![Leopard 2 A7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Leopard_2_A7.JPG)
A tank is an
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...
intended as a primary offensive weapon in
front-line
A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or unint ...
ground combat
Land warfare or ground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating in combat that takes place predominantly on the battlespace land surface of the planet.
Land warfare is categorized by the use of large numbers of combat personne ...
. Tank designs are a balance of heavy
firepower
Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potent ...
, strong
armour
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
, and good
battlefield
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
mobility
Mobility may refer to:
Social sciences and humanities
* Economic mobility, ability of individuals or families to improve their economic status
* Geographic mobility, the measure of how populations and goods move over time
* Mobilities, a contemp ...
provided by
tracks and a powerful engine; usually their main armament is mounted in a
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of
combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...
combat.
Modern tanks are versatile mobile land
weapons platform
A weapons platform is generally any structure, vehicle or mechanism on which a weapon can be installed (via various mounting mechanisms) for optimal stability and performance. The mounted weapons, the platform and all other associated supporting ...
s whose main armament is a large-
caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
tank gun
A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also ...
mounted in a rotating
gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
, supplemented by machine guns or other
ranged weapon
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can engage targets beyond hand-to-hand distance, i.e. at distances greater than the physical reach of the user holding the weapon itself. The act of using such a weapon is also known as shooting. It is someti ...
s such as
anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
s or
rocket launcher
A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile.
History
The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...
s. They have heavy
vehicle armour
Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fightin ...
which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage,
fuel tank
A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propel ...
and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved
operational mobility
In the field of military theory, the operational level of war (also called operational art, as derived from russian: оперативное искусство, or operational warfare) represents the level of command that connects the details of ...
which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheeled vehicles, and thus be more flexibly positioned at advantageous locations on the battlefield. These features enable the tank to perform well in a variety of intense combat situations, simultaneously both
offensively (with
direct fire
Direct fire or line-of-sight fire refers to firing of a ranged weapon whose projectile is launched directly at a target within the line-of-sight of the user. The firing weapon must have a sighting device and an unobstructed view to the target, w ...
from their powerful main gun) and
defensively (as
fire support
Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as "Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and oper ...
and
defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
for friendly troops due to the near invulnerability to common infantry
small arm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
s and good resistance against heavier weapons, although anti-tank weapons used in 2022, some of them man-portable, have demonstrated the ability to destroy older generations of tanks with single shots
), all while maintaining the mobility needed to exploit changing tactical situations. Fully integrating tanks into modern military forces spawned a new era of combat:
armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or armored warfare (mechanized forces, armoured forces or armored forces) (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicle, armo ...
.
Until the arrival of the
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
, tanks were typically categorized either by
weight class
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...
(
light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...
,
medium
Medium may refer to:
Science and technology
Aviation
*Medium bomber, a class of war plane
* Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data
* Medium of ...
,
heavy
Heavy may refer to:
Measures
* Heavy (aeronautics), a term used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight
* Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight
* Heavy, ...
or
superheavy tank
A super-heavy tank or super heavy tank is any tank that is notably beyond the standard of the class heavy tank in either size or weight relative to contemporary vehicles.
Programs have been initiated on several occasions with the aim of creati ...
s) or doctrinal purpose (
breakthrough-,
cavalry-,
infantry-,
cruiser-, or
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
tanks). Some being larger and very heavily armoured and with large guns, while others are smaller, lightly armoured, and equipped with a smaller caliber and lighter gun. These smaller tanks move over terrain with speed and agility and can perform a reconnaissance role in addition to engaging enemy targets. The smaller, faster tank would not normally engage in battle with a larger, heavily armoured tank, except during a surprise
flanking manoeuvre
In military tactics, a flanking maneuver is a movement of an armed force around an enemy force's side, or flank, to achieve an advantageous position over it. Flanking is useful because a force's fighting strength is typically concentrated i ...
.
Etymology
The word ''tank'' was first applied to the British "landships" in 1915, before they entered service, to keep their nature secret.
