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| name = Mark IV
| image = MarkIVTankWithUnditchingBeam1917.jpg
| image_size = 300px310px
| caption = Mark IV male with [[unditching beam]] deployed
| origin = United Kingdom
| type = [[TankHeavy tank]]
<!-- Type selection -->| is_vehicle = yes
| is_UK = yes
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| number = 1,220
| variants = <!-- General specifications -->
| weight = 31.428
[[long ton|tons]] (28.4 tonnes)<br> Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonnes)
| length = {{convert|8.05|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
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| steering =
}}
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 [[vehicle armour|armour]], the re-siting of the fuel tank and ease of transport. A total of 1,220 MkMark IVIVs were built: 420 [[Male tank|"Males"]], 595 [[Female tank|"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.
 
==Development==
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The Mark IV Male initially carried three [[Lewis machine gun]]s – one in the cab front and one in each [[sponson]]<ref group="nb">A spare Lewis gun was carried on board</ref> – and a [[QF 6 pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss|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.<ref>Fletcher (2013), p. 59</ref> The Female had five Lewis guns but no 6-pounders.
 
The decision to standardise on the Lewis gun was due to the space available within the tanks. Despite its vulnerable barrel and a tendency to overheat or foul after prolonged firing, the Lewis had the advantage that it used compact [[Magazine (firearms)#Pan|pan magazines]] which could hold up to 96 rounds. The [[Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun|Hotchkiss]] was fed from a rigid strip which was trimmed down to only 14 rounds for tank use; no sooner had the machine gunner guided the fall of shot onto the target than it was time to change the strip and the process repeated.<ref name="Glanfield, Devil's Chariots, 169" >Glanfield, 2006, p. 169</ref> It was not until a flexible 50 round strip was fully developed in May 1917 that the Hotchkiss would become the standard machine gun for tanks again. The changes caused delays, such as adapting the design for the bulky Lewis cooling barrel, and later, problems when the Hotchkiss strips had to be stored in positions designed for Lewis gun magazines.<ref name="Glanfield, Devil's Chariots, 169" />
 
At the 1917 [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]], Mark IV tanks were equipped with [[fascines]], bundles of brushwood bound with chains, about {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} in diameter carried on the roof of the cab. They were dropped into trenches to allow the tank to cross over more easily.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/GreatBritain/BritishHeavyTanks.html|title=Great Britain's Heavy Tanks|publisher=mailer.fsu.edu|access-date=2009-02-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327204613/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/GreatBritain/BritishHeavyTanks.html|archive-date=2014-03-27}}</ref>
 
