Sunday, March 7, 2010

Armoured Monsters of the World War I

The British Mark I was a tracked vehicle developed by William Tritton, an expert in agricultural machinery, and Major Walter Gordon Wilson for the British Army during World War I. It was the world's first combat tank, entered service in August 1916, and first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916. Born of the need to break the domination of trenches and machine guns over the battlefields of the Western Front, it was the first vehicle to be named "tank", as an expedient to maintain secrecy and to disguise its true purpose. It was developed to be able to cross trenches, resist small-arms fire, travel over difficult terrain, carry supplies, and be able to capture fortified enemy positions. It is regarded as successful in many respects, but suffered from many problems due to its primitive nature.
The majority of survived Mark V are in Russia or Ukraine. Mostly they were sent there to aid the White forces during the Russian Civil War. On the photo taken last summer you can see one of them displaying at the Kharkiv’s central square. Another pictures were taken in Lugansk and Arkhangelsk (Russian Federation).
Learn more about these armoured monsters at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_I_tank





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