FRIEND OR FOE

so do the tank is entirely a british invention first produced during the last great war and here is one which actually fought in nineteen eighteen the tank revived the use of armor for protection of the fighting man which use had been almost discontinued because the weight of such armor required to resist firearms rendered it impracticable this difficulty was overcome by using the internal combustion engine so the tank was by means of its tracks and weight able to crush barbed wire entanglements to cross wide trenches and to surmount obstacles while supporting protection to its crew inflicting heavy casualties on enemy personnel and so enabling our own infantry to advance with relatively light loss here are some pictures of our tanks during the last great war the first two were taken during the battle of the somme in 1916 and those you see now were photographed during an actual attack the others during a demonstration in france before his majesty king george the fifth while the germans did not at first realize the usefulness of the tank they later appreciated that it was an invaluable weapon they then manufactured some which they used together with a few they had captured from the allies but little success was achieved because their own tanks were clumsy look at this one and also because they were inexperienced in that technical employment general ludendorff and many other german commanders admitted that british tanks played a predominant part in their final defeat a number of individuals were concerned in the invention and development of tanks the idea was largely fostered by the initiative and foresight of mr winston churchill who in january 1915 wrote a historic letter to mr airsquist then prime minister yes you can see how greatly tanks have altered since 1918. here you see a modern tank passing one used in the last wall whilst it is smaller it is about four times as fast and is much more heavily armored note the rotating turret of the modern tank which enables the guns to be fired in any direction and compare it with responses of the old tank with a limited angle of fire here you see one of our old friends moving across country born in 1918 and still going strong testimony to the british workmen who built it but it is too slow and too lightly armored for modern war see how the modern tanks outpace it the increased speed and greater reliability of our modern tanks also endows them with a much wider range of action than that of their predecessors the royal armored core is today composed of cavalry regiments previously host end of the royal tank regiment the former imbued with fighting traditions gained throughout centuries and the latter with the pride of the achievements of the tank corps in the war of 1914-1918 now here you see two types of light tanks which have already rendered valuable service in this war they are similar in nearly all respects except for their armament and the tops of their turrets that on the right is armed with vickers 0.303 inch and point five inch machine guns whilst that on the left has beezer 7.92 and 15 millimeter machine guns the larger gun in each instance is primarily intended for use against enemy armored fighting vehicles for which purpose armor piercing bullets are employed notice how the two guns are mounted in the turrets and the difference in the exterior appearance the long thin pieces in the tank nearest you and the short thick vickers in the other these guns are not used for dismounted action but a fire from the tank when either moving or stationary the latter being more accurate the light tank with ibiza guns has a periscope for the use of the commander you can see it on top of the turret while the one mounting the vickers guns has a small subsidiary turret for the commander called a cupula as you'll notice this cupula can be rotated independently of the main turret the commander spots a target and gives his orders to the gunner who rotates his turret to bring his guns to bear on the enemy these tanks are fitted with wireless equipment note the position of the wireless mast adjacent to the turret this is important as it is generally a characteristic feature of british tanks on each side of the turret is a smoke discharger which can throw a projectile filled with smoke in order to make artificial cover in an emergency here the light tank has spotted an enemy anti-tank gun and is putting down smoke it now moves away under cover of its protection so so before we start examining larger and heavier types of tanks let us make sure we have not forgotten the lighter fighting vehicles shown in the first part of this film here you see one of our light tanks negotiating a bit of rough going note the turret placed well back on the body and the cupula or small additional turret for the commander above the main turret and here is another the same in all respects except that it has no cupula and visa instead of vickers guns and this is the third type of our light tanks we saw with its gun as well as its machine gun and its four big burgers filling the space between the tracks the rear burgee wheel also acting as a driving sprocket you will remember the armored car the guy one of several types we possess bigger than the light tank and fitted with wheels it is especially suitable for work on roads or level ground though with considerable cross-country capacity the handy little scout car with its ability to go backwards as fast as it can go forwards and its power of turning in a confined space is another of our armored fighting vehicles you won't have