Die Waffenkammer WWIGB001 British Mk.I (Male) (With Steering Tail)

British Mk.I (Male) (With Steering Tail)

Very fine resin WW I military vehicle kit, in 1/56 scale (28mm). Need to be assembled and painted.

Master by Tony Ashcroft.

The Mark I was a rhomboid vehicle with a low centre of gravity and long track length, able to negotiate broken ground and cross trenches. The main armament was carried in sponsons on the hull sides.

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, tracked and armed armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose.[3] The type was developed in 1915 to break the stalemate of trench warfare. It could survive the machine gun and small-arms fire in "No Man's Land", travel over difficult terrain, crush barbed wire, and cross trenches to assault fortified enemy positions with powerful armament. Tanks also carried supplies and troops.

British heavy tanks are distinguished by an unusual rhomboidal shape with a high climbing face of the track, designed to cross the wide and deep trenches prevalent on the battlefields of the Western Front. Due to the height necessary for this shape, an armed turret would have made the vehicle too tall and unstable. Instead, the main armament was arranged in sponsons at the side of the vehicle. The prototype, named "Mother", mounted a 6-pounder (57 mm) cannon and a Hotchkiss machine gun at each side. Later, subtypes were produced with machine guns only, which were designated "Female", while the original version with the protruding 6-pounder was called "Male".

The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Somme Offensive.