The Valentine was the most produced and most widely used British tank of the Second World War. The Valentine first saw combat during Operation Compass in November 1941 and remained one of the main medium tanks in British service into 1943. As the Churchill became more prevalent the Valentine was relegated to specialist and tank-destroyer variants, which would remain in service in the Far East to the end of the war. This book describes the evolution of the Valentine design and weighs up its impact on the battlefield. Although widely regarded today as one of the weaker tanks to be fielded during the war, it was exceptionally numerous, with more Valentines produced than any other British tank.

Author Biography

Bruce Newsome, Ph.D., is Lecturer in International Relations at the University of California Berkeley. He consulted to governments on defense acquisitions while at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California, and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. His publications include: Making Tanks: How Britain Required, Design, and Produced the Best and Worst of Tanks, 1918-1945 (2015); Homeland Security (2015); Security and Risk Management (2014); Made, Not Born: Why Some Soldiers are Better than Others (2007). Henry Morshead is a design consultant in the European automotive and aerospace sectors, with clients including Jaguar, Bentley, Citroen and Airbus. He is also a technical sponsor of the Bloodhound supersonic car, contributing digital surfacing and design services. A former officer in the Royal Engineers and illustrator for Jane's, he maintains a keen interest in the design and use of military land and air vehicles.