Tanks were made to overcome the German trenches. Once the Germans got over the shock of the new tanks they started to devise ways of defending against tank attacks. One method of countering tank attacks was to increase the width of trenches. To meet this contingency, the British at first used fascines, and then cribs. These were effective but were labour intensive to make and could only be used once. The "Tadpole Tail" tried on Tanks Mark IV and Mark V was not really successful (it flexed too much) and a much better way of modifying standard tanks was worked out in February 1918 by the Central Workshops of the Tank Corps in France. A Tank Mark IV was cut in two, just behind the sponsons, and extra panels inserted, lengthening the tank by some six feet. The transmission was similarly extended. This stretched Mark IV was the inspiration for the Mark V* (spoken as, 'Mark five star'). The Mark V* tanks were built by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon & Finance Company in Birmingham, England, the same company that built the Mark V tank. Six hundred and thirty-two were built, although by the Armistice only 579 had been completed.
The Mark V* was mechanically the same as the Mark V, apart from the extended transmission. It used Ricardo's petrol engine, delivering 150 bhp at 1250 rpm. The engines were built by various different companies, many of whom were located in and around Manchester, England. Because the modifications were not accompanied by any upgrades to the motor and drive train, the increased weight (4 tons heavier) made for a more sluggish performance, and the lengthened hull (32 ft 5in) reduced manoeuverability considerably. The protection and armament were the same as that of the standard Mark V. Maximum thickness of armour was 12mm, minimum 6mm. Male tanks had 2 6-pounder 23 calibre cannons and 4 Hotchkiss machine guns, females had 6 Hotchkiss machine guns (but many vehicles were made into composites, or 'hermaphrodites'). The new side panels had doors in them, with a machine gun ball-mounting above. The commander's cabin (the rearward of the two) was a different shape to that on the Mark V, being bevelled or sloped. This may have been designed this way to give the tank some way of combating enemy soldiers using the upper floors of houses. Most of these new tanks used the 26.5in wide tracks instead of the 20.5in ones. The standard Mark V could cross a trench about 10 ft wide, but the Mark V* could deal with a 14 ft trench.
"The extra space, created in these longer machines, proved adequate to carry either two Vickers guns with ammunition, one officer and fourteen other ranks, or three Lewis guns with ammunition plus the same number of personnel. Further supplies of small arms ammunition were carried on a rack at the rear of each tank." (D Fletcher, The British Tanks 1915-19, 2001). The idea was that these machine gun teams, carried into the attack by the tanks, could be set down in forward positions to hold captured ground and support the advance. At the Battle of Amiens the extra machine-gunners were taken up in the way proposed. Unfortunately, the Mark V* had the same poor ventilation as that of the ordinary Mark V. The passengers were unaccustomed to conditions inside tanks and were overcome by fumes and heat and the lurching motion. They were not fit to be of much immediate use when disembarked, and the tactic was not used again. One eye-witness describes other problems of the new tank, "The heavy machines showed a tendency to slip their tracks and also to slide backwards if resting on a slight incline, and owing to this slipping about, their great length and weight, and their quickness in turning, they wrought much havoc, knocking down and crushing many a slender tree, until it looked as if a herd of clumsy elephants had stampeded through the wood" (F Mitchell, Tank Warfare, 1933).
Mark V*s spearheaded the decisive Allied offensive around Amiens on August 8th, 1918 - "The Black Day of the German army". They took part in most tank actions from then until the war's end.
One hundred Mark V* tanks were provided to the French army in late 1918. The French army did not have time to train the crews and bring the tanks into action before the Armistice. These tanks soldiered on after the war in a training role, but were all retired by July, 1931.
French camouflage painted Tank Mark V*, captured by German forces in WW2
The American 301st Tank Battalion was equipped with some 46 tanks, a mix of Mark V and Mark V*. The tanks carried no markings that would identify them as being American rather than British.
The tank in the pictures below is the sole surviving Tank Mark V*. The pictures were generously provided by the curator of the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor in Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA. He also kindly provided the following commentary:
"Our surviving Mk V* has its correct registration number on it and was issued to Company A, 301st Heavy Tank Battalion. It saw its only American combat action against the Hindenburg Line, 26 Sept 1918, where it was knocked out with a single artillery round that pierced the frontal armor of the right sponson. The resulting shattering of the round threw large pieces of shrapnel into the engine and effectively "killed" the vehicle. It was repaired, but apparently too late for further action."
"(There is) one shot in this series (that) shows the plugged hole where the (round from a) 57mm gun penetrated the hull armor. The cracks were welded shut after the war when the vehicle became a monument. The plug, however, is the original repair to the armor. The surface-hardened armor could not be welded for fear of losing its hardening."
"It became a monument vehicle around 1920 and has been one ever since. It was rescued from outside monument duty in the 1970s - but there has been severe structural damage to the lower support braces and beams due to corrosion. We had to install a sheet metal floor to keep the vehicle sound. The main guns have been gone since 1920 - but some nice dummy tubes make it look pretty complete."
A battlegraph, dated (in the American format) 29 September 1918, shows that 9591 was commanded by Lieutenant Hobbs and suffered a 'direct hit' that put it out of action between the 'British Front Line' and the 'Starting Point'.