Origins
On 24 December 1915, a meeting took place of the Inter-Departmental Conference (including representatives of the Director of Naval Construction's Committee, the Admiralty, the Ministry of Munitions, and the War Office). Its purpose was to discuss the progress of the plans for what were described as "Caterpillar Machine Gun Destroyers or Land Cruisers." In his autobiography,
Albert Gerald Stern
Sir Albert Gerald Stern (24 September 1878 – 2 January 1966) was a banker who became the Secretary of the Landship Committee during World War I, where his organisational ability assisted the Committee in creating the first British tank.
Durin ...
(Secretary to the Landship Committee, later head of the Mechanical Warfare Supply Department) says that at that meeting "
Mr. (Thomas J.) Macnamara (
M.P., and
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...
) then suggested, for secrecy's sake, to change the title of the Landship Committee.
Mr. d'Eyncourt agreed that it was very desirable to retain secrecy by all means, and proposed to refer to the vessel as a "Water Carrier". In Government offices, committees and departments are always known by their initials. For this reason I, as Secretary, considered the proposed title totally unsuitable. In our search for a synonymous term, we changed the word "Water Carrier" to "Tank," and became the "Tank Supply" or "T.S." Committee. That is how these weapons came to be called Tanks," and incorrectly added, "and the name has now been adopted by all countries in the world."
Colonel Ernest Swinton, who was secretary to the meeting, says that he was instructed to find a non-committal word when writing his report of the proceedings. In the evening he discussed it with a fellow officer,
Lt-Col Walter Dally Jones, and they chose the word "tank". "That night, in the draft report of the conference, the word 'tank' was employed in its new sense for the first time." Swinton's ''Notes on the Employment of Tanks'', in which he uses the word throughout, was published in January 1916.
In July 1918, ''Popular Science Monthly'' reported:
D'Eyncourt's account differs from Swinton's and Tritton's:
This appears to be an imperfect recollection. He says that the name problem arose "when we shipped the first two vehicles to France the following year" (August 1916), but by that time the name "tank" had been in use for eight months. The tanks were labelled "With Care to Petrograd," but the belief was encouraged that they were a type of snowplough.
International
The term "tank" is used throughout the English speaking world, but other countries use different terminology. In France, the second country to use tanks in battle, the word ''tank'' or ''tanque'' was adopted initially, but was then, largely at the insistence of
Colonel J.B.E. Estienne, rejected in favour of ''char d'assaut'' ("assault vehicle") or simply ''char'' ("vehicle"). During World War I, German sources tended to refer to British tanks as ''Tanks'' and to their own as ''Kampfwagen''. Later, tanks became referred to as "Panzer" (lit. "armour"), a shortened form of the full term "''Panzerkampfwagen''", literally "armoured fighting vehicle". In the Arab world, tanks are called ''Dabbāba'' (after a type of
siege engine
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...
). In Italian, a tank is a "''carro armato''" (lit. "armed wagon"), without reference to its armour. Norway uses the term ''stridsvogn'' and Sweden the similar ''stridsvagn'' (lit. "battle wagon", also used for "chariots"), whereas Denmark uses ''kampvogn'' (lit. fight wagon). Finland uses ''panssarivaunu'' (armoured wagon), although ''tankki'' is also used colloquially. The Polish name ''czołg'', derived from verb ''czołgać się'' ("to crawl"), is used, depicting the way of machine's movement and its speed. In Hungarian the tank is called ''harckocsi'' (combat wagon), albeit ''tank'' is also common. In Japanese, the term is taken from Chinese and used, and this term is likewise borrowed into Korean as ''jeoncha'' (전차/戰車); more recent Chinese literature uses the English derived 坦克 ''tǎnkè'' (tank) as opposed to 戰車 ''zhànchē'' (battle vehicle) used in earlier days.
Development overview
The modern tank is the result of a century of development from the first primitive armoured vehicles, due to improvements in technology such as the internal combustion engine, which allowed the rapid movement of heavy armoured vehicles. As a result of these advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance.
