1:72 Matilda II Mk. VI infantry tank, Royal Australian Army; Borneo 1945

Dizzyfugu · April 29, 2021, 11:41:58 PM

Here's #4, I was able to take pictures yesterday evening and they turned out to be very good, not calling for major "post-production" adjustments. So, here's the Australian Matilda II Mk. VI, the last production model of this infantry tank.

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machine gun armed, two-man A11 Infantry Tank Mark I. The Mark I was also known as Matilda, and the larger A12 was initially known as the Matilda II or Matilda senior. The Mark I was abandoned in 1940, and from then on the A12 was almost always known simply as "the Matilda".

With its heavy armour, the Matilda II was an excellent infantry support tank but with somewhat limited speed and armament. It was the only British tank to serve from the start of the war to its end, although it is particularly associated with the North Africa Campaign. It was replaced in front-line service by the lighter and less costly Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine beginning in late 1941.

The Matilda II weighed around 27 long tons (27 t; 30 short tons), more than twice as much as its predecessor, and was armed with an Ordnance QF 2-pounder (40 mm) tank gun in a three-man turret. One of the most serious weaknesses of the Matilda II was the lack of a high-explosive round for its main gun. The main weapon against un-armoured targets was its machine gun.

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 center 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 cover; emergency egress was made possible by a large escape hatch under the driver's seating position.
Like many other British infantry tanks, it was heavily armoured, it was in fact the heaviest of its era. The front glacis was up to 78 mm (3.1 in) thick. The sides of the hull were 65 to 70 millimetres (2.6 to 2.8 in) and the rear armour, protecting the engine to sides and rear, was 55 millimetres (2.2 in). The cast, cylindrical three-man turret was seated on ball-bearing ring mount and its armour was 75 mm (2.95 in) all round. The turret roof, hull roof and engine deck were 20 millimetres (0.79 in).

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

While the Matilda possessed a degree of protection that was unmatched in the North African theatre, the sheer weight of the armour on the vehicle contributed to a very low average speed of about 6 mph (9.7 km/h) on desert terrain and 16 miles per hour (26 km/h) 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 tanks such as the 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. 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 mechanical redundancy, since failure in one engine would not prevent the Matilda from using the other. The combined power of the engines went through a six-speed Wilson epicyclic gearbox, operated by compressed air.

Almost 3.000 Matilda IIs were built and a total of 409 Matilda IIs were supplied by Britain to the Australian army between 1942 and 1944. 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 minimize supply problems. The Australian 4th Armoured Brigade used them against 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 and Borneo campaigns.

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. 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, but by late 1943 the standard QF 2-pounder had become obsolete, even against the typically rather lightly armoured Japanese tanks.

Therefore, Australia ordered an uprated version, the Mk VI. It was powered by Leyland diesel engines and carried a new long-barrel ROQF 75 mm (2.95 in) gun, basically a 6-pounder (57 mm/2.24 in) rebored to 75 mm (2.95 in) to accept American M68/72 shells from the M4 Sherman's M3 gun, in a new three-man turret. The 14.9 lb (6.76 kg) HE shell fired at 2,050 ft/s (625 m/s) was found to be the best available, and superior to that of the 6-pounder, M7 3 in and 17-pounder, all chiefly anti-tank guns. However, against armour, its AP shell was the worst, penetrating only 68 mm of RHA at 500 yards (460 m) and a 30-degree angle of attack, whereas the AP shells of the others penetrated between 57 mm and 76 mm. The AP shell for the 75 mm gun was a 15 lb (6.8 kg) projectile with a couple of ounces (60 g) of HE filling, propelled by a 2 lb (900 g) charge to 2,000 feet per second (610 m/s). Due to the shells' bigger size, the Matilda Mk. VI's the ammunition load had to be reduced from 94 to only 50 rounds.

The new, cylindrical turret had an internal mantlet and an enlarged turret basket, giving the much-needed extra room to accommodate the larger rounds and a radio set. As a compensation for the added weight through the new weapon, though, the turret's side armour was somewhat downgraded to 50 mm (1.97 in). The co-axial Besa machine gun was retained and there was a provision to attach another, manually operated machine gun of the same type on the turret's roof as an anti-aircraft machine gun for the commander.

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Beyond these changes, the Matilda Mk. VI received some special equipment and modifications, tailored to the Royal Australian Army's needs in the PTO. Guards were fitted to the suspension to stop it from being tangled with jungle undergrowth and metal panels were fitted to make it harder for Japanese soldiers to attach adhesive demolition charges to the hull. Waterproofing was improved, too, and an outside infantry telephone was added to the rear so that supporting troops could more easily communicate with the tank crew while using the vehicles as cover. In the field, in order to protect the tank's vulnerable turret ring, a collar of rectangular armored plate was fabricated and welded to the hull starting at the driver's hatch and encompassing the side circumference of the turret but open at the rear.

