The British were one of the pivotal powers in the 19th century. They had a global empire spanning from Oceania, to Asia, to Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe. This empire fueled a powerful economy that allowed the British to develop and pioneer many new inventions. These inventions come in many shapes and sizes, from the steam train to the making of electricity through coal-fired power plants. Some of the more interesting inventions made by the British were in the military sector. They made revolutionary rifles, tactics, and even forms of air power, but one of the most important was tanks. Tanks revolutionized warfare and are still in wide use today. This article will be talking about early British tanks, their development, and how they are used as a precursor to several articles on the important British tanks of the Second World War.

World War I

The first tank was produced by the British during World War I. It was called the Mk I, was produced by the Vickers company, and did not really resemble any tank we know today. The Mk I was, to put it simply, a box with tracks and guns on the side. The first tank doctrine while making it was that it would drive across no-man’s-land during an offensive to support a breakthrough. This was one of the new inventions made to attempt to break the deadlock of the Western Front, meaning it was designed to be slow but able to move over difficult terrain. This vehicle was supposed to have two 57mm cannons one on either side to attack enemy structures and infantry. That, however, did not end up being that common. Due to the effectiveness of artillery in the war, it was extremely hard for the manufacturers to get ahold of the 57mm cannons. This prompted Vickers to make “male” and “female” tanks. These males were equipped with the 57 mm cannons, while the females were equipped with Vickers 7.92mm machine guns. Both types saw use during 1916 to limited success. The tanks had many issues. If we were to name all of them, we would be here all day, so I will just name a few.

• toxic fumes from the engine in the cabin;
• enemy artillery;
• deep mud trapping the vehicle;
• friendly artillery shooting if there was possibility of being captured;
• slow movement;
• limited visibility;
• constant engine breakdowns;
• being extremely complicated to drive;
• extreme heat in the cabin.

This only got worse due to the development of one of the first anti-tank weapons: the K bullet. The K bullet was issued to snipers and was capable of penetrating the hull of the Mk I. Once it was inside, it would explode, injuring or killing the crew as well as most likely breaking the engine, dooming the tank to death by artillery barrage. Despite these issues, the tanks were good for attacks with infantry, basically serving as moving cover and fire support. This led the British government to fund more development, which resulted in the Vickers Mks. 2-8 incorporating slight and major performance upgrades, mostly to the engine and the air filters.

By the end of the war, the British military ended up with a large stock of these tanks, but around 1918, something would happen to change tank design forever. In 1918, the new French tank, the Renault FT, was revealed. This tank was the first to ever use a rotating turret. This tank proved amazing on the battlefield, and was so good that almost 25 nations bought a production license to build them, or a variant of them. Shortly after this tank was made, in 1919, World War 1 came to an end and the world entered a new era: the interwar period.

Interwar

Sadly for the tank producers, this period saw a massive decrease in military spending, mostly due to the Great Depression. Despite this, some tanks were still made, and some major norms were established, which included rotating turrets, a main caliber turret ranging from 20mm to 57mm guns, and light armor. The Brits mostly followed this line of thought by making the Vickers 6-Ton. It was an amazing tank for its relatively cheap price, equipped with a 47mm cannon and two 7.7mm machine guns as its armament, with one coaxial and one in the hull. Depending on the variant, it had anywhere from 19 to 25 millimeters of armor. These tanks were an upgrade for those seeking a better tank than the FT on the international market. The Six-Tonner was so successful that even the Soviet Union licensed the design to make the T-26, which was their main light tank until 1946. After this, most tank production and experimentation stopped due to the Great Depression. Most governments were limiting their military budget to give to citizens in need and put together economic plans to pull themselves out of it. Despite this, some armored vehicles were still bought by the British, mostly consisting of 6 Tons and Daimler armored cars. After the Great Depression had mostly ended, however, designers and tacticians made major changes to design and doctrine.

The Three-Body Problem (Tank Edition)

The major doctrine was finally defined for the British. It centered around 3 tank designations. Most armies at the time classified their tanks as light, medium, and heavy; the Brits, however, instead used the terms “cruiser” and “infantry” tanks.

• Infantry tanks were heavy and slow tanks that had good anti-infantry capabilities and even slight anti-armor capabilities. They would be used as the first tanks to support infantry during advances with cover and direct fire support. Some of their major characteristics included thick armor, slow speed, and a main gun armed with both high explosive shells and decent armor-piercing shells. These would be used in a breakthrough with infantry, as everyone at this time expected that any further global wars would be trench warfare and a repeat of WW1.
• Cruiser tanks were lighter and quicker than infantry tanks. They were to use the breakthrough caused by the infantry and accompanying tanks to get behind enemy lines. Once there, they would wreak havoc on enemy garrisons, supply lines, bases, and other parts of the front line. Their main characteristics were speed, light armor, better AP main gun shells, and limited close-support weaponry. These two designations would last until main battle tanks became a going concern.
• The third tank type was scout tanks. They would be used to scout out enemy positions, be forward observers for artillery barrages, and give light support to other units if needed. Despite this being in many British war documents, many don’t consider these tanks. The better term for these is “armored cars.” This is due to their common use of wheeled designs, light armor, and limited effectiveness against enemy armored vehicles.

These machines and doctrines were used throughout almost the whole of World War II and led to many other improved vehicles that would prove to be very effective. The next British article will discuss some of the best and best-known tanks of the war. 

Bibliography

This article contains information from the British National Archives and Imperial War Museum.