Comparing: Covenanter vs. Valentine vs. M5A1 Stuart

A new cruiser tank that featured such innovations as an opposed-piston engine, front placement of cooling radiators, and the wide use of welding. The vehicle was ordered for production on April 17, 1939. A total of 1,771 tanks in four base variants were mass-produced. The Covenanter tanks were used mostly for training purposes in the U.K. from 1940 through 1943.

Developed in 1938 by Vickers-Armstrong, the tank was one of the best in its class. A total of 8275 vehicles in various modifications were manufactured from 1940 through 1944.

The first tanks of the M5 series were produced in April 1942, and a new modification, the M5A1, was preferred over other variants. After the M24 Chaffee was developed, the M5A1 tanks were deemed obsolete and were exported to other countries, including China. A total of 100 tanks of this type were supplied to the Kuomintang. During the Civil War (1946–1949), many of these vehicles were captured by the PLA.