Airfix AEC Matador Model

The 5.5 inch gun equipped the medium regiments of the Royal Artillery, first going into service in North Africa in 1941. the Matador was the workhorse of the British Military throughout the war in many guises. The restrictions imposed on Germany as part of the Versailles treaty saw it focus on wheeled armoured cars. The development of these centred around the need for mobile fire support around reconnaissance units. This final variant of the type was the SdKfz 234/4. The vehicle was fitted with a 75mm Pak 40 gun. The vehicle benefited from a low profile, high speed and good off road performance, and being far lighter than a tank had a far longer range. The first units were equipped in UK in the summer of 1941 and in North Africa a year later, 20 guns equipped British and Free French batteries at El Alamein. Subsequently it also equipped Canadian, Australian, South African, Polish and Indian regiments, and after the war, it was also used by New Zealand.