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Track tension adjuster
WORLD WAR I TANK
Radiator grille
1914–1945 MARK V TANK 6-pounder gun

Tanks were first used by the British on the Somme in September 1916.
SIDE VIEW
track
ARS Early models were unreliable, but showed strong fighting potential. Crawler Machine-gun Sponson Access hatch
Over 400 Mark Vs had entered service before the war’s end.
Access hatch
ORLD W last of the lozenge-shaped British heavy also get stuck or break down. At the Battle
ground pitted with shell holes, they could
The Mark V, introduced in 1918, was the
of Cambrai in 1917, around 324 British
tanks to fight on the Western Front. As
with all of its predecessors, the Mark V’s
heavy tanks carried out a mass attack on
thick armor reduced both its speed and
firm ground and demonstrated what the
THE W mobility. The tank was employed to lead vehicle could achieve if properly used. Exhaust pipe and muffler PLAN VIEW
infantry across no-man’s-land, smashing
Lighter, quicker tanks, such as the British
a path through barbed wire and trenches.
Whippet and the French Renault FT-17—
Although resistant to machine-guns, which introduced the rotating gun turret— ▲ MARK V TANK
heavy tanks were vulnerable to artillery proved their worth in the relatively The tank was 26½ft (8.05m) long and weighed
32.5 tons (29.5 tonnes). Its 150hp (112kW) Ricardo
fire, and when operated over muddy open combat of the war’s later stages. engine gave it a top speed of 4½mph (7.4 kph).

TANK EXTERIOR
▶ “MALE” TANK
Versions with two 6-pounder
guns and four Hotchkiss
machine-guns were known as
“male” tanks; “female” tanks were
equipped only with machine-guns.

▼ ADJUSTER NUT
To give the correct traction,
the tension in the tracks was
altered by turning adjuster nuts.

▲ CRAWLER TRACK ▲ FRONT VIEW
The tank moved on two tracks— Enemy troops trained their fire
loops of riveted metal links on the vision ports, so tank crews
that ran around rollers. began to wear face masks.

▲ 6-POUNDER GUN ▲ ARMOR
Two crew manned each of the quick-firing 6-pounders, The Mark V was clad in riveted steel plates,
which were located on either side of the tank in up to ½in (14mm) thick, which could
armored projections called sponsons. Each sponson also withstand German armor-piercing bullets.
mounted a machine-gun. The engine radiator grille is visible on the left.