Page "Armour" Paragraph 49

Tank or " landship " development, originally conducted by the British Navy under the auspices of the Landships Committee was sponsored by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill and proceeded through a number of prototypes culminating in the Mark I tank prototype, named Mother.

The first tank to engage in battle was designated D1, a British Mark I, during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette ( part of the Somme Offensive ) on 15 September 1916.