In the closing stages of the war, Australian armored units were furthermore faced by an increasingly tenacious and desperate Japanese foe who, bereft of suitable conventional anti-tank weapons, began to use increasingly creative (and in some cases, borderline suicidal) means to defeat Australian tanks. Previous experience had revealed the risk of Japanese infantry attacks utilizing magnetic mines and grenades thrown onto the back of the tank. While these weapons were not sufficient to penetrate the tanks' main armor, they could damage the thinner engine louvers and the automotive components behind them, potentially leaving the tank immobilized and vulnerable to further close attack. To protect against the bomb threat, Australian armored regiments in Borneo began to improvise anti-grenade screens to protect the rear of their tanks. The anti-grenade screens were constructed from different materials, including wire mesh and perforated steel plates (normally used for improvised airfields). Spare tank tracks were also liberally affixed to the hull to act as extra armor.

The Matilda VI for Australia was the last Matilda II version to be produced, and 55 vehicles were delivered between March and August 1944. They came just in time to take part in Australia'a New Guines campaign, starting from Madang to support the 6th Division in clearing out remaining Japanese forces at Wewak.
Having had no combat experience in New Guinea and no previous cooperation with tanks, the first order of business was to conduct field training for cooperative action with infantry. Much like the former Huon campaign, conditions were not ideal for tank operations and, given the scattered nature of the Japanese forces that had retreated in the wake of the Australian advance at Huon and the Americans at Aitape, the advance of the Matilda IIs was constantly delayed.

Australian tank crews faced their fiercest challenge of the Second World War on the island of Tarakan, where the Matilda II was forced to contend with not only the harsh conditions of the Pacific but also against an established network of bunkers and defences. The attack began on the 1st of May 1945 and would last for 6 weeks with C squadron, 2/9 Armoured Regiment and elements of the 2/1 Australian Armoured Brigade reconnaissance (recce) Squadron.

Much like on Bougainville, Japanese defences to the tank problem proved innovative, utilizing buried explosive caches as improvised mines. In some cases, even if the tank did survive, they left 30 foot (9m) craters in the valuable swamp roads. In another instance, the Japanese filled a canal surrounding the airfield with oil from the nearby refinery and set it ablaze to deter the Australian advance, and 75 mm (2.95 in) howitzer shells were slid down wires from high ground to try and disable Australian Matilda IIs during fighting in the north of Tarakan town.

Despite dogged Japanese resistance, the Rippon airfield had been secured by the Australians by May 5th 1945. Subsequent action along Snags Track and towards Point 105 proved difficult terrain for the tank advance, with the assault on the Japanese position at 'The Margy' at point 105 requiring a combined infantry-tank attack as well as point blank fire from field artillery and even a quick firing QF 3.7-inch (94 mm) anti-aircraft (AA) Gun! By May 8th 1945, the oil fields and airfield had been fully secured and repair and rehabilitation works were underway. By mid-May 1945, the Matildas' role in the war was over and they were subsequently returned to the mainland for discharge. However, the Matilda II remained in service with the Australian Citizen Military Forces until about 1955.

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Specifications:
Crew: Four (driver, gunner, loader, commander)
Weight: 25 tons
Length: 18 ft 5 in (5.61 m)
Width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Height: 8 ft 7¼ in (2.62 m)
Ground clearance: 13 in (33 cm)
Suspension: Coil spring
Steering system: Rackham clutches
Fuel capacity: 31 imp gal (141 litres)

Armour:
20 to 78 mm (0.79 to 3.07 in)

Performance:
16 miles per hour (26 km/h) on road
9 miles per hour (14 km/h) off road
Operational range: 160 miles (257 km)
Power/weight: 11,44 hp/ton

Engine:
2× Leyland Diesel 6-cylinder 7-litre engines with a combined 190 bhp (140 kW) output

Transmission:
6 speed Wilson epicyclic pre-selector gearbox

Armament:
1× RQQF 75 mm (2.95 in) cannon with 50 rounds
1× 7.92 mm Besa machine gun mounted co-axially with 2.925 rounds
2-4× smoke dischargers, mounted on the turret

The kit and its assembly:
This fictive Matilda tank is the result of a "rest build" with extra parts. The ESCI kit (in an Italeri re-boxing) had lost its turret long ago to another conversion project, and an initial plan for the tank's hull was to add a T-34 turret – an experiment that had actually taken place in the Soviet Union in order to med the Matilda's rather pathetic firepower.
With the idea of a bigger gun I wondered what a British upgrade could have looked like? There had been plans for a 6pounder and even a version with a wider hull to take a suitable bigger turret, but they did not come to fruition. Then I came across the late A13 "Valentine" Mk. XI infantry tank (actually the Matilda's successor), which had received a 75mm gun (instead of a 2pounder) in a new turret – and when I found a conversion set at S&S Models with such a turret, I decided to adapt it for the Matilda.
As a late war front-line operator only Australia remained, and this called for some very special mods. These are hard to scratch and I was bout to shelve the idea, until I came across a 1:72 conversion set for an Australian Matilda "Frog" (flamethrower version) from Silesian Models. With both of these ingredients, my Matilda Mk. VI for Australia was born – and feasible.

