Maritime record MWX2333 - Valentine Tank

Lost while carrying out trials during WWII. 06-JUN-1985 Valentine tank located in 50 40.29N 001 54.37W. (1)
… Upright and virtually complete, albeit very rusty...part of a flotilla of Valentines which, in 1942, were fitted experimentally with canvas screens in order to make them float in the sea. Much of the development of this secret weapon took place in Poole Bay and it is not surprising that a few Valentines succumbed to rough conditions and sank. Although the development of the screen system (which could be raised or lowered pneumatically) was carried out on the Valentines, it was used eventually during the Normandy landings on Sherman tanks, a much heavier- bodied vehicle...The Valentines were powered by a duplex drive system which enabled the engines to turn large propellers mounted at the rear when the tanks were in the water. The tanks in Poole Bay all lie at around 9 metres...situated in flat, sandy terrain and consequently form havens for many fish, conger eels, crabs and lobsters... (2)
Recovered objects on droit list include shaving brush, razor, toothbrush. (5)
Recovered items on droit list include a radiator manifold, a piece of hydraulic piping, and a microphone, found in Poole Bay. (Droit A/1125). (5)
Located on 31/1/99 by the Poole Bay Archaeological Research Group. (6)
Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:
Horizontal Datum: OSGB (1); EUT/WGS 84 (8)
Vertical Datum: 116 (1); LAT (8)
Method of Fix: Decca (1)(8)
Charted as foul in position 50 40.483N 001 54.617N (OSGB), 50 40.518N 001 54.699W (WGS 84), in 8m general depth. (8)
06-JUN-1985: Valentine tank located in 50 40.29N 001 54.37W. (1)(8)
31-MAY-2006: EUT position 50 40.518N 001 54.699W. (8)
This appears to be the wreck listed as No.3 under the heading No.272, "Valentine Tanks", in position 50 40.48N 001 54.62W, in source (4) below.
. . . Upright and virtually complete, albeit very rusty . . . The tanks in Poole Bay all lie at around 9 metres . . . Situated in flat, sandy terrain and consequently form havens for many fish, conger eels, crabs and lobsters . . . (2)(4)(6)
None of the droits below have been attributed to any particular Valentine tank, and are therefore cross-referenced between them all:
A door catch recovered in Poole Bay from an unspecified Valentine tank. (Droit A/2450). (5)
The tanks now sit upright on the seabed and were complete up to 1987 when the Royal Navy blew five of them up, the remaining two are still complete. (7)
A Vickers tank offered to the War Ministry on 14-FEB-1939, therefore called Valentine, started operation during 1940. During the course of the war it was deveolped into many special purpose vehicles, one of these being the amphibious 'DD' Duplex Drive. Seven were lost during the last major exercise before D-Day with the loss of six men. (7)
Crew Lost: 6 overall, though tank(s) from which they were lost unspecified (7)
Charted as foul and seen to be located approximately 1.5 miles east of the entrance to Poole Harbour. (9)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

<1> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 1992, Hydrographic Office wreck index (Index). SWX4837.

<2> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1990, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (2nd Edition), Wreck No. 197, p161-3 (Monograph). SWX5640.

<3> 1979, Diver [incorporating Underwater World] 1979, No. 6 June., p24 (Article in serial). SWX6633.

<4> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1999, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (3rd Edition), Wreck 272, p190-191 (Monograph). SWX1.

<5> 2001, Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Receiver of Wreck Amnesty (Index). SWX4542.

<6> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<7> Shovlar, S, 1996, Dorset Shipwrecks, A comprehensive guide to the shipwrecks of Purbeck and Poole Bay. , 202-205 (Monograph). SWX8036.

<8> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Wreck report, 19527 (Monograph). SDO20514.

<9> SeaZone Hydrospatial, Digital marine geographic information derived from SeaZone Hydrospatial, 18-APR-2012 (Digital archive). SDO20540.

xamination of EH deskGIS SeaZone mapping data

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 832539 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 28 2024 4:01PM