Discover the birthplace of the Tank

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Learn the history behind the birth of the tank - the machine that broke the stalemate of World War 1 – at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life.

By 1915, trench fighting in World War 1 was well established and the war had become a stalemate. It was Lincoln engineer William Tritton's invention that finally broke the stalemate of WW1, saving thousands of lives.

Tritton and his team drew up the plans for the tank in the White Hart Hotel, where the ‘Tank Room’ today displays photographs from their early meetings. A memorial stands to this team on a city centre rounadabout.

Lincoln became known as ‘Tank Town’ as thousands of tanks were produced in the city, and you can see one today at the free Museum of Lincolnshire Life, where an authentic WW1 tank named ‘Daphne’ lives.

Content provided by Visit Lincoln

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The first tanks are paraded through the streets of Lincoln.A tank in Lincoln city centre in the early 20th century

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