If we talk about the heaviest armored tanks in the early days of World War II, then the British Matilda II infantry tank must be on the list. Although the Matilda II is not as famous as the KV-1 heavy tank and the Tiger heavy tank, it suffered the German army in the early days of World War II. In the early days of the war when Churchill infantry tanks were not on the line, the Matilda II infantry tank was the most powerful British defensive tank, and it could also be called the eternal enemy of the German Afrika Korps, and it was also one of the most trusted tanks of the British armored forces.
So, how did the Matilda II infantry tank in World War II perform in World War II?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > Matilda II infantry tank</h1>
First of all, we must admit that the Matilda II infantry tank, as an infantry tank developed before the war, is indeed very good in design itself. This infantry tank used to cover infantry has a length of 5.61 meters, a width of 2.56 meters, a height of 2.44 meters, and a total combat weight of 26.9 tons.
Considering that the tanks at that time generally did not exceed 22 tons, the weight of the Matilda II infantry tank can be said to be the best in the world. And what is the weight of the Matilda II infantry tank used for? Quite simply, this weight is all used to increase the thickness of the armor.
How thick is the armor of the Matilda II infantry tank? The thickness of the front armor of the hull is 78 mm, the thickness of the rear armor of the hull side is 55 mm, the thickness of the front armor of the turret is also 75 mm, and the thickness of the rear armor of the turret side is 70 mm. How terrifying is the thickness of this armor?
The 1940 Type IV D tank had a hull frontal armor thickness of 30 mm, hull side rear armor 20 mm, turret front armor thickness of 30 mm, and turret side rear armor was also 20 mm. In other words, the Matilda II infantry tank is more than twice as thick as the Panzer IV D tank, which is really a giant on the battlefield.
Of course, although the armor thickness of the Matilda II infantry tank is invincible in the world, the power of the tank's main gun is not satisfactory. The Matilda II infantry tank is equipped with the British QF-2 pounder tank gun, which was an improvement from the QF-2 pounder anti-tank gun, with a caliber of 40 mm, a multiplier diameter of 52 times, and a fire of 40×304 mm. R. Armor-piercing bullets.
If you look at paper performance, the QF-2 pounder gun is more powerful than the mainstream German 37 mm tank gun and 75 mm short-caliber gun at this time. However, the caliber of the QF-2 pound tank gun is too small, and it is used to attack field fortifications and permanent fortifications, and the effect of covering the infantry attack is not very good. (The QF-2 pounder tank gun was never equipped with high-explosives and howitzers because the shells were too small to make sense.)
However, in any case, the Matilda II infantry tank is the heaviest armored existence among many tanks in the early stages of the war, and its performance on the battlefield is naturally not too bad. In the Battle of France in 1940, the German armored forces were firmly packed up by the Matilda II infantry tank.
By that time, the Germans had broken through the Maas River, defeated the French at Sedan, and successfully encircled the main Anglo-French forces in northern France and Belgium, and the Anglo-French coalition launched a counterattack to get rid of the disadvantage of the battlefield, and the target of the counterattack was the German Seventh Panzer Division led by Rommel.
Rommel was about to witness the horrors of the Matilda II infantry tank and has since suffered from "Matilda II phobia".
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > eternal enemy of Rommel</h1>
At that time, it was the 23 Matilda II infantry tanks of the Royal 7th Panzer Regiment of the British Royal Panzer Regiment, and the German panzers also bravely faced the British army with these three medium tanks, but the result was very bad - the 37 mm tank gun of the No. 3 D tank could only be heard on the armor of the Matilda II infantry tank, and even a dent could not be left.
The Panzer IV D did not perform well, and the 75 mm short-caliber gun could only be heard by the British. Thus there was a very funny scene on the battlefield, the Matilda II infantry tank drove away the German Seventh Panzer Division like a duck, and Rommel could only watch his troops suffer a crushing defeat.
Rommel watched in anguish as the Matilda II infantry tank ravaged his troops, not only were his armored units defeated by the British, but even the infantry positions were broken through without landing, and the Matilda II infantry tank wantonly crushed the anti-tank guns and strafed the fleeing German infantry with machine guns.