The Sileasian Models set is pretty exhaustive and includes a complete, new turret, the characteristic cast mud guards (of which one was not full cast, though), the turret ring protectors and lots of spare track links. Due to the new and slightly wider Valentine Mk. XI turret, the guards had to be placed a little wider than on the real Matildas, but it worked fine. Just the tools on the hull had to be re-arranged.
A small, scratched box for the infantry telephone, based on a photograph, was added to the left rear fender. I also scratched a protective device for the engine bay from styrene profiles and mesh material – it is a little crude, but such installations did not look much different in real life since they were improvised, too, and there was no standardized toolkit for them.

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Building the old ESCI kit went without serious problems, only a little PSR was necessary at the front and on the rear fenders. But the Matilda's complex running gear with LOTS of tiny bits and the fixed side skirts that enclose the tracks called for a step-by-step construction/painting process.

Painting and markings:
Very straightforward. While there is an Australian Matilda at a museum with a two-color paint scheme (in dark green/earth), I was not sold on this idea and rather went for a more sober and generic livery in a uniform tone called "Australian Khaki Green No. 3", which is AFAIK an olive drab tone with a less brownish hue than FS 34087. I eventually settled upon Tamiya XF-62 (Olive Drab) as basic tone, because it is a rather greenish interpretation of the hue and matches (good) pictures of an Australian Matilda II museum exhibit well. Some shading with Humbrol 155 and Revell 45 and 87 was done, but this time no dark washing, due to the relatively dark overall tone.

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Decals/markings come from a dedicated Australian tank sheet from Star Decals, just the individual "Gazelle" name comes from another source. Unfortunately, the characteristic wading markings (red lines) on the lower hull were not very opaque, but I used them after all. After the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, some artist pigments, a reddish mix, were applied to the hull, fixed with some matt varnish in the mud chutes and around the running gear, simulating mud crusts, and applied loosely with a soft brush.

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Infantry Tank A.12 "Matilda II" Mk. VI; vehicle "6 (s/n 82104)" a.k.a. "Gazelle I" of the Royal Australian Army's Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, 2/1st Armoured Brigade; Tarakan (Borneo), April 1945 (What-if/modified ESCI kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

IMHO a good result, and I am happy that I eventually went for an Australian Matilda instead of a Sovietized one. However, all the aftermarket stuff that went into it (two resin/metal conversion sets and a decal sheet for proper markings) were pretty costly, but the good and plausible result made the investment IMHO worthwhile (at least that's what I tell myself)...

Old Wombat · April 30, 2021, 12:45:18 AM

Nice one, Dizzy!

As an Australian, how could I not like it?

Dizzyfugu · April 30, 2021, 01:15:22 AM

I hope that it does the real Matildas justice?

Pellson · April 30, 2021, 01:45:33 AM

WOW!! This is outright awesome!

chrisonord · April 30, 2021, 02:00:23 AM

Marvellous stuff Thomas

Old Wombat · April 30, 2021, 02:13:41 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on April 30, 2021, 01:15:22 AM
I hope that it does the real Matildas justice?

To my mind it does!

Dizzyfugu · April 30, 2021, 02:50:49 AM

Thanks a lot!

The protective thing over the engine is a bit goofy - but the real world constructions did IMHO not look much better. On the other hand, it's a characteristic detail for the Aussie 'Tildas, and that's worth it.

Rick Lowe · April 30, 2021, 04:10:07 AM

Looks good to this Kiwi, too!

zenrat · April 30, 2021, 04:22:15 AM

rickshaw · April 30, 2021, 05:03:03 AM

Interesting. Even if you have the wrong idea about armament. The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45. We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

NARSES2 · April 30, 2021, 06:54:02 AM

That's come out really well Dizzy

Rick Lowe · April 30, 2021, 01:48:59 PM

Quote from: rickshaw on April 30, 2021, 05:03:03 AM
Interesting. Even if you have the wrong idea about armament. The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45. We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

But a larger calibre means a larger Cannister round...

Rheged · April 30, 2021, 02:16:39 PM

Model, pictures and backstory are all up to your usual high standards. Well done.

rickshaw · April 30, 2021, 09:43:02 PM

Quote from: Rick Lowe on April 30, 2021, 01:48:59 PM
Quote from: rickshaw on April 30, 2021, 05:03:03 AM
Interesting. Even if you have the wrong idea about armament. The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45. We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

But a larger calibre means a larger Cannister round...

Neither the 2 or the 6 Pdr had canister rounds...

Dizzyfugu · May 01, 2021, 01:20:20 AM

Thanks a lot, everyone!

The next one is already on the bench again, another German heavyweight.