British Armour Question

[Mojave Jack]

I'm currently reading Correlli Barnett's The Desert Generals, and he keeps talking about the "I" tanks of the 4th Indian Infantry Division. What is an "I" tank? Is that an Infantry Tank Mark I (Matilda)? Which ever one it is, Barnett seems to be the only one calling it an "I" tank!

Are these the right specs?

 

[Baggers]

The British had three classes of tanks. First, you had Light tanks, which were generally very small and fast, but thinly armoured and typically only armed with machine guns. Then you had Cruiser tanks, which were larger, and slightly better armed with a 2 or 6 pounder gun. While the light tanks stopped being built early in the war, new cruiser types were developed throughout the war. Typical models were the Crusader, Cromwell, Challenger and Comet.

Finally, there were the Infantry tanks, so named because they were designed to directly support infantry and as a result only had a top speed of about 15 mph. While slow, they were much more heavily armoured and gunned. The tank that Barnett was probably referring to was the Matilda Mk II. In the Western Desert the Mk II was dubbed the "Queen of the Battlefield" as it was the first British tank used that was invulnerable to the antitank fire of the Italian and early German weapons. It wasn't until the Germans started using the dreaded 88mm in the antitank role that it met its match. Other tanks in the class were the Valentine and the Churchill.

Hope that helps!

Cheers!

 

[Mojave Jack]

Thanks, Baggers! I thought it was the Matilda, but Barnett confused me calling it the "I" tank. I wasn't sure if he was referring to a particular Mk I, like a Cromwell Mk I or a Cruiser Mk I, or if he meant "Infantry" tank, and specifically the Matilda Mk I. The MK II seems more likely, since I don't see any photos of Mk Is anywhere. I think they usually only had machine guns, anyway. So he must have meant the A12.

As a side note, Barnett's book is excellent, but he lacks maps! It's driving me nuts that I have to go find maps, then reread his description to follow the movements more precisely. The different spellings of place names also makes it fun to track down locations.