Tanks & The First World War - Bovington Tank Museum

Situated in the heart of the Dorset countryside, The Tank Museum at Bovington is home to one of the largest collections of tanks from around the world, with six large halls jam packed full of vehicles as well as other memorabilia. There are a great many interesting world war one items held at the museum, some of which have we have even mentioned in this series - Hornsby Chain Track Tractor, Tank Mark VIII, Tank Mark IV, Tank Mark I, Tank Mark V, Tank Mark IX, Tank Mark II, The Whippet, Char Renault FT17, Sponson Trailer and of course my favourite, Little Willie. 

To mark the 100th anniversary of the tank, the museum has a new exhibition which was opened last year called Tank men. It consists of telling the stories of eight men to help you get a better understanding of what life inside a tank was like. Another highlight of the museum is of course the replica tank used in the War Horse film. 

But its not just a walk around the museum, they also hold events throughout the year which are always a great day out. Events such as Tiger day and Tankfest allow you to get up close and personal with the tanks as well as be able to speak to the volunteers who preserve them who are always happy to answer your questions. For a small fee, you can also tank a ride in various vehicles on special event days too! 

I personally love the Tankfest event because it has helped me gain more knowledge and a better understanding of battles that have taken place in history. Towards the end of the day, there is usually one large battle rein-acted, complete with pyrotechnics, firing of tanks and sometimes even air displays. I will never forget the year they chose the first world war as their topic and at the end, all the rein-actors stood in front of the War Horse tank and posed for a photo. But this wasn't just any photo, for the tank fired poppies which fell all around them. I can tell you that it was so eerily quiet around the arena as everyone paid their respects and it certainly was moving. 

Both the museum itself and the event days are perfect for any age as well as those with mobility issues. I would definitely recommend taking some money if you are planning on visiting the museum because the gift shop has such a huge range of items you won't know what to choose!

Tanks & The First World War: Scheider CA1

Today's post is all about an armoured fighting vehicle that at lot of people refer to as the first French tank, although it never had a turret. It was designed to open passages for the infantry as well as suppressing German machine gun nets with the hope of ending the stalemate on the front line. It looked so unusual and so unlike anything we have seen since because it has a large overhanging nose section that was used to crush through barbed wire. It was armed with a 75mm Hotchkiss machine gun which was usually situated on the right side of the vehicle and could carry a crew of six. 

The Scheider CA1 first saw action on 16th April 1917 but its biggest role was during 1918 when they were used not only to halt the German Spring Offensive but to also break the German front in the French Summer Offensive. 

Design faults were plentiful in the Scheider CA1, in fact the list seems pretty endless. Poor ventilation, poor vision, inadequate armour and very cramped conditions inside made it unbearable to those who were inside. In addition to this, it had internal petrol tanks which were extremely dangerous, especially during battle. The overhanging nose section also proved to be a failure because it made the mobility bad. 

Improved designs were put forward almost straight away but they were never put into production because other, completely new designs were also put forward. When the war came to a close, most of the Scheider CA1's were scrapped due to the bad design, although some were turned into utility vehicles. Having said that, some did put in an appearance in the Spanish civil war, but that was really the last time they were used. 

Tanks & The First World War: The Whippet

Welcome back to the Tanks & The First World War series. The tank we are talking about in today's edition won't take very long and that is for one main reason - it wasn't until 1917 that this tank or landship was introduced. It meant that it has missed most of the war and although still a great weapon, it never got the fame that previous tank designs were to get. 

The official name for this tank was the Mark A, but it was nicknamed "The Whippet", due to it being faster and much more movable than the original Mark I tank. The Whippet's played a huge part in the offensive at Cambrai during November 1917, where more than 400 tanks created a battering ram that attacked straight through German lines. This was to be one of the only famous battles that The Whippet took part in on a large scale. 

During the post war years, The Whippet was used in several conflicts including those situated in Ireland, but whilst its role during the First World War was short lived, it was the starting point of a design that we would be able to improve on in years to come. 

Remember to join us next Friday for our latest edition of the Tanks & The First World War series. 

Tanks & The First World War - Schwerer Kampfwagen & Leichter Kampfwagen II

Welcome back to the Tanks & The First World War series, with today's post containing two tanks, from the German side. 

