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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia
The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British
infantry tank of the Second World War.
The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed
counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machine gun armed, two-man
A11 Infantry Tank Mark I. The Mark I was also known as Matilda, and the larger
A12 was initially known as the Matilda II or Matilda senior. The Mark I was
abandoned in 1940, and from then on the A12 was almost always known simply as
"the Matilda".
With its heavy armour, the Matilda II was an excellent infantry support
tank but with somewhat limited speed and armament. It was the only British tank
to serve from the start of the war to its end, although it is particularly
associated with the North Africa Campaign. Only two were available for service
by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. It was replaced in front-line
service by the lighter and less costly Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine beginning
in late 1941.
Development history
The split between the infantry tank and cruisers had its origins in the
World War I division between the first British heavy tanks and the faster
Whippet Medium Mark A and its successors the Medium Mark B and Medium Mark C.
During the interbellum, British tank experiments generally followed these basic
classifications, which were made part of the overall doctrine with the work of
Major-General Percy Hobart and the influence of Captain B.H. Liddell Hart.
In 1934 Hobart, the then "Inspector, Royal Tank Corps",
postulated in a paper two alternatives for a tank to support the infantry. One
was a very small, heavily armoured, machine gun-armed model that would be fielded
in large numbers to overwhelm the enemy defences. The other was a larger
vehicle with a cannon as well as machine guns and heavier armour proof against
enemy field artillery.[9] Vickers designed a tank to a General Staff
specification based on the first option as the A11 Matilda. Within the
limitations of military finances, the Master-General of the Ordnance, Hugh
Elles, went for the smaller machine gun tank and the larger cannon-armed
version did not proceed. This requirement was passed to Vickers-Armstrongs
which had a prototype (A11E1) but with armour proof against current anti-tanks
guns ready by September 1936.
The first suggestion for a larger Infantry Tank was made in 1936, with
specification A12. The design was produced by the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, and
Vulcan Foundry was selected as the manufacturer. A12 used a number of design
elements of the A7, a medium tank that was built in limited numbers in the
early 1930s whose mechanical layout was used for many following designs. With
its greatly increased armour, a lack of power was seen as a problem. The
solution was to use two AEC straight-six water-cooled diesel engines, used in
London buses, providing up to 87 hp each. These were linked along a common
shaft. Suspension was to use the 'Japanese Type' bell crank suspension used on
the A7.
Vulcan received a contract for two wooden mock-ups and two mild-steel
prototypes in November 1936. The first mock-up was delivered in April 1937 and
the A12E1 prototype in April 1938. The prototypes proved excellent in a 1,000
miles (1,600 km) test, resulting in only a few changes to improve the gearbox,
suspension and cooling. When war was recognised as imminent, production of the
Matilda II was ordered and that of the Matilda I curtailed. The first order was
placed shortly after trials were completed, with 140 ordered from Vulcan in
June 1938.
Design
Matilda II A12E1 prototype
The Matilda Senior weighed around 27 long tons (27 t; 30 short tons),
more than twice as much as its predecessor, and was armed with an Ordnance QF
2-pounder (40 mm) tank gun in a three-man turret.[15] The turret traversed by
hydraulic motor or by hand through 360 degrees; the gun could be elevated
through an arc from −15 to +20 degrees.[5][nb 2] One of the most serious
weaknesses of the Matilda II was the lack of a high-explosive round for its
main gun. A high-explosive shell was designed for the 2-pounder but was rarely
issued, as the bursting charge was so small.[17] The main weapon against un-armoured
targets was its machine gun.
The Matilda II had a conventional layout, with the driver's compartment
located at the front of the tank's hull, the fighting compartment with the
turret in the centre and the engine and transmission housed in the rear. The
driver's position was normally accessed by a single hatch in the roof of the
hull, and protected by a rotating armoured cover which could be held locked in
either fully open or closed positions; emergency egress was made possible by a
large escape hatch under the driver's seating position. The driver also had a
direct vision viewing port with manually operated armoured shield and a single
Mk IV periscope to use when buttoned up.
