MK. A WHIPPET WWI MEDIUM A TANK

The Whippet Mark A (official name: Medium Mark A) was a British tank from the First World War. The first prototypes of the car were made in 1916, and serial production continued in 1917-1919, ending with the production of about 200 tanks of this type. The whippet was powered by two carburetor engines Tylor Twin JB4 with a total power of 90 HP. It was armed with 4 7.7mm Hotchkiss Mk I machine guns. After the success of using the first Mark I tanks, the British Army decided at the end of 1916 to develop a tank that would fulfill the current role of the cavalry. The new vehicle was therefore not so much to support the infantry in the attack, but rather to use a breakthrough in the front lines and break into the rear of the enemy. In order to accelerate the design work as much as possible, many proven solutions were used in the Whippet car - the chassis from the prototype Little Willie tank, the engines from the city buses produced in England, and the turret from the Austin armored car. The new tank turned out to be a successful design, and its only drawback was the complicated drive system. The combat type cars were used for the first time in March 1918 and fought until the end of World War I on the Western Front. Later they were used by the British in Ireland and in the expedition to Russia against the Bolsheviks as part of the civil war in that country. Small amounts were sold to Japan and the South African Union.