Tanks Fact Sheet for Activity 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

TANKS FACT SHEET FOR ACTIVITY 1 A tank on the Western Front. The cage on top was designed to help grenades bounce off. © National Army Museum The idea of tanks came from developing farm vehicles that could cross difficult land easily using caterpillar tracks. They had never been used before the First World War. Have a look at some more World War 1 tanks HERE. Military commanders were very hostile to the idea of tanks, as they thought it would make cavalry regiments redundant. However, Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Swinton, pushed for an agreement in 1915 to develop the tank as a new weapon, because trench warfare had made using cavalry regiments very costly, particularly because of all the mud they had to fight in. He decided the new weapon should have: • A top speed of 4 mph on flat land • The ability to turn sharply at top speed • The ability to climb a 5-feet parapet • The ability to cross an eight feet gap • A working radius of 20 miles • A crew of ten men with two machine guns on board and one light artillery gun. Some modifications needed to be made but by 1916, “Big Willie” as it became known, was being tested. However, when the first model came off the factory floor, the track fell off! This continued to be a problem, and they were known for being very unreliable. In 1916, 49 tanks were sent into battle. Although slow, they increased mobility on the Western Front and were key to aiding trench warfare. By 1918, England and France had produced over 600 tanks with Germany just producing 20. However the Germans did find ways of destroying them and by the end of the war, the British Tank Corps had only 8 tanks left. Tanks created in the first world war often had strange names, including Hornet, Whippet, Big Willie and Centipede. Find out more about the different types of tanks HERE. DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITY 1: TANKS FACT SHEET © 2014 HMDT Music .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Evolution of British Tactical and Operational Tank Doctrine and Training in the First World War
The evolution of British tactical and operational tank doctrine and training in the First World War PHILIP RICHARD VENTHAM TD BA (Hons.) MA. Thesis submitted for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy by the University of Wolverhampton October 2016 ©Copyright P R Ventham 1 ABSTRACT Tanks were first used in action in September 1916. There had been no previous combat experience on which to base tactical and operational doctrine for the employment of this novel weapon of war. Training of crews and commanders was hampered by lack of vehicles and weapons. Time was short in which to train novice crews. Training facilities were limited. Despite mechanical limitations of the early machines and their vulnerability to adverse ground conditions, the tanks achieved moderate success in their initial actions. Advocates of the tanks, such as Fuller and Elles, worked hard to convince the sceptical of the value of the tank. Two years later, tanks had gained the support of most senior commanders. Doctrine, based on practical combat experience, had evolved both within the Tank Corps and at GHQ and higher command. Despite dramatic improvements in the design, functionality and reliability of the later marks of heavy and medium tanks, they still remained slow and vulnerable to ground conditions and enemy counter-measures. Competing demands for materiel meant there were never enough tanks to replace casualties and meet the demands of formation commanders. This thesis will argue that the somewhat patchy performance of the armoured vehicles in the final months of the war was less a product of poor doctrinal guidance and inadequate training than of an insufficiency of tanks and the difficulties of providing enough tanks in the right locations at the right time to meet the requirements of the manoeuvre battles of the ‘Hundred Days’.
[Show full text]
Tanks and Tank Warfare | International Encyclopedia of The
Version 1.0 | Last updated 17 May 2016 Tanks and Tank Warfare By Michael David Kennedy World War I introduced new technologies and doctrine in a quest to overcome the tactical stalemate of the trenches. The first tanks had great potential that would be capitalized upon during the next world war, but early models suffered from design flaws and lack of doctrine for their use on the battlefield. Table of Contents 1 Definition and Background 2 Characteristics 3 Development in Great Britain 4 Battle of the Somme (1 July-18 November 1916) 5 Battle of Cambrai (20-30 November 1917) 6 French Tanks 7 German Tanks 8 Tanks in the American Expeditionary Forces 9 Impact of Tanks on World War I Selected Bibliography Citation Definition and Background Tanks are armored vehicles designed to combine the military factors of fire, maneuver and protection. Although the concept of armored vehicles preceded the Great War, the tank was specifically developed to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front that followed the First Battle of Ypres (19 October-22 November 1914). The marrying of recent technological advances, such as the internal combustion engine with armor plating, enabled the tank’s development during World War I. Characteristics The first tanks introduced in 1916 were generally slow and hard to maneuver, and they performed poorly in rugged terrain. The early models were heavily influenced by commercial tractors. While impervious to barbed wire, small arms, and shrapnel, their primitive armor was still susceptible to heavy machine gun fire and direct hits from high explosive artillery rounds.
