15.9.2016 marked the 100 years anniversary of the first use of "tank" in war. The Tank Museum and Wargaming.Net brought the replica of Mark IV tank to London for a "Tank 100 Years" event, which gathered large crowds, plenty of politicians and celebrities and caused quite a show when the tank moved through the streets of London with its amaging noisy progression and top speed of 3 km/h.
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This replica tank was originally created for the Steven Spielberg 2011 war movie "War Horse". The museum acquired it in 2012. About the replica:
"Built around the engine, transmission and track from a modern commercial excavator, the special effects company, which also has credits on Saving Private Ryan and Gladiator, studied original documents relating to the Mark IV held in the Tank Museum archive."
"The vehicle is a wonderful re-creation with all the presence and menace of the real thing," said museum curator David Willey. "
About Mark IV:
Following the modest success of the Mark I tanks on the Somme in 1916 the British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, ordered 1,000 more tanks for 1917. This was a surprising act of faith in a new weapon for an officer with such a reactionary reputation. More factories were brought into the programme to meet the demand, notably in Glasgow and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Although the majority were built by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon & Finance Company at the Oldbury works. In the end production reached 1,200.
Mechanically the new tank was the same as the Mark I but it had thicker armour, improved fuel supply and modified sponsons with slightly shorter guns in the Male version. Female tanks had even smaller sponsons and were produced in the ratio two female to one male. Mark IV tanks went into action for the first time in the summer of 1917, they were the mainstay of the Tank Corps at Cambrai in November and fought through to the end of the war with 7th and 12th Battalions of the Tank Corps. It was a male Mark IV tank which won the very first 'Tank versus Tank' action in April 1918 by knocking out the German A7V tank Nixe.
Event description:
Exactly 100 years on from the first tank attack in history, The Tank Museum will honour the memory of pioneering British tank soldiers with a special appearance in central London at Trafalgar Square, supported by the World of Tanks publisher and developer Wargaming.
On 15 September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the British Army sent tanks into action for the first time changing the nature of warfare for ever. The men who took part in that action were young and inexperienced - the pioneers of a completely new kind of warfare.
To mark the occasion, on 15 September 2016, a British First World War tank will be positioned on Trafalgar Square for public display until 1100hrs.
Trafalgar Square has been chosen to mark the centenary for the part it played hosting `Tank Banks` during the First World War. To raise funds for the new tank army, the government sent tanks ‘on tour’ around the country in high profile War Bond drives, where the new ‘wonder weapons’ attracted huge crowds.
Trafalgar Square hosted several `Tank Banks`, as they were known, with politicians and celebrities climbing aboard to deliver speeches.
Tank Museum Curator David Willey said; “It is fitting that we should use the tank as a ‘prop’ to honour the memory of the brave and pioneering soldiers who fought in this first ever tank battle. Their experience sheds a different perspective on the conduct of the war and the experience of the troops that fought in it.”
Presented by The Tank Museum and Wargaming.Net.
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28 сен 2024
