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Mark I tank
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The British Mark I was the world's first combat tank, entering service in the middle of World War I, born of the need to break the domination of trenches and machine guns over the battlefields of the Western Front. Along with its subsequent variants, it was the most successful heavy tank of the war.
Mark I was a development of Little Willie, the experimental tank built for the Landships Committee by Lieutenant Walter Wilson and William Tritton in the summer of 1915.
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Encyclopedia
The British Mark I was the world's first combat tank, entering service in the middle of World War I, born of the need to break the domination of trenches and machine guns over the battlefields of the Western Front. Along with its subsequent variants, it was the most successful heavy tank of the war.
Development
The Mark I was a development of Little Willie, the experimental tank built for the Landships Committee by Lieutenant Walter Wilson and William Tritton in the summer of 1915. Working on problems discovered with Willie, the Mark I was designed by Wilson. A gun turret above the hull would have made the centre of gravity too high, so the guns were put in sponsons. The prototype Mark I, ready in December 1915, was called "Mother". One hundred and fifty were built.
Description
The Mark I was a rhomboid vehicle with a low centre of gravity and long track length, able to grip muddy ground and cross trenches. Sponsons (also called "barbettes") on the hull sides carried two naval 6-pounder guns. There were two Hotchkiss machine guns in the sponsons and two removable guns for the front and back.
The hull was undivided internally; the crew shared the same space as the engine. The environment inside was extremely unpleasant; the atmosphere was contaminated with poisonous carbon monoxide, fuel and oil vapours from the engine and cordite fumes from the weapons as ventilation was inadequate. Temperatures inside could reach 50 °C (122 °F). Entire crews lost consciousness or became violently sick when again exposed to fresh air.
To counter the fumes inside and the danger of bullet splash or fragments and rivets knocked off the inside of the hull, the crew wore helmets with goggles and chainmail masks. Gas masks were standard issue as well, as they were to all soldiers at this point in the war (see Chemical warfare). The side armour of 8 mm initially made them largely immune to small arms fire, but could be penetrated by the recently developed armour-piercing K bullets. There was also the danger of being overrun by infantry and attacked with grenades. The next generation had thicker armour, making them nearly immune to the K bullets. In response, the Germans developed a larger purpose-made anti-tank rifle, and also a Geballte Ladung ("Bunched Charge")—several regular stick grenades bundled together for a much bigger explosion.
A direct hit on the roof by an artillery or mortar shell could cause the fuel tanks (which were placed high in the front horns of the track frames either side of the drivers' area, to allow gravity feed) to burst open. Incinerated crews were removed by special Salvage Companies, who also salvaged damaged tanks. They were forbidden to speak about this aspect of their work with still living tank crews.
Steering was difficult; controlled by varying the speed of the two tracks. Four of the crew, two drivers (one of which also acted as commander; he operated the brakes, the other the primary gearbox) and two "gearsmen" (one for the secondary gears of each track) were needed to control direction and speed — the latter never more than a walking pace. As the noise inside was deafening, the driver, after setting the primary gear box, communicated with the gearsmen with hand signals, first getting their attention by hitting the engine block with a heavy spanner. For slight turns, the driver could use the steering tail: an enormous contraption dragged behind the tank consisting of two large wheels, each of which could be blocked by pulling a steel cable causing the whole vehicle to slide in the same direction. If the engine stalled, the gearsmen would use the starting handle—a large crank between the engine and the gearbox. Many of these vehicles broke down in the heat of battle making them an easy target for German gunners. There was no wireless (radio); communication with command posts was by means of two pigeons, which had their own small exit hatch in the sponsons, or by runners who were encouraged to complete their suicidal mission by receiving bottles of strong drink as a reward.
Later marks carried semaphore arms for signalling.
Variants
A requirement was found for two types of armament, so Mark Is were armed either with 6 pounder guns and four machine guns and called "Male" (75) or two Vickers machine guns instead of the 6 pounders and called "Female" (75).
To aid steering, a pair of large wheels were added behind the tank. These were not as effective as hoped and were subsequently dropped.
The subsequent Mark II, III, IV and V and later tanks all bear a strong resemblance to their "Mother".
