This post is not actually about what is often called Australia’s national song, but I will pick this up in the future as the words of the song and the history they actually depict are interestingly very different! Another post in the near future!
By mid-1942, just over 200 Matilda II tanks had arrived in Australia, although roughly half of these had to be cannibalized for parts to maintain the remainder of the fleet due to their obsolescences and the lack of spare parts.
Realizing the increased importance of close support in jungle fighting, additional tanks fitted with 3″ (76.2 mm) howitzers were obtained from New Zealand stocks in exchange for a corresponding amount of 2 pounder gun tanks.
The 3″ howitzer tanks were employed as troop leader’s vehicles and usually took point during advances, supported by one or two 2 pounder gun tanks.
By the end of the war close to 400 Matilda II tanks would ultimately enter Australian service and continued operations until the end of the war, making the Matilda II the only British tank to see continual front line service from the beginning to the end of the war.
The Matilda tanks were all formed part of the 4th Armoured Brigade Group. The insignia of 4th Armoured Brigade Group was a white palm tree over a crocodile and a boomerang on a black background.
All tanks displayed two formation signs, one located frontally next to the unit sign and the driver’s viewport, with the second located between the external fuel tank brackets on the rear of the tank.
In common with British practice, Australian armoured vehicles were marked with a coloured insignia comprising of a number inside a geometric shape which indicated the vehicle’s regiment, squadron and troop. The colour designated the regiment; 1st Armoured Regiment (red), 2/4 Armoured Regiment (yellow), 2/9 Armoured Regiment (blue), 2/1 Armoured Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron (white). These are clearly shown on the photograph below of a Matilda on display at Puckapunyal.
The shape designated the squadron; A squadron (triangle, point up), B squadron (square), C squadron (circle), Regimental HQ (diamond), armoured brigade reconnaissance squadron (triangle, point down). The number inside the shape designated the squadron which the tank was part of. For instance, a tank displaying a red square with the number 9 would be from 9 troop, B squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment. These insignias were displayed around the turret at three points, on both turret cheeks and the rear of the turret.
Three additional versions of the tank were used in Australian service other than the standard 2pdr one.
Matilda “Frog” or flamethrower tank
The production flame tank was officially adopted under the name of ‘Flamethrower, Transportable Frog (Aust) No. 2 Mk I’, but is more commonly known as the ‘Matilda Frog.’
Matilda Frog tank with supporting infantry
There were two versions of the frog tank – the Frog and the Murray. The Frog tank suffered from needing 20 seconds to recharge the air cylinder making it vulnerable to assault without supporting infantry.
In order to overcome this weakness in 1944 the Murray version was introduced which used a cordite charge as propellant, eliminating the need for a delay in firing.
A Matilda Frog at the Puckapunyal Armoured Museum
A close up of the propellant storage
Hedgehog – Matilda with calliope style rocket launcher in action at Ballikapan.
A Hedgehog on display at the Armoured Museum Puckapunyal
This photo was captioned “adding extra armour” but I think it is the base for the hedgehog’s calliope rocket.
Matilda with 3″ Howitzer (front), often used as the command tank of a squadron. Note the addition of tank tracks for additional armour.
The models were all 3D printed by good friend Billy B. I hope to be able to find some stl’s of the 3″ command tank and the Frog/Murray but if I cannot then the Warlords Australian Matilda Tank can make all but the “Hedgehog” version. I have an existing Matilda kit somewhere which I intend to convert into the Hedgehog version in the near future.
Sources:
The following sources were extensively used in the preparation of this post.
Also used:
Osprey Publishing, New Vanguard #8, Matilda Infantry Tank 1938-4Hopkins, Ronald Nicholas Lamond and Australian War Memorial Australian armour : a history of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, 1927-1972.
Fletcher, David and Sarson, Peter Matilda infantry tank 1939-1945.
Bingham, James Australian Sentinel and Matildas.
Interesting post and lovely work on you Matilda too.
Cheers Roger.
Thanks Roger. I liked the research as much as the end painting result.
Those are great Dave. The Australians certainly got good use out of the tank. The different conversions remind me of what was done to the Chruchill tank over the years.
Cheers,
Pete.
The big tanks were of no use in the jungle which is why the Australian built tank, the sentinel, was never used in combat.
Great post that I loved as tanks are cool and I’ve always loved the Matilda II. Great work on the history. As for the picture with the “added armor”. That is airfield matting, which can be used for a lot of things in addition to making expedient airfields. They may simply have been using the tank to transport the matting, or even to weld to the tank as a support for storage or perhaps for something else. My guess is that the Matilda II’s armor would have been more than adequate against most Japanese AT capability (as deployed) through 1945. Again, superb post.
Always enjoy the informative posts, Dave. Fascinating stuff.
Thanks TOT