world war one Archives - Felix's Gaming Pages

Medium Mark A Whippet A347 Firefly

I recently went to the Musée royal de l’armée et de l’histoire militaire or Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels.

The Medium Mark A Whippet was a medium tank employed by the British in World War I. Developed for fast mobile assaults, it was intended to complement the slower British heavy tanks by using its relative mobility and speed in exploiting any break in the enemy lines.

This Medium Mark A Whippet, A347 Firefly, was on display at the museum, and is still in its camouflage paintwork. It still carries battle damage from when it was hit on 17 August 1918.

Though originally envisioned with a rotating turret, the production model had an armoured housing for three to four 303 Hotchkiss machine guns, which could be relocated between four gun ports. Approved in June 1917, roughly 200 vehicles were produced starting in October 1917. Unlike the large crew of the Mark IV, the Whippet managed with a standard crew of three: a commander, driver and gunner. Given the gunner was responsible for manning both machineguns (which could point forward, left, right and rear), sometimes a second gunner was squeezed in.

I do think that this tank would make for a great base for vehicles for an alternative Great War. It could be converted into a turreted tank, or a self propelled gun. One other idea is to use the models for A Very British Civil War background. There are quite a few Great War tanks that could be used for a 1920s or 1930s civil war within the United Kingdom.

Belgian Great War Artillery

I recently went to the Musée royal de l’armée et de l’histoire militaire or Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels. They had quite a few examples of artillery pieces from the Great War.

They still have their original authentic 1918 colours and markings.

Mark IV Tank Lodestar III

The Mark IV was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments of the Mark I tank (the intervening designs being small batches used for training). The main improvements were in armour, the re-siting of the fuel tank and ease of transport. A total of 1,220 Mk IV were built: 420 “Males”, 595 “Females” and 205 Tank Tenders (unarmed vehicles used to carry supplies), which made it the most numerous British tank of the war.

The “Male” tanks were armed with three machine guns and two 6-pdrs. Whilst the “Female” tanks had Five .303 Lewis machine guns.

This Mark IV Tank, Lodestar III, was on display at the Musée royal de l’armée et de l’histoire militaire or Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels.

The Mark IV Tank Lodestar III, serial number 4093, was manufactured by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co. LTD in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was part of a 100-tank order (serial numbers 4001-4100) and joined the 12th Tank Battalion in early September 1918. This battalion was one of only two tank corps that continued to use Mark IV tanks during the final months of World War I.

Combat History and Challenges

The 12th Tank Battalion first saw action in January 1918 and played a significant role in the “Hundred Days Offensive” at the end of the war. Tracing the history of individual tanks like the Lodestar III is challenging because battle reports rarely mentioned specific vehicles. Additionally, the battalion frequently rotated its tanks, often receiving older Mark IV models after returning their vehicles or being reassigned. For instance, a crew assigned to Lodestar I (serial number 8081) in August 1918 might have later operated Lodestar III if their original tank was lost in battle or suffered mechanical issues.

Evidence of Operational Use

Several factors confirm the Lodestar III’s active service in World War I. The 12th Tank Battalion was almost continuously engaged in combat between August and October 1918. Given that the unit had only a few operational vehicles by the war’s end, it’s highly probable that every deployable tank, including the Lodestar III, was put into action.

Physical evidence on the tank itself supports this:

- It’s equipped with an original unditching beam, used to free the tank from mud.
- There are traces of a fascine, which was used to fill trenches and rivers for crossing.
- The tank bears numerous bullet and shrapnel impacts, indicating its presence in battle.

Notably, the Lodestar III is the only Mark IV tank in the world that still retains its authentic 1918 colours and markings.

The Mark IV tank was first used in mid 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge. It remained in British service until the end of the war, and a small number served briefly with other combatants afterwards.

I have been working on a metal 15mm Mark IV Tank for use with the Home Guard. Though I do really like the Flames of War Great War models, which have a lot more detail.

I also have a Bolt Action 28mm Mark IV Tank on the workbench.

I also have a gallery of Mark IV tanks from a wonderful 28mm demonstration game at GamesDay 2007.

Lanchester Armoured Car

The Lanchester armoured car was a British armoured car built on the chassis of the Lanchester “Sporting Forty”, it saw wide service with the Royal Naval Air Service and British Army during the First World War. The Lanchester was the second most numerous World War I armoured car in British service after the Rolls-Royce armoured car.

Thirty-nine armoured Lanchesters were built, starting in 1928, and they were issued to the newly mechanised cavalry regiments. They spent most of their time in Britain although in 1935 the 12th Lancers took some cars out to the Saarland and a few were tested in the Middle East. The cars were used for training in the early years of the war and one was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London. A few were still operating in Malaya in 1941 with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; these ultimately fell into Japanese hands.

This got me thinking about possible uses for the Lanchester armoured car in A Very British Civil War scenarios, but also in an Operation Sealion scenario where German paratroopers attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill who is being moved in a convoy including the Lanchester armoured car which was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London.

More photographs of the Lanchester Armoured Car.

