BABY TANKS AND WHAT THEY DID

Evening Star, Issue 16993, 15 March 1919, Page 5

BABY TANKS AND WHAT THEY DID

> Wor. won the- war 5 Tin answer is easy ■it was won by teamwork. One of the dogs in the teain was the baby tank; and well he did Jjis part. Supplanting his earlier and more cumbersome predecessor, and being perfectly adapted to the work out oint lor btm,- he d:.d that work in unison with the infantry, which it was his duty to support. JN'ow that the job is over, his picture comes out in the papers. A troublesome feature of military writing, says the author of an article in "the Scientific American' (New York) is that the must interesting' things cannot be described in full until they have ceased to bo timely. A month past, when battles were still racing;, a drawing of the interior details of a small French tank would have been most opportune. But, military exigency prevented. Kow the secret may be toid. Ke goes op : "The small tank represents the outcome of improved tank tactics. "These tactics caused the abandonment of the heavier and larger British and French tanks in favor of the smaller typo. Thus the big allied tanks, weighing in the neighborhood of 25 tons, and carrying a crow of eight to ten men, were replaced early this year by the ' Whippet' tanks, of the British and the ' Renault' tanks of the Fiench, both thesi types being small, two-man tanks, carrying a single machine gun or sniall cannon as compared with the four to six guns of the larger tanks. Tank tactics are now based "On the perfect coordination between tanks and infantry; and with the older, slower-moving tanks it was found well-nigh impossible to keep these two arms moving in perfect unison. Again. the early tanks were cumbersome, difficult to manoeuvre, and withal presented a more than fair mark to enemy gunners. Because of their size and the large arews required, tne number of tanks available for an attack was strictly limited. Furthermore, in actual practice the power of the tank and its ability to crush enemy defences were found to be of secondary value only, since the main object is to carry guns, ammunition, and the cre>v. It, remained fcr Louis Renault, of Billancourt, France, to develop a fast 'Baby' tank to meet the new requirements. ThJ3 he did, and (loots of his tanks made their appearance this spring, shortly after I their counterparts, the British 'Whippets,' j had scored new victories against the enemy. ! The Renaults were a success from the start I being adopted by the French army and j later by fhe Ameriom forces flgihting in France. The Renault tank consists primarily i of an "long-afol armored body measuring i about 15ft in length, 6jft in height, and a ; trifle over a yard in width, equipped with a set. of caterpillar tread and a power plant. The armor varies from jin to |in in thickI ness. and is of a special chrome steel plate, ' capable of withstanding small-arms fire and ! the burst of small shells. The body is sur- | mounted by a revolving turret which carries ; the single machine gun . . . with which the tank is armed. Some Renaults are provided with a short-barrel 3in cannon, in '■ which enfse the turret is rigid. Tho interior is divided into two compartments—one fqjfhe crew and the other for tho power plant. At tho forward end sits the driver, and back of him the gunner, who operates the gun in the revolving turret. A wide belt or strap serves as a seat for the gunner, who can turn the turret to any point. Slits, iin wide, afford a measure of vision for both men. Entrance is by doors immediately in front of the driver." "To quote further: "In the rear compartment arc located fhe Renault engine. t'u.-l tank, and _ oil tank; the radiator, which receives a constant stream of cold air by means of a special ventilator; and the other members of tho power plant. The crank-bandle for storting "the engine -extends" into the forward compartment, directly behind the gunner."