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Mk I-III Tank
At the same time that the first British Tank design, the “Tritton Machine” (a.k.a. Little Willie”) was being re-designed, Lieutenant W. G. Wilson was working on an entirely new model of landship to meet the new War Office requirements to cross an 8-foot wide trench and climb a parapet 4 ft 6 in. high.
In this machine, known at first as “Big Willie”, the famous lozenge-shaped profile with tracks running round the top of the hull was introduced for the first time. It was said that the lower curve of the track was derived from a section of the perimeter of a big wheel of a diameter sufficient to cross the trench width stipulated by the War Office. This data may conceivably have dictated the height of the front idler wheel and the overall length of the machine, but the use of an upturned track profile for crossing obstacles had already been demonstrated in the Killen-Strait tractor and in the design of the NesfieldMcFie landship, a model of which was submitted to the Admiralty in June 1915. Be this as it may, the “Wilson Machine”, or “H.M. Landship Centipede” as it was also known, was an effective and impressive vehicle. This video of the Mk I has been made by Philtydirtyanimal: “Mother's” performance on demonstrations in January and February 1916 convinced the military and Government spectators of the potential value of this new weapon and forty machines were ordered early in February, an order which was shortly afterwards increased to 100. “Mother” was built of boiler plate (and is identifiable in pictures by the close pitch rivets) but the production machines were, of course, to be of armour plate varying from 12 mm. to 6 mm. in thickness, although otherwise identical to their prototype. However, it was decided to change the armament in half of the machines pro duced to machine-guns only to enable them to attack infantry more effectively - these ones had a total of four Vickers water-cooled machine-guns in the side sponsons and one Hotchkiss machinegun. The first order for tanks was divided between William Foster & Co. to build twenty-five and the Metropolitan Carriage,Wagon& Finance Co. at Wednesbury - seventy-five. This order for 100 was increased in April 1916 to 150 Most obvious of these were a revised hatch with raised coaming on the hull top and wider track shoes at every sixth link (in most vehicles) to give improved traction. Mk. III, in addition had thicker armour. Internally there were several stowage modifications. Produced in early 1917, they supplemented the Mk. I's and some remained in first-line use at Cambrai in November 1917, though largely supplemented by Mk. IVs by then. They were used in all the earlier tank actions of 1917 at Arras, Messines and Ypres. The tank in the photos below is actually a Mk II, that can be seen at the marvellous Tank Museum in Bovington, but there is actually little outward difference between a Mk I and a Mk II, except for the steering tail, that was soon abandoned also on the Mk I. This tank, the 785, actually finished her wartime career as a supply tank with F Batallion at Third Battle of Ypres, and was later re-engineered back to this Female status. The photos have been taken by Knut Erik Hagen - many thanks! |
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