From: noel shelley (noel@shelley1722.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Sun Sep 05 2004 - 06:27:28 PDT
Gentlemen ,
As several have said the worlds first tank was built in
England , by the firm of William Foster & Co of Lincoln , best known for
steam engineering . The initial idea came from the Royal Navy for a landship
!
Design started on 2nd August 1915 , building commenced on 11th and what was
to be called "Little Willie " moved under its own power on 8 September .
Public trials took place on 19 September 1915 ,39 days after work first
started .
From a document marked "Tank Trial " Secret ,is the following interesting
fact with reference to weights ,
Crew ( 8 men ) ............. Tons 0 Cwt 10 .
Each fighting man only weighed 140 Lbs !
For a detailed description of the birth of the tank , read The story Of The
Wellington Foundry , Lincoln . by Michael R. Lane ISBN 0906290155 .
Though dealing mainly with steam ,chapter ten covers this firms building of
the worlds first tank ,with many photos .
I hope this will interest some Noel
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