Like many other British infantry tanks, it was heavily armoured. The front
glacis was up to 78 mm (3.1 in) thick; the nose plates top and bottom were
thinner but angled. The sides of the hull were 65 to 70 millimetres (2.6 to 2.8
in) and the rear armour, protecting the engine to sides and rear, was 55
millimetres (2.2 in).
The cast, cylindrical three-man turret was seated on ball-bearing ring
mount and its armour was 75 mm (2.95 in) all round. The turret was laid out
such that the gunner and commander were seated in a laddered arrangement on the
left side of the gun, and the loader - on the right. The commander was given a
rotating cupola with a two-piece hatch and a single panoramic Mk IV periscope
installed in the forward-facing hatch door. The same device was also mounted in
a fixed position in the turret roof, forward of the commander's cupola, and
giving the gunner some situational awareness and target finding capabilities.
The loader used a single, rectangular hatch in the turret's roof on the right
side. The turret was equipped with a basket around which much of the ammunition
stowage was contained. The turret had a power traverse system used under normal
conditions, and a manually-operated mechanical emergency assist.
The turret roof, hull roof and engine deck were 20 millimetres (0.79
in).[16] The armour varied in strength from IT.80 to IT.100
The armour of the Matilda was the heaviest of its era. Contemporary
German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks had 30 to 50 millimetres (1.2 to 2.0 in)
hull armour, while the T-34 had 40 to 47 millimetres (1.6 to 1.9 in) (angled at
60 degrees). Matilda's side and rear armour was relatively heavy even at the
end of the war when tanks like the M4 Sherman carried about 40 mm, and late
models of the Panther carried 50 mm. The shape of the nose armour was based on
Christie's designs and came to a narrow point with storage lockers added on
either side. The heavy armour of the Matilda's cast turret became legendary;
for a time in 19401941, the Matilda earned the nickname "Queen of the
Desert".
While the Matilda possessed a degree of protection that was unmatched
in the North African theatre, the sheer weight of the armour on the vehicle
contributed to a very low average speed of about 6 mph (9.7 km/h) on desert
terrain and 16 miles per hour (26 km/h) on roads. At the time, this was not
thought to be a problem, since British infantry tank doctrine valued heavy
armour and trench-crossing ability over speed and cross-country mobility (which
was considered to be characteristic of cruiser tanks such as the Crusader). The
slow speed of the Matilda was further exacerbated by a troublesome suspension
and a comparatively weak power unit, which was created from two AEC 6-cylinder
bus engines linked to a single shaft. This arrangement was complicated and
time-consuming to maintain, as it required mechanics to work on each engine
separately and subjected automotive components to uneven wear-and-tear. It did
provide some mechanical redundancy, since failure in one engine would not
prevent the Matilda from using the other. The combined power of the engines went
through a six-speed Wilson epicyclic gearbox, operated by compressed air.
The tank's suspension system was that which had been developed by
Vickers for their Medium C prototype in the mid-1920s[20] The tank was carried
by five double wheels bogies on each side. Four of the bogies were on
bellcranks in pairs, with a common horizontal coil spring. The fifth bogie at
the rear was sprung against a hull bracket. Between the first bogie and the
idler wheel, was a larger diameter vertically sprung "jockey wheel". The
first Matildas had return rollers; these were replaced in later models by track
skids, which were far easier to manufacture and to service in the field.
The turret carried the main armament, with the machine gun to the right
in a rotating internal mantlet. Traverse was by a hydraulic system. As the gun
was balanced for ease of movement by the gunner, much of the breech end was
behind the trunnions. Two smoke grenade launchers were carried on the right
side of the turret. The grenade launcher mechanisms were cut down LeeEnfield
rifles, each loaded with a smoke grenade. Its camouflage scheme was designed by
Major Denys Pavitt of the Camouflage Development And Training Centre based on
the dazzle patterns of First World War ships. The design incorporated block
colours, visually breaking the tank in half.
