Matilda tank
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| General Characteristics | |
| Length: | 6.0 m |
| Width: | 2.6 m |
| Height: | 3.5 m |
| Weight: | 27 tons |
| Speed: | 24 km/h(road) 15 km/h(off-road) |
| Range: | 80 m (road) |
| Primary armament: | 2pdr (~40mm) gun |
| Secondary armament: | 7.92 mm coaxial machine gun |
| Power plant: | - |
| Crew: | 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver) |
The A12 Infantry Tank II Matilda was a British tank of World War II. In a somewhat unorthodox move, it shared the same name as the A11 Infantry Tank I. The name Matilda itself comes from a cartoon duck.
The Matilda weighed 27 tons and was armed with a 2-pounder QF tank gun. In the deserts of the North African campaigns, the Matilda could average about 9.5km per hour. Like other Infantry class tanks it was heavily armoured; the armour thickness at the front was about ~7.5cm, much more than most contemporaries.
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Production History
The Matilda was first produced in 1937 but only two were in service when war broke out in September 1939. Some 2,987 were produced until 1943.
Variants
- Matilda I - First production model.
- Matilda II - Vickers machine gun replaced by Besa MG.
- Matilda III - New Leyland diesel engine.
- Matilda III CS (for Close Support) - Variant with 3 inch howitzer.
- Matilda IV - With improved engines.
- Matilda V - Improved gear box and gear shift.
- Scorpion Mk 1, Mk 2 - Matilda chassis with mine flail.
- Murray, and Murray FT (Australian) - flamethrower
- Frog - Australian Flamethrower
- Matilda Hedgehog - Naval Hedgehog (7 barrel launcher) on rear of Matilda
- Matilda CDL - Canal Defense Light, a searchlight instead of turret
Combat History
The Matilda was first used in combat by the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiments in France in 1940. Due to the thickness of its armour, it was largely immune to the guns of the German tanks in France. In some desperation, the famous 88 mm anti-aircraft guns were pressed into the anti-tank role as the only effective counter.
In the early days of the conflict in the African Front, the Matilda again proved highly effective against the Italian and German tanks. Its 2-pounder gun had the best armour penetration of any tank weapon in use in the desert. It had no high-explosive capability, however (the appropiate shell existed but was not issued) and was vulnerable to the larger calibre anti-tank guns which outranged its machine guns.
As the German army received new tanks with more powerful guns, the Matilda proved less and less effective. Due to the small size of its turret ring, it could not be up-gunned sufficiently. With the arrival of the American Lee/Grant and Sherman tanks, the Matilda was phased out by the British Army.
However, Japanese forces were lacking in heavy anti-tank guns and the Matilda remained in service with the Australian 2/4th and 2/9th Armoured Regiments, part of the Australian 1st Armoured Division, in the South West Pacific Area. They first saw active service in the fierce fighting of the Bougainville campaign, and were also in action until the last day of the war, in the Borneo campaign of 1945.
External links
- OnWar - Matilda III (http://www.onwar.com/tanks/uk/fmatilda3.htm)
- WWII Vehicles (http://www.wwiivehicles.com/unitedkingdom/infantry/matilda.html)