“My first impression was that they looked ready to topple on their noses, but their tails and the two little wheels at the back held them down and kept them level….”Ĭhaney was witnessing the dawn of a new era in warfare. After testing, the British government ordered the production of 150 ‘Mother’ style tanks, which occurred in early 1916.“We heard strange throbbing noises, and lumbering slowly towards us came three huge mechanical monsters such as we had never seen before,” remembered Bert Chaney, a 19-year-old officer in the Signal Corps of the British Army. As well, the new design, which was first referred to as ‘Big Willie’ or ‘Mother’ included side mounted 6-pounder (57 mm) guns. For instance, a rhomboidal shape was chosen because it allowed the tanks better ability to scale over and out of enemy trenches. Revisions were made to the original design, including changing the body shape to better meet the needs of the battlefields of the Western Front. Regardless, the construction of ‘Little Willie’ proved to the British Army that the invention had potential. It also included caterpillar tracks, which became the standard form of movement for all later tanks. The ‘Little Willie’ tank was a 14 ton armored box with a 105 hp Daimler engine. This first design, which was completed in September of 1915, was called ‘Little Willie’ and is considered to be the prototype to the first British tank. More specifically, the first practical tank design was undertaken by William Foster & Co Ltd in Lincoln, England. The development of the first tank began in 1915 and was based on earlier armored vehicle designs that had already been used in World War I.
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