I've often thought it would be good to go out and investigate range wrecks and WW2 monument wrecks to see what defeated tanks and what the effects of various ammunition types and calibre have.
Absolutely excellent video. If you're able to take us through any of the other First World War tank hulls, that would be amazing. I also wonder - do you have any footage with original audio of one of the WW1 tanks moving under its own power? I've seen archive footage with engine noises dubbed over, and there is footage of an original FT17 being driven, but it would be very interesting to see how actually noisy a British tank from the period would have been - or not. I read a book by W H L Watson, who describes moving the tanks up to start points prior to an action at night to achieve surprise. That would suggest they weren't so noisy that the game would have been given away. I was too young to ever see the tanks you have when they were still being driven. Do you have any footage?
At 21:14 "cables" can be seen passing from the headlights into the cabin. This indicates electric lights to me, but maybe it could also be an acetylene hose? Does any one know something about acetylene lighting systems?
What an excellent video. David Willeys delivery has always been spectacular, but he is as engaging and watchable as he has ever been. Fantastic script. As an engineer working in rail, the stories on the design phase sound so well researched, and utterly impressive. Long may these videos continue. Also, a few years ago now, this series was responsible for my friends and me visiting the museum from Cornwall. Cheers!
Excellent. Astonishing that only one was built and it survived 114 years! With a bit of work, it could be back in motion! Thank you for a fascinating insight in to British tank history.
I've taken so many photos of Little Willie over the years, for me, it has always seemed almost magical to still be able to see something that's so historically significant - wonderful to see the interior even if most of it is missing. It did appear in the old film from 1925 that some of the damage to the front cab plate had already happened so maybe its stint as a pill-box was not entirely to blame. Pity, it couldn't be rebuilt into running order.
The footage that starts at 12:41 is a brilliant example of just how effective the Rhomboid design was. It might looks silly now, but its capabilities to drive over such ruined ground had never been seen
In the picture at 24:24 you show when talking about it being at the tank museum by mother in 1925 it already has the damage to the front. What appeared to be the production plate is clearly minutes on the bent out plate and you can see the tear in the armor in the drivers window. This means the damage could not have been during its time as a pillbox in WW2.
Was about to post the same. In the background shot of the Medium C testing, the edge of the starboard driver window is straight and clean, so the damage was after that, but before the Royal Visit with Mother you mention.
CFB Borden had a tank park that had a WW1 (1917?) Whippet parked outside in the early 80's. Our section was given the task of cleaning and preparing for display. Two engines for power were still in place, but the cab was completely bare. Pulled an engine and painted it and the Whippet . They then moved it inside the museum. A speed demon at 8mph!
If you can, read "A New Excalibur" by A.J. Smithers. It's probably the best book ever about the development of Little Willie and the first tanks and goes into great detail about the immense engineering and practical difficulties faced. As David mentions, tracks were not a new idea, but none were suitable for carrying a very heavy vehicle over rough terrain, so they had to be developed almost from scratch. An original hardback copy is now fearsomely expensive, though I believe it was later republished in soft cover and a smaller format. Very highly recommended to tank fans !
Wow! What exceptional story! Well done! I loved all the research that was done to tell a very detailed tank chat! David, you & the tank museum have set the bar really high! I hope to see one like this done on the whippet tank you mentioned! Congrats from a Canadian vet who loves your channel!
As old as their Little Willie is, while still remaining steadfast AND rigid, is a testament to the British hard line of thinking of screwing German machine gunners.
Loved this. Glad to see inside. Trying to think how that diff would work with that center lay shaft. Especially with breaking. Amazed what is still there. Thank you Regards, Paul
@Paul Fisher. The sprockets aren’t fixed to the cross shaft, but are mounted on bearings, similar to the wheel hubs on a beam front axle. Chain final drive would’ve been familiar technology to Fosters etc. as it was used a lot in the ‘heavy’ trucks of the day to get a large reduction ratio to enable adequate performance, albeit at low road speeds,from the relatively inefficient and low powered engines available without reducing ground clearance using a larger crown wheel/ring gear. I assume it was fitted to Little Willie for the same reason, as the 105 HP Sleeve Valve Daimler tractor engine was even then considered a dead end design and was only barely adequate for several fundamental reasons, esp when fitted to MK1-4 tanks. But it was the most powerful engine available in any quantity.