[Show full text]
Orme) Wilberforce (Albert) Raymond Blackburn (Alexander Bell
Copyrights sought (Albert) Basil (Orme) Wilberforce (Albert) Raymond Blackburn (Alexander Bell) Filson Young (Alexander) Forbes Hendry (Alexander) Frederick Whyte (Alfred Hubert) Roy Fedden (Alfred) Alistair Cooke (Alfred) Guy Garrod (Alfred) James Hawkey (Archibald) Berkeley Milne (Archibald) David Stirling (Archibald) Havergal Downes-Shaw (Arthur) Berriedale Keith (Arthur) Beverley Baxter (Arthur) Cecil Tyrrell Beck (Arthur) Clive Morrison-Bell (Arthur) Hugh (Elsdale) Molson (Arthur) Mervyn Stockwood (Arthur) Paul Boissier, Harrow Heraldry Committee & Harrow School (Arthur) Trevor Dawson (Arwyn) Lynn Ungoed-Thomas (Basil Arthur) John Peto (Basil) Kingsley Martin (Basil) Kingsley Martin (Basil) Kingsley Martin & New Statesman (Borlasse Elward) Wyndham Childs (Cecil Frederick) Nevil Macready (Cecil George) Graham Hayman (Charles Edward) Howard Vincent (Charles Henry) Collins Baker (Charles) Alexander Harris (Charles) Cyril Clarke (Charles) Edgar Wood (Charles) Edward Troup (Charles) Frederick (Howard) Gough (Charles) Michael Duff (Charles) Philip Fothergill (Charles) Philip Fothergill, Liberal National Organisation, N-E Warwickshire Liberal Association & Rt Hon Charles Albert McCurdy (Charles) Vernon (Oldfield) Bartlett (Charles) Vernon (Oldfield) Bartlett & World Review of Reviews (Claude) Nigel (Byam) Davies (Claude) Nigel (Byam) Davies (Colin) Mark Patrick (Crwfurd) Wilfrid Griffin Eady (Cyril) Berkeley Ormerod (Cyril) Desmond Keeling (Cyril) George Toogood (Cyril) Kenneth Bird (David) Euan Wallace (Davies) Evan Bedford (Denis Duncan)
[Show full text]
Learning Lessons? Fifth Army Tank Operations, 1916-1917 – Jake Gasson
Learning Lessons? Fifth Army Tank Operations, 1916-1917 – Jake Gasson Introduction On 15 September 1916, a new weapon made its battlefield debut at Flers-Courcelette on the Somme – the tank. Its debut, primarily under the Fourth Army, has overshadowed later deployments of the tank on the Somme, particularly those under General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough’s Reserve Army, or Fifth Army as it came to be known after 30 October 1916. Gough’s operations against Thiepval and beside the Ancre made small scale usage of tanks as auxiliaries to the infantry, but have largely been ignored in historiography.1 Similarly, Gough’s employment of tanks the following spring in April 1917 at Bullecourt has only been cursorily discussed for the Australian distrust in tanks created by the debacle.2 The value in examining these further is twofold. Firstly, the examination of operations on the Somme through the case studies of Thiepval and Beaumont-Hamel presents a more positive appraisal of the tank’s impact than analysis confined to Flers-Courcelette, such as J.F.C. Fuller’s suggestion that their impact was more as the ‘birthday of a new epoch’ on 15 September than concrete success.3 Secondly, Gough’s tank operations shed a new light onto the notion of the ‘learning curve’, the idea that the British Army became a more effective ‘instrument of war’ through its experience on the Somme.4 This goes beyond the well-trodden infantry and artillery tactics, and the study of campaigns in isolation. Gough’s operations from Thiepval to Bullecourt highlight the inter-relationship between theory and practice, the distinctive nature 1 David J.
