Canadian built Valentines sent to Russia

[kevinT]

Can anyone confirm the WD serials for the 1388 Valentines built by the Canadian Pacific Railway Co at the locomotive repair works at Angus Shops?
Thanks for any help.

Cheers
Kevin

[servicepub (RIP)]

Would there even be WD numbers for these? They were built in Canada and shipped directly to Russia and were never part of the British Army stock.

[kevinT]

According to issue 46 of "Wheels & Tracks" there are some known numbers from contract S.M. 1021. These being T138916 - T138945 ( probable ) retained for training in Canada, T73554 - T74193 and observed numbers from block T23204 - T23503. Two were sent to Britain so there are still some numbers short. As these tanks were lend - lease via Britain, at least on paper,
they must all have carried British WD census numbers.
Any thoughts appreciated. Photos even better!

Cheers
Kevin

[servicepub (RIP)]

Hi Kevin,
Of the dozen Canadian Valentine photos I have this si the only one on which a WD number is visible. Hope that it helps.

[sapper740]

Of the several valentine pics I have, only one has a WD number: T17527. I'm not sure if this tank was built in Canada or Ol' Blighty. Hope this picture helps. Derek.

[kevinT]

Thanks for the photos guys,

But both were made in Britain.

T15950 was made by Vickers in Newcastle. Part of a batch of 275 Mk I & II tanks, T15946 - T16220 ( 175 Mk I T15946 - T16120, and 100 Mk II T16121 - T16220 ).

T17527 was made by Birmingham Railway. Part of a batch of 300 Mk II tanks, T17385 - T17384 ( 299 Mk II, T17474 was a mils steel prototype Bishop ).

Thanks for posting. Any other info appreciated.

Cheers
Kevin

[servicepub (RIP)]

Stumbled across a document at Archives yesterday which showed that the two Valentines (Mk. III) loaned to Canada sported WD numbers T15950 (see my photo in an earlier post) and T16356.
The same document shows that a Matilda Mk II )T6781) was also loaned to Canada.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally Posted by servicepub

The same document shows that a Matilda Mk II )T6781) was also loaned to Canada.

Clive;

For future reference, I would be interested in the information you came across regarding this Matilda ...

Cheers

[servicepub (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Mark W. Tonner

Clive;

For future reference, I would be interested in the information you came across regarding this Matilda ...

Cheers

Hi Mark,
There are a couple of pages but all dealing with Canada NOT paying for these (2 Valentines and the Matilda) as they were supplied for training purposes and, by war's end, had no value to either the Brits or the Canadians.

[kevinT]

Was named "Grampus II".

Cheers
Kevin

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally Posted by servicepub

There are a couple of pages but all dealing with Canada NOT paying for these (2 Valentines and the Matilda) as they were supplied for training purposes and, by war's end, had no value to either the Brits or the Canadians.

Clive;

I was looking at it from a research point of view for the future WOW series title 'The Matilda in Canadian Service'. If you have copies of these pages and you feel that any of the information contained therein is of value, send it along my way ... you know how to contact me ...

Originally Posted by kevinT

Was named "Grampus II".

Kevin;

Yes, that is correct and it now resides at Canadian Force Base Borden, Ontario, although I haven't actually seen what shape its in for a good 15 years now.

Cheers

[Colin Alford]

I realize that this is an extremely old thread, but it popped up at the bottom of my screen as a “similar thread”, and upon reading the questions I knew that I had access to the answers.

The attached images are from the Data Book of Tank Type Vehicles ( which gives all of the WD numbers), and the Valentine VII parts list (which gives the WD numbers produced to Nov ‘42, and the original, then re-designated numbers for the 30 vehicles which stayed in Canada).