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It was however underpowered, making it extremely slow - a man walking on foot had no problem to keep up. It was also very difficult to drive. The driver could only engage the two lower of the four gears, the upper two being controlled by two special gearsmen at the rear of the vehicle, who reacted to his signal - usually the banging on the engine with his right hand, as the engine was so noisy it was impossible to talk or shout, followed by holding one or two fingers in the air. Small changes of direction could be affected by the commander, by carefully engaging the handbrakes, which he, not the driver controlled. In order to make a larger turn, the machine usually first had to be stopped. The Mk I was also a very uncomfortable machine to crew. Beside being extremely noisy, the lack of ventilation made the insides very hot and stuffy, and fumes from both the engine and the guns often entoxicated the men. The suspension was not sprung, and due to the fact that less than two meters of the tracks were in full contact with the ground, the whole vehicle moved with a slight rocking motion. The vision slits where few and small, and the entry hatches as well, making it very difficult for the whole crew to get out in time - especially if was the variant equipped not with guns but with machine guns: there the doors were far to small and cramped. But still it was a formidable weapon, that could inflict horrible casualties on the enemy, if only the conditions were right. |
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The Mk I was first used in combat on 15 September 1916, as a part of a renewed offensive on the Somme area. They participated in a local attack by 10 infantry divisions, intending to open a 6 km wide hole in the German trenches at Flers. Some 50 tanks were slated to participate, but due to untried technology, 18 of these broke down even before the assault began. The rest rolled slowly into action, chocking the German defenders and in most cases penetrating their lines.
Although the new weapon had made quite an impression on both
friend and foe alike, the battle in 1916 had shown that the design had a number
of very big problems. It was found lacking in most respects, including speed,
mobility, steering and protection. Work soon started on an improved design, work
that eventually would result in the Mk IV. The Mk I saw some action again,
during the Battle of Arras in the spring of 1917, but after that they were
phased out of Frontline service, to be used only for training or in experimental
duties.
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shows the "Male" cannon-equipped variant, and is a Airfix kit,
suitably corrected. (As we all know, the Airfix kit, though very good despite
it's age, shows a hybrid variant that never existed, i.e. a Mk II with steering
tail.) The Drivers Cab has been widened, the triangular roof hatch aperture
replaced by a flat, round hatch, some other details added etc. The steering
wheels assembly has also been partly rebuilt - this is actually the only really
weak point in this kit. The model portrays Tank no. C8, from no.2 Section, C
Company, commanded by 2nd Leutenant A.L. Arnaud, a tank that was committed in
support of the attack of the Guards Division, but that became ditched west of Givenchy without
participating in the following combat. The C8 is shown
as a Mk I of the earliest configuration: steering wheel tail, chicken-net roof (against hand grenades) and overall Battleship Grey camo - the camo of this
particular tank is conjecture. The tanker beside the Mk I is wearing the early
type of leather crash helmet, that was also soon discarded. |
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Weight Maximum Armour Maximum Road Speed Armament Crew |
The Worlds first operational fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle, or "Tank" for short. It's strange romboid-form with tracks running around the whole hull, was an attempt to counter two of the main draw-backs of the original design: it's inherent instability and it's poor trench-crossing
ability. And the solution was quite ingenious. The British Mk I was much
more stable than the first German tank, the A7V, which was prone to toppling over, and had a much better parapet-climbing ability than the first French
attempts, the CA 1 and the S:t Chamond.
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