WWI battle tanks - First World War

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Tracking down a member of First World War tank crew
Military historians are tracking down relatives of Private William Galway - a gunner in the Tank Corps who died during the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. Galway was a crew member in one of the new weapons which breached the German Hindenburg Line at a village Flesquieres. "10 years ago, one of the 378 fighting tanks which took part in the British attack was recovered from the battlefield... D51, known as Deborah, was in remarkably good condition... She was traced by a local historian Philippe Gorczynski, who has now installed Deborah as the centrepiece of what he hopes will be a permanent museum to mark the battle," explained Rob Kirk. [ belfasttelegraph.co.uk :: 2008-07-22 :: WWI battle tanks ]

Renault FT17 tank at WWI Museum: Still has original camouflage paint
A rare French-made battle tank will go on display at the U.S. National World War I Museum on May 3. The Renault FT17 tank, still with its original camouflage paint, carried a 2-man crew. It was the first tank with a fully rotating turret. "During the fighting in the fall 1918, a German 77mm artillery shell struck the tank in its left rear and put it out of service." Shell fragments and shrapnel balls from the shell were found inside the tank. The shrapnel will be on exhibit with the tank. [ kmbc :: 2008-04-28 :: WWI battle tanks ]

FT-17 French light tank mystery: Assigned to French or American unit?
The 8, 6 and 7 are hardly discernible on the side of the tank that was crippled by a German shell in the Great War. But it's the elusive fourth numeral that is key to disclosing the story of this particular Renault FT-17 French light tank at the National World War I Museum. Was it assigned to a French unit or an American one? After 9 decades the paint is faint. But a team of forensic archaeologists may have made a breakthrough. Melissa Connor pointed a $6,000 magnesium vapor light source at the tank, bringing out details from the tank's surface. Douglas Scott - who specializes in 19th century military sites and happens to be a WWI buff - took photos for later analysis. [ kansascity :: 2008-01-29 :: WWI battle tanks ]

How the first British battle tanks were deathtraps mired in mud
There was something very large buried under the spinach plot. The infra-red imaging camera showed the threatening outline 3ft below the surface. After an hour's digging, it began to reveal itself. A metal hulk. A roof hatch. Gun turrets and caterpillar tracks. Rising out of the earth was a unique relic of the First World War - an intact British tank, entombed on the battlefield where a German shell had halted it. The old lady who used to own the farm had told tales about it: How German troops had ordered Russian POWs to push the seized giant into a shell hole in the village of Flesquieres in 1917. [ dailymail :: 2007-12-05 :: WWI battle tanks ]

Great War tank unearthed - History's first major tank battles
The grandson of a soldier who fought in one of history's first major tank battles will see his grandfather's World War I vehicle take pride of place at a 90th anniversary memorial event. Tim Heap will attend the revealing of a memorial to all the soldiers who died at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, in memory of First Lieutenant Frank Heap; a tank commander in the engagement which saw over 300 battle tanks used to push through the German Hindenburg line. He eluded death when his tank was shelled 3 times, because he had stepped outside the Mark IV "Deborah" vehicle to take compass directions. He led the remaining crew back to safety, earning the Military Cross. [ derby :: 2007-11-27 :: WWI battle tanks ]

National World War I museum finally acquires tank: Renault FT-17
They must have looked like monsters lumbering through the smoky no man's land. The armored tank was a key innovation of WWI, enabling Allied armies to escape the trenches and move their guns toward the enemy. But a tank has always been a glaring omission from the Liberty Memorial's otherwise comprehensive collection of WWI artifacts, until now. Officials struck an agreement with a collector to purchase a French-made Renault FT-17 that saw battle on the Western Front in 1918. Not only did it see battle, but it was put out of commission by German artillery - It has a huge hole in its left side. [ kansascity :: 2007-11-03 ]

The last fully operational WWI British Mk V tank is to be run
The last fully operational World War I British Mk V tank is to be run for what could be the last time as it prepares for an appearance at the Lord Mayor's show in London. It is being driven from its current position in the Tank Museum at Bovington onto a low loader so it can be transported. Staff in period WWI uniforms from the museum will accompany the battle tank as it is drawn along to mark two important 90th anniversaries of armoured warfare. "In November 1917 tanks appeared before the mass British public for the first time at the Lord Mayor's Show. The first tank attack in history took place the previous September..." [ 24hourmuseum :: 2007-11-02 ]

WW1 Tank Commander who rumbled into military history
The new-fangled "land-ship" was nicknamed "Creme de Menthe" and its commander Arthur Inglis, of the Gloucestershire Regiment, helped change the course of military history. He was the first man to lead tanks into battle and his heroic efforts during the Battle of the Somme earned him the Distinguished Service Order medal, that now comes up for sale. His lead tank C5 was whipped with German machine gun bullets and lost a wheel at the historic face-off at Flers-Courcelette on the Western Front on Sept 15, 1916. But Inglis destroyed the enemy garrison and machine gun nest before returning with "a thoroughly disoriented" captured German general. [ thisisgloucestershire :: 2007-07-15 :: Generals & Leaders ]

Restoring Historic Military Vehicles -- WWI-era French tank
The repair bay on Richardson Tank Motor Park, an annex to the Patton Museum, is filled with what could be pieces of a life-sized hobby model kit. There is an empty hull from a WWI-era French tank sitting on a stand with a freshly-painted turret off to the side. Restoration specialists Steve Wise and O.B. Edens both have backgrounds in maintenance and tank repair, but there's a fair amount of creativity they need to bring to the job. For instance, on the French tank, which was used in 1918 and found in pieces in an Afghan salvage yard, the rollers aren't lubricated the way they are today. And there's no manual to read: French tanks from 1918 don't come with instructions. [ military :: 2007-06-02 :: WW1 Choctaw code talkers ]

World War I Tank Leaves a Combative Path
For many years, there was a World War I-era tank (I believe it was a French Renault) placed as a memorial in front of what was then the Alexandria Railway Station. Some time ago, the battle tank was moved. I would still like to know why it was moved and where it is now. --- The story of Alexandria's wandering tank is a convoluted one involving military memorabilia collectors and the citizens of a small town of Nitro. first a little about the vehicle: It's not a French tank but a U.S. version of the Renault FT-17, built in US for World War I. Because of the war's end, it was never shipped overseas. The proper name is an M-1917, 2-man, 6-ton special tractor. [ washingtonpost :: 2007-04-24 :: WWI battle tanks ]

World War One - Tanks
A video with footage of World War One tanks and the men who worked along-side with them. [ youtube :: 2007-01-02 :: Films, Movies & Footage ]

First World War in the News is an edited review of hand-picked World War I 1914-1918 articles.