The goal of the Matilda II infantry tank was clear, that is, to kill Rommel's headquarters and capture Rommel to England as a trophy exhibition. If it were not for Rommelfo's heart and dragging the 88 mm anti-aircraft gun known as "invincible in the world" to shoot the Matilda II infantry tank, it is estimated that he would really be captured in Britain.
The victory in the Battle of France ended with a German victory, but the shadow left on Rommel by the Matilda II infantry tank was not over.
After the end of the French campaign, the British focused on strengthening the production of the Matilda II infantry tank, not only adding a new gun shield to the Matilda II infantry tank, but also upgrading the tank armor, preparing to use the Matilda II infantry tank as the killer of the British armored force.
After upgrading the Matilda II infantry tank, it was sent to the North African battlefield to beat up the Italians, making the Italians feel what is called the "armored beast" from Britain.
The Italians lost the bird's egg, and Rommel rushed to find a field for the Italians with the German Afrika Korps, and then Rommel once again saw the Matilda II infantry tank that almost captured him on the battlefield. Rommel was not well at this time, because the Three Medium Tanks and the Fourth Medium Tanks in his hands could not beat each other, and if he encountered these iron lumps in the armored battle, he would be looking for death.
Rommel, who had been advocating mobile tactics all his life, could only fight defensive battles with humiliatingly, using 88 mm anti-aircraft guns to deal with these iron knots one by one. After that, before the Arrival of Churchill infantry tanks and M4 Sherman infantry tanks in North Africa, the Matilda II infantry tank was considered Rommel's "eternal enemy".
After Rommel's "evaluation", Matilda II can be described as fierce, but if it performed so well, why was it eliminated by the British military?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the inadequacy of Matilda II</h1>
The Matilda II infantry tank is indeed extremely powerful, but it also exposes many problems in the war. For example, its speed is too slow. It is undeniable that the Matilda II infantry tank is indeed extremely strong, and its heavy armor makes it immune to almost all frontal and side attacks in the early stages of the war, but at the cost of its slow speed.
The 190 horsepower provided by the parallel connection of the two AEC 6-cylinder diesel engines will pull the 27-ton Matilda II infantry tank, which is only very slow, running 24 kilometers per hour on the road and 13 kilometers per hour in off-road condition.
At first, the British Army thought it was quite good, anyway, the Matilda II infantry tank was only used to cover the infantry, and running too fast would only make the infantry unable to keep up. However, when it really arrived on the battlefield, it was found that the Matilda II infantry tank often had to bear the heavy responsibility of armored confrontation, and its slow speed became a fatal wound.
First of all, the slow speed made it easy to become a target for anti-tank firepower, and the German 88 mm anti-aircraft gun could use it as a target every time, and it was a dozen and a dozen. On the other hand, the slow speed allowed the German tanks to calmly maneuver around and deal with these iron lumps by attacking the observation windows and tracks.
In addition, the firepower of this tank is really a bit bad, as mentioned above, this tank is an infantry tank, as the name suggests, it is used to support infantry. However, if you look at the 40 mm caliber QF-2 pound tank gun, it is obvious that it cannot effectively destroy the German fortifications, and it is difficult to achieve the effect of suppressing the enemy fire point.
And by 1942, the Matilda II infantry tank had little advantage on the battlefield, because the No. 4 E, which was equipped with a 75 mm long multiplier tank gun, appeared, and the advantage of the Matilda II infantry tank on the battlefield was suddenly reduced.
In other words, by the beginning of 1942, the advantage of the Matilda II infantry tank was not so great. The Matilda II infantry tank has fulfilled its historical mission. After that, the Matilda II infantry tank retreated to the second line and began to take on auxiliary combat tasks, being equipped with flamethrowers, lights or minesweepers, and even used as bridge tanks. But in any case, the merits of the Matilda II infantry tank in the early days of the war were irrevocable, and in its short service life, it was already the best it could do.