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Like the Mk I the tank had a crew of 8, the commander usually being a Lieutenant or
Second-Lieutenant. The crew hade their allotted roles, but they were trained to take up the position of any other
member, if these were injured or killed - which they often were. Any way, the conditions inside the tank was still so bad, that after some three hours the crew often started womiting - from the fumes - and even
fainting. The tank was still slow and cumbersome to drive. In order to change
direction, the tank still had to come
to a complete stop, in order for the crew to change the gears, the process taking some 15 seconds to
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The Mk IV was used in the futile and terrible fighting around Passchendaele in the latter part of 1917, but not to any noticable effect, as these heavy vehicles more often than not simply got stuck in the mud that was the battlefield. No, these tanks finest hour came in November 1917, when they were used in a attack towards Cambrai. The ground was firm, and well-suited for the tank, and for the first time they were used en masse: 476 tanks were employed, at a rate of approximately one tank for every 30 meters of front. The element of surprise was great, because the British commanders had decided to dispense with the obligatory preliminary bombardement, which not only used to churn up the ground but also warned the defenders of the impending attack.
The initial effect was tremendous, giving a foretaste of what the new weapon really was capable of, given the right circumstances: in just one day the Mk IV tanks punched a big hole in the German lines, 9.7km wide and some 8km deep - which was more than had been gained during four months of bloody fighting around Passchendaele.
However, at some point the tanks met fierce resistance. Tanks from three batallions tried to take the village of Fontaine-Notre-Dame, but was encountered by a battery of German AA-guns, mounted on lorries, which met the slow-moving tanks with accurate and deadly fire. And on the whole, the British infantry had problems to follow up the success of the tanks, and the Germans soon counter-attacked and retook most of the lost ground.
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shows the "Male" cannon-equipped variant, and is made from a Emhar kit. It portrays Tank no. B2, "The Black Prince", which belonged to the same "B"-batallion that participated in the failed attack on Fontaine. (Since building the model, I have learnt that B2 was a female - ooops! The serial is also wrong: it should be "2005". Ooops again! But I trust it still pretty much looks like the MkIV:s that participated in the push at Cambrai) It has been built pretty much straight out of the box, with some small modifications: the roof-rails have been thinned down, the roof cupola opened up, the roof box replaced with one made out of thin plasticard, the Lewis guns replaced by Hotchkiss MG:s, stowage and an unditching beam added.
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Weight Maximum Armour Maximum Road Speed Armament Crew |
The British Mark IV looked superficially like its fore-bearer, the Mk I, but it incorporated many
improvements, all results of experiences made during the autumn of 1916. The front and side armour was increased to 16 mm respective 12mm, and the petrol tanks were relocated to the back of the
vehicle, and was thus separated from the crew. (The petrols tanks were also supplied with an electric pump, that fuelled the engine whatever the angle of the
vehicle.) The quick firing 57mm guns were shortened, to make them less liable to get stuck in the ground or on
the wire. Special rails were also put on top of the tank, carrying a unditching
beam. Both a silencer for the engine, electric lights - 6 of them - and better ventilation meant improved conditions for the crew - but it still could easily become as hot as +45 degrees
centigrade.
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