Tankmanc

We have got close to sorting this one out. http://63528.activeboard.com/t49126412/id-this-mk-v-and-whats-going-on/ Thanks for putting us onto it. A great find. Have you come across a copy of this photo without the Getty watermark?

At the end of WWI. It had already been overtaken by the more manoeuvrable Mk V (which had a single driver instead of a driver and two gearsmen) and the Mk V*, and new types were in the pipeline. Many Mk IVs were distributed round Britain (and a few in France) as Presentation Tanks, i.e. put on display as monuments, and most were scrapped when the novelty wore off in the 1920s and 30s. One was restored in Portsmouth in 1939 (using parts from another survivor), but it only made a couple of sallies, damaged a car, and was left to rust at Whale Island. Some Mk Vs served after the War, with the British Army in occupied parts of Germany, and with the White Russian Forces, the Red Army, and Estonia and Latvia (IIRC), but they all fell into disuse by the early 30s. Hope this helps.

A possible contender for the film is "The Somme". Not the 1916 one, but the 1927 one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018426/ Footage of Mk V tanks shot for this film regularly appears in documentaries. The battle scenes were shot in Dorset or on Salisbury Plain, depending on whom you believe. http://www.south-central-media.co.uk/prodnhistory.htm On the other hand, a sequence-by-sequence synopsis of "The Somme" makes no mention of a confrontation with a German A7V. What's more, the Mk Vs in it appear to be in their WWI colour scheme, which was an overall dull brown. The Mk V in the photo has a very much post-WWI camo scheme, which leads me to doubt that it's from the same film. All of Germany's 20 A7Vs were accounted for. With two exceptions, they were scrapped by the early 20s. Mephisto is, indeed, in Brisbane, and Nixe II was taken to the USA for testing and was eventually shot to pieces for target practice (by 1942, I think). None was used by Poland - that's a myth. The A7V in the photo is clearly a replica. That's the best I can do. I realise I haven't answered the original question, but I'm still digging. Regards.

There's a couple of clues in the name. Expend most of my energy on Landships, but always exploring other avenues. Principal interest: tracked vehicles, including AFVs, 1900 to WWI era. Hope to learn here, and always willing to lend what expertise I can.