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Remembered Today:

The Tanks


Seadog

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WW1 Tank "Flirt 2"

From Vol 3 of "I Was There" pub 1930`s. This depicts a Mark IV of 16 Company the Tank Corps at Wailly near Arras. This tank was in action at the Battle of Cambrai which started on the 27th November 1917. Note the "Four of Hearts" playing card artwork on the front. F4 entered Bourlon village at 6.40am after manoeuvring to avoid wounded infantrymen. The tank Ditched and broke down whilst attempting to avoid (or trying to unditch) the ditched F13. F4 was towed clear by F1 at 8.30, but its big ends were gone. The tank was abandoned at 9.55am as the infantry retreated.

The Officers are left to right,

Captain A Darby MC

Major Inglis DSO commanding 16 company the Tank Corps.

2nd Lt Lennard.

Capt Arthur Inglis (As he was in 1916)

was born 14 July 1884 at Inverness and was educated at Cheltenham College. Commissioned 2Lt 3rd (Militia) Bn Wiltshire Regt, 2 Nov 01 he was part of the force which guarded Boer prisoners of war on St Helena. He transferred to 2nd Bn Gloucestershire Regt in 1906. Promoted Lt 7 Apr 1908, he served as ADC to Sir Henry Galway, Governor and CinC of the Gambia. He served with the Gambia Company, West Africa Frontier Force, 1913. Promoted Capt 1 Aug 14, he served with the Cambridge Coy of the West African Front Force and served in the Cameroons between 1914-16. He joined Heavy Branch MGC 12 July 1916 and was awarded an immediate DSO, the first for action in a tank, for conspicuous gallantry in action on 15th Sep 16. He brought his 'Tanks'' forward over very difficult ground. Although one of the wheels of his own "Tank" was blown off early by a shell he succeeded in reaching his objective and manoeuvring throughout the whole operation. He commanded C Coy from 18 Nov to Dec 1916, and then one of the newly formed companies in B Battalion. He returned to the UK in early 1917 and was appointed to command 18th Coy in the newly formed F Bn at Bovington. He was presented with the DSO at Buckingham Palace on 6 Feb 1917. He deployed back to France in May 1917 and commanded 17th Coy at 3rd Ypres, Cambrai and during the German advance in spring 1918. When the battalion (now 6th Bn) re-roled to light tanks (Whippets), he assumed command of A Coy. On the first day of the Battle of Amiens, he was severely wounded when a passing Whippet ran over an unexploded shell. He was evacuated to the UK but, despite his efforts, was not permitted to get back to his Bn. He Died of his Wounds, aged 34 years on 12 May 1919 and is buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Prestbury; the family grave was in poor condition but it was replaced in 2009 with a CWGC headstone.

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WW1 German Tank "Elfriede"

Image from the bound volumes of "I Was There" pub 1930`s. This tank was captured at the battle of Villers-Bretonneux in 1918. Pictured here with British soldiers the tank ended up on show in Paris. The facts surrounding the loss of this tank differ; one version states that it was hit by the 6pdr gun of a tank of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Tank Corps. The other version has it that the tank tipped on to its side in a sandpit on the battlefield.

Der Weltkrieg im Bild

Elfriede

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Quote:

Flirt 2 is apparently in the Museum of Lincolnshire Life. Is it the real thing?

I believe that it is indeed the same tank.I was amazed that this tank is still with us and is well worth a visit by anyone in the area.

Regards

Norman

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This image from "Der Weltkrieg im Bild"

This is the tank mentioned in Post 1 as having pulled F4 clear of ditching.

The tank is F1 Firespite 2 of 16 Company the Tank Corps and saw action at the Battle of Cambrai on the 27th November 1917 when it and others attacked the village of Bourlon. F1 entered village with infantry, stopped by a barricade in main street, re entered village further east, Stood by for a counter attack which didnt happen, then withdrew with infantry, rallied at 11am. Note the One of Hearts playing card artwork on the nose of the tank.

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Tank C16 Leuze Wood Somme 1916

Taken from an original French stereoscopic slide this is British tank C16 commanded by 2nd Lt Eric Purdy, and is a "Female" type armed with twin Vickers machineguns in the side sponsons. On 15th September 1916 it was part of the attack on the German Lines near Combles when it was struck by a shell and lost a track. Eventually the crew removed the machineguns, set the tank on fire and abandoned it. 2nd Lt Purdy was awarded the Military Cross for this action. The photo shows two French soldiers with the tank.

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Tank Museum Bovington - A Tank VC

The Plaque on the Whippet tank reads:-

Lt C H Sewell commanded this tank at Fremincourt in August 1918. In full view of the enemy and regardless of his personal safety he rescued the crew of an overturned tank. Returning under heavy fire to aid his driver he was killed. For his bravery he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross”. He was just 23 years old.

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The First Tank Corps Victoria Cross:

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Captain Clement Robertson VC

Buried in Oxford Road War Cemetery, Flanders.

The inscription on the headstone"Virtutis gloria merces" ("Glory is the reward of valour"). Is the motto of the Scottish Clan Robertson

An extract from "The London Gazette," No. 30433, dated 14th Dec. 1917, records the following:- "For most conspicuous bravery in leading his Tanks in attack under heavy shell, machine-gun and rifle fire. Capt. Robertson, knowing the risk of the Tanks missing the way, continued to lead them on foot, guiding them carefully and patiently towards their objective although he must have known that his action would almost inevitably cost him his life. This gallant officer was killed after his objective had been reached, but his skilful leading had already ensured successful action. His utter disregard of danger and devotion to duty afford an example of outstanding valour."

