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Matilda I (tank)
The Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11)〔A11 was the General Staff number〕 was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. It is not to be confused with the later model Tank, Infantry Mk II (A12), also known as the "Matilda II", which took over the "Matilda" name after the early part of the war, when the first Matilda was withdrawn from combat service. They were different designs and did not share components but did have some similar traits, because they were both designed to be infantry tanks, a type of tank that tended to sacrifice speed for increased armour protection.
==Development history==
The development, of the design by Sir John Carden at Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, began in 1935. The General Staff specification required a cheap tank, requiring the use of commercially available components. It resulted in a small two-man vehicle with a low hull and a small cast turret. The turret was fitted with a single heavy machine gun, either a .303 Vickers machine gun or a larger, Vickers .50 machine gun. Designed for quick delivery as well as low cost, the A11 used many stock parts from other vehicles: a Ford V8 engine, a Fordson gearbox, a steering mechanism similar to the one used in Vickers light tanks and suspension adapted from the Mk IV Dragon artillery tractor, that was based on the Vickers 6-Ton Tank Model E.
The hull and turret were well protected against contemporary anti-tank weapons but the tracks and running gear were exposed and more vulnerable than on tanks that had protected tracks. The lack of a gun with anti-tank capability severely limited its utility on the battlefield. Besides operating the machine gun, the commander had to direct the driver and operate the wireless. There being no room in the turret for the wireless, it was placed in the hull and the commander had to duck down inside to operate it. The driver's position was equally cramped and the turret could not be traversed forwards while the driver's hatch was open. The top speed of 8 mph (13 km/h) was thought to be sufficient for supporting an infantry advance.〔Fletcher, ''Matilda Infantry Tank'' p.4〕
General Hugh Elles, the Master-General of the Ordnance, is credited with giving the tank the name Matilda "due to the vehicle's diminutive size and duck-like shape and gait." However the codename "Matilda" for the project was created for Vickers at the time of drawing up the specification in 1935.〔Fletcher ''The Great Tank Scandal'' p. 42〕〔Fletcher, ''Matilda Infantry Tank'' p. 4〕 The "Tank, Infantry, Mark I" name was an Army Council decision of June 1940.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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