Matilda tank

Infobox Weapon
is_vehicle=yes
is_UK=yes
name=Tank, Infantry, Mk II, Matilda II (A12)


caption=Matilda displaying a captured Italian flag
origin= United Kingdom
type=Infantry tank
service=1939- 1945
used_by= United Kingdom
Australia
Soviet Union
wars= Second World War
designer= Royal Arsenal,
design_date=
manufacturer=Vulcan Foundry and others
unit_cost=
production_date= 1937–1943
number= 2,987
variants=
length=15 ft 11 in (6.0 m)
width=8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
height=8 ft 3 in (2.5 m)
weight=27 long tons (27 tonnes)
suspension=Horizontal coil spring
speed=15 mph (24 km/h) road
9 mph (15 km/h) off-road
vehicle_range=160 miles (257 km)
primary_armament=QF 2 pdr (40 mm),
93 rounds
secondary_armament=7.92 mm BESA machine gun
2,925 rounds
armour=78 mm
engine=2 × diesel, AEC or Leyland 6-cylinder
crew=4 (Driver, gunner, loader, commander)
engine_power=180 hp (134 kW)
pw_ratio= 6.55 hp/tonne

The Tank, Infantry, Mk II, Matilda II (A12) (sometimes referred to as Senior Matilda) was a British tank of World War II. In a somewhat unorthodox move, it shared the same name as the Tank, Infantry, Mk I (A11). The name "Matilda" itself comes from a cartoon duck. ["Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine", pg. 63] Matilda is also an old Teutonic female name meaning "mighty battle maid".

When the A11 [The General Staff gave numeric designatiosn to tank designs] was removed from service the A12's name of "Matilda II" was dropped, and it was then known as just the "Matilda".

Development history

The Tank, Infantry, Mk II was designed at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, and built by Vulcan Foundry, as an improvement on the Mk I which was a two man tank with only machine guns for armament. The Senior Matilda weighed 27 metric tons, more than twice as much as its predecessor, and was armed with a QF 2-pounder tank gun in a three-man turret.

Like other infantry tanks it was heavily armoured; from 20 mm at the thinnest it was 78 mm (3.1 inch) at the front, much more than most contemporaries. The weight of the armour, together with the relatively weak twin-engine power unit (adapted from a bus) and troublesome suspension severely limited the speed of the vehicle. For example, in the desert terrain of North Africa the Matilda could average only about 9.5 km/h (6 mph). This was not thought to be a problem because the Matilda was specifically designed in accordance with the British doctrine of infantry tanks, that is, heavily-armoured but slow-moving vehicles designed to provide support to infantry. Under this thinking, a speed equal to the walking speed of a man was considered sufficient. The heavy armour of the Matilda's cast turret became legendary; for a time in 1940-41 the Matilda earned the nickname "Queen of the Desert".

Production history

The first Matilda was produced in 1937 but only two were in service when war broke out in September 1939. Some 2,987 tanks were produced by the Vulcan Foundry, John Fowler & Co., Ruston & Hornsby, and later by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at Horwich Works; Harland and Wolff, and the North British Locomotive Company. Production was stopped in August 1943.

Combat history

The Matilda was first used in combat by the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiments in France in 1940. Its 2-pounder gun was comparable to other tank guns in the 37 to 45 mm range. Due to the thickness of its armour, it was largely immune to the guns of the German tanks and anti-tank guns in France. 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 war in North Africa, the Matilda again proved highly effective against Italian and German tanks, although vulnerable again to the larger calibre anti-tank guns. During Operation Compass, Matildas of the British 7th Armored Division wreaked havoc among the Italian forces equipped with L3 tankettes and M11/39 medium tanks.

However, in the rapid manoeuvre warfare often practiced in the open desert, the tank's low speed and unreliable steering mechanism became major problems. Another problem was the lack of a high-explosive capability (the appropriate shell existed but was not issued). Ultimately, when the German "Africa Corps" ("Afrika Korps") arrived in North Africa, the 88 mm anti-aircraft gun was again pressed into the anti-tank role against the Matilda. This, together with the rapid manoeuvre warfare, doomed the Matilda in this theatre of war.

Sixty-four Matildas were lost during Operation Battleaxe and a dozen were subsequently repaired and put into service by the Germans ] . The Matildas were well regarded by their German users [cite book | title= Panzer Battles: A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War | authorlink= Friedrich von Mellenthin |last= von Mellenthin | first= Major-General F. W | year= 1971 | publisher=First Ballantine Books Edition| isbn 0-345-24440-0] although their use in battle caused confusion to both sides, despite extra-prominent German markings.

