Matilda I (tank)

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	£15,000 [1]
Produced	1937–1940
No. built	140
Specifications
Mass	11 long tons (12 short tons; 11 t)
Length	18 ft 5 in (4.85 m)
Width	8 ft 6 in (2.28 m)
Height	8 ft 3 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
Operational range	80 miles (130 km)
Maximum speed	8 mph (12.87 km/h), off-road: 5.6 mph (9 km/h)

The Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11)^[2] 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 was proof against 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.^[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) 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Tank, Infantry Mk II (A12), also known as the "Matilda II", which took over the "Matilda" name after the Matilda I was withdrawn from combat service in 1940. They were completely separate designs.