British Mark II Heavy Tank

The Mark II incorporated minor improvements over the Mark I. With the Army declaring the Mark I still insufficiently developed for use, the Mark II (for which orders were first placed in July) would continue to be built but it would be used for training only. As they were only to be used as training tanks they were supposedly clad in unhardened steel, though some doubt was cast on this claim in early 1917. Initially twenty were shipped to France and twenty-five remained at the training ground at Wool, Dorset in Britain; the remaining five were kept for use as test vehicles. As the promised Mark IV tanks had not arrived by early 1917 it was decided, despite the protestations of Stern, to ship the twenty-five training vehicles in Britain to France, where they joined the other twenty Mark IIs and fifteen Mark Is at the Battle of Arras in April 1917. The Germans were able to pierce the armour of both the Mark I and Mark II tanks at Arras with their armour-piercing machine gun ammunition.

The Mark II was built from December 1916 to January 1917 by Foster & Co and Metropolitan (25 Male and 25 Female respectively).

Specs

 * Crew: 8
 * Weight:Male: 28 tons (28.4 tonnes),Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonnes)
 * Armor: 0.23–0.47 in (6–12 mm)
 * Armament:Male: two 6-pounder QF, three 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Guns,Female: four 0.303 in Vickers Machine Guns, one 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Gun