[Show full text]
The Land Ironclads’, Is the First Popular and Widely Cited Fictional Account of the Modern Armoured, Cross-Country Fighting Platform, Known Today As the Tank
DECODING THE ORIGINS OF H. G. WELLS ’S ‘T HE LAND IRONCLADS ’ AND SIR ERNEST DUNLOP SWINTON ’S TANK Jason W. Ellis H. G. Wells’s 1903 short story, ‘The Land Ironclads’, is the first popular and widely cited fictional account of the modern armoured, cross-country fighting platform, known today as the tank. Wells’s ‘land ironclad’ idea was, at that time, the most fully realised concept of a land-based, mobile war machine, but it was nonetheless a fictional depiction of what-could-be and not what-is. Some years later when the battlefield tank made its debut in the First World War, Wells claimed authority over its invention, and in doing so, rankled the man most war historians consider the person responsible for making the tank possible: Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton. This former war correspondent-turned-military-engineering- manager declared his own status as the inventor of the tank while figuratively blasting Wells for his assertion of inventorship. These two public figures each make claims of inventorship over what came to be known as the tank, but they each operate from widely different positions within the social: the writer and his cultural artwork, and the engineer and his technological artefact. Just the same, these two ‘inventors’ share a culture within which a number of ideas related to the tank circulate and ultimately influenced its development in the First World War, but who can be said to be the inventor of the tank? How do these shared cultural ideas and concepts circulate to produce such a technological artifact such as the tank? What does the notion of inventorship mean within a complex network or web of relations of which the tank is situated at the interstice of many connections? These questions are addressed in the following essay in order better to develop the public debate between Wells and Swinton, while questioning the problematic concept of inventorship.
[Show full text]
WORLD WAR ONE WAR WORLD Research Guide World War One
WORLD WAR ONE WAR WORLD Research Guide World War One 1 King’s College London Archives & Special Collections Archives College London King’s Sections of this guide 1. Prelude to war 5 2. High Command & strategy 7 3. Propaganda 9 4. Military & naval campaigns 11 5. Technology of war 18 6. Empire & dominions 22 7. Health & welfare 24 8. Aftermath 27 9. Memorials 30 10. Writing the war 32 Library Services 2014 DESIGN & PRODUCTION Susen Vural Design www.susenvural.com 2 March 2014 Introduction Archives Online resources The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives www.kcl.ac.uk/archivespec/collections/resources (LCHMA) holds nearly 200 collections These include: relating to World War One. They include The Serving Soldier portal, giving access to orders, reports, diaries, letters, telegrams, log thousands of digital copies of unique diaries, books, memoranda, photographs, memoirs, correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs and maps, posters, press cuttings and memorabilia. other LHCMA archive items, from the late For more information, please see the online 19th century to World War Two, scanned as LHCMA World War One A-Z listing under part of a JISC-funded project. research guides at www.kcl.ac.uk/archivespec King’s College London Archives are Lest We Forget, a website created by King’s among the most extensive and varied higher College London Archives and the University education collections in the UK. They include of the Third Age (U3A), to commemorate the institutional records of King’s since 1828, the 20th century war dead of King’s College records relating to King’s College Hospital and London and the institutions with which it the medical schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ has merged, including the Medical Schools of Hospitals, and records relating to other Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals.
