs
Produced In Great Britain
Category Medium Tank
Debut in FHSW Debut in FH
Speed 24 km/h
Armour Valentine armour
Main armament 40mm QF 2-pounder
Coaxial weapon 7.92 mm BESA machine gun
General Ingame Information
Used by Great Britain
USSR
Crew in‑game 4
Ammunition Icon 40mmOQFmarkIX
Seat 2 Commander seat/smoke launcher
Historical Picture
Valentine II photo

This version appeared in 1941 and twice as many were completed (700 in all) compared to the first production model. By June, "Valentine" was officialized. This version had a 6-cylinder AEC A190 diesel delivering 131hp but at lower rate and with more torque, and the autonomy was raised dramatically by adding a left-side external tank (one at the rear was more common practice). This became a trademark of the Valentine.

 

Valentine Mk III[]

Valentine Mk III
Valentine III
General Historical Information
Place of origin Great Britain
Designer Vickers-Armstrongs
Manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs
Produced In Great Britain
Category Medium Tank
Debut in FHSW Debut in FH
Speed 24 km/h
Armour 8-65 mm
Main armament 40mm QF 2-pounder
Coaxial weapon 7.92 mm BESA machine gun
General Ingame Information
Used by Great Britain
USSR
Crew in‑game 4
Ammunition Icon 40mmOQFmarkIX
Seat 2 Commander seat/smoke launcher
Historical Picture
Valentine III photo

The Valentine III appeared in late 1941 and was one of the most produced versions of the entire serie. The revolution came with a completely redesigned turret, with a new internal mantlet and an enlarged turret basket, giving the much needed extra room to accomodate a loader to operate the gun, freeing the commander for other tasks. This verion alongside the Mk IV and V which only had minor differences were the only with a three man turret since later versions with larger guns meant again that there only was space for two people. As a compensation for the added weight, the side armour was somewhat downgraded from 60 to 50mm. The main gun was now a QF 2 pounder Mk.V.

The Valentine was the main tank used by forces of New Zealand in the pacific, complemented by the M3 Stuart. Other tanks such as the Matilda II were deemed too heavy and the M4 Sherman was even heavier. 18 of the Mk. III were modified in New Zealand to mount the 76 mm howitzer that had been in the Matilda IV CS. These were used during the battle of Green Islands in 1944.

This variant isn't too common in FHSW, it is similar to the Mk II and both are overshadowed by the Mk VIII with its more powerful six pounder gun that also has a gap jumping variant.

 

Valentine Mk VIII[]

Valentine Mk VIII
Valentine Mk.VIII
General Historical Information
Place of origin Great Britain
Designer Vickers-Armstrongs
Manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs
Produced In Great Britain
Category Medium Tank
Debut in FHSW 0.51
Speed 24 km/h
Armour 8-65 mm
Main armament 57mmmm QF 6-pounder
General Ingame Information
Used by Great Britain
USSR
Ammunition Icon 57mmOQFmarkV

Since the 2-pounder was found inadequate against the main german tanks by 1942, Vickers engineers worked frantically on a way to adapt the much larger, long-barrel 6-pounder (57mm) into the cramped Mark III turret. The Mk VIII was the result but would not be produced since the Mk IX was deemed much better. It went even further from the Mk III design reducing the armor to make it less cramped and installing an even more powerful engine.

The small turret means the gun is reloaded slower, and also lacks the machine gun and bomb thrower to protect against infantry, but on the other hand, its small silhouette, armor thickness and QF-6 pounder gun make it very effective in defence against enemy tanks. It has similar strengths and weakness to the M10 Wolverine but it has both a lower profile and mobility.

 

Valentine Mk VIII Gap Jumping Tank[]

Valentine Mk VIII Gap Jumping Tank
Valentine Mk III Gap Jumping Tank
General Historical Information
Place of origin Great-Britain
Designer Vickers-Armstrongs
Manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs
Category Medium Tank
Debut in FHSW 0.51
Speed 24 km/h
Armour 8-65 mm
Main armament 57mmmm QF 6-pounder
General Ingame Information
Used by Great Britain
USA
Crew in‑game 3
Ammunition Icon 57mmOQFmarkVRndAPDS
Special abilities It is able to jump with this tank
Seat 2 Commander seat/Rockets
Seat 3 Gunner in fuselage
Movie
A_look_at_the_Mk_III,_Valentine_gap_jumping_tank

The Valentine Mk VIII Gap Jumping Tank was developed to overcome trenches or other obstacles. Eight rockets were attached to a Valentine Mk.III tank that generated enough power to take-off for a few seconds. Further developement was cancelled because it would not often land right side up. You launch the rockets with the alternate fire key on the second seat and maneuver with WASD. You can fly about 20 meters before the rockets overheat. With a good teamwork with the driver, you can also fly over rivers. But be aware that there’s a risk that the tank lands on its top when the ground isn’t flat. 

It can only be found on different kinds of maps such as Aberdeen, Alpenfestung at American main base, Gazala and Operation Rattrap.

 

Derived vehicles in FHSW[]

  • Bishop: Self-propelled QF 25 pounder howitzer on the chassis of Valentine
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