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).

British heavy tanks were a series of related armoured fighting vehicles developed by the UK during the First World War. The Mark I was the world's first tank, a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose.

The Mark IV was the first tank to be produced and used en masse. Following the modest success of the Mark I tanks on the Somme in 1916 the British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, ordered 1,000 more tanks for 1917.

A Mark IV converted as supply tank, in 1918, at Villers-Bretonneux. 220 of these were built or converted on the stocks when the Mark V came to replace older models. A captured Mark IV in Berlin, during the military repression of the Spartacus league, within the German revolution, 1919.

Mark IVs were first used in action in June 1917 and by November formed the greater part of the strength of the Tank Corps at the battle of Cambrai - commemorated as the first really successful battle for the tanks.

Oct 23, 2024 · Developed during the Great War, the British Mark IV tank became one of the most iconic WW1 tanks in modern warfare. Here's why.

Jun 6, 2017 · The Mark IV stemmed from General Haig’s order for 1000 tanks, placed shortly after their first use in September 1916. Production began in March 1917. Eventually 1220 would be built.