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A7V
The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Ãœberlandwagen'' cargo carriers. The number to be armoured was later increased to 20. They were used in action from March to October 1918, and were the only tanks produced by Germany in World War I to be used in combat. History After the first British tanks appeared on the Western Front, in September 1916, the German War Ministry formed a committee, under the auspices of its ''Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement, Abteilung 7 Verkehrswesen'' ("General War Department, Section 7, Transportation"), to investigate tank development. The project to design and build the first German tank was placed under the direction of Joseph Vollmer, one of Germany's foremost automobile designers. It was to weigh around 30 tons, be capable of crossing ditches up to wide, have armament including a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A7v Tank German
The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Ãœberlandwagen'' cargo carriers. The number to be armoured was later increased to 20. They were used in action from March to October 1918, and were the only tanks produced by Germany in World War I to be used in combat. History After the first British tanks appeared on the Western Front, in September 1916, the German War Ministry formed a committee, under the auspices of its ''Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement, Abteilung 7 Verkehrswesen'' ("General War Department, Section 7, Transportation"), to investigate tank development. The project to design and build the first German tank was placed under the direction of Joseph Vollmer, one of Germany's foremost automobile designers. It was to weigh around 30 tons, be capable of crossing ditches up to wide, have armament including a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mephisto (tank)
Mephisto is a World War I German tank, the only surviving example of an A7V. In April 1918, during a German attack at Villers-Bretonneux on the Western Front, it became stuck in a shell-hole and was abandoned by its crew. It was recovered by Allied troops about three months later and, after the war, taken to Australia as a trophy. Mephisto is housed at the Queensland Museum, in Brisbane, in thAnzac Legacy Gallery It is not in running order. Background The vehicle was issued to the army in late December 1917 or early January 1918, and was given vehicle number 506. On March 21st it took part, along with 4 other A7Vs and 5 captured British tanks, in a moderately successful attack at Curgies, north-east of Saint-Quentin. It was then taken to the German tank workshop near Charleroi, for minor repairs and repainting, and was re-issued in mid-April. Its new commander was Lieutenant Heinz Theunissen. By this time it had become fashionable to name A7Vs after figures from German h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ãœberlandwagen
The Ãœberlandwagen ("Over-land vehicle") was a tracked supply carrier built on the chassis of the German A7V ''Sturmpanzerwagen'' tank. When the A7V was first developed, the design committee made allowance for the chassis to be fitted with an alternative load carrying body. Description The ''Ãœberlandwagen'' shared a common chassis with the A7V tank; both having suspension derived from the American Holt tractor and twin 100 hp Daimler engines centrally mounted. A driving position was sited on a platform above the engines, with dual sets of controls for driving in either direction to avoid the need to turn the vehicle. A canopy was fitted over the driving position, and wooden dropsides and ends were fitted at the front and rear of the vehicle. Some examples had rails added to support a tarpaulin over the load spaces. Towing hooks were fitted at both ends of the chassis. The vehicle had a top speed of and was manned by a driver and an assistant. Service A production run of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Vollmer
Joseph Vollmer (1871–1955) was a German automobile designer and engineer and a pioneering tank designer. As chief designer for the German War Department's motor vehicle section, he designed the World War I German tanks A7V, K-Wagen, LK I and LK II. Early life Born the son of a master locksmith, Vollmer grew up with three brothers in Baden-Baden. He attended the Municipal Trade School and after graduating in 1886 went to Cannstatt, to take up an apprenticeship as a mechanic in the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen. In 1894 he completed his engineering studies at the Technikum Mittweida in Sachsen. Career Vollmer's career as an engineer and automobile pioneer began at Bergmann's automobile division in Gaggenau, beginning over 100 years of automobile construction in Gaggenau with the "Orient Express" automobile. In 1897 Vollmer moved to the Kühlstein Wagenbau company of Berlin-Charlottenburg. From 1901, he worked for AEG, where in 1902 he became head of their NAG subsidiary. All veh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; usually their main armament is mounted in a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large-caliber tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret, supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers. They have heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheeled vehicles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark I Tank
British heavy tanks were a series of related armoured fighting vehicles developed by the UK during the First World War. The Mark I was the world's first tank, a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose by making it appear to be a water transport vehicle for bringing water to the troops at the front line. The tank was developed in 1915 to break the stalemate of trench warfare. It could survive the machine gun and small-arms fire in "no man's land", travel over difficult terrain, crush barbed wire, and cross trenches to assault fortified enemy positions with powerful armament. Tanks also carried supplies and troops. British heavy tanks are distinguished by an unusual rhomboidal shape with a high climbing face of the track, designed to cross the wide and deep trenches prevalent on the battlefields of the Western Front. Due to the height necessary for this shape, an armed turr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borders a particularly flat landscape towards the east, which can be considered as the western boundary of the Santerre plateau and the eastern boundary of the Amiénois. The territory of the commune is crossed by the old national road 29 (current RD 1029), perfectly rectilinear road following the route of the ancient Roman road linking Amiens to Saint-Quentin in the Aisne. The agglomeration is located at the crossroads of the D 23 linking Corbie to Moreuil. Villers-Bretonneux station is located on the railway line from Amiens to Laon via Tergnier. History Prehistoric era Polished flints from the neolithic era indicate that a human presence has been in the commune for a long time. Antiquity Roman coins, remains of dwelling and a sandstone mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Front (World War I)
The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The German advance was halted with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several offensives along this front. The attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. Entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire and artillery repeatedly inflicted severe casualties during attacks and counter-attacks and no significant advances were made. Among the most costly of these offensives were the Battle of Verdun, in 1916, with a combined 700,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
