A longer tank for wider trenches.
When the Germans realised what a threat tanks could be they made their trenches wider to trap them; one answer to this was to build longer tanks – and the Mark V was stretched by six feet to create the Mark V*.
As an interim solution this was adequate but a further improved version, the Mark V** was designed for 1919. In speech the tank would be described as the ‘Mark Five Two Star’, each star or asterisk indicating a modifications to the basic design.
The V** had a revised shape, a more powerful engine and internal arrangements that concentrated most of the crew at the front. It was also possible to carry infantry, as passengers at the rear although they found the conditions unbearable.
With the coming of the Armistice in November 1918 production of all new tanks was curtailed and the Mark V** never saw action. However it did make a major contribution to progress in tank design in another way.
The Museum’s Mark V**
Our vehicle is a female and carried six machine-guns. It was modified by the Experimental Bridging Establishment, and was adapted with hydraulic lifting gear, so that it could carry and lay a bridge, place demolition charges, trail anti- mine rollers, and serve as a field crane. Thus it became the first true Engineer tank. This vehicle was still being used as a ballast weight to test the new Bailey Bridge in 1941 – before coming to the Museum in 1949.
