Who used Valentines in 1945?

does anyone know what gun the m10 s.p.a.t did use origionally,was it just a 3in gun,or derived from elsewhere.lee.

 

now,vic told me he never used kangaroos,just carriers,easy to get about on,and get off quick.lee.

 

i expect the russians used their valentines for towing.i mean,i like the valentine,but i reckon they were quite happy with what they had.lee.

 

There are a number of good photos of Valentines in the Red Army in Battlefield.ru, but strangely the site has changed and all the captions seem to have disappeared so I can't place those

This one for instance looks to be in a rather victorious setting!

 

I've read in several places before now that the Soviets were using Valentines at Berlin in 2nd-echelon forces...

I wonder - were there any still in use in ITALY with the Allies by 1945?

 

Being designed for the Infantry Tank role initially, the Soviets came to appreciate the Valentine very much as a Light Tank due to its low profile, good armor for the role, mobility and reliability, therefore keeping it in service till the end of the war. Production lines in Canada were kept open for this purpose.

 

On this thread: Yak-9 fighter Juha has added in Post 15 and citing only the 1945 aspects:

 

Also at least the following two
3rd Guards Mechanized Corps
January 1945:
Total 176 M4A2 Shermans, including 108 with 76mm cannon, plus 21 Mk IX Valentines

6th Motorcycle Regiment 14 January 1945
had tank company with 10 Mk IX Valentines, artillery battalion with 2 4-gun batteries of SU-57s, 1 battery of ZIS-3 76mm guns towed by M3A1 Scout cars, a Machinegun company of 12 Maxims in jeeps, A company of submachinegunners in 13 M3A1 scout cars

 

Ahh, what an old thread!

I haven't got it yet, but listened to a podcast interview with Peter Samsonov who has written "British Tanks of the Red Army" (published by Gallantry Books - possibly a boutique/private publisher? haven't found much about them)

 

According to Wiki
"In August 1945, as part of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the 267th Tank Regiment (40 Valentine III and IX) of the 59th Cavalry Division Red Army, together with the 65th T-34-85 43rd Tank Brigade, passed from Eastern Gobi across the mountains Greater Khingan to Kalgan in China."

 

They're connected to Mortons who publish magazines, magbooks (what I call large than a magazine but not quite the size of a full book) and books. Casemate distributes them.
Here's a review of the title mentioned
British Tanks of the Red Army | IPMS/USA Reviews

and they're sold on through the river company: British Tanks of the Red Army: Samsonov, Peter: 9781911704065: Books - Amazon.ca.

I have this book as well as his titles on the T-34 and Red Army Shermans and can give them a hearty thumbs up.

 

The Valentine was used as the troop commander's vehicle for anti-tank troops. See the overview in the Trux section on Anti-tank artillery. Anti tank artillery | WW2Talk

The original troop commanders vehicle was an armoured OP - i.e. a Bren/Universal carrier. This was inferior in cross country mobility and protection to either of the 17 pounder SP equipment and resulted in the TC commanding an M10 or hanging onto the outside of an M10 or commanding on foot. These were replaced in corps and armour division regiments by Crusader AA tanks withdrawn from the RAC or by M5 Stuarts in at least one Canadian regiment.