Infantry Tank Mk I Matilda (A11)

History of the infantry tank Mk I Matilda (A11)

The first production "tanks" (then called "land ships") were born in England during the First World War. In the conflict, the tanks showed mixed results, their deployment breaking the stalemate in trench warfare by simply rushing through defenses, crossing open trenches and overwhelming enemy positions with brute force while supporting an infantry attack. At this point, the tank was either armed only with machine guns or more powerful howitzer-type weapons, housed in a "diamond" hull. Interestingly, the main enemy of tanks at that time was not other tanks, but long-range large-caliber artillery. It was the French who introduced the concept of a traditional tank layout with a 360-degree rotating "turret" (in the Renault FT-17 light tank) on which the main armament was mounted.

However, the British adopted several variations of the rhombus type, and it was expanded in the postwar years.

During the interwar period (i.e. the years between World War I and World War II), the British Army developed a new doctrine of armoured warfare that used two different types of main battle tanks. The first should be fast and lightly armored in order to break through enemy defenses and attack the more vulnerable rear and flank areas, causing as much damage as possible. Due to the speed requirements, these tanks were aptly named "cruiser tanks". Therefore, most of the fighting force will be a supplementary tank known as an "infantry tank".

These vehicles can withstand a larger overall size and carry heavier armor protection. Infantry tanks must directly support accompanying infantry units to occupy enemy positions. This "double whammy" on paper certainly has some merit in an era when combat experience is based on the results of tank battles in the First World War.

However, fighting in the coming world war would make this idea obsolete.

The first infantry tank developed for the British Army became "Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda" under the project name "A11" and was designed to meet the official British Army requirements listed in 1934. Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd engineer Sir John Carden was in charge of design and development, although he was forced to work under financial constraints. As such, the type will have to rely on many existing automotive components from various sources to facilitate logistically friendly and cost-effective solutions. Today, with the looming threat of war in Europe, the design is intended as a temporary solution until a more practical vehicle can be developed (this became the "Matilda II"). Development constraints will justify some type of disruption, as the scope of the final design is limited, as production is very limited.

Work on the new initiative began as early as 1935.

The final product is a small tracked vehicle with a crew of two and modest weapons. The fuselage sits between two narrow-width rails that run along the fully exposed landing gear. Eight small wheels are separated along two suspension bogies with two track wheels. The drive sprocket remains close to the engine at the rear, and the chain idler is at the front. The hull adopts plate sides, and the frontal armor is 60 mm thick.

However, Matilda was given a cast-steel turret, making her a modern design, although the armament was limited to a single machine gun. The crew consists of the driver in the forward mid-fuselage and the vehicle commander/gunner/loader/radio operator in the turret (note the compound roles). Power is provided by a 70-horsepower Ford V8 liquid-cooled gasoline engine, giving it a top speed of no more than 8 mph on ideal road surfaces and a range of 80 miles. The vehicle can traverse water up to 28 inches deep and has some amphibious capabilities.

With a total weight of 12.3 tons, it was comparable to the "light tank" systems of the time.

In practice, Matilda is a disappointment in modern tank warfare. Its combination of undercarriage, gearing, and engines made it so slow on the march that the accompanying infantry could easily run past the beast if needed. Pure machine gun weapons are a throwback to the WWI era and totally unsuitable for the WWII battlefields dominated by armor-piercing guns (the Germans and Soviets also learned this from their early light tank systems).

Perhaps the Matilda's only saving grace was its 60mm thick frontal armor, which ultimately proved difficult for enemy artillery.

Despite seemingly obvious restrictions, British authorities took Matilda from April 1937, as a stopgap measure in preparation for another war in Europe. The first 60 vehicles were ordered in April 1938, with weapons ranging from a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun to the more powerful 12.7mm Vickers machine gun - although they all proved unfit for combat use.

In 1940 there were about 139 Matildas in circulation, although at the time of the German invasion in May there were only 23 in France (those in the 7th Armoured Division). For the most part, in combat, Matilda performed fairly well, despite the inherent limitations of the design. However, all available Matildas were lost or captured in battle. Her armor proved to be a formidable force, as German tankers and anti-tank units discovered when trying to counter her with small-caliber field and anti-tank guns. At the time, it turned out that the tank could only defend against the famous German "88" anti-tank gun and large-caliber field howitzers.

Regardless, Matilda still has several tactical shortcomings that will prove limited in the long run: her exposed landing gear makes her extremely vulnerable to flanking enemy fire, and her pure Machine gun weapons do not allow her to engage enemy armor or fortifications. The commander must perform multiple tasks to the maximum, which inevitably disables his vehicle during critical phases of the battle.

In addition, the radio was mounted on the hull and was not easily accessible in the turret, forcing the commander to lose position when trying to communicate.

Despite heroic defenses, France and much of Western and Central Europe lost to the Axis powers. Interestingly, the German Army did not rebuild captured Matildas in their own inventory - a practice that was used by almost every other captured tracked vehicle. It seems that even the Bundeswehr found these outdated machines of little value. Production of Matildas continued until August 1940.

Following the evacuation of Dunkirk, any remaining Matildas were relegated to training new British tanker crews or reserved for secondary and tertiary military roles.

Although the 1939 A12 project was named "Matilda II", it was completely independent of the original Matilda/Matilda I design described here - only the name was adopted. When Matilda II went live, the original Matilda was called "Matilda I" to avoid confusion.

Matilda I and Matilda II series tanks fought side by side in the Battle of Arras. The name "Matilda" itself was based on a comment by a senior military observer who had seen the tank show that the vehicle "waddles like a duck". The reference to duck refers to the popular cartoon duck at the time.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

4,000 x 7.7mm ammo.

1,500x12.7mm ammo.

Changes