Editing Matilda II (section)

===Australian use in the Pacific theatre===
[[File:Australian armed forces in Papua New Guinea (9939654945907636).jpg|thumb|right|Engineers observe an Australian Matilda II crossing one of their bridges during the [[New Guinea Campaign]].]]
[[File:Matilda II Tarakan (089970).jpg|thumb|An Australian, howitzer-equipped Matilda of the [[2/9th Armoured Regiment (Australia)|2/9th Armoured Regiment]] in combat at the [[Battle of Tarakan (1945)|Battle of Tarakan]] (May 1945)]]

A total of 409 Matilda IIs were supplied by Britain to the Australian army between 1942 and 1944,{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=33}} and a further 33 close-support Matildas were transferred from New Zealand to the Australian army in 1944, as New Zealand made the decision to use only close-support Valentine tanks in the Pacific theatre, to minimise supply problems.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=24}} The [[Australian 4th Armoured Brigade]] used them against [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] forces in the [[South West Pacific Area]], first in the [[Huon Peninsula campaign]] in October 1943. Matilda II tanks remained in action until the last day of the war in the Wewak, [[Bougainville campaign (1943–45)|Bougainville]] and [[Borneo campaign (1945)|Borneo]] campaigns, which made the Matilda the only British tank to remain in service throughout the war.{{sfnp|Bean|Fowler|2002|pp=147–148}}

The tanks were often employed in dense jungle with limited visibility, and could be subject to point-blank fire from hidden Japanese heavy artillery pieces. The Matilda's heavy armour (enhanced by the crews with spare track links) proved to be reasonably effective protection against this.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=34}} In this fighting, the close-support version of the Matilda, armed with an [[Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer]], was preferred by the Australians as it was more effective against Japanese bunkers.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=34}} Local modifications to the tanks included improving the waterproofing, and adding an outside infantry telephone so supporting troops could more easily communicate with the tank crew.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=34}} Guards were fitted to the suspension to stop it from being tangled with jungle undergrowth, and metal panels fitted to make it harder for Japanese soldiers to attach adhesive demolition charges to the hull.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=33}}

The '''Matilda Frog''', an Australian-modified version of the tank that replaced the gun with a [[flamethrower]] saw some successful use against the Japanese on Borneo. Another Australian version, the '''Matilda Hedgehog''', which could fire seven {{convert|65|lb|kg|adj=on}} mortar shells, was successfully tested but was developed too late to see combat service.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=42}}

Matilda IIs remained in service with the [[Australian Army Reserve|Australian Citizen Military Forces]] until about 1955.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=35}}