Mark I
- Crew: 8
- Combat Weight
- Male: 28 tons (28.4 tonne)
- Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonne)
- Armour: .23-.47 in (6-12 mm)
- Armament
The Gun Carrier Mark I was largely produced with parts identical to those used to build the Mark I.
Mark II
The Mark II incorporated minor improvements over the Mark I. With the Army declaring the Mark I still insufficiently developed for use, the Mark II order would continue to be built but it would be used for training only.
Most all were built of unhardened steel, but among those at the training ground at Wool, Dorset some (25) were found to have hardened steel and these were shipped to France, despite the protestations of Stern, and used in the Battle of Arras in April 1917 because of delays in the production of the Mark I tank.
The Mark II was built from December 1916 to January 1917 by Foster & Co and Metropolitan (25 Male and 25 Female respectively).
Mark III
The Mark III was a training tank, which used Lewis machine guns and a smaller sponson for the females. Fifty were built. It was originally intended that the Mark III have all the proposed new design features of the Mark IV. This is why there were two distinct training types, the Mark II being little more than a slightly improved Mark I. Development of the new features was so slow however, that the change from the Mark II was very gradual only. The last two Mark III's were melted down in World War II.
Mark IV
An up-armoured version of the Mark I with all fuel stored in a single external tank (located between the rear track horns) in an attempt to improve crew safety. The sponsons could be pushed in to reduce the width of the tank for rail transportation. Rails on the roof carried an unditching beam. A total of 1,220 were built: 420 Males, 595 Females and 205 Tank Tenders, which were supply tanks.
The director of the Tank Supply Department, Albert Gerald Stern, first intended to fit the Mark IV with a new engine and transmission. Production of battle tanks was halted until the new design was ready, necessitating the Mark II and III as interim training tanks. He failed however to complete development soon enough to start production in time to have 200 tanks ready for the promised date of 1 April 1917. He was ultimately forced to take a Mark IV in production in May 1917 that was only slightly different from the Mark I.
The Mark IV Male carried four Lewis machine guns as well as the two sponson guns (now QF 6 pdr 6 cwt with shorter barrels). The Female had six machine guns. Two of the machine guns were operated by the gun loaders.
The decision to standardize on the Lewis gun was due to the space available within the tanks. Despite its vulnerable barrel and a tendency to overheat or foul after prolonged firing, the Lewis used compact drum magazines which could hold up to 96 rounds. The Hotchkiss was fed from a rigid strip which was trimmed down to only 14 rounds for tank use; no sooner had the machine gunner guided the fall of shot onto the target then it was time to change the strip and the process repeated. It was not until a flexible 50 round strip was fully developed in May 1917 that the Hotchkiss would become the standard machine gun for tanks again. The changes caused delays - adapting the design for the bulky Lewis cooling barrel - and later problems when the Hotchkiss strips had to be stored in positions designed for Lewis gun magazines.
This tank introduced the fascine, a wood and chain bundle about long and in diameter carried on the front. It was dropped into trenches to allow the tank to more easily cross over.
*Crew: 8
- Combat Weight
- Male: 28 tons (28.4 tonnes), Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonnes)
- Armour: .25–.47 in (6.1–12 mm)
- Armament
- Two MG (Male), Six .303 Lewis MG (Female)
- Ammo storage
- 6 pounder: 180 HE rounds and remainder Case
Production
The Mark IV was built by six different manufacturers: Metropolitan (the majority builder), Fosters, Armstrong-Whitworth, Coventry Ordnance Works, Wm Beardmore & Co. and Mirrlees, Watson & Co., with the main production being in 1917.
The first order was placed for 1,000 tanks with Metropolitan in August 1916. It was subsequently cancelled, and reinstated, and then modified between August and December 1916. The other manufacturers, contracted for no more than 100 tanks each, were largely immune to the conflict between Stern and the War Office.
Service
The Mark IV was used at the Messines Ridge when 62 tanks were used on 7 June 1917. They outran their infantry on the broken up but dry terrain. By comparison, in the Third Ypres from the 31 July when the preliminary 24-day long barrage destroyed all drainage and there was heavy rain, the tanks found it heavy going and contributed little; those that sank into the swampy ground, were immobilized and easy targets for enemy artillery.
Nearly 460 Mark IV tanks were used during the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, showing that a large concentration of tanks could quickly overcome even the most sophisticated trench system.
