The British developed and employed the first full-tracked armored fighting vehicle and continued to improve the design throughout the First World War. The result was the Mark V tank in 1918.

This book, number 178 in the New Vanguard series published by Osprey Publishing, describes the development of the Mark V and Mark V* tanks from the earlier Mark IV, crew duties, combat deployment, and further improvements at the Christchurch development center. The text provides a pretty inclusive discussion of the development of the Mark V and its larger siblings the Mark V* and V**. The discussion of combat operations is basic but does give an idea of the improvement of the faster Mark V over earlier models.

The numerous period photographs include the first mockup, testing in England and combat operations in France. Also included are photos of recovery version and a Mark V on a raft crossing a river in England. The black and white photos are remarkably clear and provide numerous ideas for displaying completed models. The more than a dozen full color illustrations by Henry Morshead cover markings for both American and British vehicles, two specialty versions and a Mark V utilizing one of the special rail cars designed for the heavy tanks. As is common in Osprey publications there is a cutaway illustration of the interior of a Mark V Male.

This book is not an exhaustive study, but provides a good overview of what was arguably the most important tank used in World War I. I highly recommend it for both its narrative and for the large variety of the clear photographs. Thanks to Osprey Publishing and IPMS/USA for this review copy.