Mark V Tank

1. Lead

The Mark V was the British heavy tank of 1918, and the best of the rhomboid tanks of the First World War. It was an improved version of the Mark IV tank, with a more powerful Ricardo engine, a new epicyclic gearbox that allowed a single man to drive the tank, and better ventilation for the crew, and it was the tank that led the great Allied offensives of the last year of the war.

At Amiens on 8 August 1918, the Mark V spearheaded the attack that broke the German lines and began the Hundred Days Offensive, and at the Hindenburg Line in September 1918, Mark Vs crossed the St Quentin Canal and broke through the strongest German defences on the Western Front.

About 400 Mark Vs were built, in Male and Female versions, and the type remained in service after the war, fighting in the Russian Civil War and serving as a monument in towns across Britain and Russia.

The Mark V’s importance lies not only in what it did in 1918, but in what it represented: the maturation of the tank. The Mark I tank of 1916 had been an experiment, a crude machine that proved an idea, and the Mark IV of 1917 had been an improvement on it, but the Mark V was a tank that could be driven by one man, that could keep up with the infantry, and that could be used in large numbers in a coordinated attack.

Its epicyclic gearbox, designed by Walter Wilson, was a genuine innovation, and it remained the basis of British tank transmissions for decades. The Mark V’s lengthened version, the Mark V*, could carry infantry across the battlefield, and it was the ancestor of the armoured personnel carrier, while the Mark V’s post-war service in Russia showed that the tank had become a weapon of lasting importance.

2. Key Facts

Type	Heavy tank
Origin	Britain
Designers	William Tritton and Walter Wilson (epicyclic gearbox)
Manufacturer	Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Co.
In service	1918–1919 (British Army); longer in Russia and elsewhere
Produced	1918; about 400 built (200 Male, 200 Female)
Weight	About 29 tonnes
Length	About 8.1 m
Width	About 3.9 m (Male, with sponsons)
Height	About 2.6 m
Crew	8 (commander, driver, six gunners/loaders)
Armour	6–14 mm
Main armament (Male)	Two 6-pounder (57 mm) guns; four Hotchkiss machine guns
Main armament (Female)	Six Hotchkiss machine guns
Engine	Ricardo six-cylinder petrol, 150 hp
Top speed	About 7.4 km/h on level ground
Range	About 72 km

3. Background and Development

From the Mark I to the Mark V

The Mark V was the third generation of the British heavy tank, and it was developed from the experience of the Mark I tank and the Mark IV. The Mark I, which first fought at Flers-Courcelette in September 1916, had proved the idea of the tank, but it was slow, unreliable and difficult to drive: its gearbox required two men to change gear, its engine was underpowered, and its crew worked in appalling conditions, with the engine inside the fighting compartment filling the tank with heat and fumes.

The Mark IV, which entered service in 1917, improved the armour and the armament, replacing the Mark I’s Vickers machine guns with Lewis guns and fitting a shorter 6-pounder gun, but it kept the Mark I’s gearbox and its engine, and it was still difficult to drive.

The Tank Corps, which had grown from a few hundred men in 1916 to thousands by 1917, asked for a tank that could be driven by one man, and the result was the Mark V.

The Mark V’s key innovation was its epicyclic gearbox, designed by Walter Wilson, one of the designers of the original Mark I. The epicyclic gearbox, which used a system of planetary gears, allowed the driver to change gear and steer the tank with a single lever, and it reduced the crew’s workload so greatly that the tank could be driven by one man, with the commander free to command the tank and to direct its fire.

The Mark V also had a new engine, the Ricardo six-cylinder petrol engine of 150 horsepower, which was more powerful than the Daimler engine of the Mark I and Mark IV, and which was designed specifically for use in a tank.

The Mark V’s ventilation was also improved, with a fan to draw the fumes out of the fighting compartment, although the conditions inside the tank remained harsh by any later standard.

The Ricardo engine and the Wilson gearbox

The Ricardo engine, designed by Harry Ricardo, was one of the most important parts of the Mark V. Ricardo, who had worked on the engines of the Mark I and Mark IV, designed a new six-cylinder engine that produced 150 horsepower, against the 105 horsepower of the Daimler engine, and that was more reliable and easier to maintain.

