In the summer of 1917, the United States decided to establish a "Tank Corps" to aid in the Allied efforts. Planners were immediately drawn to the qualities of the British Mark 4 tank. The problem was that the Mark 4 was, at that time, barely beyond the design phase. The Allies agreed that in order to standardize equipment that a new design was needed. So began the birth of the Mark VIII tank. England was to supply the guns, ammunition, and the armor. France was to supply the labor (Chinese) and factory space. The United States was to supply the engines, transmissions and other heavy parts. Both the United States and England would provide the engineering staff. It looks like France got off light to me and was probably an unwilling partner in this agreement. By the time all the fine details were agreed on, the war ended. Immediately, France lost interest and the project was scrapped as an Allied partnership. The United States still needed tanks of her own and decided to produce the tank alone. Materials were obtained and 100 were produced, between September 1918 - 20, at the Rock Island Arsenal at a cost of $35,000 apiece. The prototype had a Rolls Royce engine and was built out of mild steel as was the British prototype. These tanks were known by several monikers: Anglo-American Tank, The International Tank, The Mark VIII Heavy Tank, and the Liberty Tank. Features included a separate engine compartment. The Mark VIII remained in service in the U.S.A. until at least 1934 undergoing various upgrades during it's life to improve and extend it's service capabilities. The United States Army Infantry (Tank) Regiment were the primary users. By 1939, all Mk. VIII units were in storage at Aberdeen Proving Ground until sent north to Canada.
At the time of it's introduction and throughout the 1920's, this tank was considered the most dangerous and powerful heavy tank in the world. In this time frame, the USA defiantly had the most powerful fleet of heavy tanks in the world. Because of the knowledge obtained from owning such a large fleet of heavy tanks, the USA learned that these monsters were hard to handle - especially when speed and mobility was needed. So, as the rest of the world became fascinated by the heavy tank in the 1930's and into WW2, the USA moved away from the concept and developed the medium tank. The medium tank, though not perfect, was considered the best balance of protection, mobility, and firepower by engineers and soldiers in the United States.
The British went on to produce the Mk. VIII also, but in limited quanities and with some different specifications. Note the differences in the table below.
Other differences between the British and American Mark VIII Externally, the British had machine-gun ball mounts on the superstructure (turret) sides whereas the US model had armor plate covering the opening. There was also a British Mark VIII* (star) planned, which would have been 44 ft long & 42 tons, capable of crossing an 18 ft trench. Presumably, the star version would have been like the Mark 5* (star) which was a early form of Armored Personal Carrier. The RAC Museum has the only example of a British Mark VIII still existing. A contribution by John Wilson and Pen Brown |
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Last Update: Thursday, February 13, 2003 |
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