Comparison of World War I tanks
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This is a comparison of the characteristics of tanks used in World War I.
Tanks used in World War I[edit]
| Tank | Country | Year introduced | Production total | Crew | Armament number of rounds |
Armour thickness (front/side/top) |
Weight |
Engine | power/weight ratio | Speed | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark I Male | UK | 1916 | 75 | 8 | 2x QF 6-pdr (57mm) [324], 3×MG [6,272] |
12/10/6 mm | 28.4 t | Petrol 105 hp (78 kW) |
3.7 hp/t | 4.5 km/h (2.8 mph) |
37 km (23 mi) |
| Female | 75 | 5× Vickers machine gun, 1x Hotchkiss [30,080] | 27.4 t | ||||||||
| Mark IV Male | UK | 1917 | 420 | 8 | 2x QF 6-pdr (57mm) 6 cwt[a] [332], 3× .303 Lewis Gun [6,272] |
14/12/8 mm | 28.5 t | 125 hp (93 kW) | 5.6 km/h (3.5 mph) |
56 km (35 mi) | |
| Female | 595[b] | 5×Lewis guns [10,000] | 27 t | ||||||||
| Mark V Male | UK | 1918 | 200 | 8 | QF 6-pdr (57mm) 6 cwt [207], 4×MG [5,800] |
14/14/8 mm | 29.5 t | 150 hp (112 kW) | 5.1-5.4 hp/t | 7.5 km/h (4.7 mph) |
72 km (45 mi) |
| Female | 200 | 6×.303 MG [14,100] | 28.5 t | ||||||||
| Mark V* Male | UK | 1918 | 200 | 8 | 2× 6-pdr [221], 8×MG [8,400] |
14/12/6 mm | 33 t | 4 km/h (2.5 mph) |
63 km (39 mi) | ||
| Female | 432 | 10×MG [16,800] | 32 t | ||||||||
| Medium Mark A Whippet | UK | 1918 | 200 | 3-4 | 4×.303 Hotchkiss Mk I machine gun [5,400] | 14/14/5 mm | 14 t | Petrol 2×45 hp (34 kW) | 6.4 hp/t | 13 km/h (8.1 mph) |
64 km (40 mi) |
| Schneider CA1 | France | 1917 | 400 | 6 | 75 mm Blockhaus Schneider [94–96], 2× 8 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun [3,840] |
11.5/11.5/5.5 mm | 13.5 t | 60 hp (45 kW) | 8 km/h (5.0 mph) |
48 km (30 mi) | |
| 1917 | 24/17/5.5 mm | 14.6 t | 75 km (47 mi) | ||||||||
| Saint-Chamond | France | 1917 | 165 | 8 | 75mm Saint-Chamond-Mondragón [106–108], 4× 8 mm MG [7,488] |
11.5/17/5.5 mm | 22 t | 90 hp (67 kW) petrol-electric transmission | 4.1 hp/t | 12 km/h (7.5 mph) |
60 km (37 mi) |
| Saint-Chamond
"Modèle 18" |
1917 | 235 | Canon de 75 modèle 1897 [106–108], 4× 8 mm MG [7,488] |
11.5+8/17/5.5 mm | 24 t | ||||||
| Renault FT mitrailleuse | France | 1918 | 3,694[d] | 2 | 8 mm Mle 1914 machine gun [4,800] | 16/8/6 mm | 6.5 t | 35 hp (26 kW) | 10.7 hp/t | 20 km/h (12 mph) |
60 km (37 mi) |
| Renault FT canon | 1918 | 37 mm Puteaux SA 18 [240] | 6.7 t | ||||||||
| A7V | Germany | 1918 | 20 | 18 | 5.7 cm Maxim-Nordenfelt [180], 6×MG 08[e] [10,000–15,000] |
30/20/10 mm | 32 t | 2×100 hp (75 kW) | 6.25 hp/t | 15 km/h (9.3 mph) |
80 km (50 mi) |
Immediate post-war tanks[edit]
Tanks planned for production and with completed prototypes during the war, but entered service after it ended.
| Name | Country | Year | Planned prod./actual total |
Crew | Armament [ammo (rds.)] |
Armour thickness (front/side/top) |
Weight (tonnes) |
Engine | Speed | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCM Char 2C | France | 1918 | 300+/10 | 12 | Canon de 75 modèle 1897, 4× 7.92 mm MG | 45/22/10 mm | 70 t | Petrol 2×200/250 hp | 15 km/h | 160 km |
| Mark VIII | US/UK | 1918 | 1500/125 | 12 | 2× 6 pdr; 7 MGs | 16/16/6 mm | 33.6 t | Petrol 300/340 hp | 8 km/h | 89 km (55 mi) |
| Medium Mark B | UK | 1918 | ||||||||
| Medium Mark C | UK | 1918 | 5 Machine guns | |||||||
| LK II | (Germany) [1] | 1918 | 580/24 | 3 | 37mm or 7,92mm MG | 14/8/? | 8,75 t | Petrol 60 hp (45 kW) | 14 km/h | 65–70 km |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a shortened version of the gun used in the Mark I. The reduction in muzzle velocity was not a problem as the guns fired HE shells over short ranges
- ^ A further 250 unarmed tanks were built for carrying supplies
- ^ The tank was lengthened to cross wider trenches and the increased internal space was a bonus
- ^ The U.S. made 950 M1917 light tanks (a near copy of the FT design), but only 64 were finished before the end of the war, and none saw combat.
- ^ There was, briefly, one A7V with two extra machine guns in place of the 57 mm cannon. It was later converted to use the 57mm cannon
- ^ Postwar 10 Delivered to Sweden, 14 to Hungary.
References[edit]
- Ellis, Chris; Chamberlain, Peter (1969), No. 3: Tanks Marks I to V, AFV Profile, Profile Publishing
- Fletcher, David (2004), British Mark I Tank 1916, New Vanguard 100, Osprey Publishing
- Fletcher, David (2007), British Mark IV Tank, New Vanguard 133, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84603-082-6
- Fletcher, David (2013). Great War Tank Mark IV. Haynes. ISBN 978-0-85733-242-4.