Tanks in World War I
The development of tanks in World War I was a response to the stalemate that developed on the Western Front. Although vehicles that incorporated the basic principles of the tank (armour, firepower, and all-terrain mobility) had been projected ...
were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...
on the
Western Front. The first British prototype, nicknamed
Little Willie
Little Willie was a prototype in the development of the British Mark I tank. Constructed in the autumn of 1915 at the behest of the Landship Committee, it was the first completed tank prototype in history. ''Little Willie'' is the oldest survi ...
, was constructed at
William Foster & Co. in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincoln ...
, England in 1915, with leading roles played by Major
Walter Gordon Wilson
Major Walter Gordon Wilson (21 April 1874 – 1 July 1957) was an Irish mechanical engineer, inventor and member of the British Royal Naval Air Service. He was credited by the 1919 Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors as the co-inventor of the ...
who designed the gearbox and hull, and by
William Tritton
Sir William Ashbee Tritton, Justice of the Peace, JP, (19 June 1875 – 24 September 1946) was a British expert in agricultural machinery, and was directly involved, together with Walter Gordon Wilson, Major Walter Gordon Wilson, in the develop ...
of
William Foster and Co., who designed the track plates.
This was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Army's
Mark I tank
British heavy tanks were a series of related armoured fighting vehicles developed by the UK during the First World War. The Mark I was the world's first tank, a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initial ...
, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
.
The name "tank" was adopted by the British during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose (see
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
). While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tank's potential, and did not have enough resources, thus it built only twenty.
Tanks of the interwar period
This article discusses tanks of the interwar period.
World War I established the validity of the tank concept and between the two world wars, many nations needed to have tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design and build ...
evolved into the much larger and more powerful
designs of World War II. Important new concepts of armoured warfare were developed; the Soviet Union launched
the first mass tank/air attack at Khalkhin Gol (
Nomonhan
Nomonhan is a small village in Inner Mongolia, China, south of the city of Manzhouli and near the China–Mongolia border.
In the summer of 1939, it was the location of the Nomonhan Incident, as it is known in Japan, or the Battle of Khalkhin G ...
) in August 1939, and later developed the
T-34
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...
, one of the predecessors of the
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
. Less than two weeks later, Germany began their large-scale armoured campaigns that would become known as
blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...
("lightning war") – massed concentrations of tanks combined with
motorized and
mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force).
As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...
,
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and
air power
Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airpo ...
designed to break through the
enemy front and collapse enemy resistance.
The widespread introduction of
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
warheads during the second half of World War II led to lightweight infantry-carried anti-tank weapons such as the
Panzerfaust
The ''Panzerfaust'' (, "armour fist" or "tank fist", plural: ''Panzerfäuste'') was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light an ...
, which could destroy some types of tanks.
Tanks in the Cold War
Tank development both evolved considerably from World War II and played a key role during the Cold War (1945–1990). The period pitted the nations of the Eastern Bloc (organized under the Warsaw Pact in 1955) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organi ...
were designed with these weapons in mind, and led to greatly improved armour types during the 1960s, especially
composite armour
Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different material such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the sam ...
. Improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design and aiming technology.
During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
concept arose and became a key component of modern armies.
In the 21st century, with the increasing role of
asymmetrical warfare and the end of the Cold War, that also contributed to the increase of cost-effective
anti-tank rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) worldwide and its successors, the ability of tanks to operate independently has declined. Modern tanks are more frequently organized into
combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...
units which involve the support of
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
, who may accompany the tanks in
infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...
s, and supported by
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
or
ground-attack aircraft
An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...
.
History
Conceptions
The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept: that of providing troops with mobile protection and firepower. The
internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
,
armour plate
Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fight ...
, and
continuous track
Continuous track is a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle b ...
were key innovations leading to the invention of the modern tank.