Little Willie

Little Willie is the oldest surviving individual tank, and is preserved as one of the most famous pieces in the collection of The Tank Museum, Bovington, England.

Little Willie was a prototype in the development of the British Mark I tank. Constructed in the autumn of 1915 at the behest of the Landship Committee, it was the first completed tank prototype in history.

Replica Mark IV Tank from Warhorse

This realistic replica was built for the movie ‘War Horse’ and is now maintained in running condition to save wear and tear on the museums original WW1 tanks at events, including Tankfest.

The Tank Museum obtained the tank as it was used in Steven Spielberg’s World War One blockbuster Warhorse.

Though it looks like an authentic Mark IV tank, it was in fact constructed for the film.

Here is a video about the “tank” at the Tank Museum .

Another photograph of the replica Mark IV taken in 2016.

Mark VIII “The International” Tank

This Mark VIII “The International” Tank was on display at Bovington Tank Museum. It is the last remaining survivor of the six Mark VIII tanks which were completed for Britain.

When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917 the US Army started to look at tanks. They favoured the American Renault as their light tank but used British Mark V and Mark V* tanks for their heavy battalion. However they had their own ideas on tank design and, in co-operation with the British Tank Corps came up with a new heavy tank design for 1919.

The Mark VIII tank also known as the Liberty or The International was an Anglo-American tank design of the First World War intended to overcome the limitations of the earlier British designs and be a collaborative effort to equip France, the UK and the US with a single heavy tank design.

Production at a site in France was expected to take advantage of US industrial capacity to produce the automotive elements, with the UK producing the armoured hulls and armament. The planned production levels would have equipped the Allied armies with a very large tank force that would have broken through the German defensive positions in the planned offensive for 1919. In practice manufacture was slow and only a few vehicles were produced before the end of the war in November 1918.

More photographs of the Mark VIII “International” Tank.

Many people have thought that the tank used in the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade film was a Mark VIII. However that tank was specially created for the film, inspired though somewhat by the Mark VIII.

Mechanical effects supervisor George Gibbs said this movie was the most difficult one of his career. He visited a museum to negotiate renting a small French World War I tank, but decided he wanted to make one. The tank was based on the tank Mark VIII, which was thirty-six feet (eleven meters) long, and weighed twenty-five tons. Gibbs built the tank over the framework of a twenty-five ton excavator, and added 6.4 ton tracks, that were driven by two automatic hydraulic pumps, each connected to a Range Rover V8 engine. Gibbs built the tank from steel, rather than aluminum or fiberglass, because it would allow the realistically suspensionless vehicle to endure the rocky surfaces. Unlike its historical counterpart, which had only the two side guns, the tank had a turret gun added as well. It took four months to build, and was transported to Almería on a Short Belfast plane, and then a low loader truck.

There is a (similar) 28mm resin kit of this tank, called the Mark IX Beast. I did buy one from Empress Miniatures and even managed to build it and paint it.

Bristol Fighter F.2B

The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, other popular names include the “Brisfit” or “Biff”.

This Bristol Fighter F.2B was on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

The definitive F.2B version proved to be an agile aircraft that was able to hold its own against opposing single-seat fighters; its robust design ensured that it remained in military service into the 1930s.

Lanchester armoured car

Six-wheeled armoured cars were seen as having a better cross-country performance than four-wheelers. In pursuit of quality the War Office ignored offers from various commercial vehicle firms and, since Rolls-Royce was not interested, turned its attention to Lanchester, a famous rival. The Lanchester Company had supplied four-wheeled armoured cars to the Admiralty in 1915 but this six-wheeled chassis was a major departure for them. It was equipped with the standard Lanchester six-cylinder engine and used the War Department patent rear axle system.

Taking advantage of the long chassis, the armoured hull and turret were enormous and contained three machine-guns. Yet the Lanchesters were much too big for reconnaissance duties, being almost impossible to turn around in narrow roads. For this reason a rear steering position was provided and the cars had detachable tracks which fitted over the rear wheels to assist them over rough country. They were also extremely expensive and the War Office was soon looking for something cheaper.

This got me thinking about possible uses for the Lanchester armoured car in A Very British Civil War scenarios, but also in an Operation Sealion scenario where German paratroopers attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill who is being moved in a convoy including the Lanchester armoured car which was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London.

The Flying Scotsman

No, not the train or the steam engine, but the tank…

Built as a Male Tank, No. 785. Took part in the battle of Arras, April 1917. Various features, in particular the hinged hatch on the cab roof and internal modifications show that this tank subsequently served in the supply role. Returned to the UK after the war. Exhibited as a Gate Guardian at Chertsey for some years. Around this time it was modified to resemble a Mark I, complete with tail wheel assembly and fitted with sample Male and Female sponsons In this guise it subsequently came to the Tank Museum, bearing the name HMLS Dragonfly. With the arrival of the Mark I Hatfield Tank, it reverted to a Mark II and was later renamed Flying Scotsman when the lettering was detected beneath later layers of paint. Strangely there is no trace of the name Flying Scotsman in 6th Battalion records.