In the aftermath of the German Spring Offensive on the western front, the first tank-to-tank battle was between Mk IV tanks and German A7Vs in the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918.
About forty captured Mark IVs were employed by the Germans as Beutepanzer with a crew of twelve. (The German word Beute means "loot" or "booty".) Some of these had their six pounders replaced by a German equivalent..
Mark V series
The Mark V was first intended to be a completely new design of tank. When however in December 1917 the desired new engine and transmission became available, this design was abandoned and the designation switched to an improved version of the Mark IV, in fact a Mark IV as it was originally intended. the Mark V had more power (150 bhp) from a new Ricardo engine. Use of Wilson's epicyclic steering gear meant that only a single driver was needed. On the roof towards the back of the tank behind the engine was a second raised cabin for a machine-gunner and the tank commander. The machine guns now fired through ball mounts rather than loopholes giving better protection and wider field of fire.
Four hundred were built, 200 each of Males and Females. Several were converted to Hermaphrodites by swapping sponsons to give a single 6 pounder gun for each. These are also sometimes known as "Mark V Composite".
The Mark V was a late participant in the First World war. It was first used in the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 when 60 tanks contributed to a successful assault by Australian units on the German lines. A number saw service in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War on the White Russian side. They participated in the British North Russia Campaign. Some saw service with the Estonian forces after Russian forces had to retreat into Estonia and be disarmed and were used until 1941. Mark Vs were also delivered to the French, Canadian and American armies.
A Mark V tank can be seen in several photographs taken in Berlin in 1945 in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). It has been suggested this was a museum piece that had been previously displayed at the Lustgarten and it had been used as a static pillbox to help bolster the city's defences during Nazi Germany's final days. However, there is no evidence this was the case and it is not clear what role (if any) it played in the Battle of Berlin.
Mark V*
In 1917 Sir William Tritton developed the Tadpole Tail: an extension of the tracks to be fitted to the back of a tank to improve trench crossing abilities. This was necessary because the Hindenburg Line had 3.5 metre wide trenches to stop the British tanks. When Major Philip Johnson of the Central Tank Corps Workshops heard of this project, he immediately understood that the weight of the heavy girders strengthening the attachment might be put to a better use by creating a larger tank. He cut a Mark IV in half and stretched the hull, lengthening it by six feet. When details had been forgotten it has for a long time been assumed that most Mark V* had been field conversions made by Johnson. It is now known that they were all factory-built. It had a larger "turret" on the roof and doors in the side of the hull. The weight was 33 tons. Of orders for 500 Males and 200 Females, 579 had been built by the Armistice - the order was completed by Metropolitan Carriage in March 1919
The extra section was also designed to house a squad of infantry. This was the first ever purpose designed tracked armoured personnel carrier (APC), it was also the first APC to be significantly armed, as some earlier conversions of tanks into supply carriers lacked any armament. It could operate as a tank as well as carrying troops, and it was not until the post World War II era Merkava that a tank that could also carry troops under protection was produced.
Note: the asterisk (*) in early British tank designations was usually pronounced as "star" when spoken, e.g., Mark Five-star, or Mark Five-star-star, etc.
Mark V**
Because the Mark V* had been lengthened, its original length-width ratio had been spoiled. Lateral forces in a turn now became unacceptably high causing thrown tracks and an enormous turn circle. Therefore Major Wilson redesigned the track in May 1918, with a stronger curve to the lower run reducing ground contact (but increasing ground pressure as a trade-off) and the tracks widened to 26.5 inches. The Mark V engine was bored out to give 225 hp and sited further back in the hull. The cabin for the driver was combined with the commander's cabin; there now was a separate machine gun position in the back. Of a revised order for 700 tanks (150 Females and 550 Males) only 25 were built and only one of those by the end of 1918.
Mark V***
See: Mark X.
Mark VI
The Mark VI was a one of a pair of related projects to develop the tank initiated in late 1916. The Mark V would be the application of as many advanced features as could be managed on the Mark I hull design and the Mark VI would be a complete break with the Mark I hull. The Mark V would not be built as such, because of the delays with the Mark IV and it would be a different Mark V that was built.
The Mark VI project design had a completely new hull - taller and with rounded track paths. The single main gun was in the front of the hull. It did not progress past the stage of a wooden mock-up; the project was cancelled in December 1917 in order that a tank co-developed with the US (the MArk VIII) could go forward.
