English "Land ships"

Did the English use, experiment with or even design "land ships" They appeared to be massive armored vechiles used during the first world war. I've seen a painting of one but wasn't sure if it was made up.

Look at http://www.worldwar1.com/arm001a.htm for a start; some nice pictures of "land ships" - better known as "tanks".

[Vigilant]

H.G.Wells wrote a book before the war about "Land ships" in which great iron-clads mounting many guns and carrying large crews slugged it out. The reality was on a slightly smaller scale.

Vigilant

Tanks were intially called "His Majesties Land Ships" (HMLS) and were developed by the Royal Navy. The word "tank" was a code word for the secret weapons.

I won't go through the entire evolution of armor in WWI but by the end their was a joint British/American venture, I beleive the Mark VIII which dwarfed the Mark IV in size and weight. The Mark IV was the most common and successful of the British tanks.

There were also mock ups made of plywood that were more in line with the mythical weapons of H.G. Wells but never went into production.

What was lacking was a reliable power source and adequate weapon systems. Despite their flaws, they were developed and employed. It is still a matter of debate of how effective they were.

Tobias

If you live in the Louisville, Ky. area, Ft. Knox, Ky., the Patton Museum has one on display (inside one of the Halls). It is well worth the trip....

Ditto for Worthington Park, Camp Borden, Ontario (an hours drive north of Toronto), which has many interesting armoured fighting vehicles.

by the end of the war the British had built over 2500 tanks of all types.

andy