Mark IV tank

Mark IV
Mark IV male with unditching beam deployed
TypeHeavy tank
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
Used byBritish Army
Imperial German Army
Reichswehr
Imperial Japanese Army
WarsFirst World War
German Revolution of 1918–19
Production history
Designer
Manufacturersee text
Unit costabout £5,000 [1]
ProducedMay 1917 – end 1918
No. built1,220
Specifications
Mass28 tons (28.4 tonnes)
Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonnes)
Length26 ft 5 in (8.05 m)
WidthMale: 13 ft 6 in (4.12 m)
Crew8

Armour0.5 inches (12 mm)
Main
armament
Male: Two 6-pounder (57-mm) 6 cwt QF guns with 332 rounds
Female: five .303 Lewis guns
Secondary
armament
Male: Three .303 in Lewis guns
EngineDaimler-Foster, 6-cylinder in-line sleeve valve 16 litre petrol engine
105 bhp at 1,000 rpm
TransmissionPrimary: 2 Forward, 1 Reverse
Secondary – 2 speed
Fuel capacity70 Imperial gallons
Operational
range
35 mi (56 km)
Maximum speed 4 mph (6.4 km/h)

The Mark IV (pronounced Mark four) was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments of the Mark I tank (the intervening designs being small batches used for training). The main improvements were in armour, the re-siting of the fuel tank and ease of transport. A total of 1,220 Mark IVs were built: 420 "Males", 595 "Females" and 205 Tank Tenders (unarmed vehicles used to carry supplies), which made it the most numerous British tank of the war. The Mark IV was first used in mid 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge. It remained in British service until the end of the war, and a small number served briefly with other combatants afterwards.

  1. ^ Glanfield, 2006, Appendix 3