Mark I
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 * | |
Crew
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8
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Long
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9,9/8,5 m
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Width
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4,17 m
|
Height
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2,44 m
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Mass
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28/27 t
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6–10 mm
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Main armament
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two 6-pounder cannons (Male)
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Secondary armament
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four machine guns ("time"), and six machine guns ("Female")
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Drive
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Ottomotor
78 kW (106 PS)
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Suspension
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no
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Top speed
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6 km / h
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Power / weight
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2.8 kW / ton (3.8 ton HP /)
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Range
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36 km
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Development
All proposals of civilian specialists to introduce an armored fighting machine were rejected before the First World War. After the start of the war grave itself, the British officer Ernest Dunlop Swinton working to develop a similar concept. His plans, however, were in the first instance by the General Staff and the Minister of War Lord Kitchener refused. After Swinton had made his political influence, he was able to push through a test of a sample vehicle combination. This failed, however. So the tank development would probably come to a halt, if not later prime minister and former Navy Minister Winston Churchill had taken the initiative. The energetic politician described the armor design unceremoniously as land ship and thus falling under the Department of the Navy. Sun Churchill trained naval officers and civilians, the Committee for country vessels . From the 17th September 1915 built Lieutenant Walter Gordon Wilson, the final prototype , later, Mother called. As the technical concept of the machine took shape, the committee received in December 1915, the code name for the Committee to provide tanks , hence the English word use today tank .The lives of the crews
Which was still in development technology demanded the eight-man crew to the utmost.But the control of the tank was a difficult task. The wooden chassis was placed at the rear to control unfit and was omitted from the November, 1916. Keep using the chain brake the course proved to be superhuman task, since this forces more soldiers were needed. As the only way the decoupling showed each a chain via a secondary gear to rotate the tank in a given direction. But even that was difficult because the instructions of the commander could be mediated only by knocking of a hammer, for the engines of the war machine produced a noise that drowned inside every human sound. These heavy labor in the belly of the monster was to perform at temperatures up to 50 ° C, partly, the temperatures high enough to ignite the ammunition was.Also exhaust fumes and powder penetrated the unprotected interior and made the work of the first tank crews even more unbearable. A demarcated space for ammunition and provisions were not provided, so that about slipping ballast posed a constant risk of injury. When shelling could splinter or rivets flying around inside, the tank crews were therefore protected with heavy leather helmets, coats and face coverings.
Tactical concepts
The British armored doctrine of World War I put on a joint use of two versions. Armored type Male (Male) as a combined should MG / gun -carriers fortified positions of the enemy dig. The pure version of the MG-carrier female (female) should thereby the necessary coverage against attacking infantry offer. Serious danger threatened the tanks mainly by the German artillery , which could combat firing over open sights, the tank effectively, but also machine-gun fire, which was concentrated at one point, could penetrate the armor.Therefore Swinton proposed as a new main task of their own guns before fighting enemy artillery positions. To this end, he also encouraged the bombing by Royal Flying Corps in which he is another element of the later Blitzkrieg concept vorzeichnete. However you measure yourself builder of the new weapon to only limited strategic value, thus characterized the British officer in the tanks of a study of 1916 as follows:
" It seems that the tanks are an auxiliary force of infantry, so they must be expected to use in the infantry and are under the same command. "- Swinton, ED: Eyewitness.Hodder & Stoughton, 1932, page 214
The first use - Flers 1916
The newly formed tank weapon was used in the year of their appearance only twice, on 15 September for the first time, all 49 vehicles available at Flers . Contrary to the ideas of its creator, the new war machines were not held back until you in large numbers could launch an offensive and the gun was sufficiently tested.Thus, the first use of many failures were characterized by mechanical damage. Even if the few tanks that could break through the German lines proved to be effective, they were for a decisive blow far too few. The German General Staff was indeed moved by the new weapon in considerable anxiety, but had the Entente Powers playful element of surprise.Since the tanks were up on another small bet a few days later no longer used in the same year, the Germans got time to adjust to the new technology of the opponent. British tanks were captured during the Battle of Reims in 1918 by the Germans, with their emblems used provided against the Allies.
Specifications
„Male“
|
„Female“
| |
Weight
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28 t
|
27 t
|
Long
|
32 '6 "(≈ 9.9 m with steering wheel), 26' 5" (8.05 m ≈ without steering wheel)
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32 '6 "(≈ 9.9 m with steering wheel), 26' 5" (8.05 m ≈ without steering wheel)
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Width
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13 '9 "(≈ 4.17 m)
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13 '9 "(≈ 4.17 m)
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Height
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8 "(≈ 2.44 m)
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8 "(≈ 2.44 m)
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Drive
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a gasoline engine with 105 bhp (≈ 106 bhp)
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a gasoline engine with 105 bhp (≈ 106 bhp)
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Chain width
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52 cm
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52 cm
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Top speed
|
ca. 6 km / h
|
ca. 6 km / h
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Tank volume
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227 l
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227 l
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Radius
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36 km
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36 km
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Arming
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two QF-6-pounder cannons and four .303 machine guns
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six machine guns
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Plating
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6–10 mm
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6–10 mm
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Crew
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eight men
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eight men
|
