Mk IV Tank (UK)
The main British tank of the First World War, the Mk IV was the first to be manufactured in significant numbers, with just over one thousand manufactured during the war. The Mk. IV had the same rhomboid shape as the earlier Mk.I, designed to give it maximum clearance for crossing trenches,. Indeed, from the outside the Mk. IV looked very similar to it's predecessors, but was much improved in most details, from crew comfort to the power of the engines. The Mk. IV came in two main configuration, the female which was armed with six .303 Lewis machine guns, and the male, which replaced two of the machine guns with two 6 pounder guns. However, visibility for the gunners was very limited. The Mk IV entered combat at the battle of Fleurs (September 1917), before being used in the first major tank attack at Cambrai, and remained in service to the end of the war. After the war, the rhomboid tank was very quickly replaced by the more recognisably modern turreted tank.
How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (24 August 2001), Mk IV Tank (UK), http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_mk4.html
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