The engine was fitted in the Mark V in a separate compartment, which reduced the heat and the fumes in the fighting compartment, although it did not eliminate them. The Wilson gearbox, which was fitted to the Mark V for the first time, was a masterpiece of engineering: it used a system of epicyclic gears, which allowed the driver to select any gear with a single lever, and it made the tank much easier to drive than its predecessors.

The gearbox was so successful that it was used in British tanks for the next thirty years, and it was the basis of the transmissions of the tanks of the Second World War.

Production and the Mark V*

The Mark V was built by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company, which had built the Mark I and the Mark IV, and production began in early 1918. About 400 Mark Vs were built, in equal numbers of Male and Female versions, and they were delivered to the Tank Corps in time for the great offensives of the summer and autumn of 1918.

The Mark V was followed by the Mark V, a lengthened version that could carry infantry: the Mark V was about 2 metres longer than the Mark V, and it had a compartment at the rear that could carry up to 14 infantrymen, or a machine-gun section, across the battlefield.

More than 500 Mark V* tanks were built, and they were the first armoured personnel carriers, although they were not used in that role in 1918, and they were followed by the Mark V**, a further development with a more powerful engine, of which only 25 were built.

4. Design

The rhomboid hull and the tracks

The Mark V kept the rhomboid shape of the Mark I and the Mark IV, and for the same reason: to cross trenches. Its tracks ran around the whole body of the vehicle, so that the front of the track could climb out of a trench and the rear could push the vehicle forward, and the Mark V could cross a trench about 3.5 metres wide, climb a slope of about 45 degrees and crush barbed wire under its tracks.

The tracks were made of cast steel links, and they were driven by the Ricardo engine through the Wilson epicyclic gearbox, which was the Mark V’s most important innovation. The Mark V’s hull was of riveted construction, with armour up to 14 mm thick on the front and on the sponsons, which was thicker than the Mark I’s armour and which gave the crew better protection against German machine-gun fire and against the armour-piercing rifle bullet, although it was still not enough to stop German artillery.

Armour and armament

The Mark V’s armour was thicker than that of its predecessors: 14 mm on the front and on the sponsons, 10 mm on the sides and 6 mm on the rear and on the roof. It was enough to stop rifle bullets and machine-gun fire, and it gave the crew better protection than the Mark I’s 12 mm, but it was not enough to stop the German armour-piercing rifle bullet at close range, and it was certainly not enough to stop German artillery.

The Male’s armament was two 6-pounder (57 mm) guns, mounted in sponsons on the sides of the vehicle, and four Hotchkiss machine guns, and the Female’s armament was six Hotchkiss machine guns. The 6-pounder guns were shorter than those of the Mark I, which made them easier to use in the sponsons, and they fired high-explosive shells against infantry and armour-piercing shells against German strongpoints, while the machine guns swept the German trenches with fire.

The crew and the single driver

The Mark V’s crew of eight worked in conditions that were better than those of the Mark I, but still harsh by any later standard. The engine was in a separate compartment, which reduced the heat and the fumes in the fighting compartment, and a fan drew the fumes out, but the temperature inside the tank could still reach 40 degrees Celsius, and the crew wore goggles and masks to protect themselves from the fumes and from the splinters that flew off the inside of the armour when it was hit.

The Mark V’s greatest improvement was its driving: the Wilson epicyclic gearbox allowed a single man to drive the tank, with the commander free to command and to direct the fire, and the tank was much easier to drive than its predecessors.

The crew communicated by hand signals, because the noise of the engine made speech impossible, and the tank’s speed, about 7.4 km/h on level ground, meant that it moved at walking pace, although it was faster than the Mark I and the Mark IV.

5. Variants

Variant	Year	Key features	Production
Mark V Male	1918	Two 6-pounder guns; four machine guns	200
Mark V Female	1918	Six machine guns; no cannon	200
Mark V* (Star)	1918	Lengthened hull; could carry infantry	More than 500
Mark V**	1918	More powerful 225 hp engine; thicker armour	25
Mark V Composite	1918	One Male sponson and one Female sponson	Small numbers

Male, Female and Composite

The Mark V was built in Male and Female versions, like the Mark I and the Mark IV, and the difference between them was their armament. The Male carried two 6-pounder guns and four machine guns, and it was intended to destroy German machine-gun posts, strongpoints and artillery, while the Female carried six machine guns and no cannon, and it was intended to protect the Male from German infantry.