Mark VII
Mark Knothe, the Technical Liaison Officer between Stern, Elles and Anley, contributed to the development of the tank, designing a longer Mark I with Williams-Janney hydraulic transmission; one of the Mark IIs used as test vehicles had used a hydraulic transmission. In October 1917 Brown Brothers in Edinburgh were granted a contract to develop this line of research further. In July 1918 the prototype was ready. Its drive system was very complex. The 150 hp Ricardo engine drove into Variable Speed Gear Ltd. pumps that in turn powered two hydraulic motors, moving one track each by means of several chains. To ward off the obvious danger of overheating there were many fans, louvres and radiators. Steering was easy and gradual however and the version was taken into production to equip one tank battalion. Three had been built, and only one delivered out of an order for 74 when war ended. It was passed over in favour over the V** which was orderd at the same time. The hull was slightly lengthened in comparison with the Mark V. No Mark VIIs survive.
Mark VIII
When Stern was removed from his post following disagrrements with the war office, he was sidelined by appointment to a new department to work on a cooperative design between the Allies - assembly in France, hulls, guns and their ammunition from the UK and other components (principally the engines) from the USA
American involvement in the development of the tank design led to the Mark VIII, also known as "Liberty" or Anglo-American tank (though initially the French were partially involved).
The engine was compartmentalised from the crew, and the turret structure included forward and rear firing machine guns. Of a planned (shared production) of 1,500 each, 24 were built by the British before they pulled out of the project and 100 completed by the Americans. The 100 were produced between September 1918–1920, at the Rock Island Arsenal, at a cost of $35,000 apiece ($430,000 in 2006). About 40 hulls for the U.S Liberty were produced by the Manchester Tank Syndicate, 11 British Type Mark VIII by the North British Locomotive Co..
They were used and upgraded until the 1930s when given to Canada for training (as opposed to the M1917s which were sold at scrap value). The tank itself was over 34 feet (10 m) long, and there had been an even longer 44 foot (13 m) version planned but never made (the Mark VIII*). The tank was outdated by the 1930s due to its speed (under 6 mph/10 km/h) and armour (16–6 mm) but it did have one of the longest independent trench crossing capabilities of any armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) ever made. Modern main battle tanks and AFVs rely on bridge laying tanks for crossing large deep trenches.
- Crew: 12 (later 10)
- Weight 37 tons (37.6 tonnes)
- Length/Height/Width : 34 ft 2 in by 10 ft 3 in by 12 ft 4 in (10.4 m by 3.1 m by 3.8 m) (Mark VIII* length 44 ft/13.4 m)
- Engine: Ricardo 330 hp petrol (UK), Liberty V12 300 hp (U.S.).
Mark IX
The Mark IX was a troop carrier or infantry supply vehicle—among the first tracked armoured personnel carrier not counting experiments with the lengthened Mk V's. 34 were built out of an order for 200.
Mark X
Paper only project to improve the Mark V, originally known as Mark V***. This was basically a contingency plan in case the Mark VIII project would fail (if so a production of 2000 was foreseen for 1919), trying to produce a tank with as many parts of the Mark V as possible but with improved manoeuvrability and crew comfort.
Combat history
The first tanks were added, as "Heavy Branch", to the Machine Gun Corps until a separate Tank Corps was formed on 28 July 1917 by Royal Warrant. A small number of Mark I tanks took part in the battle of the Somme during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in September 1916. Although many broke down or became stuck, almost a third that attacked made it across no mans land, and their effect on the enemy was noted leading to a request by the British C-in-C Douglas Haig for a thousand more. This came as a bit of a surprise: William Tritton had already started the development of a heavier tank: the Flying Elephant. Unfortunately for the Allies, it also gave the Germans time to develop a specifically designed anti-tank weapon for the infantry, an armour-piercing 7.92 mm bullet.
During the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, several hundred Mark V tanks with the new Whippet tank penetrated the German lines in a foretaste of modern armoured warfare.
Surviving vehicles
Little Willie
Little Willie survives at the Bovington Tank Museum; it was saved from being scrapped in 1940—many other prototypes were melted down during the Invasion Scare—on the pretext it was helping to defend Bovington base against possible German attacks.