forgotten you are all familiar with the carrier used widely throughout the army have a look at them as they go past yes a light tank then the guy armored car the scout car and finally the carrier make sure you can recognize them when you see them again now we will look at some of our heavier and much more powerful texts did i hear someone say why are they called tanks the answer is that when they were being produced in 1915 in order to deceive the enemy the rumor was spread about that these curious looking objects were water tanks for use in russia the name has stuck to them ever since though as was earlier pointed out their function was really rather similar to that of a landship like warships they must be ready for instant action when the order is given sometimes the order will come by wireless and sometimes by a dispatch writer or other means but as soon as it is received the commander must act and act quickly for speed and initiative are big factors in attaining success although tanks close down when they are going into action you may see either ours or perhaps with luck the enemies when they are opened up so it is important to be able to recognize our headdress from that of the germans some of the units of our royal armored corps wear the field service cap you know so well others wear berries and as the germans paid us the doubtful compliment of copying our berry you want to get to know what ours look like neat and close fitting not like that of the bosch whose berries are bigger and floppier perhaps to fit their inflated ideas you clearly see the difference in this picture but still helmets may be the mode whether in tanks or dismounted anyhow you can't mistake either our caps our berries or our battle bellas for those of the bush and who is this hitler's little accomplice as mr winston churchill called him he looks extremely ferocious as usual and is all complete in an italian steel helmet which as you see is quite unlike ours you know now what the men who man the tanks look like and we can go on to study the tanks themselves you see on the screen a quick glimpse of each of those we are going to examine so that we may be able to recognize them but first a few hints as to recognition where to look and what to look for you can judge the general size and shape for yourselves particularly in comparison with the height of a man as for the turrets they form one of the most distinctive features of any tech partly because being on top and carrying the guns they are the first thing to catch the eye and partly as you see on the screen they vary greatly in shape you must learn to know the shape of the turrets of our tanks then the bogey wheels and method of suspension of the tank differ greatly sometimes there are small bogey wheels often in powers and they may be covered by armor or exposed or you may have large bogey wheels filling the whole space between the tracks or as in these german tanks similar but rather smaller ones which only take up about half the room between the top and bottom of the track but of course it isn't so easy to see the bogey and suspension as the turret because they are near the ground and may be hidden from view or you may not be able to spot them because the tank is head on finally the position of the wireless mast is a good guide ours are always mounted close up to the turret while the germans usually have them on the hull away from the turret remember once again general shape and size turrets and armament suspension wireless mast this particular tank has already done excellent service both in france and the near east notice its height in comparison with the six foot ncl standing beside it note its general shape with the main turret well forward and carrying a smaller independent turret used by the commander and called a cupula on top of the main turret this cupula rotates separately from the main turret so the commander can spot his target and keep it in view while his gunner brings his gun to bear on it you see how the main turret steps inwards towards the top and hide projects at the rear over the body of the tank you will notice that the wireless mast is fitted close up to the rear of the turret this is an important point in recognition because our wireless marks are close to the turrets while those of the germans are usually mounted well away from the turret on the hull have a look at this tank from the front you see it has a gun which fires armor-piercing shells and a machine gun alongside it some german tanks have a similar arrangement of their armament but others have one gun on top of the other like this which also has a machine gun pointing to the rear no british tanks have their weapons arranged in this manner take a look at it from behind and observe what it looks like from that angle you get a further good idea of the shape of the turret sloping outwards from the top now have a look at the suspension particularly note these big bogey wheels on each side filling up the space between the tracks four of them and unevenly spaced though in some of their tanks the germans use somewhat similar round burger wheels theirs are always evenly spaced so whenever you see unevenly spaced bogey wheels the tank is british but as you will see later we also have some tanks in which the spacing of these bogey wheels is even but remember if uneven the tank is british when necessary the light tank can often be easily hidden in cover for the purpose of observing the enemy's movements or engaging him with fire can you discover the tank concealed somewhere in this picture it is within 