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. The tank was also somewhat expensive to produce. Vickers proposed an alternative, the Valentine tank, which had the same gun, a similar level of armour protection, but on a faster and cheaper chassis. With the arrival of the Valentine, American Lee/Grant and Sherman tanks, the Matilda was phased out by the British Army. By the time of the battle of El Alamein, few Matildas were still in service. Around twenty-five took part in the battle as mine-clearing, Matilda Scorpion mine flail tanks.

The Red Army received 1,084 Matildas cite book |title= Russian Tanks of World War II Stalin’s armoured might |last=Bean |first=Tim |coauthors=Fowler, Will |year=2002 |publisher=Ian Allen publishing| isbn=0711028982|pages=pp147-148 ] . The Soviet Matildas saw action as early as the Battle of Moscow and became fairly common during 1942. Unsurprisingly, the tank was found to be too slow and unreliable. Crews often complained that snow and dirt were accumulating behind the "skirt" panels, clogging the suspension. The slow speed and heavy armour made them comparable to the Red Army's KV-1 heavy tanks, but the Matilda had nowhere near the firepower of the KV. Most Soviet Matildas were expended during 1942 but a few served on as late as 1944. The Soviets modified the tanks with the addition of sections of steel welded to the tracks to give better grip .

In the Pacific, however, Japanese forces were lacking in heavy anti-tank guns and the Matilda remained in service with several Australian regiments in the Australian 4th Armoured Brigade, in the South West Pacific Area. They first saw active service in the Huon Peninsula campaign in October 1943. Matilda II tanks remained in action until the last day of the war in the Wewak, Bougainville and Borneo campaigns, which made the Matilda the only British tank to remain in service throughout the entire war.

Variants

*Matilda I (Infantry Tank Mk II) :First production model.
*Matilda II (Infantry Tank Mk IIA) :Vickers machine gun replaced by Besa MG.
* A few non-armoured 'mild steel training tanks' were produced.
*Matilda III (Infantry Tank Mk IIA*) :New Leyland diesel engine.
*Matilda III CS (for Close Support) :Variant with 3 inch (75 mm) howitzer.
*Matilda IV (Infantry Tank Mk IIA**) :With improved engines.
*Matilda V :Improved gear box and gear shift.
*Baron I, II, III, IIIA :Experimental Matilda chassis with mine flail - never used operationally.
*Matilda Scorpion I / II:Matilda chassis with a mine flail. Used in North Africa, during and after the battle of El Alamain.
*Matilda II CDL / Matilda V CDL (Canal Defence Light) :The normal turret was replaced by a cylindrical one containing a searchlight (projected through a vertical slit) and a BESA machine gun.Australian variants:
*Matilda Frog (25):Flame-thrower tank.
*Murray and Murray FT :Flame-thrower tank.
*Matilda Hedgehog (6):A naval Hedgehog 7-barrel spigot mortar was mounted in an armoured box on the rear hull of several Australian Matilda tanks. The mortars were hydraulically elevated and electrically fired either individually or in a salvo of six, the fifth tube could not be fired until the turret was traversed to move the radio antenna out of the bomb's flightpath. Each bomb weighed 30 kg and contained 14 kg of high explosive, the range of the bombs was up to 400 metres and aiming accomplished by pointing the entire tank as the mortars had no traverse independent of the hull of the tank."Paul Handel—Dust, Sand and Jungle", 2003 RAAC Memorial and Army Tank Museum, ISBN 1-876439-75-0.]

urviving Tanks

Around 45 Matilda II's survive in various degrees of preservation. The majority (around 30) are in museums or in private ownership in Australia.

ee also

* List of UK tanks

References

* Fletcher, David, and Peter Sarson. "Matilda Infantry Tank 1938–45" (New Vanguard 8). Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85532-457-1.

External links

* [http://www.wwiiequipment.com/matilda.aspx Detailed Matilda II specifications and production data]
* [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/uk/fmatilda3.htm OnWar - Matilda III]
* [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/unitedkingdom/infantry/matilda.html WWII Vehicles]
* [http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/galleries/Lendlease/Matilda.htm Photo Gallery] of Matilda Tanks in Soviet service (rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com)
* [http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Matildas.pdf PDF document] listing surviving Matilda tanks.