One other interesting part of Little Willie's journey to the tank museum was its time spent at the Dollis Hill Experimental Tank Testing Ground in the London area. It must have been here some time very shortly before or after going back to Lincoln to be present for the Medium C footage. At Dollis Hill, Little Willie can be seen photographed adjacent to the amphibious Mark IX which was being tested on the nearby Welsh Harp Reservoir on the day of the Armistice. Some photos of the vehicle at Dollis Hill are in this very video. I still wonder why exactly it was moving around so much at this time. What did the Tank Testing Ground require it for, and how could it have actually helped at Lincoln in late 1918 or later, when the Medium A Whippet prototype was itself running as early as Spring 1917 with full scale production underway and Whippets entering combat service a year later?
"Little Willie and mother went down to the testing ground". The cutest description for tanks on a day out, I have ever heard. Is the whippet their dog? xD
@@michaelpielorz9283 Which, of course, was exactly the function the heavies were designed to perform- to accompany infantry, . If you take the trouble to investigate the subject, you will find that the breakout tanks, notably the Whippet Medium were designed and built with greater speed. All did their intended work successfully, which is a lot more than can be said of their fFrench and German compatriots.
One important and overlooked aspect of military acquisition is aesthetics. It is very important to politicians and a lot of military men. During the early development of the tank they saw themselves as dashing cavalrymen with shiny swords and bright buttons. This smelly iron box might have been more efficient but they would have found a million reasons not to use it until they had to.
Fosters engineering firm in Lincoln built steam traction engines, and agricultural machinery, so had experience with heavy metal bashing, and heavy vehicles. Fowler, another firm in Leeds, had built armoured tractions in the boer war, but hadn't incorporated tracks. After the war, Fosters used their development work on tanks in their advertising.
Got a real strong ww1 Bradley IFV simile vibe when he mentioned they considered putting a 2lb pompom in the turret they'd been testing for it. Even though, iirc, the closest the Entant (yes, my spelling sucks) came to an IFV in ww1was the MK IX, it still is an interesting thought.
Well that's a "remake" I like to see, respecting the original and adding more to that :) Also, respects to our host - he looks like your handsome grandfather, but with that mental and physical agility, he is not old at all.
The American connection regarding the tracks jumped out at me, because I've been to a museum in Augusta, Maine which had a tracked utility vehicle built for use in the logging trade. The display claimed the vehicle was one of the first practical tracked vehicles, which seems to match what is said here. The vehicle on display was built in 1920, but similar vehicles dated back to 1901, according to the display.
Thank you for mentioning that! Alvin Orlando Lombard of Waterville, Maine developed built and patented the first practical crawler track in 1900. Between 1901 and 1917 the Lombard Traction Engine Company produced 83 steam powered Lombard log haulers. We have two in operating condition at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum in Bradley, Maine. In 1909 Lombard developed his first petrol powered log hauler. By 1914 these had developed into the Lombard Tractor-Truck. During the Great War, approximately 110 Lombard tractor-trucks were sold to the Imperial Russian army for use as artillery tractors. I. Honor of Lombards contributions to the development of tracked vehicles the British actually named a mountain in Antarctica after Lombard. Interesting the heavy tracks used on Lombard during the Great War period had a life expectancy under normal conditions of about 7,000 miles.
There's an interesting fact about that, from Trevor Pidgeon's excellent book 'The Tanks at Flers', that the springs which force those rear wheels into the ground actually have the effect of prematurely levering the front of a tank over into a trench, unless the tail assembly was first lifted clear of the ground using the incorporated hydraulic ram. The proper trench crossing procedure involved this lifting of the tail, then crossing part way until the front horns came into contract with the opposite side. Only then could the rear wheels be lowered, and the force of the springs pressing them into the ground could prevent the tank's rear horns from falling into the gap as it crossed the rest of the way
This tank could be fun for some video game or show involving alt history or even a totally different world but pulling visual theme from this sorta era. Like the player's "home base on tracks" sort or something. Interesting history for sure and I like the design.
Very interesting video of the "Little Wille" and finally we can see the interior perhaps for the first time after the 1st WW, no mean! It is a shame that the engine and other parts has been junked but perhaps more importantly it was the development of the tracks that made the difference. Personally I would like to point out that it was the Holt Tractor that created the basics for all the tanks including the tracks that Windsor Churchill that personally imported it to UK and also Austria imported some units as well. Anyway an excellent job you did again 👏 👍
At 24:20 there's a fairly good view of the front that looks like the damage has yet to be done during the Medium C trials (note how the right viewport's edge is straight), but the middle tow hole is there, so between those two that gives a timeframe.
@@guidor.4161 Not only that but King George appears to be looking straight at it! At least by this point it wasn't modern tech any more so I doubt there would have been many red faces.
Its a great show,as usual.A pity no Mothers have survived.All the more reason to keep Little Willie as a education tool.I imagine most boys would like to have a Little Willie toy tank.
