Fascinating facts
Did you know that...
A British tank which got stuck near Beaumont Hamel, November 1916.
NAM 2002-02-902
The term ‘tank’ was first used on Christmas Eve 1915 at a conference to discuss the new weapon. It was adopted for security reasons, because the original name ‘landship’ or ‘land cruiser’ was likely to give away the nature of the new invention.
It was decided that a term which conveyed the sense of a box or container would be easily remembered, so the less obvious term ‘tank’ was adopted and the name stuck.
Did you know that...
A British Whippet light tank, 1918.
NAM 1995-03-84-10
A Mark I male tank weighed 28 tons and had a top speed in fourth gear of only 6 km (3.7 miles) per hour. Later in the war, light tanks such as the Whippet, could reach up to 13.4 km (8.3 miles) per hour. Within the tank, temperatures of over 45C (113F) could be reached. With little ventilation, crews would gradually begin to feel sick from the fumes building up inside. The Daimler engine also made so much noise that talking was impossible; the crew communicated through hand signals or banging the side of the tank.
Did you know that...
When bullets struck the outside of a tank, small fragments of paint and metal often struck the crew in the face and hands.
To protect them, masks were designed incorporating a type of mail and eye protectors.
See this object on our Curators' Choice page.
Did you know that...
French FT17 tank, 1919. NAM 1985-08-28
Other countries copied the British in developing the tank. The Germans sometimes used captured British tanks against the Allies and built their own version, the A7V.
Weighing over 30 tons it had a crew of eighteen. It was not successful. Only twenty were built and one A7V survives today, in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
The French were also keen to build their own tanks, such as the St Chamond and the Renault FT.17 light tank.
Did you know that...
A German A7V tank, c1917.
NAM 1985-08-28
The first tank-to-tank action occurred near the village of Villers Bretonneux on 20 April 1918. Three British Mark IV tanks (one male, two female) took on three German A7V tanks (part of a force of fourteen). Second Lieutenant Frank Mitchell (in the male tank) was able to knock out one of the German tanks. This was the first tank knocked out by another armoured vehicle. All did not go the British way, however, as a later attack by seven Whippet light tanks resulted in three being destroyed by the Germans.