The two versions were meant to fight together, in pairs, although in practice the distinction was less important than it had been in 1916, and the Mark V’s Male and Female versions were often used interchangeably. A small number of Mark Vs were built as Composite, or “hermaphrodite”, tanks, with one Male sponson and one Female sponson, and these were used when a Male sponson was damaged and replaced with a Female sponson, or vice versa.

The Composite tanks were a practical solution to the problem of damaged sponsons, and they show how the Tank Corps improvised with the vehicles it had.

The Mark V* and the Mark V**

The Mark V* was the most important variant of the Mark V, and it was the first armoured personnel carrier. It was about 2 metres longer than the Mark V, and it had a compartment at the rear that could carry up to 14 infantrymen, or a machine-gun section, across the battlefield, and it was intended to carry the infantry through the German defences, so that they could fight alongside the tanks.

More than 500 Mark V* tanks were built, and they fought at Amiens and at the Hindenburg Line, although they were not used to carry infantry in 1918, and they were used as ordinary tanks. The Mark V** was a further development of the Mark V, with a more powerful Ricardo engine of 225 horsepower and thicker armour, but only 25 were built, and the war ended before they could see action.

The Mark V* was the last of the rhomboid tanks, and it was followed by the Medium Mark D and by the Vickers Medium tanks of the 1920s.

6. Operational History

Hamel, 4 July 1918

The Mark V first saw action on 4 July 1918, at Hamel, where it supported the Australian attack on the German lines. The battle of Hamel was a small action, but it was important because it was the first time that tanks, infantry, artillery and aircraft had been used together in a coordinated attack, and it was a rehearsal for the great offensives of the summer.

The Mark Vs, which were used in small numbers at Hamel, helped the Australians to capture the village and the German positions, and they showed that the tank could be used in conjunction with the infantry, rather than on its own. The battle was a success, and it was followed by the great offensive at Amiens, where the Mark V played a much larger role.

The Australians, who had been sceptical of the tank, were impressed by the Mark V’s performance at Hamel, and they asked for tanks to support their attacks for the rest of the war.

Amiens, 8 August 1918

At Amiens on 8 August 1918, the Mark V spearheaded the attack that began the Hundred Days Offensive, the great Allied offensive that ended the war. The attack was planned by the British commander, General Rawlinson, and it used more than 500 tanks, including Mark Vs and Mark V*s, Whippets and supply tanks, in a coordinated attack with the infantry, the artillery and the aircraft.

The Mark Vs broke through the German lines, and they advanced up to 12 kilometres on the first day, capturing German guns, prisoners and supplies, and the German commander, General Ludendorff, called 8 August “the black day of the German Army”.

The Mark V’s role at Amiens was crucial: it was the tank that led the attack, and it showed that the tank, used in large numbers and in conjunction with the other arms, could break through the strongest defences.

The advance from Amiens

After Amiens, the Mark V advanced with the British Army across northern France, fighting in the battles that pushed the German Army back towards the Hindenburg Line. The Mark Vs were used in every major attack of the summer of 1918, and they helped the British to capture the German positions at Albert, at Bapaume and at Péronne, although many broke down or were destroyed by German artillery, and the Tank Corps lost heavily in men and machines.

The Mark V’s mechanical reliability was better than that of the Mark I and the Mark IV, but it was still poor by any later standard, and the Tank Corps had to work hard to keep its tanks running, with workshops and spare parts following the advance.

The Tank Corps’ workshops worked day and night to repair the damaged tanks, and many tanks that had broken down were repaired and returned to action within days.

The Hindenburg Line, September 1918

In September 1918, the Mark V fought its greatest battle, at the Hindenburg Line, the strongest German defences on the Western Front. The Hindenburg Line was a system of trenches, wire, concrete strongpoints and anti-tank defences, and it was believed to be impregnable, but the British attack, which used Mark Vs and Mark V*s, broke through it at the St Quentin Canal, where the tanks crossed the canal on bridges and in the canal bed, and captured the German positions.

The Mark V’s role at the Hindenburg Line was crucial: it was the tank that crossed the canal and broke through the line, and it showed that the tank could break through the strongest defences, and that the war was won.

The crossing of the St Quentin Canal was one of the great feats of the war, and it was achieved by the tanks, the infantry and the engineers working together, under heavy German fire.

