SP 17pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer
SP 17pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer front (and direction of driving) to left, engine to right
Type	Self-propelled artillery anti-tank gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	September 1944 - early 1950s (UK)
Used by	United Kingdom, Egypt, Jordan
Wars	Second World War, Suez Crisis
Production history
Designer	Vickers-Armstrongs
Manufacturer	Vickers-Armstrongs
Produced	March 1943 – May 1945[1]
No. built	655
Specifications
Mass	15 long tons (15 tonnes)
Length	21 ft 11 in (6.68 m)
Width	9 ft (2.7 m)
Height	7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
Crew	4 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour	14–60 mm (0.55–2.36 in)
Main armament	QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) gun 39 rounds
Secondary armament	.303 Bren light machine gun
Engine	GMC 6-71 6-cylinder diesel 192 bhp
Power/weight	10.1 hp/t
Suspension	coil spring bogie
Fuel capacity	50 imp gal (230 L)
Operational range	140 mi (230 km) on roads
Maximum speed	20 mph (32 km/h) off-road: 8 mph (13 km/h)

The self-propelled 17-pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer was a British tank destroyer^[2] of the Second World War based on the Valentine infantry tank chassis fitted with an Ordnance QF 17 pounder gun. Designed and manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs, 655 were produced between March 1943 and May 1945. It was used in north-west Europe and Italy during the war; post-war, it served with the Egyptian Army. This vehicle was unusual in that its gun faced the rear of the chassis instead of the front.

Compared to German tank designs, British tanks generally lagged behind in terms of firepower during the war. This prompted British planners to devise a short-term solution to enhance the firepower of the British Army. They investigated tank chassis in production and landed on the Valentine because of its rapid adaptability to a new role.^[3]

It was decided that the 17-pounder gun was to be mounted in a simple, low, open-topped superstructure with the gun facing to the rear to avoid the new design from being too front-heavy due to the 17-pounder's immense weight.^[3] The mounting allowed for 11° of traverse to either side, with elevation from -7.5° to +15°.^[4] The engine in the Archer had a higher power rating than in the Valentine.^[5]

The first prototype was completed in 1943, with firing trials carried out in April 1943. On firing, the gun breech recoiled just shy of the driver's space.^{[citation needed]} The unorthodox way the gun was mounted let the driver stay in position ready to drive the vehicle away without turning around if needed to move quickly. The rear mounting combined with its low silhouette made the Archer an excellent ambush weapon, allowing its crew to fire, then drive away. Vickers-Armstrongs were given orders for 800 vehicles—with 655 being made before the end of the Second World War.^[3]

The rear-facing mount of the 17-pounder allowed crews to adopt "shoot-and-scoot" ambush tactics: Archers were typically emplaced behind cover, fired on advancing armour, then reversed away without having to turn the vehicle around, which aided rapid withdrawal and survivability in defensive operations.^[6] The Archer's low silhouette made concealment easier, increasing the effectiveness of such ambushes, though the confined fighting compartment and limited gun traverse reduced effectiveness in close or highly mobile engagements.^[7] Contemporary and later accounts also note that recoil and crew layout constrained ergonomics, but that the vehicle was a practical and economical solution for mounting the powerful 17-pounder on an existing chassis.^[8]

Production started in mid-1943 and the Archer entered service in October 1944. It was used in North-West Europe and (in 1945) in Italy.^[9]

Under military doctrines prevalent in Commonwealth armies at the time, vehicles such as the Archer were "self-propelled anti-tank guns" and operated by the Royal Artillery (RA), rather than Royal Armoured Corps (RAC). This was the same for two vehicles of US origin, that were initially conceived as "tank destroyers" though not used as such by the British: the 3 in. Self-Propelled Mount M10 and 17 pdr Self-Propelled Achilles.^{[citation needed]}

Post-war, the Egyptian Army received 200 ex-British Archers after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.^[10] Some were successfully used against Israeli armour in 1956.^[11] The Archer served with some units of the Royal Armoured Corps in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in the early 1950s.^{[citation needed]}

Jordanian Arab Legion and National Guard were supplied with 36 ex-British Archers in 1952.^[12]

Surviving vehicles are preserved at

• Yad La-Shiryon museum in Latrun
• National War and Resistance Museum, Overloon in the Netherlands
• National Military Museum, Soesterberg in the Netherlands
• The Tank Museum in the UK
• The Wheatcroft Collection in the UK, awaiting restoration
• Cavalry Tank Museum, Ahmednagar, India. One Archer with a short-barrelled gun minus gun mantlet
• Australian Armour and Artillery Museum in Cairns, Australia
• The Royal Tank Museum, Amman, Jordan

• Camfield, Christopher. Self-Propelled 17-Pounder Archer. Rearwards into Action! Trackpad Publishing.
• Chris Henry. British Anti-Tank Artillery 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Osprey.
• White, BT. Valentine Mk III. AFV No. 6. Profile Publishing.

• OnWar
• The Archer Tank Destroyer wwiiequipment.com
• Archer, WWIIvehicles.com, retrieved 21 March 2008