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Show TANKS SUGGESTED !BY YANKEE TRACTOR i WASHINGTON, 'Dec. C The use of tanks in warfare resulted from ideas gained by a British official while watching the demonstration of an American farm tractor in a German city in 1913. This official account of, tho origin of the tanks is given by Colonel Col-onel I. C. Welboru, director of the lank corps of the United States army in his annual report made public today. The report contafns no information as to tho American tank program, as it was prepared before the cessation of hostilities. hos-tilities. "The fighting machine originally called by the British the 'tank' had its inception in the caterpillar farm tractor," trac-tor," Colonel Wclborn says. "For several years prior to the war, British army authorities had been endeavoring en-deavoring to create some machine highly destructive in fighting capacity and at the same time affording maximum maxi-mum protection to human life. "The Holt Manufacturing company, makers of the Holt farm tractor, were giving a tractor demonstration in one of the large German cities about 1918. A representative of the British government govern-ment who saw the exhibit conceived tho Idea that the caterpillar tractor principle might be employed in pro-polling pro-polling a huge stool fighting machine which would enable a moving fore to negotiate the steepest hills and to i move over difficult ground impossiblo of passage by any other vehicle. Thin officer immediately brought the tractor trac-tor to the attention of General E. D. 'Swinton, of the British array, who also I realized the effective use to which the tractor could be put. j "Extensive experiments were begun ( under General Swinton and in Septem ber, 191G, the first tanks ever employed in warfare were launched on the British Brit-ish front in France. Current history gives accurate and interesting account of their service and the establishment in the army of the United States of an independent corps for the organization, equipment and training and employ ment of tank units is sufficient evi dence of the effective use of this weapon wea-pon in modern warfare." |
