WWII Tech Pubs Briefing

Infantry Tank Mk II (A12) Matilda II

Written by
Daren Beazley

A Matilda  of 4th Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment, engages German forces during the May 21, 1940 British-led counterattack at Arras, France. The heavily armoured Matilda caused initial panic among the Germans and only Rommel's 88-mm (3.46-in) guns could stop them.

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Overview

The “Matilda Senior”, as it was unofficially known, originated from a September 1936 Mechanisation Board proposal drafted for a more powerful and faster version of the Infantry Tank Mk I (A11) Matilda I. The new tank would carry one more crewman, for a total of three, and be armed with either twin coaxial Vickers machine guns or a 2-pounder (40-mm) Royal Ordnance Quick Firing (ROQF) anti-tank gun in a revolving turret. It needed to reach a speed of 15 mph (24 km/h) and its weight was limited to 14 long tons (14.2 tonnes) to meet current bridging restrictions.

The twin Vickers machine gun configuration was quickly discarded in favour of a 2-pounder ROQF, at that time one of the most lethal anti-tank guns in the world, supplemented with a coaxial-mounted Vickers machine gun. The A7 medium tank, which had been designed and manufactured by the Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich in 1929, was chosen as the basis of the new vehicle. To incorporate the change of armament and the selected layout into the design, the Mechanisation Board drew up a completely new specification that added 2.36 in (60 mm) of armour, commercial diesel engines, and an additional crewmember. The “Japanese” suspension, so called because it was based upon the Vickers Medium C tank sold to Japan in 1928, was to be protected by heavy side skirts. This new vehicle, the Infantry Tank Mk II (A12), was to be called the Matilda I, confusing at the time and even now, for this was the same name given to the previous A11 vehicle.

The Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows, Warrington, was awarded a contract in November 1936 to provide a wooden mock-up along with two mild steel prototypes that were given the General Staff specification A12. The Mechanisation Board inspected the wooden mock-up of the vehicle in April 1937 and decided at that time to fit the tank with twin AEC London bus diesel engines coupled with a six-speed Wilson epicyclic pre-selector gearbox. Delays in the delivery of the gearbox and other critical components held up manufacture of the first A12E1 prototype, which Vulcan Foundry did not deliver to the Mechanisation Experimental Establishment (MEE) until April 1938.

The Vulcan Foundary won an initial order for 140 examples in June 1938. In August, the British Army ordered another 40 from Ruston and Hornsby, of Lincoln. The Matilda I (A12) was manifestly difficult to mass-produce and by September 1939, when war was declared, there were only two in service with the British Army, although 23 had been issued to the 7th Royal Tank Regiment in France by May 1940.

A British Army tank battalion in 1940 consisted of 50 infantry tanks. Three companies contained 16 vehicles each with two more assigned to battalion headquarters. The majority of tanks in both British Army tank battalions in France in May 1940 were A11s. When battle with the 7. Panzer-Division (Armoured Division) was eventually joined at Arras on May 21, 1940, the available Matilda Is (A12) distinguished themselves and proved invulnerable to German 3.7-cm (1.46-in) anti-tank guns. Matilda Is in France were eventually knocked out by artillery and 8.8-cm (3.46-in) anti-aircraft guns employed in the anti-armour role.

During the summer of 1940, after the rescue of the BEF from the beaches of Dunkirk, the War Office decided to standardise tank secondary armament and introduced the British version of the Czech-designed air-cooled ZB 0.303-in (7.70-mm) Besa machine gun onto production lines. The A12, with the Besa instead of the Vickers machine gun, along with a minor modification to the roof of the turret to allow for an extractor fan, became the Infantry Tank Mk IIA (A12), or Matilda II.

Almost as this upgraded Matilda II began to roll off the production lines, a search began for an alternative powerplant. Designers eventually chose a 427 cu-in (7.00-L) Leyland diesel engine for the tank. Manufacturers fitted these engines into the Matilda chassis thereafter and the tank was re-designated Infantry Tank Mk IIA* (A12), or Matilda III.

The Infantry Tank Mk IIA** (A12) or Matilda IV introduced a rigid engine mounting, and the Infantry Tank Mk IIA*** (A12) or Matilda V added a Westinghouse air servo directly to the top of the transmission to aid gear changing.

The Matilda is best remembered for its important role in the early Western Desert campaigns. Dubbed the “Queen of the Desert” for its immunity to almost any Italian tank or anti-tank gun in Libya, the Matilda reigned supreme until the Germans brought their 8.8-cm guns to Africa in mid-1941. The “88” was the first gun able to penetrate Matilda’s heavy armour at long range. The small size of the Matilda’s turret and turret ring made it impossible to retrofit a 6-pounder (57-mm) gun (although some marks did carry a larger, lower velocity howitzer) and so, starting in 1942, the Matilda declined in importance. It last saw action as a gun tank at the first Battle of El Alamein in July 1942.

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Variants

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Specifications

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Specifications Cont.

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