The Gun Carrier Tank was a machine with an elongated tail which formed a platform whence it was intended that a 60-pounder gun or a 6-in. howitzer could be fired.
The Tank Corps Armoured Cars were of the usual turreted pattern, and were armed with machine-guns.
But more important than any other new development was the improvement in the main issue of heavy Tanks, an improvement which is very well described by the historian of the 13th Battalion:
“The old Mark IV. type had serious disadvantages. Its engine power on bad ground was insufficient, and the clumsy secondary gears made turning slow and difficult as well as requiring the services of at least two members of the crew in addition to the driver. This, in battle, became a heavy handicap upon the fighting powers of the Tank. The officer was hampered by the need to attend to brakes, and a gunner called upon suddenly to help alter gears would lose the fleeting chance of firing at favourable targets. In the new Mark V. Tank these troubles largely disappeared. An engine of new design gave both greater speed and greater turning power, while a system of epicyclic gears made turning easy and under the sole control of the driver. The officer was free to supervise his crew, the gunner was free to use his weapons to the best advantage. Add that a greatly increased field of view was obtained by the addition of an observer’s turret, and it will be understood that an immense advance in type had been secured.”
The Mark V. had, however, one serious drawback. Its ventilation was extremely faulty. We shall see later how serious a disadvantage this was to prove.
III
There were also to be changes in the technical and mechanical engineering side of the Tank Corps itself, by which an economy of man-power was to be effected.
When the Tank Corps was first formed each Company had its own workshops, and this system lasted to the end of 1916. Then in the course of the winter reorganisation, Company Workshops were abolished and Battalion Workshops were substituted.
By the autumn of 1917 the experiment was tried of centralising still further and merging Battalion into Brigade Workshops, and early in 1918 it was decided to take the last step and to concentrate all repairs in the Central Workshops.
This system, which achieved a great economy of skilled men, was made possible by a very clear line of demarcation being drawn between Repairs and Maintenance, a principle which had been laid down by Colonel F. Searle, D.S.O., the chief engineer of the Corps and the head of the whole mechanical side of the Tanks.