[Show full text]
Unit 3: Thematic Studies from a Broad Historical Perspective 3C
UNIT 3: THEMATIC STUDIES FROM A BROAD HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 3C. The DevelopmentThe Voyages of Warfare, of Discovery and c.1250 to the present day.Conquest of the Americas, 1492-1522 Causes of war. Have wars always had the same causes over time? Causes of war in general. Overview “Every age had its own kind of war, its limiting conditions and its own peculiar preconceptions.” - Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), Prussian general and military theorist. There can be no single cause of war. The origins of conflict over time have been diverse and complex but they have basic similarities and characteristics. Political, economic, religious, nationalistic and ideological factors have been the causes of war and warfare itself has been shaped by science and technology. Recent research has revealed that there have only been 292 years without war since 3,600 BC. In ancient times nomadic peoples went to war over grazing rights and the prospects of plunder. The Roman Empire was established by warfare and ultimately destroyed by it. Religion was a major cause of war in early times while in the modern era imperialism and commercial rivalry have pushed nations to war. With causes there are consequences. The cost has been over 150 million war- related deaths of which 96% have occurred in the last 400 years. The concept of “Total War” in more recent times, where civilians become targets, has increased the death toll. In the First World War there were 8.4 million military and 1.4 million civilian deaths. In the Second World War there were 16.9 million military and 34.3 million civilian deaths.
[Show full text]
The Royal Engineers Journal
VOL. LXX. No. 4 DECEMBER, 1956 THE ROYAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL CONTENTS H.M. The Queen's Visit to Chatham . Colonel E. N. Bickford 309 New Headquarters in Germany, E. and M. Work . Major D. White 317 Engineers in the Emergency in Malaya . .Brigadier W. F. Anderson 330 Gurkha Bridge . Captain P. R. Knowles 343 Appreciation of the Situation . Major J. I. Purser 355 In Aid of the Civil Power . Captain J. N. Elderkin 363 Red Patch . The late Colonel A. C. Mitchell 369 ¢ Submarine Mining. The late Brig.-General Sir James E. Edmonds 382 Preservation of Pipes by Cement Lining . Major R. J. P. Lane 387 ! »* U 1 { Memoirs, Book Reviews, Technical Notes . 392 Correspondence . 414 PUB SIHEIQURTERLY BY THE INSTITUTION OF ROYAL ENGINEERS r CHA' 2669 t INSTITUTION OF RE OFFICE COPY AGE DO NOT REMOVE HA~ *1z L PROMOTION AND STAFF COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS The Metropolitan College provides SPECIALISED POSTAL COACHING for ALL Subjects for the Staff College Entrance and for R.E. Candidates for Promotion (written papers). Adequate Examination Practice - Complete Model Answers to all Tests-Expert Guidance by Experienced Army Tutors-Authoritative Study Notes-All Tuition Conducted through the medium of the Post - Air Mall to Officers Overseas - Guarantee of Coaching until Successful - Moderate Fees Payable by Instalments. A copy of the latest edition of the College Army Prospectus will be sent free on request to the Secretary (M.12) ST. ALBANS ADVERTISEMENTS i Photographby courtesy of the Architect & Building News Sir Lindsay Parkinson's now have one single World Headquarters. ............. Continual expansion calls for closer- and-closer-knit central planning.
[Show full text]
Download Thesis
This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ THE HEROIC MANAGER An Assessment of Sir Douglas Haig’s Role as a Military Manager on the Western Front Vines, Anthony John Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 28. Sep. 2021 THE HEROIC MANAGER: An Assessment of Sir Douglas Haig’s Role as a Military Manager on the Western Front Anthony John Hinton Vines Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2015 King’s College London Abstract Sir Michael Howard has observed that Douglas Haig was a military manager in the mould of Ulysses S.
[Show full text]
PRACTISE »DECEIVE Learning Curves of Military Deception Planners PRACTISE to DECEIVE
PRACTISE »DECEIVE Learning Curves of Military Deception Planners PRACTISE to DECEIVE Written by the undisputed dean of U.S. denial and deception experts, Practise to Deceive is the most in-depth look at deception as a military strategy Barton Whaley knew the history of denial and deception across time, disciplines, and culture. For Whaley, deception was a mind game requiring imagination, deep critical thought, a profound understanding of one’s self as well as the enemy (a variation of Sun Tzu), and patience and fortitude. This book presents eighty-eight vividly descriptive case studies to serve as a handbook for intelligence and military professionals. In Whaley’s analysis, variations in guilefulness between opposing individuals or groups can be crucial in deciding who achieves vic tory in combat. BARTON WHALEY (1928-2013) received his bachelor of arts degree in Chinese studies from the University of California, Berkeley, before serving with the intelligence section of U.S. Army Psychological Warfare headquartered in Tokyo during the Korean War. Following the war he attended London University School of Oriental and African Studies before receiving his PhD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was affiliated with the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and worked for the director of National Security’s Foreign Denial and Deception Committee of the Director of National Intelligence. ISBN-13: ITÄ-l-biaSl-ISE-l For more information on this and other great books, visit www.nip.org. eBook edition also available. 9 781612 519821 PRACTISE TO DECEIVE: Learning Curves of Military Deception Planners BARTON WHALEY Introduction by A.
