Fantastic machines of the First World War Part 1

That the first British tanks for the sake of privacy I decided to call “tank”, today know many. Much more a veil of secrecy covered the projects of tanks, invented even before the “Little Willie” and “Big Willie” was released for testing. That’s about these top-secret once projects we will now and tell…

Machine Bouar

Although the first tanks went into battle in 1916, the idea to use on the battlefield machine was born as soon as the approaches to the trenches of the enemy entangled by numerous rows of barbed wire. Of course, it would have broken her and shells fired from guns, only had them a lot for this.

And then the French engineer Louis Bouar in December 1914 offered for this unusual car, rightfully claiming the title of the very first experimental tank of the First world war. Just look at her picture to understand that Mr. Bouar was distinguished by a rich imagination.

It was eight-frame six base plates connected by hinges. Inside it was a pyramidal structure with a motor capacity of 80 horsepower and Seating for two crew members.

Thanks to the wheels it slowly rolled inside the frame and its plate crushed the barbed wire. That’s just the speed it was only three miles an hour… Except it was almost impossible to manage. And, of course, great were the dimensions, because of which she was a good target for artillery, that’s why she refused immediately after the test conducted in February 1915.

The second model looked leaner, had an armored hull, machine gun, and could move through the trenches six feet (about two meters) wide. However, the rate was even lower than the first – just one kilometer per hour and a turning radius of 100 meters, which was completely unacceptable.

Tank “Breton Preto”

After learning about the failure of the test machines Bouar, another French engineer Jules Louis Breton suggested cutting wire mechanical cutter in vertical saws driven.

The device was named “Breton Preto” (the author’s name and the manufacturer) and mounted it on a five-ton wheeled tractor, which was booked and equipped with a machine gun in the tower. During the tests, the tractor was stuck in the trenches, where he barely learned.

Tank Abrio and Gabe

Two more French engineers, Abrio and GABA in 1915 on the basis of an agricultural tractor “, Filtz” built a strange fighting machine that took the form of Breneman with a motor in front and two leading wheels of large diameter.

The armament of the tower consisted of 37-mm rapid-fire guns, and a crew of two: driver and commander, performing the function arrow.

The most unusual car was a propulsion system consisting of electric motor receiving power via the cable! Yes, inside there were no batteries, no generator of current when moving the unit pulled a cable, with a special drum.

It is clear that war machine dragging behind it a “tail” for the army was totally unfit. Why didn’t realize that the inventors themselves – is unclear!

Tank Frota

In March 1915 engineer P. Frot of the company’s “North channel” proposed to build a symmetrical wheel military vehicle weight of 10 tons with two control stations so she could move on the battlefield, forward and backward, and turning. The engine capacity of just 20 horsepower was placed in the center of the body. The crew was to consist of nine people, including four gunmen with machine guns and three assistants. The machine speed was 3.5 miles per hour, but on rough terrain, it is actually could not move.