Sir John Carden of Vickers started design immediately, but as the armour standard was raised to 60 mm, Vickers brought the armament down to just one machine-gun.
While the Tank Corps opposed, and required a more capable infantry tank (eventually Matilda II), the Matilda I was produced first, from July 1939, until completion of 139 vehicles in August 1940.
97 of these were lost in France without much use. The rest were deleted from British service in 1941, but captured vehicles stayed in German service in domestic security roles.
The Tank Museum’s Matilda I – HMH 802
This vehicle was recovered from Otterburn Ranges, where the hull and turret had been dumped separately as targets.
Restoration revealed the vehicle registration of “HMH 802,” which is associated with the tank number “T3447”.
It is one of the 42 Matilda Is that remained after the other 97 were lost in France in June 1940.
It was restored to running order with inauthentic engine and gearbox, and has been painted to represent a tank in the service of 4th RTR in France, May 1940. It is the only running example of a Matilda I in the world.
The Tank Museum’s Tank Infantry Mark I A11 — ‘Demon’
This vehicle was delivered in March 1940, making it one of the last 19 to be delivered.
While 97 Matilda Is were in France, this vehicle stayed in Britain – being sent to the School of Tank Technology, before transfer to the Tank Museum in 1949.
In the 1980s, it was restored to running order, but thereafter exchanged tracks with HMH 802 – which was maintained as the only running Matilda I.
It has been painted to represent a tank in the service of 4th RTR in France, May 1940.
