Mark I Tank

The Tank Museum is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. I visited the Tank Museum before in 1984, 1997, and 2016, but recently made a return visit.

In the World War One exhibition at the Tank Museum they have a Mark I tank attacking a trench.

This Mark I tank is painted to represent tank number 705, C19 Clan Leslie, as it was on the 15th September 1916.

Later the tanks were painted in a standard green brown scheme, as the camouflage became pointless once the tank was covered in mud.

Though painted as C19, unfortunately the Tank Museum has no idea of the tank’s actual identity. This tank was presented to Lord Salisbury in 1919 to recognise the use of his estate at Hatfield Park for trials of Mother in January and February 1916. His golf course was converted into a battlefield, complete with trenches, parapets, craters and large amounts of mud. This Mark I was displayed outdoors at Hatfield until it came to the Tank Museum in 1970.

The Mark I had steering wheels attached to the back of the tank.

More photographs of the Mark I from a previous visit to the museum.

Leave a Reply