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Infantry Tank Mks I and II Matilda |
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A requirement for a British army 'Infantry'tank was first made in 1934 and theimmediate result was the All InfantryTank Mk I, later nicknamed Matilda I.This was a very simple and small tankwith a two-man crew but with armourheavy enough to defeat any contemporaryanti-tank gun. The small turretmounted a single 7.7-mm (0.303-in)Vickers machine-gun and the enginewas a commercial Ford V-8 unit.Orders for 140 were issued in April1937, but when the type was tried incombat in France in 1940 it revealedmany shortcomings: it was too slowand underarmed for any form ofarmoured warfare, and the small numbersthat remained in service afterDunkirk were used only for training.The Matilda I was intended only asan interim type before the A12 InfantryTank Mk II became available. Thisproject began in 1936 and the first exampleswere completed in 1938. TheMk II, known later as Matilda II, was amuch larger vehicle than the Matilda Iwith a four-man crew and a turretmounting a 2-pdr (40-mm/1.575-in) gunand liberal belts of cast armour(varying from 20 to 78 mm/0.8 to 3.1 inin thickness) capable of defeating allknown anti-tank guns. The Matilda IIwas slow as it was intended for thedirect support of infantry units, in whichrole speed was not essential, Overall itwas a good-looking tank and it turnedout to be far more reliable than many ofits contemporaries. And despite thelight gun carried it was found to be agood vehicle in combat. The MatildaIIA had a 7,92-mm (0.312-in) Besamachine-gun instead of the Vickersgun.The mam combat period for theMatilda (the term Matilda II was droppedwhen the little Matilda I was withdrawnin 1940) was the early NorthAfrican campaign, where the type'sarmour proved to be effective againstany Italian or German anti-tank gunwith the exception of the German '88'.The Matilda was one of the armouredmainstays of the British forces until ElAlamein, after which its place wastaken by better armed and faster designs,But the importance of the Matildadid not diminish, for it then entereda long career as a special-purposetank.One of the most important of thesespecial purposes was as a flail tank formine-clearing. Starting with the MatildaBaron and then the Matilda Scorpion,it was used extensively for thisrole, but Matildas were also used topush AMRA mine-clearing rollers.Another variant was the Matilda CDL(Canal Defence Light), which used aspecial turret with a powerful lightsource to create 'artificial moonlight',Matildas were also fitted with dozerblades as the Matilda Dozer for combatengineering, and many were fittedwith various flame-throwing devicesas the Matilda Frog, There were manyother special and demolition devicesused with the Matilda, not all of themunder British auspices for the Matildabecame an important Australian tankas well. In fact Matilda gun tanks wereused extensively by the Australianarmy in New Guinea and elsewhereuntil the war ended in 1945, and theydevised several flame-throwingequipments. The Germans also usedseveral captured Matildas to mount variousanti-tank weapons of their own.It is doubtful if a complete listing ofall the many Matilda variants will everbe made, for numerous 'field modifications'and other unrecorded changeswere made to the basic design. But theMatilda accommodated them all andmany old soldiers still look back on thistank with affection for, despite its slowspeed and light armament, it was reliableand steady, and above all it hadgood armour.SpecificationMatilda IICrew: 4Weight: 26926 kg (59,360 lb)Powerplant: two Leyland 6-cylinderpetrol engines each developing 71 kW(95 bhp) or two AEC diesels eachdeveloping 65 kW (87 bhp)Dimensions: length5.613 m (18 ft 5 in);width 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in); height 2.51 m(8 ft 3 in)Performance: maximum speed 24km/h (15 mph); maximum crosscountryspeed 12.9 km/h (8 mph); roadrange 257 km (160 miles); verticalobstacle 0.609 m (2 ft); fording 0.914 m (3 ft); trench 2.133 m (7 ft)
The Matilda was the only British tankwith enough armour to withstandGerman tank guns in the early years.After a brief moment of glory atArras, it won its real reputation withthe 8th Army in the desert. 27 
A Matilda is seen in the desert in June1941 during Operation 'Battleaxe', anunsuccessful attempt to relieveTobruk which cost the 4th ArmouredBrigade 64 of their Matildas. Toughbut slow, the Matildas were cursedwith the ineffectual 2-pdr as main armament. 
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