[Show full text]
Weekly Media Report – July 20-26, 2021 Further Reproduction Or Distribution Is Subject to Original Copyright Restrictions
Weekly Media Report – July 20-26, 2021 Further reproduction or distribution is subject to original copyright restrictions. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…… SECNAV NOMINEE: Secretary of Navy nominee discusses proposed expansion (Nevada Appeal 21 July 21) President Biden’s nominee to be Secretary of the Navy said he’s committed to working with the tribes, local officials and the Nevada delegation on plans to expand Naval Air Station Fallon… His shore assignments in the Navy included tours as a program manager with Naval Warfare Information Systems Command and the National Reconnaissance Office; as a student at the Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, and the George Washington University; as Director of Training for the Aegis Training and Readiness Center; as a White House Fellow to Jack Lew and Sylvia Mathews Burwell at the Office of Management & Budget in the Executive Office of the President, and as the Senior Military Assistant to the Director of Defense Programs Analysis and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. COMMUNITY: Presidio of Monterey monitors household goods shipments, provides information (DVIDS 23 July 21) … Winifred Brown U.S. Army Garrison Presidio of Monterey officials have done well so far, but they are keeping a close eye on household goods shipments to minimize any delays due to private-sector moving company shortages during the military’s peak moving season… It’s important to note, however, that the Army’s flexibility does not apply to schools such as the
[Show full text]
100 Years of Innovation
‘Round These Parts SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION • NOVEMBER 1904 – 2004 HOLT CAT Celebrates 100 Years of Innovation NSIDENSIDENSIDE ....................II Special Feature: Holt Heritage of Innovation CAT’s New 953C & 963C Track Loaders Osage Environmental, Inc. Duininck Bros. Inc. Jerusalem Corp. ‘Round These Parts . FALL ISSUE 2004 ON THE COVER: During 2004, HOLT CAT is celebrating its “Heritage of Innovation” by recognizing the 100-year anniversary of the first practical track-type tractor. Read the full story beginning on page 8. AUSTIN ......................(512) 282-2011 9601 South IH 35 78767 BRIDGEPORT .............(940) 684-6298 (Parts Sales) 1409 Chico Highway 76426 CORPUS CHRISTI......(361) 852-2200 1319 S. Padre Island Drive 78416 DALLAS......................(972) 721-2000 2000 E. Airport Freeway 75062 FORT WORTH ............(817) 246-6651 Holt Rental Services..(817) 847-8880 549 N. Jim Wright Freeway 76108 LAREDO .....................(956) 722-0075 The recently improved 953C and 963C Track Loaders are productive in a wide range of applications 14300 FM 1472 78045 and are built on field proven designs with innovative features. LONGVIEW ................(903) 758-6175 1407 Farm Road 1845 75603 NORTH DALLAS ........(972) 785-6571 Holt Rental Services..(972) 785-6565 10950 Plano Rd. 75238-1322 Holt Rental Services The Inside PFLUGERVILLE..........(512) 252-9696 16017 N. IH 35 78660 SAN ANTONIO ..........(210) 648-1111 New and Improved 953C & 963C Track Loaders: Holt Rental Services..(210) 333-8505 3302 So. W. W. White Rd. 78222 Rugged Outside, Yet Comfortable Inside TEXARKANA..............(903) 832-7535 145 East Bailey Drive 75569 CAT® IMPROVES LOADERS IN construction, self-diagnosis of electrical TYLER.........................(903) 595-6424 RESPONSE TO CUSTOMER FEEDBACK and power train systems and extended 12218 State Hwy.
[Show full text]