cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46984916

Mark VIII “Liberty” Tank A joint British-American design, the Mark VIll “Liberty” tank was designed for a major spring 1919 Allied offensive. The Armistice on November 11, 1918 led to the suspension of the project. In 1919 Rock Island Arsenal took up the project to assemble the tanks from parts already manufactured, producing 100 Mark VIll tanks between 1919 and 1920.

Based on the British Mark V tank, the Mark VIll was a heavy tank stretching more than thirty-four feet long and eleven feet wide, and weighing in at nearly 40 tons. It was armed with two six-pounder Hotchkiss guns and either seven Hotchkiss machine guns or five M1917 Browning Machine Guns. It was powered by a V-12 Liberty Engine and had a maximum speed of just over five miles per hour.

Once completed, the tanks were shipped to training camps in the east. As tank design progressed during the interwar period (1919-1940), the Mark VIll tank quickly became obsolete. Today only three of these tanks are still in existence-two are held in U.S. Army’s historical collection and the third is in the collection of The Tank Museum in Bovington, England.