20 yards of yours he can see you and his guns are trained on you when you only know of his presence when he has opened fire that might and probably would be too late but the primary object in handling light tanks is to use their mobility to the fall thereby increasing their fighting power you must therefore be always on the alert to recognize tanks even though they are moving quickly and so avoid being taken by surprise as they may attack you from any direction observe how rapidly these vehicles can move across country you must make up your mind ours or enemy but when it comes to an obstacle the tank must reduce its speed if it be an enemy that is the best moment to engage it with anti-tank weapons but you must be sure obviously you must not shoot up one of our own tanks now a few more tips as to how to recognize them note the height in comparison with the nco standing beside it who is exactly six feet tall observe the relative position of the turret to the rest of the body it is set well back towards the rear of the vehicle and this is a peculiarity of the two light tanks we are now examining and see also how the bottom of the rear end of the turret projects above the armor plating of the body this is an offside view and you can see the exhaust and silencer carried to the rear here is the sprocket wheel which is driven by the mechanism it is in front on these light tanks and the teeth fit into recesses on the track which passes over a guide roller which keeps it in position here you'll see the tank jacked up and the sprocket wheel and tracks in operation now watch this because it is interesting as a tracked vehicle moves its burgundy wheels pass along the tracks which while in contact with the ground are stationary but when the rear wheel reaches the end of the stationary track the track is picked up by the sprocket wheel and relayed on the ground to form a further path for the bogey wheels here you get a close view of the track and bogeys as the tank moves along you observe the suspension powerful springs on either side of each pair of boogies yes they will stand some jolts take another look at the light tank see the driver dismounting he sits on one side of the front of the tank and on the other is a feature which renders recognition easy an air inlet cover over the engine which looks like a slab and which is quite distinctive of these two light tanks one final glance as it takes a water splash at speed make sure you will recognize it again when you see it here is another type of british light tank different in appearance from those you have just seen a crew of three driver commander and gunner notice the height of this little tank and that it has a periscope for the commander a telescopic site for the gunner and a bulletproof window as well you see the shape of the driver's cover and the method of closing down the top of the turret it has four large bogey wheels filling the whole space between the tracks the rear bogey has teeth and also acts as a driving sprocket a characteristic which distinguishes this tank have a look at the armament a gun for firing shells as well as a machine gun though a light tank it is very powerfully armed the view from behind the tank is quite distinctive as the slotted air passages to the engine compartment are very apparent here you see the contrast between this tank and the one you saw earlier and can compare the height of each with that of a man watch them and see if you can spot them as they go past you yes that was the one you saw first and this is the fellow with the gun as well as the machine gun which you've just been examining and now have a look at the enemy can you spot any differences the shape and slope of the turret are different while his five bogey wheels round but filling only half of the space between the tracks are unlike either of ours also notice a characteristic of most german tanks the wireless mast is not close to the turret like ours but away from it mounted on the hull the difference between an armored car and a tank is the car runs on wheels and the tank on tracks our armored cars like our tanks give complete cover to their crew since they are fully protected with armor they usually possess greater speed on roads and over level ground and they are as silent in operation as ordinary cars their capacity for surmounting obstacles is limited and less than that of the tank you will therefore expect to find them operating in open level country or in areas well provided with roads they are capable of offensive and defensive action this particular armored car is a guy notice how high it is compared with the nco beside it observe the absence of a bonnet and radiator on the front of the car and that it has wheels instead of tracks the driver's head cover is buck shaped these cars are on with either two vickers guns point three or three inch and point five inch or with two visa guns seven point nine two millimeter and fifteen millimeter this one as you see has vickers have a look at it from above the commanders and gunners head cover is slightly raised above the turret while the revolving periscope enables the commander to obtain a clear all-round view this is a view from behind the guy note the cover of the engine and the wireless mast and fittings and get a general view of its rather buck shaped appearance as it draws away see how different it is from this armored car which is as a matter of fact french you couldn't mistake one for the other a buck shaped looking vehicle and this chat with his small turret and long flat body over the rear wheels