They arrived painted in the standard G3 Khaki color, with various instructional markings, including red stripes running the length of the tank to signify its maximum fording depth. Diesel being the preferred fuel of the Soviets. The Matildas that arrived in the Soviet Union were mostly Mk.IIIs and IVs, with Leyland diesel engines. The Soviets received one-third of the entire 2987 vehicle production run of the Matilda.Ī Matilda II Mk.III fresh of the production line is prepared for shipment to the USSR with a number of Slogans painted on by the factory workers, September 26, 1941. Only 918 were received by the Red Army, however, as the others likely never made it to the end of the Arctic Convoys as a result of German Attacks. Along with the Churchill III, Tetrarch, Valentine and Universal Carrier, the famous ‘Queen of the Desert’ Matilda II soon found itself in the USSR, provided by Britain.īetween 19, some 1084 Matildas were shipped to the Soviet Union. This would allow the stricken Soviet military to bolster its forces while its tank production recovered. In an attempt to fill the large gaps left by these losses, Great Britain, along with the United States, started a Lend-Lease relationship with the Soviet Union. From June to December 1941, sources suggest the losses range from 5000 to as many as 15,000 tanks, up to half of the USSR’s approximate 30,000 tanks in service at the time. Infantry Tank – 1,084 Shipped, 918 ReceivedĪs a result of Germany’s Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Soviets lost large numbers of their tank forces.
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