| Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11) | |
|---|---|
 A11E1 pilot model | |
| Type | Infantry tank |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1938–1940 |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Sir John Carden,Vickers-Armstrongs |
| Designed | 1935 |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs |
| Unit cost | £5,000[1] |
| Produced | 1937–1940 |
| No. built | 140 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 11long tons (12short tons; 11 t) |
| Length | 15 ft 11 in (4.85 m) |
| Width | 7 ft 6 in (2.28 m) |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m) |
| Crew | 2 (commander/gunner, driver) |
| Armour | 10–60 mm |
Main armament | Vickers .303 orVickers .50 machine gun 4,000 rounds |
Secondary armament | none |
| Engine | 3.6 Litre V8 Ford Model 79petrol 70 hp (52 kW) |
| Power/weight | 6.36 hp/ton |
| Suspension | Sprung bogie |
Operational range | 80 miles (130 km) |
| Maximum speed | 8 mph (12.87 km/h), off-road: 5.6 mph (9 km/h) |
TheTank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11)[2] is a Britishinfantry tank of theSecond World War. Despite being slow, cramped and armed with only a singlemachine gun, the Matilda I had some success in theBattle of France in 1940, owing to its heavyarmour which withstood the standard Germananti-tank guns. However, it was essentially useless in an attacking sense, as its weak armament made it toothless in combat against enemy armour, and the tank wasobsolete before it even came into service.[3][4] The Battle of France was the only time the Matilda I saw combat.[4] The tank was cheaply built as the British government wanted each of the tanks to be built on a very restricted budget in the build-up to the Second World War.[4] It is not to be confused with the later (more successful) modelTank, Infantry Mk II (A12), also known as the "Matilda II", which took over the "Matilda" name after the Matilda I was withdrawn from combat service in 1940. The two models were completely separate designs.
The development of the tank began with SirHugh Elles, Master General of Ordnance, and Major-General A. E. Davidson, who concurred that a tank design to support infantry attacks was needed. After consulting with Major-General Percy Hobart they decided that large groups of small, lightly armed tanks were needed to overrun enemy positions and approachedSir John Carden atVickers-Armstrongs Ltd to design and begin work on a tank based on these principles, which began in 1935.[5] The General Staff specification required a cheap tank, requiring the use of already commercially available automotive components.[6] It resulted in a small two-man vehicle with a low hull and a small castturret. The turret was fitted with a single heavy machine gun, either a.303 (7.7 mm) calibreVickers machine gun or the larger (12.7 mm)Vickers .50 machine gun. Designed for quick delivery as well as low cost, the A11 used many stock parts from other vehicles: a Ford V8 engine, aFordson gearbox, a steering mechanism similar to the one used inVickers light tanks and suspension adapted from the Mk IV Dragonartillery tractor, that was based on theVickers 6-Ton Tank Model E.[5]
The hull and turret were well protected against contemporary anti-tank weapons but the tracks and running gear were exposed and more vulnerable than on tanks that had protected tracks. The lack of a gun with anti-tank capability severely limited its utility on the battlefield. Besides operating the machine gun, the commander had to direct the driver and operate the radio. There being no room in the turret for the radio, it was placed in the hull; the commander had to duck down inside and lie almost prone to operate it. The driver's position was equally cramped and the turret could not be traversed forward while the driver's hatch was open. The top speed of 8 mph (13 km/h) on roads was thought to be sufficient for supporting an infantry advance.[7]
Essentially, the tank was aFirst World War tank designed twenty years after its conclusion.[3] Those who designed the tank were influenced by the mistaken belief that combat in a new war would be the same as in World War I, in which tanks were used for breaking through strong, static defensive positions.[3] As a result, the tank was obsolete both in design and in its intended purpose.[3]
GeneralHugh Elles, theMaster-General of the Ordnance, is credited with giving the tank the name Matilda "due to the vehicle's diminutive size and duck-like shape and gait."[8] However, the codename "Matilda" for the project was created for Vickers at the time of drawing up the specification in 1935.[9][10] The "Tank, Infantry, Mark I" name was anArmy Council decision of June 1940.
The first order of sixty Matilda tanks was placed in April 1937, followed by an order for a further sixty ten days later and another 19 were ordered in January 1939.[11] The tank remained in production until August 1940, with a total of one hundred and forty produced, including the prototype. Some were equipped with the heavier.50 inch Vickers machine gun instead of the.303 inch Vickers machine gun.
Matilda I tanks equipped the4th Battalion and7th Battalion of theRoyal Tank Regiment (RTR). In September 1939, upon the outbreak of theSecond World War, the 4th RTR deployed to France with theBritish Expeditionary Force. They were joined at the start of May 1940 by 7th RTR and together formed the1st Army Tank Brigade.[12] Apart fromlight tanks assigned to the various British infantry divisions, this was the only British armoured force on the Continent at the start of theBattle of France on 10 May 1940. The 58 Matilda Is and 16 Matilda IIs spearheaded thecounter-attack in theBattle of Arras on 21 May, temporarily discomfiting the7th Panzer Division underRommel.[13] The heavy armour of both types of British tank proved to be resistant to the standard German37 mm anti-tank gun and the attack was only halted by a gun line hastily formed from105 mm howitzers and88 mm anti-aircraft guns, personally directed by Rommel.[14] On the following day, only 26 Matilda Is and two Matilda II tanks were still serviceable.[15]
On 23 May, tanks from 7 RTR fought a rearguard action atSouchez before joining the general withdrawal towardsDunkirk. The surviving tanks of both battalions were formed into a composite unit, which fought another counter-attack atLa Bassée. Only two tanks reached Dunkirk in the closing stages ofOperation Dynamo.[16]
Further south in France, five Matilda Is and a few other tanks which had been in various depots or had arrived as late reinforcements, formed the Divisional Tank Company of theBeauman Division, an improvised formation which had been hastily put together to defend the British logistic bases atRouen andDieppe.[17] On 8 June, the tanks supported the force, which was mainly infantry, in their unsuccessful defence of the riversAndelle andBéthune.[18] The division was subsequently evacuated fromCherbourg duringOperation Aerial; although 22 tanks of various types were brought back during these evacuations, there were no infantry tanks among them.[19] A Matilda I was selected by the German Army for evaluation and it was destroyed in the process.[20] After most of the deployed Matilda I tanks were abandoned in France, the 77 Matilda Is left in the United Kingdom were withdrawn for training purposes.[4]
Some recent evidence suggests that Matilda I's captured by the Germans may have seen use as internal security vehicles, probably in Poland.[21]
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Three surviving Matilda I tanks are preserved atThe Tank Museum in the United Kingdom. One (HMH 802, identified as "possibly T3447") is in running condition; it was recovered from Otterburn gunnery range and restored to running condition, although it is powered by an inauthentic engine and gearbox.[22]
The second vehicle was built in March 1940 and restored to running condition in the 1980s. It is painted to representT8106 a tank of the4th Royal Tank Regiment in France in May 1940.[21]
A third Matilda I, located to the north of the Vehicle Conservation Centre, is a severely damaged wreck that was used as a gunnery range target.[23]
