The British Mark IX Tank

The British Mark IX Tank

The British Mark IX Tank, though named a tank and appearing like others of its time, it was actually developed to transport machine gun crews and troops across no mans land, so in fact it was actually the first true Armoured Personnel Carrier and nick named the “Pig”.

It was also the first of its class to be fitted with pontoons and proved that armoured fighting vehicles could be amphibious. Other than troops it could also be used as a supply carrier.

Only 36 were built and only a few were deployed to France in 1918.

The British Mark IX Tank Spec’s

Armaments: x1 .303 Machine Gun
Armour: 12mm steel
Crew: 4 plus 30 troops or 10 tonnes of supplies
Dimension: Length 9.78m / Width 4.11m / Height 2.64m
Weight: 26.5 tonne
Engine: Ricardo 6-cylinder 150bhp petrol
Top Road Speed: 5.63km/h