Post by son-of-tiny on Feb 22, 2007 23:01:32 GMT
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 it also gave the Germans time to develop a specifically designed anti-tank weapon for the infantry, an armour-piercing 7.92 mm bullet.
Mark IV tanks were used at the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in mid-1917, but without great success due to the mud.
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.
During the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, Mark V tanks with the new Whippet tank penetrated the German lines in a foretaste of modern armoured warfare.
The first tank-to-tank battle was between Mk IV tanks and German A7Vs.
Mark V and Whippet tanks were supplied by the British to the White movement during the Russian Civil War; some were subsequently captured by the Red Army.
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.
Surviving vehicles
A list of preserved tanks:
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
The only surviving Mark I, the world's oldest surviving combat tank, is part of the collection at the Bovington Tank Museum. Little is known of its wartime history, but there are indications it served as a driver-training tank. 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
Mark II Female, F53 - The Flying Scotsman, is also at the Bovington Tank Museum. This tank still has battle damage sustained at Battle of Arras in April 1917.
Mark IV
A Mark IV Female, F4 - Flirt II, is at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England. A local company, William Foster & Co., manufactured the first tanks.
A Mark IV Male is displayed at Bovington.
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 1920's and 1930's.
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 tank 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 and subsequently buried when used to fill a crater. It was placed in storage until funds could be raised for its restoration and display.
Mark V
The Bovington Tank Museum displays a Mark V Male, Number 9199, the only British WWI tank still in working order (several French tanks from that period are still in running condition). 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 survives at the London Imperial War Museum.
Mark V Female - United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland.
Mark V* Female - Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor, Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Mark V Male - 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 the Ukraine; two more are in storage.
Mark VIII/Liberty
A modified Liberty tank is preserved at Ford Mead, Maryland.
A British Mark VIII is at Bovington.
Mark IX
A single vehicle survives at Bovington. It has just been restored.
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 it also gave the Germans time to develop a specifically designed anti-tank weapon for the infantry, an armour-piercing 7.92 mm bullet.
Mark IV tanks were used at the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in mid-1917, but without great success due to the mud.
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.
During the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, Mark V tanks with the new Whippet tank penetrated the German lines in a foretaste of modern armoured warfare.
The first tank-to-tank battle was between Mk IV tanks and German A7Vs.
Mark V and Whippet tanks were supplied by the British to the White movement during the Russian Civil War; some were subsequently captured by the Red Army.
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.
Surviving vehicles
A list of preserved tanks:
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
The only surviving Mark I, the world's oldest surviving combat tank, is part of the collection at the Bovington Tank Museum. Little is known of its wartime history, but there are indications it served as a driver-training tank. 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
Mark II Female, F53 - The Flying Scotsman, is also at the Bovington Tank Museum. This tank still has battle damage sustained at Battle of Arras in April 1917.
Mark IV
A Mark IV Female, F4 - Flirt II, is at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England. A local company, William Foster & Co., manufactured the first tanks.
A Mark IV Male is displayed at Bovington.
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 1920's and 1930's.
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 tank 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 and subsequently buried when used to fill a crater. It was placed in storage until funds could be raised for its restoration and display.
Mark V
The Bovington Tank Museum displays a Mark V Male, Number 9199, the only British WWI tank still in working order (several French tanks from that period are still in running condition). 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 survives at the London Imperial War Museum.
Mark V Female - United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland.
Mark V* Female - Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor, Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Mark V Male - 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 the Ukraine; two more are in storage.
Mark VIII/Liberty
A modified Liberty tank is preserved at Ford Mead, Maryland.
A British Mark VIII is at Bovington.
Mark IX
A single vehicle survives at Bovington. It has just been restored.