Tank Mark II
The Mark I was the world's first tank - a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle - to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose. The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Somme Offensive.
British heavy tanks in World War I were distinguished by an unusual rhomboidal shape with a high climbing face of the track, designed to cross the wide and deep trenches prevalent on the battlefields of the Western Front. Due to the height necessary for this shape, an armed turret would have made the vehicle too tall and unstable. Instead, the main armament was arranged in sponsons at the side of the vehicle. Females were armed only with machine-guns; males were fitted with cannons in the sponsons (or barbettes as some describe them).
The Mark II incorporated minor improvements over the Mark I. With the Army declaring the Mark I still insufficiently developed for use, the Mark II would continue to be built, but would be used only for training. Due to this intended role, they were supposedly clad in unhardened steel, though some doubt was cast on this claim in early 1917. Initially, 20 were shipped to France and 25 remained at the training ground at Wool in Dorset; the remaining five were kept for use as test vehicles. As the promised Mark IV tanks had not arrived by early 1917, it was decided to ship the 25 training vehicles in Britain to France, where they joined the other 20 Mark IIs and 15 Mark Is at the Battle of Arras in April 1917. The Germans were able to pierce the armour of both the Mark I and Mark II tanks at Arras with their armour-piercing machine-gun ammunition.
The Mark IIs were built from December 1916 to January 1917 by Foster & Co and Metropolitan (25 Male and 25 Female respectively). The chief external differences from Mark I lay in the tail wheels, which were not used on Marks II and III and later heavy tanks, the narrower driver's cab and the 'trapezoid' hatch cover on the roof.
The sole surviving example of a Mark II, seen above, was originally built as a Male Tank, No. 785 and it took part in the Battle of Arras. Various features, in particular a hinged hatch on the cab roof and internal modifications show that this tank subsequently served in the supply role.
The vehicle returned to the UK after the war and was exhibited as a gate guardian at Chertsey for some years. Around this time it was modified to resemble a Mark I, complete with tail wheel assembly and fitted with sample male and female sponsons. In this guise it was subsequently delivered to the Tank Museum, bearing the name HMLS (His Majesty's Land Ship!) Dragonfly.
With the arrival at the museum of the Mark I Hatfield Tank, the above vehicle reverted to a Mark II, although it remained a hermaphrodite, and was later renamed Flying Scotsman when the lettering was detected beneath later layers of paint. Strangely there is no trace of the name Flying Scotsman in 6th Battalion records.
Tank Mark II
The Mark I was the world's first tank - a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle - to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose. The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Somme Offensive.
British heavy tanks in World War I were distinguished by an unusual rhomboidal shape with a high climbing face of the track, designed to cross the wide and deep trenches prevalent on the battlefields of the Western Front. Due to the height necessary for this shape, an armed turret would have made the vehicle too tall and unstable. Instead, the main armament was arranged in sponsons at the side of the vehicle. Females were armed only with machine-guns; males were fitted with cannons in the sponsons (or barbettes as some describe them).
The Mark II incorporated minor improvements over the Mark I. With the Army declaring the Mark I still insufficiently developed for use, the Mark II would continue to be built, but would be used only for training. Due to this intended role, they were supposedly clad in unhardened steel, though some doubt was cast on this claim in early 1917. Initially, 20 were shipped to France and 25 remained at the training ground at Wool in Dorset; the remaining five were kept for use as test vehicles. As the promised Mark IV tanks had not arrived by early 1917, it was decided to ship the 25 training vehicles in Britain to France, where they joined the other 20 Mark IIs and 15 Mark Is at the Battle of Arras in April 1917. The Germans were able to pierce the armour of both the Mark I and Mark II tanks at Arras with their armour-piercing machine-gun ammunition.
The Mark IIs were built from December 1916 to January 1917 by Foster & Co and Metropolitan (25 Male and 25 Female respectively). The chief external differences from Mark I lay in the tail wheels, which were not used on Marks II and III and later heavy tanks, the narrower driver's cab and the 'trapezoid' hatch cover on the roof.
The sole surviving example of a Mark II, seen above, was originally built as a Male Tank, No. 785 and it took part in the Battle of Arras. Various features, in particular a hinged hatch on the cab roof and internal modifications show that this tank subsequently served in the supply role.
The vehicle returned to the UK after the war and was exhibited as a gate guardian at Chertsey for some years. Around this time it was modified to resemble a Mark I, complete with tail wheel assembly and fitted with sample male and female sponsons. In this guise it was subsequently delivered to the Tank Museum, bearing the name HMLS (His Majesty's Land Ship!) Dragonfly.
With the arrival at the museum of the Mark I Hatfield Tank, the above vehicle reverted to a Mark II, although it remained a hermaphrodite, and was later renamed Flying Scotsman when the lettering was detected beneath later layers of paint. Strangely there is no trace of the name Flying Scotsman in 6th Battalion records.