Following the German surrender in May 1945, among the debris of war scattered about what is today the Schloßplatz in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) were two former British World War One tanks, both Mark V models. For some time, there was a swirl of mystery around them. Where did they come from? Were they used in action in the desperate final battles in Berlin? For one of the tanks, some unknowns remain. For the other tank, carrying serial 9146 and seen here, it is a story that can be told today.
During World War One, 9146 was assigned to the British Tank Corps' 16th. Battalion. At this time, it was a Male, meaning, it was equipped with two 6-pounder guns, one in each side sponson. In addition to the guns, the tank carried four Hotchkiss machine-guns. On October 16, 1918, three tanks from the 16th. Battalion (to include 9146) were attached to elements of the British Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment and IX Corps for an attack on German positions at the Bois-de-Riquerval and the Andigny-les-Fermas Ridge. On October 17, 1918 at 5:20am, the preparatory bombardment by artillery commenced and the attack got under way. One of the objectives during the battle was the French village of Regnicourt and 9146 took part in the combat to eject the Germans from the area. Unfortunately, the tank was struck by a round from a German 7.7cm (77mm) field gun. The paltry 12mm of armor, while adequate against German 7.92mm armor piercing rounds, was useless against field guns and other artillery. The round appeared to have entered the right sponson of the tank and killed four men: Corporal Drewitt, Private Daniels, Private Doig, and Private Fensome. It would appear that 9146 was recovered from the battlefield and repaired. However, it was turned into a Mark V Composite (sometimes referred to as Hermaphrodite) and so the damaged right sponson was replaced with the right sponson from a Mark V Female tank. Female tanks were armed with six Hotchkiss machine-guns and so 9146 now had a single 6-pdr gun and machine-gun in the left sponson and three machine-guns in the right sponson.
Life for 9146 was not done and when the Russian White Army looked to England and France for tanks to equip their forces for combat against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War (fought from November 7, 1917 to June 16, 1923), 9146 was included in a shipment of surplus British tanks to Novorossiysk, Russia sometime in 1919. The tank was transferred to one of Lieutenant-General Anton Ivanovich Denikin's tank detachments within his Dobrovolcheskaya Armiya (Volunteer Army). When the Red Army went on the offensive in October 1919, the Volunteer Army began to crumble and as it retreated, many of the tanks were abandoned or left behind to delay Red Army troops to allow as many Volunteer Army soldiers to escape the onslaught. Thus, the Red Army came into a total of 50 British tanks including Mark V heavy tanks and Whippet cavalry tanks. 9146 happened to be one of these, having been captured sometime in 1921 near T'bilisi, Georgia.
Sometime in the 1930s, it was found that some fifteen British tanks from the Russian Civil War remained on the inventory and so People's Commissar (Minister) for Defense Kliment Voroshilov (or Iosef Stalin himself source depending) directed that these tanks be utilized as monuments situated in various cities. For 9146 and one other tank, they were sent to the city of Smolensk and set up outside of the Holy Dormition Cathedral (Cathedral Church of the Assumption). Following the German occupation of Smolensk which began on July 16, 1941, the two tanks were removed from their posts and shipped to Berlin, Germany. Upon arrival, they were put on display outdoors as part of the Zeughaus' arms collection (today, the Deutsches Historisches Museum resides in the Zeughaus building). Most believe that both tanks were non-operational and in any case, their weapons had been removed from them prior to being put on display in Smolensk. The damage done to them was likely due to Soviet bombing and/or being struck by Soviet tank guns or anti-tank cannon during the Berlin combat. Soviet soldiers have scrawled words on the tank and after awhile, 9146 and its companion were broken down for scrap. There is an interesting story, completely unverified, told by an airman in 2003 about 2nd. Lieutenant James Conway of the 710th. Bomb Squadron. Conway was the bombardier for a Boeing B-17G (serial 42-31169) named “Hey Mabel!” The bomber was shot down on April 29, 1944 and crashed near Zermützel which was three miles north of Neuruppin, the latter town being some 50 miles from Berlin. In the story, Conway said that after he was captured following his parachute decent from the stricken bomber, he was “loaded into a turretless World War One tank for a trip thru Berlin's streets.” Whether Conway really was taken to Berlin in such a tank or he mistook a contemporary tank has never been confirmed though the chances of a fully functional Mark V tank, let alone it being able to make the journey from where Conway was captured to Berlin without any incident is not too likely.
As a side note, the man next to 9146 wears a shoulder patch of one of the U.S. Army's armored divisions and he has three service stripes on his left sleeve. A ribbon can just be made out above the left pocket on his service coat. He is also holding what appears to be a Graflex Speed Graphic medium format camera which could make him a press photographer as such a camera was not used by the casual picture taker given its type, size, and expense.
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