Production history
The first Matilda was produced in 1937, but only two were in service
when war broke out in September 1939. Following the initial order from Vulcan
Foundry, a second order was placed shortly after with Ruston & Hornsby.[14]
Some 2,987 tanks were produced by the Vulcan Foundry, John Fowler & Co. of
Leeds, Ruston & Hornsby, and later by the London, Midland and Scottish
Railway at Horwich Works; Harland and Wolff, and the North British Locomotive
Company Glasgow. The last were delivered in August 1943.
Peak production was 1,330 in 1942, the most common model being the Mark
IV.
The Matilda was difficult to manufacture. For example, the pointed nose
was a single casting that, upon initial release from the mould, was thicker
than required in some areas. To avoid a needless addition to the tank's weight,
the thick areas were ground away. This process required highly skilled workers
and additional time. The complex suspension and multi-piece hull side coverings
also added time to manufacturing.
Combat history
Battle of France 1940
The Matilda was first used in combat by the 7th Royal Tank Regiment in
France in 1940. Only 23 of the unit's tanks were Matilda IIs; the rest of the
British infantry tanks in France were the smaller machine-gun armed A11
Matilda. 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, but not
impervious, to the guns of the German tanks and anti-tank guns in France. The
Germans found the 88 mm anti-aircraft guns were the only effective
counter-measure. In the counter-attack at Arras of 21 May 1940, 18[8] British
Matilda IIs (and Matilda Is) were able to briefly disrupt German progress, but,
being unsupported, they sustained heavy losses (30 tanks lost) after breaking
through to the rear area of 7th Panzer Division. A gun line of artillery and
later 88mm flak guns, personally organised by General Rommel was needed to
repel the attack.[26] All vehicles surviving the battles around Dunkirk were
abandoned when the BEF evacuated.
North Africa 1940 to 1942
A Matilda advancing through Egypt as part of Operation Compass
Up to early 1942, in the war in North Africa, the Matilda proved highly
effective against Italian and German tanks, although vulnerable to the larger
calibre and medium calibre anti-tank guns.
In late 1940, during Operation Compass, Matildas of the British 7th
Armoured Division wreaked havoc among the Italian forces in Egypt. The Italians
were equipped with L3 tankettes and M11/39 medium tanks, neither of which had
any chance against the Matildas. Italian gunners were to discover that the
Matildas were impervious to a wide assortment of artillery. Matildas continued
to confound the Italians as the British pushed them out of Egypt and entered
Libya to take Bardia and Tobruk. Even as late as November 1941, German infantry
combat reports show the impotence of ill-equipped infantry against the Matilda.
Ultimately, in the rapid manoeuvre warfare often practised in the open
desert of North Africa, the Matilda's low speed and unreliable steering
mechanism became major problems. Another snag was the lack of a high-explosive
shell (the appropriate shell existed but was not issued).[citation needed] When
the German Afrika Korps arrived in North Africa, the 88 mm anti-aircraft gun
was again pressed into service against the Matilda, causing heavy losses during
Operation Battleaxe, when sixty-four Matildas were lost. The arrival of the
more powerful 5 cm Pak 38 and 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank guns also provided a
means for the German infantry to engage Matilda tanks at combat ranges.
Nevertheless, during Operation Crusader Matilda tanks of 1st and 32nd Army Tank
Brigades were instrumental in the break-out from Tobruk and the capture of the
Axis fortress of Bardia.[28] The operation was decided by the infantry tanks,
after the failure of the cruiser tanks of the 7th Armoured Division to overcome
the Axis tank forces in the open desert.
A captured Matilda put into use by the German forces, is recaptured and
its crew taken prisoner by New Zealand troops, 3 December 1941 during the
battle to open the corridor to Tobruk, Operation Crusader.
