J Walter Christie owned a vehicle manufacturing company that built specialist vehicles, like racing cars, fire engines and tractors. In 1919 the companies portfolio was expanded to include a tank, the Christie M1919 Medium Tank.
It featured sloped armour, centre bogies that could be raised so the vehicle could drive on its wheels, rather than tracks and a traversable Machine Gun Turret. Only one vehicle was built for US Army trials, but failed to secure any orders.
The US M1919 Medium Tank Spec’s
Armament: x1 57mm Main Gun and x1 7.62mm MG
Armour: 6 – 4mm steel
Crew: 3
Dimensions: Length 5.54m / Width 2.59m / Height 2.67m
Weight: 13.5 tonne
Engine: Christie 120hp 6-cylinder water cooled petrol
Speed: 11 km/h on tracks or 22 km/h on wheels
Operational Range: 56 km’s on tracks