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During the early stages of World War II, the rampaging Wehrmacht began running into some hardened British steel among the softer skinned Crusaders and Vickers Lights. This was of course, the famous Queen of the Desert, Infantry Tank Matilda Mk.II, and nothing short of an 8.8 mm would stop one.
Witnessing this excellent, unyielding armor first hand, the Wehrmacht were more than happy to capture any operational Matildas for themselves.
In fighting in North Africa, some of the captured Matildas were turned on their original operators. A tank under the name of “Dreadnought” is one such vehicle frequently seen in photographs from the time.
A few of the vehicles were sent back to Germany for analysis. This practice of sending captured equipment back to HQ was the norm in all armies. The tanks were mostly used for training purposes in their standard configuration, but one vehicle, previously identified as No. 111, was converted into the Infanterie Panzerkampfwagen MK II 748(e) mit 5cm KwK 39 L/42.
It was nicknamed “Oswald” by its operators.
During the early stages of World War II, the rampaging Wehrmacht began running into some hardened British steel among the softer skinned Crusaders and Vickers Lights. This was of course, the famous Queen of the Desert, Infantry Tank Matilda Mk.II, and nothing short of an 8.8 mm would stop one.
Witnessing this excellent, unyielding armor first hand, the Wehrmacht were more than happy to capture any operational Matildas for themselves.
In fighting in North Africa, some of the captured Matildas were turned on their original operators. A tank under the name of “Dreadnought” is one such vehicle frequently seen in photographs from the time.
A few of the vehicles were sent back to Germany for analysis. This practice of sending captured equipment back to HQ was the norm in all armies. The tanks were mostly used for training purposes in their standard configuration, but one vehicle, previously identified as No. 111, was converted into the Infanterie Panzerkampfwagen MK II 748(e) mit 5cm KwK 39 L/42.
It was nicknamed “Oswald” by its operators.
During the early stages of World War II, the rampaging Wehrmacht began running into some hardened British steel among the softer skinned Crusaders and Vickers Lights. This was of course, the famous Queen of the Desert, Infantry Tank Matilda Mk.II, and nothing short of an 8.8 mm would stop one.
Witnessing this excellent, unyielding armor first hand, the Wehrmacht were more than happy to capture any operational Matildas for themselves.
In fighting in North Africa, some of the captured Matildas were turned on their original operators. A tank under the name of “Dreadnought” is one such vehicle frequently seen in photographs from the time.
A few of the vehicles were sent back to Germany for analysis. This practice of sending captured equipment back to HQ was the norm in all armies. The tanks were mostly used for training purposes in their standard configuration, but one vehicle, previously identified as No. 111, was converted into the Infanterie Panzerkampfwagen MK II 748(e) mit 5cm KwK 39 L/42.
It was nicknamed “Oswald” by its operators.
During the early stages of World War II, the rampaging
Wehrmacht began running into some hardened British
steel among the softer skinned Crusaders and Vickers Lights. This was of course, the famous Queen of the Desert, Infantry Tank Matilda Mk.II, and nothing short of an 8.8 mm would stop one.
Rendition of the Oswald
Witnessing this excellent, unyielding armor first hand, the
Wehrmacht were more than happy to capture any operational Matildas for themselves. In fighting in North Africa, some of the captured Matildas were turned on their original operators. A tank under the name of Dreadnought is one such vehicle frequently seen in photographs from the time. A few of the vehicles were sent back to Germany for analysis. This practice of sending captured equipment back to HQ was the norm in all armies. The tanks were mostly used for training purposes in their standard configuration, but one vehicle, previously identified as No. 111, was converted into the Infanterie Panzerkampfwagen MK II 748(e) mit 5cm KwK 39 L/42. It was nicknamed Oswald by its operators.
Here Oswald can be seen taking part in training
exercises, note the name Oswald on the fender. Source: beutepanzer.ru
Oswald on the back of a PiLaBo.41, No. 504, during
training exercises. Source: beutepanzer.ru
This particular Matilda is believed to have served under
the British Army in North Africa before its capture, and bared the serial number 111. Almost untouched, the tank came into German possession at some point in 1942. It was transported back to occupied Holland. Here, it was handed over to the Hochsee-Lehrkommando in Terneuzen where it underwent its modifications. It was then used to train loaders and take part in combat training. It took park in invasion Operation Sea Lion style invasion training.
It is unknown what happened to the Oswald, it is
possible that it was used against the allies as Holland was liberated. Destroyed in this action, or scrapped, it didnt see much action during the rest of the war and does not survive today. An article by Mark Nash
The conversion of the Oswald was caused by the
Hochsee-Lehrkommando (High Seas Instructional Command). For a time, it was trained on in its original form. It later underwent some modifications. The tanks hull and power plant remained the same as the standard Matilda II. The major modification was the removal of the 2 pounder main armament and the turret, being replaced with the 5cm KwK 38 anti-tank gun. The gun is thought to have come from an irreparable Panzer III. It was pivotmounted, protected by a specially hand-made shield which went over the weapons standard gun shield. Two 7.92 mm MG 15s were mounted atop this. Quite why the turret was changed out is unknown, it is quite possible that the supply of 2-Pounder ammunition ran out and, for obvious reasons, it was easier to resupply with 5 cm shells. Also, the extremely tight turret of the Matilda wouldve made it ill-suited to training purposes. The open
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.: Captured American & British
Tanks Under the German Flag
space the modification granted wouldve made training,
and guidance of the training, a lot easier. The only other modifications were cosmetic. It was repainted in German camouflage and markings. The name Oswald was stenciled onto the track guard above the front left idler-wheel.