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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.² Matilda is also an old Teutonic female name meaning "mighty battle maid".

When the A11³ 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

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.

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 ⁴. The Matildas were well regarded by their German users ⁵ although their use in battle caused confusion to both sides, despite extra-prominent German markings⁴.

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 ¹. 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 ¹.

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 war¹.

Variants

Surviving 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.

See also

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Bean, Tim; Fowler, Will (2002). Russian Tanks of World War II Stalin’s armoured might. Ian Allen publishing, pp147-148. ISBN 0711028982.
^ Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine, pg. 63
^ The General Staff gave numeric designatiosn to tank designs
^ ^a ^b Tucker-Jones, Anthony (2007). Hitlers Great Panzer Heist. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 184415548X.
^ von Mellenthin, Major-General F. W (1971). Panzer Battles: A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War. First Ballantine Books Edition.
^ Paul Handel—Dust, Sand and Jungle, 2003 RAAC Memorial and Army Tank Museum, ISBN 1-876439-75-0.

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