Matilda II

The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, is a British infantry tank of the Second World War.[1]

Quick facts: Infantry Tank Mark II , Type, Place of&... ▼

Infantry Tank Mark II
A Matilda II on display at TankFest 2019
Type	Infantry tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1939–1955
Used by	United Kingdom Australia Soviet Union Nazi Germany (captured) Egypt
Wars	Second World War 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Production history
Designer	Mechanization Board and Vulcan Foundry
Designed	1937[1]
Manufacturer	Vulcan Foundry and others
Produced	1937–1943
No. built	2,987
Variants	see Variants below
Specifications
Mass	25 tons[2]
Length	18 ft 5 in (5.61 m)[3]
Width	8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)[4]
Height	8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Crew	4 (driver, gunner, loader, commander)[4]
Armour	20 to 78 mm (0.79 to 3.07 in)[4]
Main armament	QF-2 pounder (40 mm) gun, 93 armour-piercing rounds[5]
Secondary armament	7.92 mm Besa machine gun 2,925 rounds[5]
Engine	2×diesel 6-cylinder 7-litre engines: 2×AEC[lower-alpha 1][5] or 2×Leyland[2] 190 bhp (140 kW) Leyland engine[6]
Power/weight	7.5 bhp (5.6 kW) / tonne
Transmission	6 speed Wilson epicyclic pre-selector gearbox
Suspension	Coil spring[2]
Fuel capacity	181.8 litres (40.0 imp gal; 48.0 US gal) Internal + 163.3 litres (35.9 imp gal; 43.1 US gal) auxiliary tank [7]
Operational range	80 kilometres (50 mi) With Internal + 157 kilometres (98 mi)with auxiliary tank [7]
Maximum speed	15 mph (24 km/h) Mk III on road [7] 9 miles per hour (14 km/h) off road
Steering system	Rackham clutches[8]

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 World War II in 1939.[9] It was replaced in front-line service by the lighter and less costly Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine beginning in late 1941.