I've always had a soft spot for these funny-looking little gremlins, ever since I first laid eyes on one when I was about 6 years old. I'm glad to know more about them - particularly the truth behind the name. I love the optimistic little brass fire extinguisher strapped to the hull. I'm sorry, but if my tank is burning and I have to GET OUT to grab an extinguisher, I'm not climbing back in under any circumstances.

The Tank Museum has some fantastic new presenters like Chris, but whenever David does a Tank Chat I settle in my chair like I am in front of an open fire with a glass of good Brandy. David & his garden chats got me through the Covid times, and I will always be grateful for that.

Hats off to Mr. Wiley!! I was always one to say "Pfff!--A Matilda I" But he not just gives a clear and concise account of the tank's development, but also of its brief, yet consequential, role in the history of WWII, and really, when you think about it, how that role helped save the BEF, and many French troops, (one of whom I worked with for many years) at Dunkirk, and thus the course of WWII. Great work, Mr. Wiley!

The presence of anti-gas paint was not primarily to inform the crew that they needed to don gas masks. It was to inform them that that the vehicle (or aircraft) was contaminated with a persistent gas such as mustard. These anti-gas patches were sometimes surrounded by a red band, shewing the colour which the central green area would turn if it reacted to gas. The remainder of such a surround may be seen on the starboard tail-plane of the Vickers Wellington at Brooklands. Mustard gas could remain as a highly irritant and dangerous threat, especially on organic clothing, for a considerable period after a gas shell went off, so it was important that crew did not clamber into a vehicle that was contaminated without suitable clothing/gloves and decontamination.

I love these tank chats. 1935 Matilda 1 (mentioned) to 1945 ... the development is unimaginable. Looking back, we shouldn't be so harsh. It was the space race of its time. The tank museum really is first class.

Hey Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed our latest video. What do you think of the Matilda I - not good enough, or the right tank for the time? Let us know below

So nice to finally see someone recognise the matilda 1 (and 2s) and the 1940 BEF (which my grandfather was part of in France) and the battle of arras getting its proper recognition.

Back in the hands of the master - thank you David for a superb presentation

It doesn't matter how small, slow and lighty armoured a tank is. If you have one and your opponent does not that means that a Matilda still poses a serious armoured threat that is effectively a mobile pillbox and therefore highly dangerous.

I for one am disgusted that they didn’t continue the Matilda naming convention. All British tanks should be called Matilda. The current challenger should be called the Matilda 14.

One can see Carden’s thinking that was further expressed in the Valentine. To build the smallest reasonable hull so that, for a given weight, it can use thicker armour. To keep the suspension from intruding into the hull also minimising the volume of the hull. Carden was aware of the 6 Pounder gun when he laid out the Valentine and would doubtless have been later penning the successor in 1941 to carry the Vickers 75mm HV or 17 Pounder on similar lines. The track work was no more exposed to fire than peer tanks, just left more in the open because of minimum hull volume concept.

To restate what I said in an earlier video - 1 year later - I miss Fletcher (first time I saw him was in a HMS Hood documentary and it was "love" at first sight) but I am seriously glad that Willey has managed to be...maybe not the "moustache" but rather the "Beard" and in spirit (in my view atleast), carry the torch of history, knowledge and wit - Tank Chats is still going strong and will continue going strong. And to add to it - Willey, please dont stop...we need people like you, and I thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

I absolutely love this mans Narrative skills.

The idea that a .50 cal Vickers water-cooled machine gun could fit in that tiny turret is utterly insane to me!

Re the closing comments; if they had built the Matilda 2 from day one the extra cost of the Matilda 2 would have meant they'd have far fewer of them. When the mixed Matilda 1s and 2s met the enemy at Arras a slightly larger number of Matilda 2s would have been on their own. The Matilda 1s absorbed the enemy fire while the Matilda 2s were free to shoot back and it worked. The really stupid thing to do to the Matilda 1 was to cripple the tank's speed with a governor, I'd always thought the engine of this tank was under powered until I heard this today.

Have just re-watched Richard Holmes' War Walks episode on Arras, which featured the Matilda I. God bless that gent - I had the pleasure of meeting him.