As the German army received new tanks with more powerful guns, as well
as more powerful anti-tank guns and ammunition, the Matilda proved less and
less effective. Firing tests conducted by the Afrika korps showed that the
Matilda had become vulnerable to a number of German weapons at ordinary combat
ranges. Due to the small size of the turret and the need to balance the gun in
it, up-gunning the Matilda, without developing a larger turret, was
impractical. There was at least one instance of the turret from the A24/A27
cruiser tank series being fitted to a Matilda, complete with 6-pounder gun. As
the size of the Matilda's turret ring was 54 inches (1.37 m) vs. the 57 inches
of the A27, it was possible that a larger turret ring had been superimposed on
the hull. The Churchill Mark III also had a 54-inch turret ring but was armed
with a 6-pounder and that might have offered an alternative route. It was also
somewhat expensive to produce. Vickers proposed an alternative, the Valentine
tank, which had the same gun and a similar level of armour protection but on a
faster and cheaper chassis derived from that of their "heavy cruiser"
Cruiser Mk II. With the arrival of the Valentine in autumn 1941, the Matilda
was phased out by the British Army through attrition, with lost vehicles no
longer being replaced. By the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein (October
1942), few Matildas were in service, with many having been lost during
Operation Crusader and then the Gazala battles in early summer of 1942. Around
twenty-five took part in the battle as mine-clearing Matilda Scorpion mine
flail tanks.
Minor campaigns
In early 1941, a small number of Matildas were used during the East
Africa Campaign at the Battle of Keren. However, the mountainous terrain of
East Africa did not allow the tanks of B Squadron 4th Royal Tank Regiment to be
as effective as the tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment had been in Egypt and
Libya.
A few Matildas of the 7th RTR were present during the Battle of Crete
and all of them were lost.
Australian use in the Pacific theatre
An Australian, howitzer-equipped Matilda of the 2/9th Armoured Regiment
in combat at the Battle of Tarakan (May 1945)
A total of 409 Matilda IIs were supplied by Britain to the Australian
army between 1942 and 1944,[33] and a further 33 close-support Matildas were
transferred from New Zealand to the Australian army in 1944, as New Zealand
made the decision to use only close-support Valentine tanks in the Pacific
theatre, to minimise supply problems.[34] The Australian 4th Armoured Brigade
used them against Japanese forces in the South West Pacific Area, first 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 war.
The tanks were often employed in dense jungle with limited visibility,
and could be subject to point-blank fire from hidden Japanese heavy artillery
pieces. The Matilda's heavy armour (enhanced by the crews with spare track
links) proved to be reasonably effective protection against this.[35] In this
fighting, the close-support version of the Matilda, armed with an Ordnance QF
3-inch howitzer, was preferred by the Australians as it was more effective
against Japanese bunkers.[35] Local modifications to the tanks included
improving the waterproofing, and adding an outside infantry telephone so
supporting troops could more easily communicate with the tank crew.[35] Guards
were fitted to the suspension to stop it from being tangled with jungle
undergrowth and metal panels fitted to make it harder for Japanese soldiers to
attach adhesive demolition charges to the hull.
The Matilda Frog, an Australian-modified version of the tank that
replaced the gun with a flamethrower saw some successful use against the
Japanese on Borneo. Another Australian version, the Matilda Hedgehog, which
could fire seven 65-pound (29 kg) mortar shells, was successfully tested but
was developed too late to see combat service.
Matilda IIs remained in service with the Australian Citizen Military
Forces until about 1955.
Soviet use
The Red Army received 918 of the 1,084 Matildas sent to the USSR.[4]
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 slowness 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.
Captured use
Following Operation Battleaxe a dozen Matildas left behind the Axis
lines were repaired and put into service by the Germans. Several vehicles were
transported to Kummersdorf where they were evaluated, including trials by live
fire. The German designation was Infanterie Panzerkampfwagen Mk.II 748(e)
translating roughly as "Infantry Tank Mk.II Number 748 (English)".
The Matildas were well-regarded by their German users although their use in
battle caused confusion to both sides, despite extra-prominent German markings.
Egyptian use
Egypt used Matildas against Israel during 1948 ArabIsraeli War
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