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Published: September 20, 2006
The armored tank used in warfare today was built out of necessity during the early years of the twentieth century. During World War I, the British wanted a vehicle that could move across the battlefield, withstand the enemy's machine gun fire and barbed wire fencing in order to break through the enemy's front lines.
In 1914, a solution was conceived. British Colonel E.D. Swinton designed a vehicle that resembled an American Caterpillar Tractor. This concept made it possible for a protected vehicle to move in all directions and climb trench lines. At first, Colonel Swinton approached British Secretary of War Litchner who denied the proposal. After taking the idea to Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Navy's Admiralty, Churchill agreed with the concept, and the tank's construction began.
In the beginning, the British encountered their first success with their testing of a new war machine. The Killen-Strait Armoured Tractor was built by Richard Hornsby and Sons. The tractor's tracks were steel links with steel pins. The successful testing was witnessed by David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. The armoured vehicle cut through barbed wire.
The name "tank" was a code word to protect the project's construction from the German enemy. The vehicles containers were labeled "water tanks" when they were shipped to France.
In August of 1915, "Little Willie," a box-shaped vehicle was tested. It was scrapped because of the tanks' eighteen ton weight, top-heaviness, low ground clearance and inability to cross the width of a standard eight foot trench. Its successor, "Big Willie," with a design resembling today's rectangular models, was tested with better results. Because of the success of Big Willie, one hundred tanks were ordered.
After the Big Willie models were shipped to France and entered the battlefield, its name was changed to the Mark I. Soon after Mark I entered the war, more problems arose. Mechanical failures and poor artillery firing meant that it had to be redesigned. After Mark II and Mark III were tested and redesigned, the British finally achieved success with Mark IV's exterior. The next step was improving the interior.
Because of the Mark IV's armour, plus the soldier's protective clothing, the tank was incredibly hot to travel inside of. This, plus the loud noise of the engine, the moving parts and hot lubrication oil, made the inside of the tank a challenge to World War I soldiers. After a six hour drive in a tank, the crew needed forty-eight hours to recover due to disorientation, nausea, fatigue, headaches and burns from the engine's noise and hot oil.
In the end, the Mark V, VI, and VII were built. There was also a Mark VIII which was a joint project with the United States. Great Britain also teamed up with France to build the "Whippet" and a light tank called the French Renault FT-17. The Ford Motor Company built 1200 Renault tanks and also developed a two-man light tank for use by the United States Army. Although 15,000 light tanks were ordered, only fifteen tanks were made because of the end of World War I.
Because the weight of the tank's armor must cover all sides of the vehicle, a compromise had to be considered during design. A balance between protection and mobility must be achieved when tanks are designed and built. In modern warfare, tanks are built using hardened steel plates. However aluminum is used in some cases. The most protection on a tank is located at the front of the vehicle. Therefore, tank drivers always point the vehicle towards the enemy for the best protection. The second best protection is located on the two sides of the vehicle, followed by the least protected top portion.
The primary weapons on a modern tank are the large caliber tank gun. The tank gun, which sits in a turret on the top portion of the vehicle and is for long range targets, is a 120mm caliber in the western world, and 125mm caliber in the Eastern world. The short range weapon onboard the tank is a machine gun. The caliber of the machine gun varies from a standard 7.62 to 12.7mm, to a 20mm cannon mounted on some French tanks, to a 12.7 to 14.5mm machine gun mounted on some U.S., Russian and French models.
Talbot, Randy, "Developing the Tank." Michigan History Magazine. September 20, 2006. Michigan History Online. Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Copyright 2005. State of Michigan. September 20, 2006. http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/extra/tanks /developing_the_tank.html
Patton, Keith. "Military History/ Tank Inventor." All Experts/ About.com. February 23, 2005. About, Inc. September 20, 2006. http://experts.about.com/q/Military-History-669/Ta nk-Inventor.htm
Wikipedia. "Tank." September 20, 2006. Wikimedia Foundation. September 20, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank#Armour
In 1914, a solution was conceived. British Colonel E.D. Swinton designed a vehicle that resembled an American Caterpillar Tractor. This concept made it possible for a protected vehicle to move in all directions and climb trench lines. At first, Colonel Swinton approached British Secretary of War Litchner who denied the proposal. After taking the idea to Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Navy's Admiralty, Churchill agreed with the concept, and the tank's construction began.
In the beginning, the British encountered their first success with their testing of a new war machine. The Killen-Strait Armoured Tractor was built by Richard Hornsby and Sons. The tractor's tracks were steel links with steel pins. The successful testing was witnessed by David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. The armoured vehicle cut through barbed wire.
The name "tank" was a code word to protect the project's construction from the German enemy. The vehicles containers were labeled "water tanks" when they were shipped to France.
In August of 1915, "Little Willie," a box-shaped vehicle was tested. It was scrapped because of the tanks' eighteen ton weight, top-heaviness, low ground clearance and inability to cross the width of a standard eight foot trench. Its successor, "Big Willie," with a design resembling today's rectangular models, was tested with better results. Because of the success of Big Willie, one hundred tanks were ordered.
After the Big Willie models were shipped to France and entered the battlefield, its name was changed to the Mark I. Soon after Mark I entered the war, more problems arose. Mechanical failures and poor artillery firing meant that it had to be redesigned. After Mark II and Mark III were tested and redesigned, the British finally achieved success with Mark IV's exterior. The next step was improving the interior.
Because of the Mark IV's armour, plus the soldier's protective clothing, the tank was incredibly hot to travel inside of. This, plus the loud noise of the engine, the moving parts and hot lubrication oil, made the inside of the tank a challenge to World War I soldiers. After a six hour drive in a tank, the crew needed forty-eight hours to recover due to disorientation, nausea, fatigue, headaches and burns from the engine's noise and hot oil.
In the end, the Mark V, VI, and VII were built. There was also a Mark VIII which was a joint project with the United States. Great Britain also teamed up with France to build the "Whippet" and a light tank called the French Renault FT-17. The Ford Motor Company built 1200 Renault tanks and also developed a two-man light tank for use by the United States Army. Although 15,000 light tanks were ordered, only fifteen tanks were made because of the end of World War I.
Because the weight of the tank's armor must cover all sides of the vehicle, a compromise had to be considered during design. A balance between protection and mobility must be achieved when tanks are designed and built. In modern warfare, tanks are built using hardened steel plates. However aluminum is used in some cases. The most protection on a tank is located at the front of the vehicle. Therefore, tank drivers always point the vehicle towards the enemy for the best protection. The second best protection is located on the two sides of the vehicle, followed by the least protected top portion.
The primary weapons on a modern tank are the large caliber tank gun. The tank gun, which sits in a turret on the top portion of the vehicle and is for long range targets, is a 120mm caliber in the western world, and 125mm caliber in the Eastern world. The short range weapon onboard the tank is a machine gun. The caliber of the machine gun varies from a standard 7.62 to 12.7mm, to a 20mm cannon mounted on some French tanks, to a 12.7 to 14.5mm machine gun mounted on some U.S., Russian and French models.
Talbot, Randy, "Developing the Tank." Michigan History Magazine. September 20, 2006. Michigan History Online. Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Copyright 2005. State of Michigan. September 20, 2006. http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/extra/tanks /developing_the_tank.html
Patton, Keith. "Military History/ Tank Inventor." All Experts/ About.com. February 23, 2005. About, Inc. September 20, 2006. http://experts.about.com/q/Military-History-669/Ta nk-Inventor.htm
Wikipedia. "Tank." September 20, 2006. Wikimedia Foundation. September 20, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank#Armour
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