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British heavy tanks were a series of related armoured fighting vehicles developed by the UK during the First World War. The Mark I was the world's first tank, a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose.
Leonardo da Vinci sketch of his armored fighting vehicle. Leonardo da Vinci is often credited with the invention of a war machine that resembled a tank. [6] In the 15th century, a Hussite called Jan Žižka won several battles using armoured wagons containing cannons that could be fired through holes in their sides, but his invention was not used after his lifetime until the 20th century. [7]
After World War I, and still using British and French designs, the United States Tank Corps was reduced in size. Renaults and the new Mk VIII "Liberty Tank" were retained: [ 21 ] The National Defense Act of 1920 restricted tanks to infantry use only; as a result, the Tank Corps was disbanded, with the remaining tanks distributed among the infantry.
After the First World War, the British began to produce a series of similar light tanks and developed them right up to the Second World War; the Light Tanks Mk II through to the Mk V. Eventually, by the 1930s, British experiments and their strategic situation led to a tank development programme with three main types of tank: light, cruiser and ...
The development of tanks in World War I was a response to the stalemate that developed on the Western Front. Although vehicles that incorporated the basic principles of the tank (armour, firepower, and all-terrain mobility) had been projected in the decade or so before the War, it was the alarmingly heavy casualties of the start of its trench ...
A total of 1,220 Mark IVs were built: 420 "Males", 595 "Females" and 205 Tank Tenders (unarmed vehicles used to carry supplies), which made it the most numerous British tank of the war. The Mark IV was first used in mid 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge .
The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. [1] Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps, it is part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton, KBE, CB, DSO (21 October 1868 – 15 January 1951) was a British Army officer who played a part in the development and adoption of the tank during the First World War. He was also a war correspondent and author of several short stories on military themes.