Female tank

Mark V 'Female' Tank

The "Female" tank was a category of tank prevalent in World War I, which featured multiple machine guns instead of the heavier armament seen on "male" tanks. As such, female tanks were normally cast in an anti-infantry role. "Females" were also lighter than "males".

Female tanks were first used in the Somme Offensive on September 15, 1916. Surgeon J.N.Mac Bean Ross M.C; M.D; R.N. writes in his diary at The Somme on Tuesday 23 January 1917:

"In evening went out with Spinney to see a tank which was stuck in no man’s land – H.M.L.S. “We’re all in it” a female tank with machine guns. Very interesting indeed."

By the end of World War I tank technology had developed, particularly in British tanks, to a point where it was decided that tanks should be 'hermaphrodites', simultaneously both male and female, carrying both heavy armament and lighter machine guns. For the WWI tanks, this was achieved by fitting them with one sponson of each type. A mixed ability armament of the heavy gun and multiple machine guns also became common practice on turreted designs, without sponsons. This has become the standard model for tank designs since World War I and since then the terms "male" and "female" have been disused.

The basic idea underlying the concept of female tanks was widely used in design of light tanks and the first British infantry tanks in the years leading to World War II. Some armour of the WWII period, such as the German Elefant tank destroyer, were exclusively 'male', having only their heavy gun. These were found to be susceptible to infantry attack and so a defensive MG was added.