Type: Infantry Tank
Nation: United Kingdom
Period: World War 2
Location: The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK
Mobile machine gun nest
The Matilda was the first tank specifically made to fit the British infantry tank concept of the 1930s. It was designed within only six months as a slow but heavily armoured two-man vehicle that was armed with a single machine gun to support advancing infantry. But as it soon became clear that an infantry tank would need a proper cannon to be effective, only 140 Matildas were built. Work on the much-improved successor Matilda II had begun already before the Matilda I entered service.
Lame duck
The first prototype was ready for testing in September 1936 and it failed to impress anybody. The small 11-ton tank was powered by a 70 hp Ford V8 and could only reach 13 kph on the road. However, its 60 mm thick frontal armour proved to be one of its few plus points on 21 May 1940, when 58 Matilda Is (and 16 Matilda IIs) counter-attacked the Germans at Arras and temporarily delayed the 7th Panzer Division’s progress.
Eye for an eye
This particular vehicle at The Tank Museum was built in March 1940. It is painted to resemble a tank of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment which was deployed with the BEF in France. “Demon” features a set of traditional Chinese Eyes on the turret – a symbol that is supposed to protect British tank crews by enabling them to “see”. This custom was started in 1917 when a Mark V with a pair of eyes was presented to the British Government by a Malayan council member who had taken the idea from Chinese boats. To this day, all tanks of the 4th RTR are decorated with these eyes.
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