The Greatest World War 1 Tanks

Mike Rothschild
Updated May 16, 2019 35.3K views 15 items
Ranked By
6.6K votes
1.2K voters
Voting Rules
Vote up the best tanks used in WWI.

World War 1 tanks were the first in history, great machines armed with cannons and machine guns, and designed to plow through barbed wire and trenches. The British realized that they'd need new technology to break the stalemate, and began the "Landship Project" to develop the equivalent of a ship to operate on land. They deployed the first tank, the Mark I, in September, 1916, and the world was forever changed.

In practice, tanks of the First World War didn't work exactly the way they were meant to, with the machines being slow, prone to breakdowns, and most importantly, often deadly to their crews. Armored commanders didn't understand how best to deploy them, and those Mark I's were used piecemeal, giving Germany time to adapt, develop tank-killing weapons, and eventually their own tanks.

By the time the war ended, thousands of tanks had been built, and both sides were developing faster and heavier models that would have been instrumental in breaking the stalemate on the Western Front.

Here's your chance to rank the most powerful and important WW1 tanks.

  • 1
    519 VOTES

    Mark V

    Mark V
    Photo: Tony Hisgett / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
    Had a much better transmission and heavier guns than the Mark IV. Used in numerous battles in 1918.
    519 votes
  • 2
    464 VOTES

    Renault FT

    Renault FT
    Photo: Makizox / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
    The first tank with a modern design, France built over 3,300 FT's. Used to swarm enemy positions with fast-moving firepower, and served in both World Wars all over the world.
    464 votes
  • 3
    497 VOTES

    Mark IV

    Mark IV
    Photo: Alan Wilson / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
    Improved Mark I that carried more armor and bigger guns. Over 1,200 were made in both "male" and "female" types, and proved to be a mainstay of the British Army.
    497 votes
  • 4
    368 VOTES

    Mark I

    Mark I
    Photo: British Government Photographer / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    The first tank ever used in battle, the British Mark I saw action at the Battle of the Somme in September, 1916. They came in two types: "male," armed with three cannons and two machine guns, and "female," armed with five machine guns.
    368 votes
  • 5
    341 VOTES

    Mark VIII Liberty Tank

    Mark VIII Liberty Tank
    Photo: US military / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    A planned collaboration between Britain and the US to build a heavy tank, the Mark VIII was meant to be used in a breakthrough attack in 1919, but the war ended first. A replica of a Liberty Tank was later built and used for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
    341 votes
  • 6
    312 VOTES

    Renault FT (American)

    Renault FT (American)
    Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    The United States didn't have advanced equipment when it entered the war, so US troops relied on Allied tanks. Multiple American battalions used the Renault FT, and an American-made copy, the M1917 light tank, was in production when the war ended.
    312 votes
  • 7
    280 VOTES

    Beutepanzerwagen

    Beutepanzerwagen
    Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    As Germany was late to adopting tanks, they relied mostly on captured British tanks for combat, especially the Mark IV. About 40 captured Mark IV's were renamed beutepanzerwagen, German for "loot tank."
    280 votes
  • 8
    415 VOTES

    A7V

    A7V
    Photo: baku13 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
    Monster German heavy tank. Only 20 were built, but they proved to be fearsome in combat and extremely hard to knock out.
    415 votes
  • 9
    268 VOTES

    Mark IX

    Mark IX
    Photo: British Government / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    British-built heavy tank that served as the world's first armored personnel carrier, with room for 16 soldiers.
    268 votes
  • 10
    267 VOTES

    Whippet

    Whippet
    Photo: Jonnyc429 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
    British light tank intended for fast-moving assaults. Proved deadly against infantry, but too underarmored and small to fight other tanks.
    267 votes
  • 11
    297 VOTES

    Saint-Chamond

    Saint-Chamond
    Photo: Halsey, Francis Whiting / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    Second French attempt at a heavy tank. Carried the famous French 75 cannon, and was faster and easier to use.
    297 votes
  • 12
    203 VOTES

    Medium Mark C

    Medium Mark C
    Photo: William Fosters & Co Ltd / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    Intended to replace the Whippet medium tank, the Medium Mark C wasn't finished in time to fight in the war, but served in several immediate post-war conflicts.
    203 votes
  • 13
    228 VOTES

    LK II

    LK II
    Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    A German experimental light tank, the LK II incorporated a rotating turret into a tracked vehicle, and would have carried out scouting and infantry support missions. Only a few prototypes were completed before the war ended.
    228 votes
  • 14
    210 VOTES

    Ford 3-Ton M1918

    Ford 3-Ton M1918
    Photo: R.P.Hunnicutt. Stuart / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    American-built heavy tank meant to fight in 1919. 15,000 were ordered, but only 15 were built, and they saw little combat service.
    210 votes
  • 15
    226 VOTES

    Schneider CA1

    Schneider CA1
    Photo: Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
    First French tank, designed to plow through barbed wire. Proved to be slow, unwieldy, and with poor ventilation that often suffocated crews.
    226 votes