Little Willie Infantry Fighting Vehicle (1915)
The Little Willie Landship became the world's first practical amored fighting vehicle of note and led to various British World War 1 tank designs.
The group took to studying the concept of the armored vehicle in the context of the ongoing war - a war that had devolved from fluid in its nature to static at many fronts. The vehicle was initially considered as a troop transport that could break through the various battlefield obstacles such as barbed wire fences, trenches (up to 5 feet wide) and artillery craters and bring combat-ready soldiers closer to the fight under relative security. Additionally, the vehicle could be armed with machine guns which would allow it to engage enemy machine gunners and infantry in turn. In essence, the design would become the world's first true infantry fighting vehicle.
Based on the chassis of peacetime farming tractors and heavy movers, the idea gained steam in various circles of thought. Within time, a prototype armored vehicle was rolled out by Fosters of Lincoln in 1916 quickly becoming the first-ever armored vehicle prototype in history. This particular 18-ton vehicle was completed with a turret (though non-rotating in the prototype) emplacement covered over in boiler plate armor and fitted over a tracked chassis. Overall height was 10 feet tall with a running length of 18 feet and width of 9 feet, 4 inches. The exterior was utilitarian at best - a bench for the two drivers - while the exterior sported a crude riveted appearance with featureless surfaces and a rudimentary tracked wheeled system. Steering was assisted via a two-wheeled attachment installed at the rear of the vehicle - to function as a ships rudder of sorts - though more responsive steering, it was found, could be accomplished by simply braking one track side and running the other forward. The British Army evaluated this prototype in the early part of 1916.
It was intended that the vehicle - now known as "Little Willie" - would be armed capably with a 2-pdr (40mm) field gun. Additionally, provision for a .303 caliber (7.7mm) machine gun was also added with the option of mounting additional machine gun positions as needed to cover the various "blindspots" of the primary armament. Crew accommodations began with two standard personnel (for steering and braking) but this rose to six total to help manage the various weapon stations.
When Little Willie was ultimately tested it was quickly realized that the vehicle could not capably maneuver the trenches as required. Additionally, its overall speed of 2 miles per hour made it slower than infantry components on foot, especially over uneven terrain. The landship maneuvered poorly in mud and was thinly armored with its boiler plate skin. The various vertical surfaces also presented various "shot trap" areas which would have furthered endangered the crew. It was only in her internals and underlying structure that the Little Willie truly evolved armored warfare to a feasible level - her automotive components were eventually refined and adopted in future British tank designs of the war. The development process learned in creating the Little Willie certainly helped to lay down the foundation for the various "Mk" series tanks to follow for the "Big Willie" (also known as "Mother") was already in manufacture by the end of September 1916. From there, the landship would go on to form the armored spearhead of the Allied response to the Central Powers territorial holds in France and Belgium. Within time, the Central Powers would be demoralized and ultimately defeated, forced to sue for peace which was eventually marked by the November 1918 Armistice. There is no doubt that the appearance of armored tracked vehicles in the numbers provided gave a tremendous advantage to the Allies in the war. Interestingly, the tables would be turned in World War 2 with the German initiative concerning armored warfare.
At any rate, the Little Willie ushered in the concept of armored warfare first and brought a whole new world of strategic thinking to a battlefield that relied on fluid mobility of men, cavalry and cannon just 100 years prior (the Napoleonic Era being the primary example of this). Only a single Little Willie prototype was ever completed and this very specimen can be seen in its preserved form at the Bovington Tank Museum in Southwest England. Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
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Specifications for the
Little Willie
Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Fosters of Lincoln - UK
Initial Year of Service: 1915
Production: 1
Focus Model: Little Willie
Crew: 2 + 4
Overall Length: 17.88ft (5.45m)
Width: 9.19ft (2.80m)
Height: 10.01ft (3.05m)
Weight: 20.2 US Short Tons (18,289kg; 40,320lbs)
Powerplant: 1 x Daimler 6-cylinder gasoline engine generating 105bhp @ 1,000rpm.
Maximum Speed: 2mph (3.2 km/h)
Maximum Range: 0 miles (0 km)
NBC Protection: None
Nightvision: None
Armament:
PROPOSED:
1 x 2-pounder (40mm) main gun in turret
1 x .303 caliber (7.7mm) machine gun
OPTIONAL:
5 x .303 caliber (7.7mm) machine guns in various positions about the hull superstructure.
Ammunition:
Not Available.
Variants:
"Little Willie" - Base Series Designation
Operators: United Kingdom
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