Mark I
A single male survives. This is the only surviving Mark I and the world's oldest surviving combat tank. It is part of the collection at the Bovington Tank Museum. It is painted to represent Number 705, C19, Clan Leslie although its identity and wartime history are unknown. There are indications it may have served as a driver-training tank and it has been suggested it is Number 702, which would make it the second Mark I built. Between 1919 and 1970, it was sited in the grounds of Hatfield House to commemorate the fact this was a testing site for tanks during their earliest development.
Mark II
There is a single surviving Mark II Female, F53: The Flying Scotsman, at the Bovington Tank Museum. This tank still has battle damage sustained at Battle of Arras in April 1917.
Mark IV
Seven Mark IV's survive.
- A Mark IV Female, F4: Flirt II, which fought at the Battle of Cambrai, is at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England. A local company, William Foster & Co., manufactured the first tanks.
- A Mark IV Female is preserved at Ashford in Kent. This is one of many that were presented for display to towns and cities in Britain after the war; most were scrapped in the 1920s and 1930s.
- The Royal Museum of the Army in Brussels has a Male Mark IV tank, the Lodestar III, still in original colours.
- A Mark IV Female, Grit, is displayed in the ANZAC hall at the Australian War Memorial.
- In 1999, a Mark IV Female, D51: Deborah, was excavated at the village of Flesquières in France. It had been knocked out by shell-fire at the Battle of Cambrai (1917) and subsequently buried when used to fill a crater. Work is underway on its restoration.
- A Mark IV Male, Excellent, is displayed at Bovington. After World War I, this tank was presented by the army to HMS Excellent, a Royal Navy shore establishment where some tank crewmen were trained. During World War II, it was made operational again for service with the Home Guard when German invasion threatened in 1940. It is still maintained in working order.
- Mark IV Female Liberty: displayed at United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland. Originally named Britannia, this tank took part in the Battle of Arras where it penetrated the German trench lines, destroyed four machine gun positions, helped take 395 prisoners and repulse two German counter-attacks. The tank and her crew where afterwards sent to the US to help sell War bonds. Renamed Liberty, the tank joined the Ordanance Museum collection in 1919. After decades of exposure to the elements it is in poor condition, but about to undergo restoration.
Mark V
Eleven Mark V's survive. The majority are in Russia or Ukraine and are survivors of the tanks sent there to aid the White forces during the Russian Civil War.
- The Bovington Tank Museum displays a Mark V Male, Number 9199, one of two British World War I tank still in working order. It was in action at the Battle of Amiens where its commander was awarded the Military Cross.
- A Mark V** Female: Ol'Faithfull, is also preserved at Bovington.
- A heavily restored Mark V Male, Devil, survives at the London Imperial War Museum.
- Mark V* Female: Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor, Fort Knox, Kentucky.
- Mark V: Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia.
- A Mark V serves as memorial in Arkhangelsk. This was originally used by British forces during the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War.
- Two preserved Mark Vs, a Male and a Female, form part of an outdoor memorial at Luhansk in Ukraine; two more are in storage.
- Mark V Female: Kharkiv Historical Museum, Ukraine.
Mark VIII/Liberty
- A Liberty tank is preserved at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
- A modified Liberty tank is preserved at Fort Meade, Maryland. The tank displayed in the post museum was made in 1920 at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. It was assigned to the 301st Tank Battalion (Heavy), later redesignated the 17th Tank Battalion (Heavy). Throughout most of 1921-1922, Major Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded this unit
- A British Mark VIII is at Bovington.
Mark IX
A single vehicle survives at Bovington; it has just been restored.
Gallery
Popular culture
- During the First World War, British propaganda made frequent use of tanks, portraying them as a wonder weapon that would quickly win the war. They were featured in films and popular songs. .
- The German villain uses a vehicle based on the Mark VIII in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This was constructed for the film using a tracked excavator. The main external difference was that a turret was added.
- The comic Charley's War portrayed the first tank deployment during the battle of the Somme.
- In the Anime series Dominion Tank Police, criminals use modern tanks disguised as Mk1 tanks to deceive the police.
- The opening scene of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film) features a tank that closely resembles a Mark 1, although it is set years before the outbreak of the First World War.
See also
- Mark V Composite
External links
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- - Article on the preserved Arkhangelsk tank.
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