The First Medium Tank - Mark A Whippet

While definitely useful, the heavy tanks lacked a certain flexibility on the battlefield due to their low speed and large size. The Medium Mark A, called the Whippet, filled a role that cavalry once filled, the faster unit used for scouting and to exploit holes opened up by their slower, heavier counterparts.


It wasn't able to assault fortified positions on its own, due to a lack of heavy weapons, but the multiple Hotchkiss machineguns allowed it to engage unfortified targets in all directions. The Mark A used a pair of 45 horsepower engines, one linked to each track, a system borrowed from British buses. In practice, this turned out to be suboptimal, since it gave drivers twice as many opportunities to stall an engine. The engines and fuel tank were mounted forward, with the crew at the rear in a non-revolving "citadel". Officially, the tank had a crew of 3 (driver, commander, and machinegunner), with an armament of 4 Hotchkiss machineguns, mounted one on each side of the citadel. Often, they would carry 4 crew and 2 or 3 guns, since the guns could be swapped between mountings, and having an extra gunner improved the flexibility of the vehicle. Despite their light armor (no more than 14mm at its thickest point), the higher speed and maneuverability, along with some unusual sloped armor faces, gave the Mark A an acceptable survival rate.

Surviving examples: Five Whippet tanks are preserved in museums, 1 each in the UK, US, Belgium, Canada, and South Africa. None are in running condition.

Medium Mark A "Whippet"
Fire Control: 0
Stabilization: None
Armament: Hotchkiss Mk 1 forward, Hotchkiss Mk 1 left, Hotchkiss Mk 1 right, Hotchkiss Mk 1 rear
Ammo: 5400x7.7mm
Fuel Type: G, A
Veh Wt: 14 tonnes
Crew: 3 (driver, commander, gunner)
Maint: 7
Tr Mov: 14/7
Com Mov: 6/3
Fuel Cap: 318
Fuel Cons: 64

Config: Veh
Susp: T: 4
HF 4
HS 1
HR 1

Variant: Fast Whippet
A British Major in France heavily modified a Whippet in 1918, adding leaf springs, the transmission from a Mk V, and a Rolls-Royce Eagle V12 that produced 360 horsepower, quadrupling the power in the Whippet. This Frankentank was capable of an incredible (for the time) 48 kilometers per hour, but the pending obsolescence of the Whippet meant this development never went anywhere.
Changes:
Tr Mov: 96/48
Com Mov: 22/11
Fuel Cons: 318