PzKpfw I (Panzerkampfwagen I) was a German light tank from the Second World War. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1933, and serial production continued in the period 1934-1939, ending with the production of about 2,000 cars. The A version of the tank was powered by a single Krupp M305 57hp engine. Its main armament was two 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns placed in the tower.
The first work on the PzKpfw I began in 1930, when the German Armaments Office, contrary to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, commissioned work on a tracked vehicle intended for reconnaissance and armament transport. The Krupp company very quickly took the lead in these works, following the British designs of the Vickers concern, but without access to English technologies. In 1933, the first tracked chassis were created, which were later used to train drivers, and the serial production started in 1934, when the Germans terminated the Versailles treaty. Two basic variants of the PzKpfw I were created: A and B. Version A was the first mass-produced version, while version B had a modernized suspension and chassis and a new engine - Maybach NL 38 TR. Other vehicles were also built on the chassis of this vehicle, e.g. the command vehicle (Panzerbefehlswagen I) or the Panzerjager I tank destroyer. PzKpfw I tanks were used during the civil war in Spain (1936-1939), in the September campaign, the campaign in Norway (1940 ), in France (1940), in the Balkans (1941) and - on a small scale - in the initial stage of the war with the Soviet Union (1941), already being completely obsolete vehicles at that time.
The Renault R35 is a French WWII light infantry tank, the first prototypes of which were presented in 1934, and serial production continued in 1935-1940. In total, about 1,600 copies of this tank of all versions were created in its course. A single Renault 447 carburetor engine with 82 HP was used as the drive. It was armed with a 37mm SA18 Le / 21 or SA38 Le / 33 gun and one 7.5mm MAC31 machine gun.
The Renault R35 was developed as a successor to the Renault FT-17 vehicle, which was created during World War I, and from the very beginning it was intended for cooperation with infantry units. Initially, it was assumed that the new tank would be armed only with machine guns, but during the tests, this idea was withdrawn. Finally, the Renault R35 had good armament at the end of the 1930s (the version with the SA38 cannon), enabling it to fight virtually any German or Italian tank. It also had very good armor and good observation devices. The downsides were the poor performance, especially the low top speed, the engine that had a tendency to overheat and burned a lot of fuel, and - probably most of all - overloaded by the duties of the tank commander, who was unable to effectively command it on the battlefield. This disadvantage, moreover, was typical of many other French tanks of this period. In 1940, the R40 model was adopted by the French army, with a modified chassis. After the fall of France in 1940, Renault R35 tanks were used, among others, by German and Italian troops.
Valentine was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. The first prototypes were built in 1940, and serial production was carried out in 1940-1944. In total, about 8,300 copies of this tank of all versions were built, which makes it one of the most produced British tanks during the Second World War. Valentine was powered - depending on the version - or an engine AEC A 190 with power or the GMC 6004 engine with 130 to 210 HP. The armament of the vehicle is - depending on the version - a single 40 mm, 57 mm or 75 mm cannon and two 7.92 and 7.7 mm machine guns.
The Valentine tank is based on the Cruiser Mk. II (A10) and due to the huge losses in equipment suffered by the British army in the French campaign in 1940, it was quickly put into mass production. The Valentine had relatively weak armor, a lot of weight, but it made up for this with decent mobility, a very low failure rate and a good upgrade potential. It was also cheap to produce, which additionally determined its production until 1944. A dozen or so versions of this tank were made in the course of serial production. One of the first, widely produced, was the Valentine Mk. III, which had a larger turret than the previous versions, which increased the crew from 3 to 4 people. Another important variation was the Valentine Mk. VIII with the 57mm 6-pounder ROQF cannon, instead of the 40mm gun. The last mass-produced version was the Valentine Mk. The XI, which featured a 75mm ROQF cannon and was most often used as a command tank. Valentine tanks were sent to the USSR under the Lend-and-Lease program, and they were also used by the Canadian army and the Polish Armed Forces in the West (PES).