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How did Little Willie differ from Big Willie, the first British tank models?
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M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks of the U.S. 1st Armored Division moving across the desert in northern Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, February 1991.
"Little Willie" and "Big Willie" were both experimental tracked vehicles developed by the British Admiralty Landships Committee during World War I to overcome the limitations of trench warfare.1
"Little Willie," constructed in September 1915, was the first prototype tank, essentially consisting of an armoured box mounted on a tractor chassis. "Big Willie" followed shortly thereafter as a second model specifically designed to cross wide trenches. This second design proved successful and was accepted by the British Army, which ordered 100 units in February 1916 under the designation Mark I.1