Medium Mark A Whippet
In service 1918 - 1920s
The fastest British tank of the war, conceived to exploit breakthroughs that the slow rhomboids could only create.
Built byWilliam Foster & Co.
Development history
The Whippet abandoned the all-round track of the heavy tanks for a fixed rear barbette and twin engines steered by separate throttles - effective but exhausting to drive. In the open fighting after Amiens it showed what mobile armour could do, most famously when a single Whippet, Musical Box, ran amok behind German lines for nine hours. It pointed directly at the interwar idea of the cavalry tank.
Variants
One canonical record, 2 recorded variants.
Medium Mark A
1918Production standard with four machine guns and twin engines.
Medium Mark B / C
1918Later mediums returning to all-round track with a central cab.
Notable actions
- Battle of Amiens (1918)
- Hundred Days Offensive (1918)