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Sorry to backtrack;

2nd Lt Lennard is almost certainly Eric Smithyman Lennard. According to another thread, ES Lennard commanded the tank at 3rd Ypres. He got an MC on New Year's Day 1918. He eventually got promoted to Lieutenant RASC in 1940, and retired as an honorary Captain in 1945.

The dog remains anonymous.

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[quote name='IPT' timestamp='1317761360' post='165175.

The dog remains anonymous.

Actually, the dog's name was Jock

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img]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6026/5953733292_070a0994f0_z.jpg[/img]

WW1 Tank "Flirt 2"

The Officers are left to right, Captain A Darby MC; Major Inglis DSO commanding 16 company the Tank Corps and 2nd Lt Lennard.

Harold Darby was also in action on 15 September 1916 during the battle of Flers-Courcelette.

For more details, look at Tank Crew D10 at http://www.firsttankcrews.com/tankcrewsd7d12.htm

The First Tank Crews website is also the home of the information on Arthur Inglis

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Image from the bound volumes of "I Was There" pub 1930`s. This tank was captured at the battle of Villers-Bretonneux in 1918. Pictured here with British soldiers the tank ended up on show in Paris. The facts surrounding the loss of this tank differ; one version states that it was hit by the 6pdr gun of a tank of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Tank Corps. The other version has it that the tank tipped on to its side in a sandpit on the battlefield.

The interesting thing about German tank crews in World War I is that they were trained as assault troops. When the tank came up against a strong point, the crew would often dismount and take the target with hand grenades and flamethrowers carried by the infantry patrol accompanying the vehicle. I think this is unique in the history of armored warfare. Of course, the A7V carried up to 24 men. That's a good-sized assault unit. Allied tanks had crews of only two to eight.

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Very many thanks for the information, in particular the Dog Jock!. The First Tank Crews site is excellent and is where I obtained much of the data on the old photos.

First Tank Crews

Regards

Norman

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Flanders 1918

The morass of the battlefield in March 1918 with a Tank abandoned in the mud possibly from the 3rd Battle of Ypres in 1917. How could the Commanders send Tanks to fight in these conditions. The photo is near to St Jean and is from the German book "Der Weltkrieg im Bild" published late 1930`s

Colonel C D Baker-Carr one of the Tank Corps Brigade Commanders said before the 1917 battle:

“To anyone familiar with the terrain in Flanders it was almost inconceivable that this part of the line should have been selected. If a careful search had been made from the English Channel to Switzerland, no more unsuitable spot could have been discovered”.

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One more from "I Was There" a German anti-tank rifle found by New Zealand troops near Grenvillers. I bet this had one heck of a "kick".

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Norman

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Whether the Mark IV Female now residing in Lincoln and known as "Flirt II" is in fact the same tank that carried that name at Cambrai remains an open question. Many will claim it is, but I know of no definitive proof.

Gwyn

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Thanks Gwyn, I would have thought that someone at the museum would have the answer to whether F4 is the original tank. In the meantime take a look at these photos recently posted on Flickr from Russia:-

WW1 Tank in Russia

Norman

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Seadog: Many thanks for the link to the photos of the Mark V Composite in Kharkiv. I hadn't known that this tank was under restoration. As for the tank at Lincoln - I wish it was so simple as to be able to ask someone. The tank is on loan from Bovington and even they don't know for sure.

Gwyn

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Flanders 1918

The morass of the battlefield in March 1918 with a Tank abandoned in the mud possibly from the 3rd Battle of Ypres in 1917. How could the Commanders send Tanks to fight in these conditions. The photo is near to St Jean and is from the German book "Der Weltkrieg im Bild" published late 1930`s

Colonel C D Baker-Carr one of the Tank Corps Brigade Commanders said before the 1917 battle:

“To anyone familiar with the terrain in Flanders it was almost inconceivable that this part of the line should have been selected. If a careful search had been made from the English Channel to Switzerland, no more unsuitable spot could have been discovered”.

I suspect the caption is incorrect and the photo was taken in 1917 during or just after 3rd Ypres. A heroic effort was made to recover the bogged down (as opposed to damaged by enemy fire) tanks and restore them in time for Cambrai. This is possibly what the men with the duck board/ladder are about to begin with this tank. Most such tanks were recovered.

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One more from "I Was There" a German anti-tank rifle found by New Zealand troops near Grenvillers. I bet this had one heck of a "kick".

Indeed and using it incorrectly could result in a broken shoulder. As it was even a trained anti tank gunner could only fire a limited number of rounds before his shoulder became too sore to continue so that both men of the two man team were trained to fire it so they could 'spell' each other.

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what calibre would the a/t rifle be and was the round explosive or did it just break up and send shards all about interior of tank.john

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what calibre would the a/t rifle be and was the round explosive or did it just break up and send shards all about interior of tank.john

13.1mm. The solid round was hardened steel and could penetrate 12mm of British armour plate with a direct impact (ie at right angles) from 120 yards but was much less effective striking at an angle. If anything shattered it was likely to the the armour plate not the round.

Various treaties and conventions restricted the use of explosive rounds (on the ground at least) to much larger projectiles which is why when WW2 broke out most armies were using AT guns of about 37mm (Britain used a 40mm one) AT rifles remained firing solid shot (with the exception of some Polish ones which incorporated a tear gas pellet).

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