The Matilda Infantry Tank (A.11)

Matilda Mk I Infantry Tank (A.11.)

The Matilda was designed by Vickers and was offered to the War Office in early 1936, it had a 60mm armour basis, a speed of around 7mph and weighed 11 tons, its armament consisted of a single machine gun. The first production orders were given in April 1937 and by the outbreak of war 67 Matildas had been delivered. They were sent to continent and fought in the Battle of France were the limitations which had been clearly seen before the war were clearly illustrated. The Matilda's only real redeeming feature was it's thick armour, although thinner than the Matilda II it still offered immunity to German tank and anti-tank guns. The tracks were very exposed and were targets for German gunners, the single machinegun armament was found to be exceedingly lacking, as one Matilda driver stated "they were stupidly armed". After the fall of France the Matilda was relegated to training duties and the production order of 100 vehicles was completed in July 1940.

Name	Matilda
Type	Infantry

Crew	2
(In turret)	1

Length	16'-4"
Width	7'-9"
Height	7'-9"

Weight	11
Ground pressure	9.7
Ground clearance

Track type
No per track
Weight of one Track
Track width	11.5"

Engine	Ford V8
B.H.P	6.35
Max road speed	8
Average road speed
Gear box type	Ford Clash
Gears	4

Fuel consumption (cross country)
Petrol capacity
Auxiliary capacity
Radius of action (road)	84
Radius of action (cross country)
Trench Crossing
Vertical obstacle
Fording height
Gradient

Main Armament	.303 Vickers or .5 Vickers
Ammunition
Transverse type
Max elevation
Max depression
Turret Ring Size	34.1
Optics

Armour
Turret Front	60
Front Hull	60
Sides	60

Production of Matilda Tanks (UK Only)

	Pre-War	Sep-Dec 1939	1940	1941
Matilda I	67	39	21	-

Sources - AVIA 46 188, AVIA 22 456-514, WO 194

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 August 2012 13:48