![DaVinciTankAtAmboise](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/DaVinciTankAtAmboise.jpeg)
Many sources imply that
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
and
H.G. Wells in some way foresaw or "invented" the tank. Leonardo's late 15th century drawings of what some describe as a "tank" show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle with cannons all around it. However the human crew would not have enough power to move it over larger distance, and usage of animals was problematic in a space so confined. In the 15th century,
Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha ( en, John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czech general – a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus and a Radical Hussite who led the Taborites. Žižka was a successful milita ...
built armoured wagons containing cannons and used them effectively in several battles. The continuous
"caterpillar" track arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century, and by the late nineteenth they existed in various recognizable and practical forms in several countries.
It is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a "machine, that should carry and lay down its own road", but this was Edgeworth's choice of words. His own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track. Armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed.
The machines described in Wells' 1903 short story ''
The Land Ironclads
"The Land Ironclads" is a short story by British writer H. G. Wells, which originally appeared in the December 1903 issue of the '' Strand Magazine''. It features tank-like "land ironclads," armoured fighting vehicles that carry riflemen, engi ...
'' are a step closer, insofar as they are armour-plated, have an internal power plant, and are able to cross trenches. Some aspects of the story foresee the tactical use and impact of the tanks that later came into being. However, Wells' vehicles were driven by steam and moved on
pedrail wheel
The pedrail wheel is a type of all-terrain wheel developed in the late 19th and early 20th century by Londoner Bramah Joseph Diplock. It consists of a series of "feet" (''pedes'' in Latin) connected to pivots on a wheel. As the wheel travels, ...
s, technologies that were already outdated at the time of writing. After seeing British tanks in 1916, Wells denied having "invented" them, writing, "Yet let me state at once that I was not their prime originator. I took up an idea, manipulated it slightly, and handed it on." It is, though, possible that one of the British tank pioneers,
Ernest Swinton
Major-General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton, (21 October 1868 – 15 January 1951) was a British Army officer who played a part in the development and adoption of the tank during the First World War. He was also a war correspondent and author of sev ...
, was subconsciously or otherwise influenced by Wells' tale.
The first combinations of the three principal components of the tank appeared in the decade before World War One. In 1903, Captain Léon René Levavasseur of the French artillery
proposed mounting a field gun in an armoured box on tracks. Major William E. Donohue, of the British Army's Mechanical Transport Committee, suggested fixing a gun and armoured shield on a British type of track-driven vehicle. The first
armoured car was produced in Austria in 1904. However, all were restricted to rails or reasonably passable terrain. It was the development of a practical caterpillar track that provided the necessary independent, all-terrain mobility.
In a memorandum of 1908, Antarctic explorer
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
presented his view that man-hauling to the South Pole was impossible and that motor traction was needed. Snow vehicles did not yet exist however, and so his engineer
Reginald Skelton
Sir Reginald William Skelton (3 June 1872 – 5 September 1956) was a British vice-admiral and engineer who served as chief engineer and official photographer of the 1901-1904 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica.
Early life
Skelton was born at Lon ...
developed the idea of a caterpillar track for snow surfaces. These tracked motors were built by the
Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company in Birmingham, tested in Switzerland and Norway, and can be seen in action in
Herbert Ponting
Herbert George Ponting, FRGS (21 March 1870 – 7 February 1935) was a professional photographer. He is best known as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and South Pol ...
's 1911 documentary film of Scott's Antarctic
Terra Nova Expedition
The ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objec ...
). Scott died during the expedition in 1912, but expedition member and biographer
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (2 January 1886 – 18 May 1959) was an English explorer of Antarctica. He was a member of the ''Terra Nova'' expedition and is acclaimed for his 1922 account of this expedition, ''The Worst Journey in th ...
credited Scott's "motors" with the inspiration for the British World War I tanks, writing: "Scott never knew their true possibilities; for they were the direct ancestors of the 'tanks' in France".
In 1911, a Lieutenant Engineer in the Austrian Army,
Günther Burstyn, presented to the Austrian and Prussian War Ministries plans for a light, three-man tank with a gun in a revolving turret, the so-called
Burstyn-Motorgeschütz. In the same year an Australian civil engineer named
Lancelot de Mole submitted a basic design for a tracked, armoured vehicle to the British
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
. In Russia,
Vasiliy Mendeleev
Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to:
*Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425
*Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fro ...
designed a tracked vehicle containing a large naval gun. All of these ideas were rejected and, by 1914, forgotten (although it was officially acknowledged after the war that de Mole's design was at least the equal to the initial British tanks). Various individuals continued to contemplate the use of tracked vehicles for military applications, but by the outbreak of the War no one in a position of responsibility in any army gave much thought to tanks.