Excellent, informative video. So pleased that David did this tremendous deep dive, no gimmicks, no funny lines, just sincere appreciation of the subject and masterly presentation. Thank you.

It's interesting to see that the idea of "Well, we'll build the Matilda-I then the II" wasn't an act of incompetence and/or underestimating the enemy, it was a stopgap measure while the II was in development. That explains a lot.

The Matilda I performed well in France as the German 37mm AT guns could not penetrate the frontal armor. Rommel had to bring 88mm AA guns up on line to stop their advance.

Sering the Matilda alongside the Comet, really demonstrates how far British design philosophy changed before, during, and after WW2, and how they started to increase the dominance of British tanks on the battlefield.

I don't recall before seeing the detailed breakdown of the external markings. That was fun.

Small and underguned perhaps ! But I wouldn't want one chasing me through a Tesco's carpark on a Saturday. 😂😂😂

Still chuffed I met this guy! As brilliant in person as in these videos

The Matilda II is my favourite tank of WW2. 🇬🇧

Considering that the Germans had mostly Panzer ones and twos in France at the time, this tank wasn't that bad. While the attack at Arras was not as successful as the British had hoped it did make the Germans hesitate; as a flanking attack was something they had considered. Rommel had dismissed this idea saying the French would be in disarray and unable to counter attack. Of course it had not occurred to him that the British might not have been in disarray! In any event the Germans did hesitate and reform which gave the troops at Dunkirk time to organize their withdrawal.

Another terrific review of a much overlooked tank, with great perspective on the development of tank strategy and use in pre WW2 years. Great video, and David Willey is as good as ever.

My old friends father was on the Australian assessment team that chose the tank for the Australian army. It was unfairly criticised. It was a good choice for Australia. Caplehorn was the officer. He went onto have a distinguished military career. Liased with the USA military in Australia for the government. And multiple Degrees, Nuclear and Forestry. The tank was a great success.

I remember reading about this tank in Lidell Hart's _History of the Second World War_ before visiting the Tank Museum, so I knew it had been very resilient and quite successful. I was actively looking for it in the museum because the book had made me curious. And when finally seeing it face to face, I was utterly taken aback. It was so unassuming and frankly looked like crap. This couldn't be it. I thought there had to be some sort of mistake. It looked so vulnerable with the narrow open tracks and everything, and you just don't notice that fat slab of armour in front of the driver if you don't know it's there. The vehicle looked like a tin can, ready to be crushed.

This is a little tank that I have always been fascinated by. Arras was so crucial and the Matildas filled the bill. Thank you for this important coverage. You guys are great. Just wish I could visit. (Australia is a long way and I am old). I will watch again from the start. Again thank you.

As someone who had to give academic presentations I can only repeat myself and state, that your work is very well made, informative and entertaining. Of course, you have the advantage of doing what you love, but nevertheless it is very skillful to address a topic in this way and make it seem to be chatty and lighthearted; even when it is about a contraption of war from a war-ridden period of time.

BIGGEST thanks goes to Bob Grundy for the restoration of the Museum's running Matilda I, without him we may never have got to see a running example of this vehicle.

Am I the only person who looked at that and thought........ Darlek !

Brilliant video / lecture again. Thank you so much. dear Tank Museum for providing all these interesting informations.

Absolutely love this channel. One day I'll be able to go to The Tank Museum. Aberdeen just isn't the same thing. Cheers from Tennessee

I’ve always struggled with how “hokey” the Matilda 1 looks versus the latter version which served in North Africa. It’s kind of like the before and after pictures in the bodybuilding advertisements you’d see in comic books.

Enjoying David Willeys videos thanks.

A lecture of the highest quality. Thank you

Really enjoying this new format with the walk around of the tank!

David is always fantastic!

These really are an excellent series of video's, congratulations to all involved in their making.

David, dapper as always.

Thoroughly enjoyed your presentation, very informative and gave me a greater appreciation for the Matilda and the role it played in the early war . Somewhat seems it was misused to a fortunate outcome to a degree. Thank you. 👍

Thank you! That was a splendid account. I knew nothing of this tank so it was a total revelation to me.

