The Mark II infantry tank, better known as the Matilda, was used in action by the British Army between 1939 and 1942 in France and North Africa, and by the Australians in New Guinea. Large numbers were also shipped to Russia and proved generally popular due mainly to its good armour protection, which in places amounted to 100 mm thick. Main armament consisted of one 2 pdr gun with 93 rounds and one 7.92 mm Besa machine gun co-axially mounted. By late 1941, the Matilda's gun power was generally felt to be inferior to that of German tanks and, in 1942, with the advent of the more powerful American Grants and Shermans, the Matilda was gradually withdrawn from action in North Africa.