World War I
United Kingdom
From late 1914 a small number of middle-ranking
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officers tried to persuade the War Office and the Government to consider the creation of armoured vehicles. Amongst their suggestions was the use of caterpillar tractors, but although the Army used many such vehicles for towing heavy guns, it could not be persuaded that they could be adapted as armoured vehicles. The consequence was that early tank development in the United Kingdom was carried out by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
.
![British Mark V-star Tank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/British_Mark_V-star_Tank.jpg)
As the result of an approach by Royal Naval Air Service officers who had been operating armoured cars on the Western Front, the
First Lord of the Admiralty
The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, formed the
Landship Committee
The Landship Committee was a small British committee formed during the First World War to develop armoured fighting vehicles for use on the Western Front. The eventual outcome was the creation of what is now called the tank. Established in Februa ...
, on 20 February 1915.
The
Director of Naval Construction
The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy was a senior principal civil officer resp ...
for the Royal Navy,
Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt
Sir Eustace Henry William Tennyson d'Eyncourt, 1st Baronet (1 April 1868 – 1 February 1951) was a British naval architect and engineer. As Director of Naval Construction for the Royal Navy, 1912–1924, he was responsible for the design a ...
, was appointed to head the Committee in view of his experience with the engineering methods it was felt might be required; the two other members were naval officers, and a number of industrialists were engaged as consultants. So many played a part in its long and complicated development that it is not possible to name any individual as the sole inventor of the tank.
However leading roles were played by Lt
Walter Gordon Wilson
Major Walter Gordon Wilson (21 April 1874 – 1 July 1957) was an Irish mechanical engineer, inventor and member of the British Royal Naval Air Service. He was credited by the 1919 Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors as the co-inventor of the ...
R.N. who designed the gearbox and developed practical tracks and by
William Tritton
Sir William Ashbee Tritton, Justice of the Peace, JP, (19 June 1875 – 24 September 1946) was a British expert in agricultural machinery, and was directly involved, together with Walter Gordon Wilson, Major Walter Gordon Wilson, in the develop ...
whose agricultural machinery company,
William Foster & Co. in
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the urban area of Lincoln, including North H ...
, England built the
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s.
On 22 July 1915, a commission was placed to design a machine that could cross a trench 4 ft wide.
Secrecy surrounded the project with the designers locking themselves in a room at the White Hart Hotel in Lincoln.
The committee's first design,
Little Willie
Little Willie was a prototype in the development of the British Mark I tank. Constructed in the autumn of 1915 at the behest of the Landship Committee, it was the first completed tank prototype in history. ''Little Willie'' is the oldest survi ...
, ran for the first time in September 1915 and served to develop the form of the track but an improved design, better able to cross trenches, swiftly followed and in January 1916 the prototype, nicknamed "Mother", was adopted as the design for future tanks. The first order for tanks was placed on 12 February 1916, and a second on 21 April. Fosters built 37 (all "male"), and
Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, of Birmingham, 113 (38 "male" and 75 "female"), a total of 150. Production models of
"Male" tanks (armed with naval cannon and machine guns) and
"Females" (carrying only machine-guns) would go on to fight in history's first tank action at the Somme in September 1916.
Great Britain produced about 2,600 tanks of various types during the war. The first tank to engage in battle was designated ''D1'', a British
Mark I
Mark I or Mark 1 often refers to the first version of a weapon or military vehicle, and is sometimes used in a similar fashion in civilian product development. In some instances, the Arabic numeral "1" is substituted for the Roman numeral "I". " ...
Male, during the
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
(part of the wider
Somme offensive
The Battle of the Somme (French language, French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. I ...
