mark male british tank 3d model - MARK I MALE BRITISH TANK WWI by De Espona

The Mark I was a development of Little Willie, the experimental tank built for the Landships Committee by Lieutenant Walter Wilson and William Tritton in the summer of 1915. Working on problems discovered with Willie, the Mark I was designed by Wilson. A gun turret above the hull would have made the centre of gravity too high, so the guns were put in sponsons. The prototype Mark I, ready in December 1915, was called 'Mother'. One hundred fifty were built. See history of the tank for a more complete story.

A requirement was found for two types of armament, so Mark Is were armed either with 6 pounder guns and four machine guns and called 'Male' (75) or two Vickers machine guns instead of the 6 pounders and called 'Female' (75).

To aid steering, a pair of large wheels were added behind the tank. These were not as effective as hoped and were subsequently dropped.

The subsequent Mark II, III, IV and V and later tanks all bear a strong resemblance to their 'Mother'.

Male: two 6-pounder QF, four 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Guns