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Posted on 02/13/2006 8:35:48 PM PST by alfa6
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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THE VALENTINE TANK  Based on the A10 Cruiser tank, the Valentine was privately designed by the Vickers-Armstrong corporation (hence its lack of an "A" designation) and was submitted to the War Office on February 14, 1938. Like many other projects, the Valentine was rushed into production following the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk. Several versions exist concerning the source of the name Valentine. The most popular one says that the design was presented to the War Office at St. Valentine's Day (February 14). Some sources, however, claim that the exact date the design was submitted was February 10. According to other version, the tank was called Valentine in honor of Sir John Valentine Carden, the man who led the development of the A10 and many other Vickers vehicles. Yet another version says that Valentine is an acronym for Vickers-Armstrong Ltd Elswick & Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  The War Office was initially deterred by the size of the turret and the crew compartment. However, concerned by the situation in Europe, it finally approved the design in April 1939. The vehicle reached trials in May 1940, which coincided with the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk. The trials were successfull and the vehicle was rushed into production as Infantry Tank III Valentine. The Valentine remained in production until April 1944, becoming Britain's most mass produced tank during the war with 6855 units manufactured in the UK (by Vickers, Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon and Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon) and further 1420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2394 of the British models being sent and 1388 of the Canadian (the remaining 30 were kept for training).  The Valentine was Britain's most mass produced tank during the war, having manufactured 6855 and a further 1420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2394 of the British models being sent and 1388 of the Canadian (the remaining 30 were kept for training). In Soviet service, they were quite popular due to their small size, reliability, and generally good armour protection. In Soviet service, the Valentine was used from the Battle of Moscow until the end of the war. It was employed mostly on the southern fronts, both because of the proximity to the Persian supply route and in order to avoid using the tank in very cold climate. Although criticized for its speed and its weak gun, the Valentine was liked due to its small size, reliability and generally good armour protection. The Valentine was something of an oddity, having the weight and size of a cruiser tank, but the armour and speed of an infantry tank. Though its armour was still weaker than the Matilda and, due to its weaker engine, it shared the same top speed, its high reliability and lower cost kept it in the war. ![](http://www.dad.incomingwormhole.com/Valentine/valentine_mk_iii_01.jpg") By 1944, in the European Theater of Operations the Valentine was almost competely replaced in the frontline units by the Churchill and the US-made Sherman. In the Pacific the tank was employed in limited numbers at least until May 1945. There were 12 variants of the Valentine as follows:     |
I will probably see my son-in-law on Friday, will try to remember to ask him, FWIW he hasn't lived in the Bufalo area for over ten years.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Where does he live now then?
He is here in KC. He is one of the reasons I got into the fixin up house business :-)
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
OH, he may not know of us then, we just started raising hell up here last year.
LOL! Great picture! :-)
Yeah it looks like they found out they didn't have enoough of the same size road wheels to put the Bishop together and found some "spares" that would fit.
Thanks Iris7. There are some armor sites that have kept track of the RTR Tiger restoration. Lots of great photos there. :-)
A Hump Day Bump for the Freeper Foxhole
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Morning Ms. Feather . . . stick with us, we'll learn you good. ;)
I wrote a pome yesterday, would you like a link to it??
I had to drive into work that morning to appraise the damage to our systems . . . the entire face of our eight story building had fallen off into the Blvd. below. I could share more but just sharing this much is starting to creep me out . . . I think the most powerful earthquake is the last one we survived. IMHO.
Howdy Sam! Thanks for taking time out from playing submarine ga . . . err . . . from your busy schedule to say hello. ;^)
Link me!!!
xoxoxo
I wonder who started that unfounded rumor?????
Two pomes.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1550597/posts?page=517#517
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1550597/posts?page=542#542
Thank You.
The more things change the more they stay the same. Brilliant.
The second poem is very rich in fantasy and yet it too portrays the broken heart.
How blessed that both hearts found love again.
[Oh geez! You're making me all mushy in a military thread . . . don't tell anyone!]
Thanks for reading them and the comments on both of them.
You may comment on my thread if you wish. ;)
I would love that.
1. Montana has the largest migratory elk herd in the nation.
2. The state boasts the largest breeding population of trumpeter swans in the lower United States.
3. At the Rocky Mountain Front Eagle Migration Area west of Great Falls more golden eagles have been seen in a single day than anywhere else in the country.