Go grab a few diagrams of early construction and farm equipment and you could piece together a lot of how the whipper-snapper was put together. They were reinventing the wheel but didn't have the time to reinvent the drive train completely. No doubt the existing parts have casting marks that can lead to a manufacturer. Old companies took pride in what they built and did such things as that.
A bit disappointed that you didn't talk about the experimental "turret" that was fitted to the vehicle for tests. The cutout in the roof is clearly evident in the video, so you and the staff are obviously aware of the development. Nevertheless, a good video. Cheers
Technical question, description and diagram at about 19:22-19:40 appears to show the differential attatched to an axle by a pair of chains. Its implied that this is a solid axle but, to my limited knowledge, it can't be, as this would make the differential locked and steering wouldn't work.
Oh 24.24 the damage is in that old BW photograph at the front hatches it's got wooded name plate in the middle! That's really interesting I always thought that was more modern damage for it being moved with chains being put through the hatches and pulled but look at the photo its only the larger rip of the sheet metal the right side is still intact so must have been a regular towing point before it started to rip apart? I find this photograph really interesting
Excellent video! As somebody who likes to visit museums and look inside tanks if possible, I'd prefer to see it prominently displayed, but not on a turn table. But then, maybe that's just me.
It surprises me that David has yet to be inside most of the tanks inside the museum. You'd think he'd take every opportunity to be inside the tanks especially one as important as Little Willie
Honestly, getting into a tank is often a bit of a challenge unless you’re a spry 18-25 year old. Rarely can you move between stations without climbing out and back in. The more modern, often the more difficult. Not to mention, hatches can be heavy, and just climbing up can be tricky without a ladder. I would have thought the same, that someone working at a tank or aircraft museum would have be in every vehicle in their collection…until I got to climb into a stug(which is relatively spacious and easy to get in) and sit in a bi-plane. Now, I can easily see working somewhere like bovington and putting off climbing into most vehicles cause it’s too much of a hassle and you’ll get to it eventually 😂
I realise the Tank Museum do not really specialise on Engines but it would be nice to know more about, who built them, fuel consumption, cubic capacity,, mr Fletcher did tell us which engine was in each tank,, but a Special Video with more information would be nice, many thanks
The damage to the front was there in 1925. If you look at the image at 24:29, you can clearly see the big rip that extends from the right front window. So it was definitely there before WW II.
If you look at 24 to 26 the picture of the King with Mother and LW you can see the damage to the front plate and also the track is not sitting right so rusted up?
I want to know more about the turret that was put on, you can see the covering and it's captured in a few photos. When was it put on, how was it intended to work?
The turret question is very interesting. It's been suggested that it wasn't intended to rotate, and in September 1915 Stern wrote to Tritton: "With reference to the gun in he turret: the ship will probably want to use its gun at an angle of 45 degrees, pointing forward, upward, or downward when crossing irregular ground and not on the flat, therefore it is necessary to be able to shift the gun forward as far as possible. It does not appear to me to be a difficult thing to run this on rails from the centre, where it is now, right forward. I am also informed that it is not so necessary to protect the men from shrapnel, therefore a shield covering the front and the sides and the top partially seems to me to be sufficient." More . . .
We know of one photograph of Little Willie with a non-revolving dummy turret. There are a couple showing it covered with a tarpaulin, but what precisely the tarp is covering isn't certain. I looks as if it could be the cylindrical turret but with something protruding forwards - perhaps a gun or dummy gun.
At 21:14 "cables" can be seen passing from the headlights into the cabin. This indicates electric lights to me, but maybe it could also be an acetylene hose? Does any one know something about acetylene lighting systems?
I pass the Titanic works building where the first tank was made on the way to work. It`s called the titanic building because it`s the same size as the ship. The forge where I work is across the river from it used to make Sopworth Camels. :)
Looks like those lights were powered by electricity, as you can see a cable on the old photograph. And if you look at the side where you talk about it, you can see a small hole, which might have been for the cable
I think the other commenters have come up with a better solution to the frontal damage, it seems to have happened between 1918 (when the prototype Medium C had been finished) and 1925 when King George V came to visit. There is no damage to be seen in the footage of the Medium C yet in the photo with the king you can clearly see a tear next to the driver's viewing port (24:20). Also the tank appeared to gain a horseshoe (seen in the photo at 21:15) at the top dead centre. It also has a blanking plate over the slightly offset round hole. As that smaller hole appears to have less damage around it I wonder if someone decided to remove the blanking plate and thus damaged the metal around it when doing so.
Wasn’t the word tank used to hide the fact to what we were building and it was actually called the land battle ship? Can’t remember if I was told this or read it. But the word tank has stuck to what we know now?
