1:35 Mk. IV Male WW I Heavy Battle Tank - EMHAR
1:35 Mk. IV Male WW I Heavy Battle Tank - EMHAR
The Mark IV 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 Mk IV 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.
The Mark IV Male initially carried three Lewis machine guns – one in the cab front and one in each sponson – and a QF 6 pdr 6 cwt gun in each sponson, with its barrel shortened as it had been found that the longer original was apt to strike obstacles or dig into the ground. The sponsons were not mirror images of each other, as their configuration differed to allow for the 6 pdr's gun-layer operating his gun from the left and the loader serving the gun from the right. The guns had a 100 degree arc of fire but only the starboard gun could fire straight ahead.