In 1917 Sir William Tritton had developed the Medium Mark A Whippet without involving his former co-worker Walter Gordon Wilson. In response Major Wilson began to design an improved type on his own, the Medium Mark B, in July 1917. As soon as he became aware of Wilson's intentions, Tritton ordered his chief designer, William Rigby, to design a rival type: the Medium Mark C. The drawings were approved by the British Army on 19 April 1918. The prototype was finished in August, a few weeks before the Medium B prototype also in construction at Tritton's own factory. At first 200 tanks were ordered; later this was increased to 600, all to be produced by William Foster & Co Ltd at Lincoln with Armlet & Wortley as subcontractor. Only 50 were built.[2] The colloquial name of the tank was to be "Hornet", but it seems nobody ever used it.
Descriptionedit
Medium Mark C, cross–section diagram
Superficially, the Medium C looks a lot like its rival, the Medium B.[3] It too has the general rhomboid shape of the Mark I and later heavy tanks combined with a fixed armoured structure, or casemate, well forward,[4] fitted with ball-mounts for five machine guns. However, Tritton's Medium Mark C was a much longer vehicle. It had a separate engine compartment at the back like the Medium B, but here it was large enough to house a normal 6-cylinder Ricardo engine behind a standard (as used in Mark V heavy tank) epicyclic transmission which was connected by chains to the sprockets.[2] Also it was easily accessible from the fighting compartment. The larger engine meant the tank had better speed - about 8 mph (13 km/h). The greater length gave it a superior trench crossing ability. A fuel tank holding 150 imp gal (680 L) of petrol allowed for a range of 140 mi (230 km). Overall mobility therefore was much better.
Rigby had taken great care to improve the design's ergonomics. The commander had a special revolving lookout cupola and even a small map table. There were eleven vision slits. Special stowage boxes were fitted for the personal gear of the crew of four. Speaking-tubes were used to improve communication. The driver had an odometer.
In the (likely) eventuality that the Medium Mark D would not be ready for mass production in 1919, the Tank Corps hoped to receive no fewer than 6,000 Medium Cs that year, a third of which would be of the "Male" version, with a long six-pounder (57 mm) gun, as used on the first British tanks, in the front of the superstructure. Though drawings were prepared, nothing would come of this.[3] When the war ended all orders were cancelled, with only 36 vehicles nearly finished. These were completed, together with fourteen others built from pre-produced parts, for a total production of fifty. General J.F.C. Fuller considered switching the budget for the development of the Medium D to a further production of Medium C's so as to fully equip all peace-time tank battalions with this better tank, but decided against it. Only the 2nd Tank Battalion received the tank. As it was the most modern materiel of the Tank Corps, it was carefully kept from harm: no Medium C's were sent either with the Expedition Forces against the Bolsheviks in Russia or to the Anglo-Irish War. The only tanks participating in the 1919 victory parade were four Medium C's. The only "action" the tank ever saw was being deployed to Glasgow in 1919, where they were parked in the Cattle Market, unused, in case they were needed to control rioting in the city, following the rioting known as the Battle of George Square in 1919.
From 1925 on, the Medium C was gradually replaced by the Medium Mark I and Medium Mark II. Proposals to use Medium Cs as recovery vehicles were rejected. A single vehicle was used to test a new type of transmission. In 1940 the last remaining Medium C was melted down.
^ abChant, Christopher (2002). World Encyclopaedia of the Tank. An international history of the armoured fighting machine. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN0-7509-3147-7.
^Crow, Duncan. British and Commonwealth Armoured Formations 1919-46 (Profile Publications Ltd, Great Bookham, no date), p.2.
White, B T. British Tanks 1915-1945. London: Ian Allan.
