Northumbrian Gunner: Bovington Tank Museum

Monday 8 June 2015

Bovington Tank Museum - WW1 Tanks

Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset is the museum of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps.

Bovington Tank Museum Dorset

Royal Tank Regiment Memorial
Bovington

The stalemate on the Western Front dominated by trenches, fortifications and the machine guns created the problem of how to breach the enemy front line and achieve a breakthrough.

The problem - Fortifications and the Machine Gun

Winston Churchill formed the Admiralty Landships Committee in February 1915, tasking them with developing a war engine able to cross a 5-foot (1.5 m) trench. Initial experiments by an agricultural firm, William Foster & Co. of Lincoln, using imported American tracks failed. William Tritton, a director of William Foster & Co, and Lieutenant Walter Gordon Wilson, a Royal Naval Reserve Officer, came up with a new design. On the 9th September 1915 the No 1 Lincoln Machine, nicknamed Little Willie made it's first test run.

Little Willie
Bovington Tank Museum

The trials with Little Willie led to the development of an effective track system, however the low profile was not adequate for the Western Front. This led to the development of a rhomboid shaped vehicle which would become the go forward design in World War One.

The shape of the vehicle was necessary as a long track was required to enable the crossing the wide trenches prevalent on the Western Front battlefields. The guns were at the side in sponsons. German defensive parapets could be up to 4 feet high, a turret on top would have been top heavy when moving across the defences. The prototype was ready by December 1915, and the term tank began to be used in order to maintain secrecy and disguise it's true purpose.

The first tank was demonstrated in early 1916 and impressed David Lloyd George, Minister of Munitions who arranged for his ministry to take responsibility for their production. The first order for tanks was placed on 12 February 1916.

British Mark I Tank

On the 15th September 1916, the tank was used in battle for the first time at the Battle of Flers Courcellete on the Somme.

British Mark I Tank
Bovington Tank Museum

Tanks were classified as Male, mounting 6 pounder guns, or Females mounting machine guns. Minor improvements were made to the first tanks leading to the introduction of the Mark II in January 1917.

British Mark II Tank
Bovington Tank Museum

Tanks would have a crew of 8. A commander, driver, two gearsman, two gunners and two loaders.

Tank Commander

Gearsman

The Mark IV tank, which was an up armoured Mark II went into production in May 1917, going into action at the Battle of Messines Ridge in June 1917.

British Mark IV Tank
Bovington Tank Museum

The first use of large numbers of tanks was the Battle of Cambrai 20th November to 7th December 1917.

Battle of Cambrai

A new design was introduced in 1918, the Mark V which was first used in the Battle of Hamel in July, and they were used during other battles during the 100 Day Offensive. Some went to Russia when the allies intervened in the Russian Civil War in 1919.

British Mark V Tank
Bovington Tank Museum

The first German tank, the Sturmpanzerwagen A7V did not go into production until October 1917. It was equipped with six 7.92 mm MG08 machine guns and a 5.7 cm Maxim-Nordenfelt cannon, with a crew of 18.