Public domain World War II pictures

Leccy,you were spot on!
'Adonis' a Valentine MkIII(?) of the Malta Tank Squadron RTR, an amalgamation of No.1 Independent Troop with 'X' Squadron,6 RTR on the 27th January 1942 .


On 3rd May 1943 two Valentine Mk II were...

Leccy,you were spot on!
'Adonis' a Valentine MkIII(?) of the Malta Tank Squadron RTR, an amalgamation of No.1 Independent Troop with 'X' Squadron,6 RTR on the 27th January 1942 .


On 3rd May 1943 two Valentine Mk II were received from the Middle East, but on the 19/20th May THREE Valentines were reported as taking part in an exercise! On the 22nd another Valentine was received, bringing the total up to 4. No more AFV's were received after that. The 4 Valentines are reported as being 2 Mk II and 2 Mk III.

The photo of ADONIS was taken on Palace Square on 2nd June 1943 as part of a display on the occasion of the King's Birthday.
Thx for you're persistency on the issue,learned some more.;)

Hi leccy,
I think I know the Valentine you mean ,I've seen it in that Malta camo but it was a 1/35 model by Miniart.You could well be right,the Valentine saw most of its active service in the N-African theatre.Can't find any direct reference right...

Hi leccy,
I think I know the Valentine you mean ,I've seen it in that Malta camo but it was a 1/35 model by Miniart.You could well be right,the Valentine saw most of its active service in the N-African theatre.Can't find any direct reference right now of it being in Malta.I'll have to keep looking :)

Hmm no mention of the Valentines? I have seen photos of them wearing that very distinct camouflage scheme.
There is a common photo of one of them 'Adonis' taken on the kings Birthday in Palace Square.

Well there are some discussions on WW2-fora going on about the number of tanks on Malta and what types.
According to David Patore who's been researching the issue as preparation for a book:

Before reinforcements arrived in...

Well there are some discussions on WW2-fora going on about the number of tanks on Malta and what types.
According to David Patore who's been researching the issue as preparation for a book:

Before reinforcements arrived in mid-1942:
Quote:
1st Independent Troop, 44th Royal Tank Rgt, composed of:
- detachment of 7th Royal Tank Regt (4x Matilda II)
- detachment of 3rd (King's Own) Hussars (2x Vickers VIc)
And after reinforcements arrived:
Quote:
- Troop: one Light Tank Mk VI plus two Light Tank Mk VIC
- Troop: three A9 / Cruiser Tank Mk I
- Troop: three A13 Mk II / Cruiser Tank Mk IVA
- Troop: three Matilda Mk III / A12 / Infantry Tank Mk IIA*
- Reserve: one A9 / Cruiser Tank Mk I plus one Matilda Mk III / A12 / Infantry Tank Mk IIA*
Total of 14 tanks .

Now according to Philip Vella in his book:
'Malta:Blitzed but not Beaten'
Also total of 14 tanks.
Group #1) 1st Independent Troop, Royal Tank Regiment
commander: A/Major R. E. H. Drury
4x Infantry Mk II (A12 Matilda Mk II or III) + 2x Light Mark VIB
Arrived on ?
(Matildas were nicknamed: Faulknor, Gallant, Greyhound, Griffin)

Group #2) A Squadron, 6th RTR
commander: A/Major S. D. G. Longworth
8x mix of Cruiser Mk I (A9) + Cruiser Mk III or IV (A13 Mk I or II)
Arrived on 12 January 1942 with "8 of 13 tanks"
(Fleet Operation MF-3, convoy MW-8A/B, apparently five were on
board Themopylae, lost en route)
So there is some disagreement about wether the Vickers were MkVIb or MkVIc.But since there are pictures of MkVIc's on Malta...
Perhaps these are only details but it proves once more that it's sometimes very hard to find 100% correct evidence .
;)

They had a mix of tanks on Malta, not many of each though.
Light Mk VI (also unconfirmed Light MK IV but probably a typo or mis ID)
Cruiser's Mk 9 and Mk 13
Infantry tanks Matilda II and Valentines