The A7V was a tank introduced by Germany in 1918, near the end of World War I. There were 100 ordered for the spring of 1918, but only 20 were delivered. They saw action from March to October that year, and were the only tanks produced by Germany in WWI that gained operational status.
The A7V was over seven metres long and three metres wide. The height varied up to three metres.
The crew normally consisted of up to sixteen soldiers and two officers: commander, driver, mechanic, mechanic/signaller, twelve infantrymen (six machine gunners, six loaders), and two artillerymen (main gunner and loader).
The A7V was armed with six 7.9 mm MG08/15 machine guns and a 5.7 cm gun mounted at the front. The 'female' variant had two more machine guns in place of the main gun. It is not entirely clear how many started this way or were converted. Some sources say only chassis 501 saw combat as a female.
The tank had 20 mm of steel plate at the sides and 30 mm at the front; however the steel was not hardened armor plate, which reduced its effectiveness. It was thick enough to stop machine gun and rifle fire, but not larger calibres. This offered protection comparable to the thinner armor of other tanks of the period, which used hardened steel.
Power came from two Daimler 4-cylinder engines delivering 100 hp (74 kW) each. The top speed was about 15 km/h on roads and 5 km/h across country. The A7V carried 500 liters of fuel (132 imperial gallons).
It was as slow as other tanks of the day, but had very poor off-road capability and was prone to getting stuck. The large overhang at the front and low ground clearance meant trenches or very muddy areas were impassable. This was worsened by the fact that the driver could not see the terrain directly in front of the tank, due to a blind spot of about 10 meters. However, on open terrain it could be used to some success and offered more firepower than the armoured cars that were available. Power to weight ratio was 6.8 hp/ton (5.1 kW/ton), trench crossing: 7 ft (2.3 m), ground clearance: 7.5 to 15.75 in (200 to 400 mm).
There were about 30 other chassis, mostly built without armour and used as field transporters.
The A7V was not considered a success and other designs were planned by Germany, however the end of the war meant none of the other tanks in development, or planned ones, would be finished (such as the Oberschlesien, K-Wagen, and LK series). The A7Vs final use in WW1 was in October 1918; a number were scrapped before the war ended in November. At least one (possibly two) modified A7V model named 'Hedi' was used by government troops or Freikorps to quell civil unrest in Berlin in 1919.