A large number of these tanks were also used for development work. In an attempt to improve trench-crossing capability, the "tadpole tail", an extension to the rear track horns, was introduced. However, it proved insufficiently rigid and does not appear to have been used in combat. Other experimental versions tested radios, mortars placed between the rear horns, and recovery cranes. Some of these devices were later used on operational tanks. Mark IVs were also the first tanks fitted with "[[unditching beam]]s" by field workshops. A large wooden beam, reinforced with sheet metal, was stored across the top of the tank on a set of parallel rails. If the tank became stuck, the beam was attached to the tracks (often under fire) and then the tracks would drag it beneath the vehicle, providing grip.
* Crew: 8
* Combat weight:
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* A Mark IV Female that fought at the Battle of Cambrai is at the [[Museum of Lincolnshire Life]], [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]].<br>A local company, [[William Foster & Co.]], manufactured the first tanks, although as the only Mark IVs built in Lincoln were Male, this vehicle was probably built by Metropolitan in Birmingham.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Landships of Lincoln |last=Pullen |first=Richard |publisher=Tucann |edition=2nd |year=2007|isbn=978-1-873257-79-1 |page=136}}</ref> Recent research had put the identity of this tank into doubt, a partial serial number was found in 2014 that suggests this tank is not in fact ''Flirt II'', as it was previously described.
* A Mark IV Female is preserved at [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] in Kent. This is one of many that were presented for display to towns and cities in Britain after the war; most were scrapped in the 1920s and 1930s. The engine was removed to install an electricity substation inside it. This was then removed a decade or so later to leave an empty interior.
[[File:Mark IV 03.jpg|thumb|Mark IV in Brussels]]
* The [[Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History|Royal Museum of the Armed Forces]] in [[Brussels]] has a Male Mark IV tank, ''Lodestar III'', still in original colours.
* A Mark IV Female, ''Grit'', is owned by the [[Australian War Memorial]] and annually goes on display at their open day.
* A Mark IV Male, ''Excellent'', is displayed at [[The Tank Museum]] in [[Bovington Camp]]. This tank was presented by the army to [[HMS Excellent (shore establishment)|HMS ''Excellent'']], a Royal Navy shore establishment where some tank crewmen were trained during WWI. It was very briefly restored to running condition in 1940, with a view to assisting in home defence, but did not see service. It was donated to the Tank Museum in 1971.<ref name="Fletcher, Mk IV" >Fletcher (2007)</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}
* Mark IV Female ''Liberty'': stored at [[Anniston Army Depot]], [[Anniston, Alabama]], US. After decades of exposure to the elements it is in poor condition, but is now in the Armor Restoration Shop at Ft.Fort Benning, GAGeorgia where it is being stored indoorsahead and aof restoration. plan is being developed.
* A Mark IV Female, D51: ''Deborah'', was excavated at the village of [[Flesquières]] in France in 1999. It had been knocked out by shell-fire at the Battle of Cambrai and subsequently buried when used to fill a crater.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tank-cambrai.com/pages/indexpag.html |title=Tank cambrai : Tank of flesquieres official website |access-date=2007-05-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329205855/http://www.tank-cambrai.com/pages/indexpag.html |archive-date=2007-03-29 }}</ref> Badly damaged and corroded when rediscovered, ''Deborah'' has been stabilised and is now housed in a small museum at Flesquières, close to the graves of members of the crew.
 
==Popular culture==
* In the film ''[[War Horse (film)|War Horse]]'', the title character, Joey, narrowly escapes a Mark IV tank.
* In the anime film series ''[[Girls und Panzer]] Dasdas Finale]]'', a Mark IV becomes [[Oarai, Ibaraki|Ooarai]]'s ninth tank. It is operated by pirate themed "Shark Team", humorously referencing the Mark IV's nickname as a "landship".
* To commemorate the centenary of the development of the Tank, in 2017 [[Channel 4]], the [[JCB (companyheavy equipment manufacturer)|JCB]] company and [[Guy Martin]] with the help of the [[Norfolk Tank Museum]] constructed a running replica Mk IV female (named ''Deborah II'') for the television documentary ''Guy Martin's WWI Tank''. ''Deborah II'' is now on permanent display at the Norfolk Tank Museum <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/guy-martins-wwi-tank|title = Guy Martin's WWI Tank – All 4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.highways.today/2017/11/16/jcb-guymartin-ww1-reproduction-tank/|title = JCB Team helps Guy Martin reproduce WW1 Tank as a tribute to the Centenary|date = 16 November 2017}}</ref>
* On ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight]]'', an elderly Autobot named Bulldog transforms to an army green Mark IV tank.
* In the ''[[Twisted Metal 4]]'' video game, one of the selectable characters General Warthog's vehicle of choice resembles a Mark IV tank.
 
==See also==
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==External links==
{{Commons category|Mark IV tank}}
* [http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll9,200 Headquarters, Tank Corps, 1 December 1917, British Army : "Instructions for the training of the Tank Corps in France". Includes Mk IV & V tank specifications.] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121208162236/http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll9,200 |date=8 December 2012 }}
* [http://www.tank-cambrai.com/english/home.php Archaeological discovery: the Mark IV tank of Flesquières (Battle of Cambrai 1917)]
* [http://sites.google.com/site/landships/home A site dedicated to listing all the British tanks that fought in World War] One
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