The first is the Schwerer Kampfwagen, the German's response to the British Mark tank which had recently been deployed on the front line. It was first demonstrated at the German Spring Offensive in 1917, so a while after the British started using tanks but didn't go into battle until March 1918 at St Quentin. It was powered by 2 x Daimler engines and carried 6 water-cooled machine guns as well as 1 x 5.7cm Sokol gun. The Schwerer Kampfwagen was plagued with mechanicle problems throughout its service and found it extremely difficult crossing trenches, so they often got stuck. 

This brings me on to the second of the tanks today - the Leichter Kampfwagen II. This tank was designed as a replacement after the poor performance of the Schwerer Kampfwagen. This new design contained a tank with a rotating turret, with the tanks overall length of 16 ft 8in, combating the problem of crossing a trench which usually measured 6ft 6in. The Leichter Kampfwagen was armed with a 5.7cm gun and weighed in at nearly 9 tons. This design started being produced in the summer of 1918 but never saw action as the war had come to a close before they were finished. In fact only two prototypes were ever made. 

Remember to join us next week for another edition of the Tanks & The First World War series.

Tanks & The First World War: Fiat 2000

Welcome back to the Tanks & The First World War series. Whenever I think of Fiat, I think of a little 500 or a punto, I certainly don't think of it as a tank, but in the First World War, that was exactly what Fiat made.

Okay, so it only made two prototypes and never actually saw combat during the war, although it was designed to. The design of the Fiat 2000 was very similar in size to that of the British Mark V tanks at the time, although the Fiat was considerably heavier, weighing in at a staggering 40 tons compared to the Mark V's 28 tons. One noticeable difference was, aside from the Renault FT, this was the first tank to have a rotating turret mounted above the hull, something that today, we take for granted. The space inside the turret allowed for two crew members so sit inside, bring the total crew the Fiat 2000 was able to carry up to ten crew members. This turret also meant that the gun had better elevation, which paired with the ten machine guns it was also armed with, meant that it could be a very powerful tank.

When the Italian's designed the Fiat 2000, they designed it which the driver being able to sit at the front, giving him the best view possible. The engine could be found underneath the crew as appose to behind them, creating a better working environment. Although an order of 50 was placed, it was never completed, whilst the prototypes had been trialled, it was found that, at 4 km per hour, it was just too slow in competing in post-war battles and so the design was scrapped.

Tanks & The First World War: Mark Tanks

Welcome back to our Tanks & The First World War series, with today's post being all about Mark. By the end of the war, the Mark tank would have so many variations as the reality of war meant that improvements were constantly needed. But it all began with the Mark I tank, with two variation, male and female. 

The Mark I Female tank had four Vickers machine guns as well as one 8mm Hotchkiss machine gun and weighed an impressive 27 tonnes. Th


is tank or landship as they were originally called, was nicknamed Mother. A Male version was also created which was armed with two 6 pound QF Hotchkiss and three 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns. Due to the mix of cannons and machine guns, the male tank weighed a little more than the female version, coming in at 28 tonnes. Both variants could carry a crew of up to eight men, which if you get a chance to see the size of the tank in the flesh, means that they were pretty much packed in like sardines. The Mark I tanks travelled at a maximum speed of 3-4 mph, which compared with today's tanks, is very slow indeed. 

Despite how slow they were, they were still a huge help at the front. This new type of weapon was designed to do more than just fire its weapons. They were used to clear barbed wire to make way for the infantry, as well as destroying trees in the way. There is even stories that suggest the tanks were driven through houses in order to destroy machine gun emplacements inside them. 

Minor improvements were made in the Mark II variant, but as they were only meant to be used for training purposes, they were reportedly clad in unhardened steel. These minor improvements were so small that it isn't really worth mentioning in detail, so then we move onto the Mark III.

The Mark III was a tank that never saw overseas action and was again used as a training tank. This version was meant to have the latest designs that were proposed for the new Mark IV which we will talk about in a moment, yet it took so long and was slow in the technological change that it never really had its limelight. The Mark III was capable of carrying Lewis machine guns and a small sponson for the female versions. 