7. Performance and Specifications

Specification	Mark V Male	Mark V Female
Main armament	Two 6-pounder (57 mm) guns	Six machine guns
Armour (maximum)	14 mm	14 mm
Armour (front)	14 mm	14 mm
Weight	About 29 tonnes	About 29 tonnes
Engine	Ricardo, 150 hp	Ricardo, 150 hp
Power-to-weight	About 5.2 hp per tonne	About 5.2 hp per tonne
Top speed	About 7.4 km/h	About 7.4 km/h
Trench crossing	About 3.5 m	About 3.5 m
Range	About 72 km	About 72 km
Crew	8	8
Number built	200	200

Firepower and protection

The Mark V’s firepower was the same as that of the Mark IV, but it was used more effectively, because the Mark V’s single driver freed the commander to direct the fire, and because the Mark V was used in larger numbers and in coordinated attacks.

The Male’s 6-pounder guns could destroy German machine-gun posts, strongpoints and field guns, and they could fire high-explosive shells against infantry and armour-piercing shells against German strongpoints, while the Female’s machine guns swept the German trenches with fire and protected the Male from German infantry.

The Mark V’s armour, at most 14 mm thick, was thicker than the Mark I’s 12 mm, and it gave the crew better protection against German machine-gun fire and against the armour-piercing rifle bullet, although it was still not enough to stop German artillery, which remained the main threat to the tank.

The 6-pounder’s armour-piercing shell could penetrate the concrete of the German strongpoints, and it was the most effective tank gun of the First World War.

Mobility and reliability

The Mark V’s mobility was better than that of its predecessors, and its reliability was better too, although both were poor by any later standard. Its top speed was about 7.4 km/h on level ground, against the Mark I’s 6 km/h, and its range was about 72 km, against the Mark I’s 38 km, which meant that it could operate further from its start line and that it could keep up with the infantry for longer.

Its engine, the Ricardo six-cylinder petrol engine of 150 horsepower, was more powerful and more reliable than the Daimler engine of the Mark I and Mark IV, and its Wilson epicyclic gearbox made it much easier to drive. The Mark V still broke down often, and the Tank Corps lost many tanks to mechanical failure, but it was a considerable improvement on the Mark I, and it was the first British tank that could be used in large numbers in a sustained offensive.

8. Operators

Britain: the Tank Corps in 1918

The Mark V was used by Britain, and it was the standard heavy tank of the Tank Corps in 1918. The Tank Corps, which had grown from a few hundred men in 1916 to more than 20,000 men by 1918, operated hundreds of Mark Vs in the great offensives of the last year of the war, and it became one of the most important arms of the British Army.

The Mark V’s crews were volunteers, and many of them were engineers, mechanics and drivers who had joined the army to work on the new machines, and they learned to drive, to maintain and to fight in the tank, and to use it in conjunction with the infantry and the artillery.

The Tank Corps’ success in 1918 was due in large part to the Mark V, and to the tactics that the Tank Corps had developed for its use. The Tank Corps’ officers, who had learned their trade in the battles of 1916 and 1917, were among the most experienced tank soldiers in the world by 1918.

Russia and the post-war Mark V

After the war, the Mark V was used in the Russian Civil War, where it fought on both sides. The British supplied Mark Vs to the White Russians, who used them against the Bolsheviks, and the Bolsheviks captured a number of Mark Vs and used them against the Whites, and the Mark V became a familiar sight on the battlefields of Russia.

After the Russian Civil War, the Mark Vs that remained in Russia were used as monuments, and two of them, a Male and a Female, stand in the city of Luhansk in Ukraine to this day. The Mark V was also used by other countries after the war, including France and the United States, which used it for trials, and it remained in service with the British Army until the 1920s, when it was replaced by the Medium Mark A and the Vickers Medium tanks.

The Mark V’s post-war service showed that the tank had become a permanent part of warfare, and that no army could afford to be without it.

9. Legacy and Influence

The tank comes of age

The Mark V’s legacy is that it was the tank that came of age. The Mark I tank had proved the idea of the tank, and the Mark IV had improved it, but the Mark V was the first tank that could be driven by one man, that could be used in large numbers, and that could break through the strongest defences.

Its epicyclic gearbox, designed by Walter Wilson, was a genuine innovation, and it remained the basis of British tank transmissions for decades, while its Ricardo engine was the first engine designed specifically for use in a tank. The Mark V’s lengthened version, the Mark V*, was the first armoured personnel carrier, and it showed that the tank could be used to carry infantry across the battlefield, an idea that became central to tank design in the Second World War.

