Landships II

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/themes/defence/caf/militaryhistory/dhh/official/book-1964-expeditionary-en.pdf

"The  heavy  toll  exacted  in  1915  by  German  automatic  fire  had  stimulated  efforts  to  invent  some  form  of  "machine-gun  destroyer"  which  could  negotiate  hostile  wire  and  trench.  Early  in  the  war  an  officer  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  Lt.Col.  (later  Major-General  Sir)  E.  D.  Swinton,  had  experimented  extensively  on  such  a  machine  but  had  failed  to  interest the War Office in his project. He was helped considerably by the foresight of Mr. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, who in January 1915 had urged on the Prime Minister the capabilities of "caterpillars"; and in the late summer of that year he won approval for the construction of a prototype of the new machine. The  model  that  was  soon  to  appear  in  battle  (the  Mark  I)  was  261  feet  long  with  a  six-foot  "tail"  (two  heavy  wheels  in  rear  to  minimize  shock  and  aid  steering);  it  was  almost  14  feet  wide  and  about  71  feet  high.  The  "male"  was  armed  with  two  six-pounder  guns  and  four  Hotchkiss  machine-guns  for  destroying  enemy  machine-gun  posts;  the  "female"  carried  only  machine-guns   -five   Vickers   and   one   Hotchkiss—for   employment   against   enemy   personnel."

Some new historical and technical information there. Certainly an interesting modelling project.