Summary: TV documentary which uses stock footage, film of preserved vehicles and interviews with ex-servicemen to relate the history of the tank.
Description: Introduction by Lord Chalfont describes briefly the stalemate on the Western Front in 1916 and the attempts to break the deadlock, culminating in the concept of a 'landship'. He then demonstrates the track-link, the basic component of the flexible track which made the tank possible. The account of the 1914-18 war culminates in the Battle of Cambrai, the "baptism of fully mechanised war". Post-war conservatism in Britain is contrasted with the ready acceptance of armoured warfare in Germany, but the programme emphasises the British origin of many of the ideas propounded by the German theorists, and the '1919 Plan' is described as the progenitor of the Blitzkrieg. The course of the Second World War is described primarily in terms of competing armoured designs, culminating in the 'Tiger II'. The programme concludes with a demonstration of the Chieftain, the product of designers "obsessed" with what the Tiger had achieved, and asks if the design priorities it represents are suited to future conflicts with a new AT technology. Is the Chieftain "a ghost from wars that will never be fought again"?
Alternative Title:HORIZON [Series Title]
Colour:Colour
Digitised:
Object_Number:MGH 536
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:
Production Date:1970-11-23
Production Country: GB
Production Details: BBC Television (Production company)
Gibson, Brian (Production individual)
Hamilton, FredBBC cameraman (Production individual)
Cutting, Geoffrey (Production individual)
Goodchild, Peter (Production individual)
Hammond, Simon (Production individual)
Howell, Paul (Production individual)
Macksey, Kenneth John (Production individual)
Zwanenberg, William von (Production individual)
Poulter, Edward (Production individual)
Swain, Robin (Production individual)
Robertson, Malcolm (Production individual)
Jones, Alun Arthur Gwynne (Baron Chalfont)1919-12-09 (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords:
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 16mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 1648 ft; Running time: 46 mins
