Osprey New Vanguard 110
"British Mark I Tank 1916"
by David Fletcher, illustrated by Tony Bryan

The the literature on WW1 AFV:s is slowly but surely growing, and now we interested in the Great War have yet another reference work to lay our hands on. 

Osprey, known for, among others things, their excellent booklets on unforms of the Great War, and on WW1 aviation, has now published a booklet in their New Vanguard series, called "British Mark I Tank 1916". The booklet follows their successful standard format, with fine text, many new photos and good artwork. 

The man behind the text is none other than David Fletcher (of Tank Museum fame), and one of the worlds foremost experts when it comes to British WW1 Tanks. (He has, among other fine works, written the standard work thus far, on British Great War Tanks.) I think no one better qualified to do this small book, except perhaps Trevor Pidgeon. And the text is of course first rate.

The title of this 48 page long booklet is a bit misleading, but in a positive sense, as it doesn't content itself to cover just the Mk I (and its variants, including the Wireless Tank version and the Supply Tank version) but it gives ample room to the predecessors, the Number One Lincoln Machine and of course "Little Willie". (The artist has tried to portray the first of these vehicles with it's turret, which is a first, at least for me.) Also, the Mark II and Mark III is also discussed, analyzed and portraited. So the booklet could have been called "British Mark I, II and III". There is a backside to this. There isn't room to go into any new depths regarding these machines, which of course is a pity. But for the standard reader, not spoilt with info on WW1 AFV:s, this publication will fill many needs. And there are some often over-looked aspects nicely covered, like the workings of the tank and the crew, or the useage of the first tanks in the war in the Middle East, where they were often modified to suit local needs, writes Fletcher:

"Individual tanks were modified in a variety of ways to improve protection, either using palm logs or spare track links, or with the means to carry more stores on the tanks. This was done by adding upright pieces of angle iron to the top, which formed a kind of basket for the stores. Unfortunately these loose items moved about as the tank tackled obstacles and sometimes things would fall across the exhaust outlets and catch fire. Sand got in everywhere, just like the mud in France, but the abrasive effect was much more damaging. At least one tank was photographed with improvised shields of light steel on either side of the cab, obviously intended to deflect the stuff away from vital areas."

Also, there is a fine discussion regarding the camo used on these monsters, including some interseting new info regarding the colours used. Fletcher writes that the camo expert Salomon was given the job to concoct colour schemes for the tanks and that the

"... colours Solomon chose are said to have included green, brown, yellow and pink, applied in what might be described as an Impressionist style. According to legend he applied the scheme to Mother when the tank was at Thetford. Crews training there were then ordered to copy the design on their own tanks, no doubt with varied degrees of success. Solomon's scheme was later declared unsuitable for the Western Front. Colours were not applied to the track plates but these may have been supplied painted in black or dark grey. This would soon have worn off during use and, after running on a hard surface, the raised lips must have been scratched back to bare metal that would have shown up quite brightly from the air when a tank was moving, until they became clogged with mud."

The artwork is, as always, fine, including an excellent cut-away. The artwork also covers more than just the Mk I, and includes most of the variants. All in all, a most welcome addition to the Osprey Vanguard series, and a must for anyone interested in WW1 AFV:s.