A column of Mosquito tanks, 1917

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1917.

The French Renault FT 17 Light Tank, nicknamed the Mosquito, was one of the best light tanks of the war. Its revolutionary design featured a turret with a 360-degree traverse. Weighing 6.5 tonnes and fitted with a moderate 35-horsepower engine, this tank only required a crew of two, a driver and a commander. Its main armament was a 8 mm Hotchkiss 1914 machine-gun, although later models were fitted with a larger cannon. Over 3,500 of these tanks (of five variants) were built during the conflict.

One of 193 British and Allied official photographs.