4. North of Missoula is the largest population of nesting common loons in the western United States.
5. The average square mile of land contains 1.4 elk, 1.4 pronghorn antelope, and 3.3 deer.
6. The Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area contains as many as 300,000 snow geese and 10,000 tundra swans during migration.
7. At Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge it is possible to see up to 1,700 nesting pelicans.
8. The Montana Yogo Sapphire is the only North American gem to be included in the Crown Jewels of England.
9. In 1888 Helena had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world.
10. 46 out of Montana's 56 counties are considered "frontier counties" with an average population of 6 or fewer people per square mile.
11. At Egg Mountain near Choteau dinosaur eggs have been discovered supporting the theory some dinosaurs were more like mammals and birds than like reptiles.
12. Montana is the only state with a triple divide allowing water to flow into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Hudson Bay. This phenomenon occurs at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park.
13. The notorious outlaw, Henry Plummer, built the first jail constructed in the state.
14. No state has as many different species of mammals as Montana.
15. The moose, now numbering over 8,000 in Montana, was thought to be extinct in the Rockies south of Canada in the 1900s.
16. Flathead Lake in northwest Montana contains over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. It is considered the largest natural freshwater lake in the west.
17. Miles City is known as the Cowboy Capitol.
18. Yellowstone National Park in southern Montana and northern Wyoming was the first national park in the nation.
19. The town of Ekalaka was named for the daughter of the famous Sioux chief, Sitting Bull.
20. Fife is named after the type of wheat grown in the area or, as some locals contend, by Tommy Simpson for his home in Scotland.
21. Fishtail is named for either a Mr. Fishtail who lived in the area or as the area Indians prefer for some of the peaks in the nearby Beartooth Mountain Range which look like the tail of a fish.
22. The Yaak community is the most northwestern settlement in the state.
23. Montana has the largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states.
24. Near the Pines Recreation Area as many as 100 sage grouse perform their extraordinary spring mating rituals.
25. The first luge run in North America was built at Lolo Hot Springs on Lolo Pass in 1965.
26. Combination, Comet, Keystone, Black Pine, and Pony are names of Montana ghost towns.
27. Virginia City was founded in 1863 and is considered to be the most complete original town of its kind in the United States.
28. Montana is nicknamed the Treasure State.
29. The bitterroot is the official state flower.
30. The density of the state is six people per square mile.
31. The highest point in the state is Granite Peak at 12,799 feet.
32. The most visited place in Montana is Glacier National Park, known as the crown jewel of the continent. It lies along Montana's northern border and adjoins Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, forming the world's first International Peace Park.
33. Buffalo in the wild can still be viewed at the National Bison Range in Moiese, south of Flathead Lake and west of the Mission Mountains.
34. Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack, has been preserved as a ghost town state park along once gold-laden Grasshopper Creek.
35. The Old West comes to life through the brush and sculpture of famed western artist Charlie Russell at the Charles M. Russell Museum Complex in Great Falls. The museum contains the world's largest collection of Russell's work, his original log-cabin studio and his Great Falls home.
36. The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman gained fame through the work of its chief paleontologist, Jack Horner. Horner was the prototype for the character Dr. Alan Grant in the best selling novel/movie, "Jurassic Park."
37. Montana's rivers and streams provide water for three oceans and three of the North American continent's major river basins.
38. Just south of Billings, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his troops made their last stand. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument features the Plains Indians and United States military involved in the historic battle.
39. The western meadowlark is the official state bird.
40. The first inhabitants of Montana were the Plains Indians.
41. Montana is home to seven Indian reservations.
42. Every spring nearly 10,000 white pelicans with a wingspan of nine feet migrate from the Gulf of Mexico to Medicine Lake in northeastern Montana.
43. The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier Park is considered one of the most scenic drives in America.
44. The state's official animal is the grizzly bear.
45. The state's motto Oro y Plata means gold and silver.
46. Montana's name comes from the Spanish word mountain.
47. In Montana the elk, deer and antelope populations outnumber the humans.
48. Glacier National Park has 250 lakes within its boundaries.
49. Hill County has the largest county park in the United States. Beaver Creek Park measures 10 miles long and 1 mile wide.
50. Competing with the D River in Lincoln City, Oregon for the title of the world's shortest river, the Roe River flows near Great Falls. Both rivers lengths vary from 58 feet to 200 feet. The source for this small river is Giant Springs, the largest freshwater spring in the United States.
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