A solidly thorough explaination of Matilda history.

Good to see Dave back doing chats

Thank you, TTM and Mr. Willey! The Matilda I is broadly unappreciated and even actively dismissed for its faults, but I reckon you have superbly contextualized the tank and explained the design decisions/compromises behind it. Designing a successful tank for 1940 in 1945 would have been far easier than for 1940 in 1935.

Biggest loss for the British Tank program was the higher ups sidelining Percy Hobart for almost the entire 30's. All because he thought differently aka btr

Visited Bovington in the late 80's. You had a wreck of one by the kids playgrounds but the turret was still there. Climbed in, how you get a man and the back end of a vickers machinegun in that turret is still beyond my comprehensions.

Thank you for this very interesting historical lesson

The accounts of Arras often mention tanks running over the AT guns. I can imagine a Matilda 1 doing so, as it's seemingly the most effective way to write off an anti tank gun. I can imagine a 2pdr solid shot or even a burst of 50cal AP rounds putting an AT gun out of commision, but 303? Probably not! If I recall correctly there was like 15 Matilda 2s involved in the action out of a total of 53 Matilda tanks. The prospect of trying to squeeze yourself behind the gun shield of your Pak36 whilst dozens of these little dustbin turreted things trundle towards your Anti tank screen, taking whatever punishment you throw at them whilst trying to hose your guns down with machinegun fire would be quite daunting. And then comes the realisation that they are not going to stop...

Matilda to Comet in 6 years is some fast development.

Thank you for this. It answers a lot of my questions. Hindsight is always great as is money to do what is considered right. Hence our Sentinel Aussie tank of WWII. Not bad- not great. Just desperate and deserving of some praise likewise.

Excellent video

Very interesting chat, I do say. Learning a lot and that is to say something, Im 69 and have been engrossed in the history of WW2 since I was a young boy, and having a father and a grandfather who were veterans. I think the big kick that pushed me to pursue reading about the war came from my grandfather as well as getting a copy of The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. Describing what people saw while the invasion was taking place, especially the shocking horrors of wounds and finding bits of human parts while moving toward the Germans made a define impression on me. But back to the Matilda, it is quite the tank. If I remember right, it was the most heavily armored tank when the war started and could survive North Africa quite well. Of course, as bigger and more heavily armed German tanks appeared, that changed things with the Matilda's small gun. I understand that it did well in the Pacific war. The Matilda 1 shows design influence on not only later versions of the Matilda but also the Valentine.

As informative and entertaining as ever. 👍

Thank you for this.

These Tank Chats are great.

If only all teachers could be David Willey. He could discuss a sweet wrapper for an hour and make it interesting. Amazing the influence the unsung hero's have,be it armour or aircraft. My question, outside of a 1/100 scale 'wargamers' kit why hasn't someone made a model of this. A light Vickers was done by Airfix yonks ago and the 6 ton E has been very well covered by Eastern European brands. Be nice if we could get a 1/48 or 1/72 at least of this early helpful little fellow.

Nice to see Mr Willey again. This concept of light armament never really went away, look at the Ferret Scout Car to modern times and many more in the War years. Only difference was it found wheels and lost its tracks. Nice talk on a very important Tank.

Thanks for the story about this little hero of 1940.

that mine plow seems such a British thing. "damn, the water pipes keep freezing. let's put them on the outside of the building so we can change them more quickly"

Discovering new tanks I don't know about is great. Never realized how many tanks were serviced in WW2.

This was an awesome presentation on Matilda 1.

Whoop, whoop, David Willey❤

Love the infantry tanks. The Matilda 1 and Valentine 2 being my favorites!

I love the title of this video!!😁😁 The Matilda 1 is also the May Tank of the Month in the Tank Museum's 2024 calendar, so an aptly timed presentation.

If anyone is wondering, 16,000 British Pounds equals 1.59 million British Pounds today or almost 2.1 million USD. Not cheap I'm going to say in 1931. Though today's Tanks exceed it in cost.

If Matilda II had been built with a larger turret ring (Certainly possible, due to the hull overhangs) that could have accommodated the 6-pounder gun, I dare say that the service life of that vehicle would have extended at least into the Italian Campaign.