The Wilson gearbox, in particular, was a lasting innovation, and it was used in British tanks until the end of the Second World War.

The Mark V in history and memory

The Mark V is remembered as the tank of the Hundred Days Offensive, and as the tank that broke the Hindenburg Line. Its role at Amiens, where it spearheaded the attack that began the offensive that ended the war, and at the Hindenburg Line, where it crossed the St Quentin Canal and broke through the strongest German defences, has made it one of the most famous tanks of the First World War.

The Mark V is also remembered in Russia, where its surviving examples in Luhansk are among the most famous monuments of the Russian Civil War, and in Britain, where the Tank Museum at Bovington holds a Mark V and where the tank is remembered as the machine that won the war.

Historians have qualified that judgement, but the Mark V’s contribution to the Allied victory in 1918 was real, and it was the first tank that could be used as a weapon of decision.

10. Surviving Examples

The Tank Museum, Bovington

Several Mark V tanks survive, and the best-known examples are held at the Tank Museum in Bovington, England. The museum holds a Mark V Male, which was presented to the museum after the war, and which is displayed alongside the museum’s other First World War tanks, including the Mark I, Mark II and Mark IV.

The museum also holds a Mark V, and the two tanks are displayed in the order in which they were built, so that visitors can see how the tank developed from the Mark I to the Mark V. For most visitors, the easiest way to see a Mark V is at Bovington, where the museum’s First World War tanks are displayed together, and where the Mark V’s rhomboid shape and its epicyclic gearbox can be seen in full.

The museum’s Mark V is one of the most photographed tanks in its collection, and it is regularly used in the museum’s displays on the Hundred Days Offensive.

Luhansk, Kubinka and other survivors

The most famous surviving Mark Vs outside Britain are the two tanks in Luhansk, in Ukraine, which are a Male and a Female, and which have stood in the city since the Russian Civil War, when they were used by the White Russians and then captured by the Bolsheviks.

The two tanks are among the most famous monuments of the Russian Civil War, and they have been photographed and studied by historians from around the world. Other surviving Mark Vs are held at the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, which holds a Mark V that was used in the Russian Civil War, and at the U.S.

Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Fort Benning, Georgia, which holds a Mark V that was used for trials by the American Army after the war. The Mark V’s survival in so many places is evidence of its importance, and of the impression it made on the soldiers who saw it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Mark V tank?
The Mark V was a British heavy tank of 1918, an improved version of the Mark IV with a Ricardo engine and a Wilson epicyclic gearbox that allowed a single man to drive the tank. About 400 were built.

What was new about the Mark V?
The Mark V’s key innovation was its epicyclic gearbox, designed by Walter Wilson, which allowed the driver to change gear and steer the tank with a single lever. It also had a more powerful Ricardo engine of 150 horsepower.

How many Mark V tanks were built?
About 400 Mark V tanks were built in 1918 — 200 Male and 200 Female — and more than 500 lengthened Mark V* tanks were also built.

What is the Mark V?
The Mark V was a lengthened version of the Mark V that could carry up to 14 infantrymen in a compartment at the rear. It was the first armoured personnel carrier.

Where did the Mark V fight?
The Mark V first fought at Hamel on 4 July 1918, then at Amiens on 8 August 1918, where it spearheaded the Hundred Days Offensive, and at the Hindenburg Line in September 1918, where it crossed the St Quentin Canal.

Where can I see a Mark V today?
Mark Vs survive at the Tank Museum in Bovington, England, at Kubinka in Russia, at Fort Benning in the United States, and as monuments in Luhansk, Ukraine, where a Male and a Female have stood since the Russian Civil War.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia, “Mark V tank” — production of about 400, specifications, Amiens, the Hindenburg Line and the Mark V*.
2. The Tank Museum, Bovington, “Mark V” — the Wilson gearbox, the Ricardo engine and the surviving examples.
3. David Fletcher, British Mark IV Tank (Osprey Publishing, 2007) — the development of the Mark IV and Mark V.
4. Paddy Griffith, Battle Tactics of the Western Front (Yale University Press, 1994) — the tank at Amiens and the Hindenburg Line.
5. John Glanfield, The Devil’s Chariots (Sutton Publishing, 2006) — the Tank Corps in 1918.
6. Tank Encyclopedia, “Mark V” — specifications, variants and the Russian Civil War.