The Measurement and Modeling of a World War I Mark IV Tank Using CLR and CCD Camera / Line Scanning Systems in an Outside Environment

Abstract

The Mark IV female tank at the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum fought at Arras in 1917: in five hours it raided German trenches, took 395 prisoners, crushed four machine-gun emplacements and repulsed two counterattacks. Originally 'Britannia', renamed 'Liberty' by its British crew in tribute to the Americans, it came straight from France to the United States for war-bond rallies and has been a museum attraction since 1919. With a move to a refurbishment facility planned and real doubts about whether the structure would survive it, the vehicle had to be recorded completely – outdoors, in an uncontrolled environment, using coherent laser radar together with CCD camera and line-scanning systems. The paper sets out the protocols that measuring, documenting and reproducing an antiquity in place demands, and the download contains both it and the conference presentation.