Ironclad Lady, Matilda II in Australian Service

Buy IS2 Development, Design Production of Stalin s War Hammer In early 1942, the Pacific theater was dominated by the Empire of the Rising Sun. The Japanese flag now flew over much of the former British territories in the region, and by February, Japanese aircraft carriers had steamed into the Timor sea and begun launching air raids upon the Queen s holdings in Australia. Understandably, the Australian military was desperately scrambling to get its hands on armored vehicles of any shape and size. Unfortunately, local designs had barely even reached the prototype stage, hampering Australia s lofty goal of fielding a full armored division by the end of the year. However, in mid1942, salvation arrived in the form of 200 Matilda 2 tanks delivered by the British Empire after the design had become obsolete, thanks to the introduction of the cheaper Valentine Mark 3. Around 400 Matilda IIs would serve in the Australian armed forces throughout the war.