Battleground Weird WWII: Mk. IV Light Tank

Mk. IV Light Tank

Mk. IV (Indian Pattern)

Notes:  Like its predecessors, The Mk. IV was obsolete at the outset of the war and was primarily used as a trainer with most Commonwealth forces. India produced their own version and deployed it in numbers wherever Indian forces were deployed.  Be sure to get the BGWWII rules and start retreating with this thing the best way you can.

Date Introduced:  Mk. IV (Mid '34) & Mk. IV Indian Pattern (Early '35)

Users:  Commonwealth (mostly as a trainer) & India.

Vehicle Chart:  We use the Mk. VI Light Tank vehicle chart from the Crusade for Empire supplement.

Crew:  2 (commander & driver)

Riveted Construction:  All models of the Mk. IV have riveted construction and will suffer as such if struck at the appropriate locations by enemy fire.  Any non-penetrating hits to a location with rivets will force any crew that might be at that location to take an immediate D column hit.  Apply any effects as normal with the exception of any MC or Suppression results will be considered -1 action for the effected crewman for the remainder of the battle.  Apply what locations are covered by this rule via the WYSIWYG rules.

Poor Cross-Country Mobility:  The Mk. IV has poor cross-country performance and will be treated as a wheeled-vehicle when moving off-road.

4" Smoke Dischargers:  The Mk. IV has two sets of 4" smoke launchers fixed to either side of the turret loaded with smoke rounds.  The commander uses an action to fire the launchers in which both fire a smoke round that will then smoke the front 180-degrees of the turret's front.  The launchers can only be reloaded externally and it will take a crewman one action to do so for each launcher.  If only one set is loaded and then fired, it will only produce a 90-degree smoke cloud to the front side of whatever launcher was fired.  Availability is 15 for all Mk. IVs on the front and a 5 within training units.

Searchlight:  The Mk. IV has a small searchlight fitted to the right side of the turret that can be operated by an exposed crewman.  Alternatively, the searchlight can be locked in place and will shine forward of the turret whichever direction it is pointed.  The spotlight illuminates a 20-degree cone that extends out to 28".

.50cal Upgrade:  A limited number of Mk. IVs were upgraded to a .50cal. within the turret.  Availability for this upgrade is 3.
Commander as Gunner:  The commander acts as gunner and because the main guns are machine guns, there is no penalties when firing.

Home Guard Use:  The possibility of the outdated Mk. IV to find its way into a British Home Guard unit is quite high thus the Availability of D4 vehicles is a 10 for any model.
Mk. IV Indian Pattern Model:  The Mk. IV Indian Pattern model was produced and used exclusively with Indian units.  The only difference between it and the normal Mk. IV model is it is fitted with a commander's cupola.

Wargaming Piece:  I am not aware of any 1/48 or 1/50 scale die-cast toys or model kits of any Mk. Vs so if you stumble across one let us know.

          Wt   Sz   HF   TF   HS   TS   HR   TR   HT   TT   Sd   Ld   TR   Ty   Smk   HMG   CMG   AAMG   Gun   AP   APCR   HEAT   HE   HE Size 
*1        5     S     2     2      2     1      2      1     1     1     9   -----    N    T     15      -----     -----     -----     MMG   --     -----      -----    -----      -----

*2        5     S     2     2      2     1      2      1     1     1     9   -----    N    T     15      -----     -----     -----     MMG   --     -----      -----    -----      -----
*1-Mk. IV/*2-Mk. IV Indian Pattern