![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xenith
German tank:
1. The points most vulnerable to Rifle and Machine Gun bullets are:
Flaps in the conning tower
Gun shield
Machine gun apertures
Undercarriage, when exposed during the crossing of an obstacle
2. A direct hit by artillery will put the tank out of action
3. A trench 8 feet wide or a large shell hole will arrest the tank's progress
(Printed in France by Army Printing and Stationery Services)
The German tank "Elfriede," the first to be captured, can be described as an armoured "caterpillar," carrying a 6-pdr. fun and 6 machine guns. It can travel across ordinary country (cornfields, roots, etc.) as fast as a trotting horse, but can neither cross an 8-foot-trench nor climb a 4-foot bank.
Parts of the tank.--The framework, on which is built up the armour-plated body.
The two tracks or "caterpillar" belts, below the framework, one on either side of the tank.
The two engines, placed side by side in the centre of the framework and covered in by light plating. In front and behind the engines are the radiators and the oil tanks. There are two petrol tanks, between the tracks, in front of the forward radiator. From each engine runs a driving shaft to the large gear case in front of the rear axle.
The body, divided into a front and a rear compartment connected by passage ways on either side of the engines. The floor is continuous throughout. In the roof, two louvres are provided for the purpose of ventilation. These consist of three layers of steel slats, spaced so as to admit a current of air.
The cab, or O.P., which projects 2 feet above the roof of the tank.
Over-all dimensions.--Length 24-ft.; width 10-ft. 6-in.; height 11-ft.
Weight.--40 tons approximately.
Speed.--Maximum speed on level ground for a short distance, 8 to 10 m.p.h. (say 1 mile in 6-7 minutes).
Armour.--Front of tank, 1 3/16-in; sides, 5/8-in. ; rear, 13/16-in. Front of cab, 13/16-in. ; sides and rear, 5/8--in. Loophole covers, 13/16-in.
Armament.--One 5.7-cm. (6-pdr.) Q.F. gun, on pivot mounting, firing through a loophole in the front of the tank and protected by a shield.
Six heavy ('08 pattern) machine guns, on shielded pivot mountings, firing through loop-holes, 2 on either side of the tank and 2 in rear.
Four rifles are carried in a rack in rear of the radiator.
Ammunition.--The gun fires 3 kinds of ammunition :--
(a) Armour-piercing H.E. shell with delay action fuze.
(b) Ordinary H.E. shell with delay action fuze.
(c) Case shot.
Engines.--Two 100 h.p. Daimler 4-cylinder engines of German manufacture. Electric self-starters.
Drive.--One man control; each engine drives one track. There are 2 clutches, 1 change speed lever, 2 brake levers and 2 reverse levers; 3 speeds forward and 3 reverse, each track being driven independently. The tank is steered by turning the steering wheel in the direction required. This throttles down the engine on the required side.
For sharp turns, if the turn should be to the right, the right clutch is disengaged and the right hand track brake applied.
There is an arrangement in the gear case by which one track can be put into forward and the other in reverse, but it is very doubtful if this would ever be required for steering.
Observation.--Exceptionally bad. Neither driver nor officer can see the ground within 10 yards of the front of the tank. The gun and machine guns can be trained on a point about 5 yards away from the tank.
Crew.--Stated to consist of 1 officer and 18 other ranks. According to a prisoner's statement, his tank went into action on the 24th April with the following crew of 22:-
1 officer (2nd Lieut.).
1 Vice-Sgt.--Major (supernumerary).
1 N.C.O. (driver).
12 machine ginners.
Vulnerable Points (see Figs. 2 and 3)
In front The gun shield, the observation loopholes on either side of the gun and the two observation loopholes in the cab.
These two documents were in a notebook of lecture notes from World War. There's a copy of the second document at here that has an extra part on the bottom
GENERAL STAFF (INTELLIGENCE),
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
1st June, 1918
It has also has extra "vulnerable points listed".