Can David please bring his doggo to work?🥺 I miss his doggo. Matilda would have been perfect for the doggo to get up on.

Thanks! Great history lesson.

🏆🎖️💪🤗 Thank you for sharing this

I waited and waited and finally got a reference to _another_ video discussing what the tank actually did. Thanks for all the background, but there was almost no foreground.

The manufacturer’s info being ground off of the data plate might seem like such a trivial detail, but knowing the context makes it such a cool feature of this tank! It’s little things like this that make the tank an awesome piece of living history rather than just a simple exhibit.

The "light tank" concept really is the birth of the modern IFV, just decades before anyone figured out what that role _actually_ requires.

Great historical vid of a tank that is overshadowed buy its bigger brother the Matilda 2. I love how the eyes on each side of the turret is on the modern Challenger 2 tank and I hope they do it for Challenger 3 when it starts being put into service. Awsome this old tank nut learnt some things in this vid.

And as I reflect during our Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S., I salute those brave tankers of the British Army who sacrificed to save an Army and ultimately a Nation! Hats off, gentlemen!

This has all the quirks, weirdness and penny-pinching I expect (and like) about British tanks. Brilliant!

Yay! Number 2 on my 'top 5' list

Many thanks to David Fletcher and David Willey. They open a new world ,in at my youngest age, I always love Tanks.

Excellently dressed and a wonderful video!!

"The tank that stopped Blitzkrieg" The Matilda I was not able to stop the Blitzkrieg anymore than the Panzer I was able to carry it out.

Awesome thanks

Thank you.

Love the suede jacket and knitted tie 😃

35:30 - Maybe not the “Rightest”, but A right tank at the right place, and the right time. In the way it was used, it did what the Bob Semple was expected to do.

Dang! That's a sharp jacket David is sporting!

the matildas have always been my favourites, loved them since I was a kid.

I always wanted to know more about the Matilda. I heard that it could out climb any tank in WW2

Quite a fascinating littel vehicle. I like how the splash gurds on the front plate are functionally the same as the ones on breastplates of medeival knights a few hundred years earlier :)

Best video in a long time. A11 was a stop gap, just good enough.

TY. Small, cheap, but enormous in it's effect on British fortunes of war. Most certain a worthy tank for any museum, or modeler.

I never knew the story of the Matilda I could have been so interesting.

When I was about 12 I read Tramp in Amor by Colin Forbes it was as I remember it a fine novel about a Matilda tank in WW2 part of the BEF in Northern France 1940.

And now we have Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Essentially a modern Matilda that can also hold infantry (and a bigger gun).

Nice one, ta :)

Well, Challenger 3 doesn't look like a cheap option, but it is a big point of contention whether the Brits will build enough of them.

It was a fun little fellow. 😊

I really enjoyed this lecture :D I have been to the Tank museum and marveled how tiny the Matilda 1 was. Fake history has it like the Polish Armed forces were crap during the start of WW2 (they were not). British tanks were crap (They were not). British Tanks were actually very good. Matilda II for its time was a fortress, Crusader was fast, Valentine was fast, Churchill was a fortress and was unstoppable over a lot of terrain. Cromwell was very fast and The Comet was the precursor to what would be the Centurion. I always argue this in war strategy is that the last thing a tank wants to come up against is another tank. Combined arms is always rock paper and scissors. The thing is though tanks like the Matilda II forced Hitler onto the heavy tank projects while the British and USA continued with the cruiser type tanks. So we had tanks and lots of tanks and lots of robust if somewhat weaker tanks. But we had tanks and lots of them. Tanks you could easily repair easily escape from. Tanks simply doing what tanks are supposed to do too. I think if Germany had focused on just sticking with the Panzer type IV projects and the Stug projects and nothing else tank/Afv wise WW2 would have been different. I consider Panzer IV and Stug to be the pinnacle of WW2 tank and anti tank/assault tank design. What came afterwards was over engineered or too late

My favourite tank!

I have always loved this Heavy Tankette as i like to call it! Blessed Matilda 1!