Editing Matilda II (section)

==Design==
[[File:BRITISH ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES 1918-1939 KID1542.jpg|thumb|Matilda II A12E1 prototype]]

The Matilda Senior weighed around {{convert|27|LT|t ST}}, more than twice as much as its predecessor, and was armed with an [[Ordnance QF 2-pounder]] (40&nbsp;mm) [[tank gun]] in a three-man [[gun turret|turret]].{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=5}} The turret traversed by hydraulic motor or by hand through 360 degrees; the gun could be elevated through an arc from −15 to +20 degrees.{{sfnp|Jentz|1998|p=12}}{{efn|The WWII Equipment states that the gun could move through an elevation arc of −20° to +20°.{{sfnp|Boyd|2008}}|group=nb}} One of the most serious weaknesses of the Matilda II was the lack of a [[High explosive|high-explosive]] round for its main gun. A high-explosive shell was designed for the 2-pounder but was rarely issued, as the shell explosive charge was so small.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll90l2kWCbM |title=Tank Chats #19 Matilda II |publisher= The Tank Museum|date=28 April 2016}}</ref> The main weapon against unarmoured targets was its machine gun.<ref>{{cite book |first=Ian |last=Hogg |title=Tank Killing |pages=138–139 |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |year=1996 |isbn=1-885119-40-2}}</ref>

The Matilda II had a conventional layout, with the driver's compartment located at the front of the tank's hull, the fighting compartment with the turret in the centre and the engine and transmission housed in the rear. The driver's position was normally accessed by a single hatch in the roof of the hull, and protected by a rotating armoured cover which could be held locked in either fully open or closed positions; emergency egress was made possible by a large escape hatch under the driver's seating position. The driver also had a direct vision viewing port with manually operated armoured shield and a single Mk IV periscope to use when buttoned up. {{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Like many other British [[infantry tank]]s, it was heavily armoured. The front glacis was up to {{convert|78|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick; the nose plates top and bottom were thinner but angled. The sides of the hull were {{convert|65|to|70|mm|in}} and the rear armour, protecting the engine to sides and rear, was {{convert|55|mm|in}}.{{sfnp|Jentz|1998|p=12}}{{efn|The 65 mm was made up of the hull and the side skirt armour.{{sfnp|Boyd|2008}}|group=nb}}

The cast, cylindrical three-man turret was seated on ball-bearing ring mount and its armour was {{convert|75|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} all round. The turret was laid out such that the gunner and commander were seated in a laddered arrangement on the left side of the gun, and the loader on the right. The commander was given a rotating cupola with a two-piece hatch and a single panoramic Mk IV periscope installed in the forward-facing hatch door. The same device was also mounted in a fixed position in the turret roof, forward of the commander's cupola, and giving the gunner some situational awareness and target finding capabilities. The loader used a single, rectangular hatch in the turret's roof on the right side. The turret was equipped with a basket around which much of the ammunition stowage was contained. The turret had a power traverse system used under normal conditions, and a manually-operated mechanical emergency assist.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The turret roof, hull roof and engine deck were {{convert|20|mm|in}}.{{sfnp|Boyd|2008}} The armour varied in strength from [[Izod impact strength test|IT]].80 to IT.100{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|p=8}}

The armour of the Matilda was the heaviest of its era. Contemporary German [[Panzer III]] and [[Panzer IV]] tanks had {{convert|30|to|50|mm|in}} hull armour, while the [[T-34]] had {{convert|40|to|47|mm|in}} (angled at 60 degrees). Matilda's side and rear armour was relatively heavy even at the end of the war when tanks like the [[M4 Sherman]] carried about 40&nbsp;mm, and late models of the [[Panther tank|Panther]] carried 50&nbsp;mm. The shape of the nose armour was based on Christie's designs and came to a narrow point with storage lockers added on either side.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=7}} The heavy armour of the Matilda's cast turret became legendary; for a time in 1940–1941, the Matilda earned the nickname "Queen of the Desert".{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=14}}

While the Matilda possessed a degree of protection that was unmatched in the North African theatre, the sheer weight of the [[vehicle armour|armour]] on the vehicle contributed to a very low average speed of about {{convert|6|mph|abbr=on}} on desert terrain and {{convert|16|mph|kph}} on roads. At the time, this was not thought to be a problem, since British infantry tank doctrine valued heavy armour and trench-crossing ability over speed and cross-country mobility (which was considered to be characteristic of [[cruiser tank]]s such as the [[Crusader tank|Crusader]]). The slow speed of the Matilda was further exacerbated by a troublesome suspension and a comparatively weak power unit, which was created from two AEC 6-cylinder bus engines linked to a single shaft.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=6}} This arrangement was complicated and time-consuming to maintain, as it required mechanics to work on each engine separately and subjected automotive components to uneven wear-and-tear. It did provide some [[redundancy (engineering)|mechanical redundancy]], since failure in one engine would not prevent the Matilda from using the other.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=6}} The combined power of the engines went through a six-speed [[Wilson gearbox|Wilson]] [[Epicyclic gearing|epicyclic]] gearbox, operated by compressed air.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=6}}

The tank's suspension system was that which had been developed by Vickers for their Medium C prototype in the mid-1920s{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=7}} The tank was carried by five double wheels [[Bogie#Tracked vehicles|bogies]] on each side. Four of the bogies were on bellcranks in pairs, with a common horizontal coil spring. The fifth bogie at the rear was sprung against a hull bracket. Between the first bogie and the idler wheel, was a larger diameter vertically sprung "jockey wheel". The first Matildas had return rollers; these were replaced in later models by track skids, which were far easier to manufacture and to service in the field.

The turret carried the main armament, with the machine gun to the right in a rotating internal mantlet. Traverse was by a hydraulic system. As the gun was balanced for ease of movement by the gunner, much of the breech end was behind the trunnions. Two smoke grenade launchers were carried on the right side of the turret.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=8}} The grenade launcher mechanisms were cut down [[Lee–Enfield]] rifles, each loaded with a smoke grenade. Its camouflage scheme was designed by Major Denys Pavitt of the [[Camouflage Development and Training Centre]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Camouflage|author=Newark, Tim |publisher=Thames & Hudson}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2020}} based on the [[Dazzle camouflage|dazzle patterns]] of First World War ships. The design incorporated block colours, visually breaking the tank in half.