While the increased production demand was a problem it created another one, in that they needed greater quantities of armament of which they didn’t have.
This meant that the tanks produced didn’t all have the same loadout, which led to these early tanks having a unique designation with some being called male and others female. Weapons were fitted in the sponsons and originally all tanks were to have 6-pdr machine guns however with quantities limited some would have Vickers machine guns. Those with 6-pdr guns would be male and those with the machine guns were female.
Relative to the original design the production models varied quite a bit, with the addition of springs to increase ground pressure and improve trenching abilities. Instead of perforations for exhaust vents, baffles were used. The lookout hatch was moved backward and the rivet style was girder makers and not boiler makers. The fuel tank position remained the same, as high up as possible this meant it was positioned in the front, 2 tanks 25 gal each. It was as high as possible so as to ensure gravity feed, however this meant if the tanks dipped too much fuel supply to the engine could be lost. It also meant that in the event of a fuel leak or the tank being hit an inferno was certain.
Even if the armour could withstand small arms fire, the fear was that small grenades onto the roof and shell fragments could still do damage. Their were attempts and designs to combat this with the make up of 4 mm perforated plates atop the tank, however these were never mounted. A later design was a gabled roof with wire mesh/netting, such designs were indeed needed as it was proved that a grenade could immobilize the tank.
No battle plan survives first contact, the testament to a good plan and planners is how well the original plan can be adapted to changing circumstances and how well it is adapted so as to achieve the original outcome or how close you come to the original outcome with the adapted plan. So to it can be said for engineering and design, no design survives going into production, what matters is how it is adapted to circumstances, logistical, scarcity of material etc. and modified so as to ultimately continue production and produce the desired outcome, a working production tank.
