WW1 tank crossing road sign. Elderly crossing Magnet

The Mark I was the world's first tank, tracked and armed armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose.[3] The type was developed in 1915 to break the stalemate of trench warfare. It could survive the machine gun and small-arms fire in "No Man's Land", travel over difficult terrain, crush barbed wire, and cross trenches to assault fortified enemy positions with powerful armament. Tanks also carried supplies and troops. British heavy tanks are distinctive by an unusual rhomboidal shape with a high climbing face of the track, designed to cross the wide and deep trenches prevalent on the battlefields of the Western Front. Due to the height necessary for this shape, an armed turret would have made the vehicle too tall and unstable. Instead the main armament was arranged in sponsons at the side of the vehicle. The prototype, named "Mother", mounted a 6-pounder (57 mm) cannon and a Hotchkiss machine gun at each side. Later, subtypes were produced with machine guns only, which were designated "Female", while the original version with the protruding 6-pounder was called "Male". The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Somme Offensive.[4] With the exception of the few interim Mark II and Mark III tanks, it was followed by the largely similar Mark IV, which first saw combat in June 1917. The Mark IV was used en masse, about 460 tanks, at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. The Mark V, with a much improved transmission, entered service in mid-1918. In total more than two thousand British heavy tanks were produced. Manufacture was discontinued at the end of the war. This magnet is based on the classic British red triangle Tank Crossing warning sign. Instead of the stylised tank of the original this has the side silhouette of the classic WW1 rhomboid tank with the slogan "Elderly crossing " underneath This magnet makes a genuine surprise gift for any tank buff who will be very familiar with this beast.