In May 1917, the Mark IV went into production. This new version was designed based on the feedback from the front line, with the hope that the small changes would help to bring the war to a close. The Mark IV carried shorter barrelled 6 pound guns, whilst the sponsons could be pushed in where necessary, which was extremely useful when it came to rail transportation. Previous versions of the Mark tank were prone to breaking down or getting stuck in the mud, which was the last thing we wanted, because it meant that the German's could inspect our new weapon of war, enabling them to design an anti tank weapon themselves in response.  This had been taken on board with the designing of the Mark IV because the rails on the roof carried an un-ditching beam in the hope that they would last longer. The crew's safety was also improved with the movement of fuel storage to be situated in a single external tank found between the rear track horns so harder for the enemy to target. In all some 420 Males and 595 Females were built of this variant, with 205 of the tanks being used for carrying supplies only. 

Lastly, the Mark V was designed to be a completely new tank, but due to circumstances of the war, ended up just having minor improvements made on the Mark IV version, again with nothing worth talking about, other than to say that 200 Males and 200 Females were made of this variant. This wouldn't be the last version of the Mark tanks, in fact there would be a few more as men tried to make them easier to run and more adaptable to their surrounding. Yet they were a great base to start with, that would in many years to come be the warfare that we now know today. 

To see how manoeuvrable and slow the Mark tanks were I suggest first and foremost you watching the War Horse movie if you haven't done so already because it gives you such a great indication of what they were really like during wartime and if you get the chance I would highly recommend you visiting The Tank Museum situated at Bovington, Dorset, where you can see the replica tank used in War Horse. The Tank Museum hold there Tankfest days annually and is well worth a visit so that you can see the War Horse Tank as it has become known, travelling around the arena as well as stood side by side with today's modern tanks, giving you a glimpse into how far they have come in 100 years of the tank. Don't forget to check back soon for the latest in this series. 

Tanks & The First World War - Little Willie

As I mentioned in the first post of this series, the beginning of tanks began with Little Willie so here is his story.

The Landship Committee, headed by the First Lord Of The Admiralty, Winston Churchill, set out plans to create, as the name suggests, a Landship. For this plan to go ahead, a prototype was needed to be made, with work beginning on this prototype in Autumn 1915. It was first known as a Foster's Landship, but was later named Little Willie.

Little Willie was powered by a Daimler six cylinder petrol engine and could travel at a maximum speed of 3.5 mph. It could hold a maximum crew of 5 who were protected by 10mm thickness of armour.

Little Willie was finished being constructed at the end of 1915, however, his life was cut short due to a brand new prototype being designed and made around this time, known as Mother. This was to be the prototype for what would be the Mark I tanks. Therefore, Little Willie was no longer needed and so never saw combat, although he was used for a while as a driver trainer.

Today, Little Willie is in safe hands, being looked after by the wonderful volunteers at Bovington Tank Museum, in Dorset. Here he takes centre stage, right at the beginning of the Tank story, being the oldest surviving individual tank. Having seen him myself, I will admit he has his own special charm and just shows how little they knew at the time about this modern warfare and what was needed.

Tanks & The First World War - Intro

Just a little over one week ago marked the 100th anniversary of the tank. To mark this occasion, one very special tank took its place centre stage, in Trafalgar Square, London as a poignant reminder to those whose live was fought for inside those very tanks. To mark this momentous occasion, each week the Some Sunny Day Blog is going to be publishing an additional post all about the tanks of the first world war, as our own Tank 100 celebrations. Before this can be started, I want you to think about how tanks look today, the role they play in are battles during wartime, the protection they give, and then I want you to forget all about it. This is because, at the very start of the tank's journey, it was a completely different story.

To inspire you into thinking back to how different and new the invention of the tank was, I wanted to share with you part of an advert that the World Of Tanks game used in this years Tank Fest  show guide, because for me, I think it puts it into perspective: 

Dear Mark, 

You stood at the forefront of a new world - a world of tanks. 

Your tracks first moved 100 years ago, writing the first chapter in the history of unstoppable armoured vehicles.

You took a bold step into the future and your legacy continues to inspire millions of players every day.

The above picture accompanied this advert, showing you exactly where it all began.

At the outbreak of the first world war, you could say that there was an early tank design in the form of the armoured vehicles that were being used and had done so during the previous years, however, protection of the crew was simply not enough in many of the vehicles and so loss of life was high. 

Life began for the Tank when in early 1915, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill set up the Landships Committee, in an attempt to come up with a new weapon that would help break the stalemate that had taken place in the trenches. Originally named Landships, after the committee that was in charge of their design, they were later names tanks for secrecy reasons. 

I hope that in the following weeks, you will join the Some Sunny Day blog in exploring the tanks during the first world war, with it all beginning next week with a special guy called Willie.