Mark I "Male"

The Mark I entered service into World War I on August 1916. It was first used on the morning of September 15th, 1916 during the battle of Flers-Courcelette, which was a part of the Sommes Offensive. With the new Exception of Mark II And Mark III, followed by a largely similar Mark IV. The Mark IV was used on a mass scale for that time. 460 tanks in the battle for Cambrai in November 1917. The later Mark V had better transmission, entering service in the middle of 1918. More than two thousand of these tanks were manufactured. This was discontinued at the end of WWI.

### Service History

Used by:

United Kingdom ( Mk-1-IX )

German Empire ( Mk-IV )

Empire of Japan ( Mk-IV )

Russian Empire ( White Movement ) ( Mk-V )

Soviet Union ( Mk-V )

United States ( Mk-V, VIII )

France ( Mk-V, VIII )

Canada ( Mk-V, V)

### Wars

The First World War

Russian Civil War

German Revolution 1918 - 1919

### Description / Conditions

The Mark I was a rhomboid vehicle with a low centre of gravity. It also had long tracks. Able to negotiate through the muddy broken ground and cross trenches. It's main armaments were carried in sponsons on the hull's sides. The hull was undivided internally. As the crew shared the same spaces as the engine. It was quite unpleasant to be inside as the ventilation was bare. The atmosphere inside was covered with poisonous carbon monoxide, scents of gasoline, and oil vapors from the engine. The cordite fumes from the guns didn't help either. The temperatures could reach up to an astonishing 50 Celsius. ( 122 Fahrenheit ). Men would often black out inside their own tanks. But more often collapsed trying to get fresh air. The symptoms pointed towards the hot temperatures and fumes from the engine was identified as a possible cause.

To counter the danger of bullet splash or fragments knocked off inside the hull, crews were given leather helmets and chainmail masks. This was also used to protect the tank crew inside. Gas masks were also standard issue too. This had been given due to both sides using chemical weapons. The side armor of just 8mm initially made them largely immune to small arms fire. But could be penetrated by new K-bullets. Which was introduced in 1917. There was also a danger of being overrun by infantry and being attacked with grenades. The next generation of these tanks had thicker armor, making them nearly immune to these new weapons. To respond to this, the German empire created the 13.2mm Mauser 1918 anti-tank rifle. Introduced in the middle of 1918. And also a Geballte Ladung ( " Bunched Charge " ). Several Stielhandgranates bundled together for a bigger explosion. Also a near hit by artillery or mortar shells could cause the fuel tanks ( Placed in the high front horns of the track frames either side of the driver's position, to allow gravity feed burst open the fuel tanks; any direct hit with artillery was enough to destroy the vehicle and kill the crew. Incinerated crews were removed from destroyed tanks by Special Salvage Companies. who also took destroyed tanks. For the crew, steering was difficult too. This was controlled by the speed of two tracks. Four of the crew, two drivers ( one of whom acted as a commander; he operated the brakes, the other the primary gearbox and two gearsmen. ( One for the secondary gears of the track. ) were needed to control were needed to control the direction and speed, the latter never more than a walking pace. As the noise inside was deafening, the driver, after setting the primary gear box, communicated with the gearsmen with hand signals, first getting their attention by hitting the engine block with a heavy spanner. For slight turns, the driver could use the steering tail: an enormous contraption dragged behind the tank consisting of two large wheels, each of which could be blocked by pulling a steel cable causing the whole vehicle to slide in the same direction. If the engine stalled, the gearsmen would use the starting handle – a large crank between the engine and the gearbox. Many of these vehicles broke down in the heat of battle making them an easy target for German gunners. There was no wireless (radio); communication with command posts was by means of two pigeons, which had their own small exit hatch in the sponsons, or by runners. Because of the noise and vibration, early experiments had shown that radios were impractical, therefore lamps, flags, semaphore, coloured discs, and the carrier pigeons were part of the standard equipment of the various marks.

During the First World War, British propaganda made frequent use of tanks, portraying them as a wonder weapon that would quickly win the war. They were featured in films and popular songs.

### Markings

When first deployed, British Mk-1s were deployed with four color camouflage devised by the artist named Solomon Joseph Solomon. It was quickly found it was covered by mud often, rendering the elaborate camouflage paint schemes superfluous. During late 1916, Solomon's paint scheme was abandoned for a simple single shade of dark brown. At the rear, a three, four or five digit serial number was painted in white or yellow at the factory At the front was a quite large tactical marking, a prefix letter to indicate which battalion or company it belongs to, and a number. Training tanks had no letters, but three markings. Some did have their number painted on the roof to indicate to air allies that they were friendly. Later, vertical red and white stripes were painted in the front to aid with recognition when the Germans started using captured tanks. These tanks were often given names and these were sometimes painted outside. A small handful of them were known to carry artwork. Which was quite similar to nose art.