Matilda I
Sign in to saveAlso known as Infantry Tank Mk I Matilda I, A11 Matilda I, Matilda 1, Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11)
British infantry tank
Key facts
- Type
- Infantry tank
- Place of origin
- United Kingdom
- In service
- 1938–1940
- Designer
- Sir John Carden , Vickers-Armstrongs
- Manufacturer
- Vickers-Armstrongs
- Unit cost
- £5,000
- Produced
- 1937–1940
- Mass
- 11 long tons (12 short 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 or Vickers .50 machine gun , 4,000 rounds
- Secondary armament
- none
- Engine
- 3.6 Litre V8 Ford Model 79 petrol , 70 hp (52 kW)
- Power weight
- 6.36 hp/ton
- Suspension
- Sprung bogie
via Wikipedia infobox
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11) is a British infantry tank of the Second World War. Despite being slow, cramped and armed with only a single machine gun, the Matilda I had some success in the Battle of France in 1940, owing to its heavy armour which withstood the standard German anti-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 was obsolete before it even came into service. The Battle of France was the only time the Matilda I saw combat. 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. It is not to be confused with the later (more successful) model Tank, Infantry Mk II (A12), also known as the "Matilda II", which took over the "Matilda" name after the Matilda I was withdrawn from combat service in 1940.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.
Development history
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Matilda I” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.