The Alaska daily empire., 1917-01-12
TANK fAUTROR' NOTED EXPERT
 SEA AND LAND
Commodore Sueter the Man Who Gets Credit
 for the Newest
 War Machine.

LONDON (SpeCiaD D-Since the ad- vent of the tanks" in the second phase of the great offensive on the Somme, some secrecy has shroudcd their history. Lloyd George, in the House of Commons recently mention ed the names of several officers to whom credit was due, but this statement went very little beyond the mention of names.
 The story of the tanks" has not, and cannot yet be fully told, but the mention Of the name of Commo- dore Murray Sueter, R. N., in the House of Commons, has carried it one step further.
 Commodore Murray Sueter, ac- cording to those who are familiar with the facts, had probably more to do with the appearance of the tanks" as the most modern en- zine Of war than any other man. To him, says the Pail Mall Gazette, must be given the credit for the in- ccption of the idea, whatever part others may have played in it's devel- opment and application.
 In the early days of the war the naval uthoritics deemed it neccs- sary t. establish an aeroplane base at Dunkirk, with temporary bases as far inland as the circumstances of the time permitted. In connection with this plan it became essential that some system of armorcd car support should be developed There was not a moment to spare, and Commander Samson, who was on tho spot, with characteristic ingenuity and skill, made the most of the ma tcrial available. Within a very short time there were armored, or protected, cars at work, based on Dunkirk
 These cars were protected by steel plating, but the thickness of the plates they were able to have gave them little real value.
 The failure of his first effort did not discourage Commander Samson, and the experiments were continued until a protected car was produced which was capable of resisting cnc- my rifle fire at point blank range.
 The immediate result of this sue cess was that the War Office began to make inquiries, but they went on their own way, and the naval auth critics continued to experiment along the lines they had worked out.
 Commodore Murray Sueter is un- derstood to have returned to Lon don immediately before the fall of Antwerp, where he had, in the | course of his duties, obtained a 1 mass of valuable information with | regard to the cars-thcir weakness and defects
 On every hand it was admitted | that the wrong lines were being pur- sued The cars which worked be- tween Antwerp and Dunkirk were obviously lacking in overhead pro- .ection; their crews were exposed to ire from houses and trees, against which they were not secure. It was oward the remedying of this grave weakness that the attention of the directly concerned were hen directed, with the result that car with a revolving turret was produced. This, of course, added materially to the weight, but it was ound that several well-known chas- is were capable of carrying it. Af- CT much experimental work the s ars were produced, and when the 6 ime for their employment came they 'ere successful in doing all that J 'as expected of them. l
 The need for heavier guns than 1 he machine guns the cars carried I resented another problem for so- I Ition, but lorries were built and ' rotected by shields of armor plate, n hich served the purpose with con- derable efficiency. r At this period the insistent de- S and was for heavier guns, and to F le naval men engaged upon the ( ork the land battle ship" idea sr ade an irresistible appeal. Fl With energy, enthusiasm and skill G Murray Sueter tackled M