medium, mark, hornet, british, tank, developed, during, first, world, produced, late, fighting, medium, tank, mark, cproduction, historydesignerwilliam, rigbydesigned1917manufacturerfostersproduced1918, built50specifications, female, mass20, long, tons, length. The Medium Mark C Hornet was a British tank developed during the First World War but produced too late to see any fighting Medium Tank Mark CMedium Mark CProduction historyDesignerWilliam RigbyDesigned1917ManufacturerFostersProduced1918 No built50Specifications Female Mass20 long tons 20 t Length25 ft 10 in 7 87 m Width8 ft 4 in 2 54 m Height9 ft 6 in 2 90 m Crew4 commander driver mechanic machine gunnerArmour14 mm 0 55 in maximumMainarmament5 x 303 7 7mm machine guns a EngineRicardo 6 cylinder petrol engine150 hp 110 kW Power weight7 5 hp tonneSuspensionunsprungOperationalrange225 km 75 miles 1 Maximum speed7 9 mph 12 7 km h ReferencesFletcher 2001 White 1 Contents 1 Development 2 Description 3 Operational history 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksDevelopment editIn 1917 Sir William Tritton had developed the Medium Mark A Whippet without involving his former co worker Walter Gordon Wilson In response Major Wilson began to design an improved type on his own the Medium Mark B in July 1917 As soon as he became aware of Wilson s intentions Tritton ordered his chief designer William Rigby to design a rival type the Medium Mark C The drawings were approved by the British Army on 19 April 1918 The prototype was finished in August a few weeks before the Medium B prototype also in construction at Tritton s own factory At first 200 tanks were ordered later this was increased to 600 all to be produced by William Foster amp Co Ltd at Lincoln with Armlet amp Wortley as subcontractor Only 50 were built 2 The colloquial name of the tank was to be Hornet but it seems nobody ever used it Description edit nbsp Medium Mark C cross section diagram Superficially the Medium C looks a lot like its rival the Medium B 3 It too has the general rhomboid shape of the Mark I and later heavy tanks combined with a fixed armoured structure or casemate well forward 4 fitted with ball mounts for five machine guns However Tritton s Medium Mark C was a much longer vehicle It had a separate engine compartment at the back like the Medium B but here it was large enough to house a normal 6 cylinder Ricardo engine behind a standard as used in Mark V heavy tank epicyclic transmission which was connected by chains to the sprockets 2 Also it was easily accessible from the fighting compartment The larger engine meant the tank had better speed about 8 mph 13 km h The greater length gave it a superior trench crossing ability A fuel tank holding 150 imp gal 680 L of petrol allowed for a range of 140 mi 230 km Overall mobility therefore was much better Rigby had taken great care to improve the design s ergonomics The commander had a special revolving lookout cupola and even a small map table There were eleven vision slits Special stowage boxes were fitted for the personal gear of the crew of four Speaking tubes were used to improve communication The driver had an odometer Operational history edit nbsp Medium Mark Cs deployed in Glasgow in 1919 following the Battle of George Square In the likely eventuality that the Medium Mark D would not be ready for mass production in 1919 the Tank Corps hoped to receive no fewer than 6 000 Medium Cs that year a third of which would be of the Male version with a long six pounder 57 mm gun as used on the first British tanks in the front of the superstructure Though drawings were prepared nothing would come of this 3 When the war ended all orders were cancelled with only 36 vehicles nearly finished These were completed together with fourteen others built from pre produced parts for a total production of fifty General J F C Fuller considered switching the budget for the development of the Medium D to a further production of Medium C s so as to fully equip all peace time tank battalions with this better tank but decided against it Only the 2nd Tank Battalion received the tank As it was the most modern materiel of the Tank Corps it was carefully kept from harm no Medium C s were sent either with the Expedition Forces against the Bolsheviks in Russia or to the Anglo Irish War The only tanks participating in the 1919 victory parade were four Medium C s The only action the tank ever saw was being deployed to Glasgow in 1919 where they were parked in the Cattle Market unused in case they were needed to control rioting in the city following the rioting known as the Battle of George Square in 1919 From 1925 on the Medium C was gradually replaced by the Medium Mark I and Medium Mark II Proposals to use Medium Cs as recovery vehicles were rejected A single vehicle was used to test a new type of transmission In 1940 the last remaining Medium C was melted down Notes edit White says 4 Hotchkiss machine guns 1 References edit a b c White BT p34 a b Fletcher 2021 p171 178 a b Chant Christopher 2002 World Encyclopaedia of the Tank An international history of the armoured fighting machine Stroud Sutton Publishing pp 32 33 ISBN 0 7509 3147 7 Crow Duncan British and Commonwealth Armoured Formations 1919 46 Profile Publications Ltd Great Bookham no date p 2 White B T British Tanks 1915 1945 London Ian Allan Fletcher David 2001 The British Tanks 1915 1919 The Crowood Press ISBN 1861264003 External links editGreat Britain s medium tanks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Medium Mark C amp oldid 1221644754, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
