British Matilda I tank with driver, France, 1940

Matilda I Tank of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment (Scottish) and its driver photographed in France, January 12th 1945. As we can see in the image, the tank is nicknamed DEOCH (meaning “drink”).

The 4th Royal Tank Regiment was active between 1917 and 1993. It was captured at Tobruk, Libya, in June 1942.

The Matilda I infantry tank served in the British Army between 1938 and 1940, when the Matilda II was introduced (an entirely separate design). The tank had half-decent success during the Battle of France, mainly due to its heavy armor. However, it was slow, poorly armed and cramped, and was actually obsolete before it even came into service. It was closer to a World War One design, and offered little to no attacking threat.

Book suggestions ⤵️

📖 Matilda Infantry Tank 1938-45 (David Fletcher, 1994)

📖 British Battle Tanks: British-Made Tanks of World War II (David Fletcher, 2017)