) on 15 September 1916. Bert Chaney, a nineteen-year-old signaller with the 7th London Territorial Battalion, reported that "three huge mechanical monsters such as
ehad never seen before" rumbled their way onto the battlefield, "frightening the
Jerries out of their wits and making them scuttle like frightened rabbits." When the news of the first use of the tanks emerged, Prime Minister
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
commented,
France
Whilst several experimental machines were investigated in France, it was a colonel of artillery,
J.B.E. Estienne, who directly approached the Commander-in-Chief with detailed plans for a tank on caterpillar tracks, in late 1915. The result was two largely unsatisfactory types of tank, 400 each of the
Schneider and
Saint-Chamond St Chamond may refer to:
* Saint Chamond otherwise Annemund, bishop of Lyon
* Saint-Chamond, Loire, a French town named after him
* Saint-Chamond (manufacturer), informal name for the ''Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécour ...
, both based on the
Holt Tractor
The Holt tractors were a range of continuous track haulers built by the Holt Manufacturing Company from California (U.S.), which was named after Benjamin Holt.
Between 1908 and 1913, twenty-seven of the first 100 Holt caterpillar track-type tr ...
.
The following year, the French pioneered the use of a full 360° rotation
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
in a tank for the first time, with the creation of the
Renault FT
The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...
light tank, with the turret containing the tank's main armament. In addition to the traversable turret, another innovative feature of the FT was its engine located at the rear. This pattern, with the gun located in a mounted turret and the engine at the back, has become the standard for most succeeding tanks across the world even to this day. The FT was the most numerous tank of the war; over 3,000 were made by late 1918.
Germany
Germany fielded very few tanks during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and started development only after encountering British tanks on the Somme. The
A7V
The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Überlandwagen'' cargo carriers. Th ...
, the only type made, was introduced in March 1918 with just 20 being produced during the war. The first tank ''versus'' tank action took place on 24 April 1918 at the
Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux
The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (also Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, after the First Battles of the Somme, 1918) took place from 24 to 27 April 1918, during the German spring offensive to the east of Amiens. It is notable for being the ...
, France, when three British
Mark IVs met three German
A7V
The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Überlandwagen'' cargo carriers. Th ...
s. Captured British Mk IVs formed the bulk of Germany's tank forces during World War I; about 35 were in service at any one time. Plans to expand the tank programme were under way when the War ended.
Other nations
The United States
Tank Corps
An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armo ...
used tanks supplied by France and Great Britain during World War I. Production of American-built tanks had just begun when the War came to an end. Italy also manufactured two
Fiat 2000s towards the end of the war, too late to see service. Russia independently built and trialed two prototypes early in the War; the tracked, two-man
Vezdekhod
The ''Vezdekhod'' (russian: Вездеход) was the first true tank to be developed in the Russian Empire. The word Vezdekhod means "anywhere goer" and in modern Russian means "all-terrain vehicle". The initial project was indeed an ATV. It di ...
and the huge
Lebedenko, but neither went into production. A tracked self-propelled gun was also designed but not produced.
Although tank tactics developed rapidly during the war, piecemeal deployments, mechanical problems, and poor mobility limited the military significance of the tank in World War I, and the tank did not fulfil its promise of rendering trench warfare obsolete. Nonetheless, it was clear to military thinkers on both sides that tanks in some way could have a significant role in future conflicts.
[ Willmott (2003), ''First World War'']
Interwar period
![Hotchkiss H-39](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Hotchkiss_H-39.jpg)
In the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
tanks underwent further mechanical development. In terms of tactics,
J.F.C. Fuller
Major-General John Frederick Charles "Boney" Fuller (1 September 1878 – 10 February 1966) was a senior British Army officer, military historian, and strategist, known as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising pr ...
's doctrine of spearhead attacks with massed tank formations was the basis for work by
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the " blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in t ...
in Germany,
Percy Hobart
Major General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, (14 June 1885 – 19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...
in Britain,
Adna R. Chaffee, Jr.
Adna Romanza Chaffee Jr. (September 23, 1884 – August 22, 1941) was an officer in the United States Army, called the "Father of the Armored Force" for his role in developing the U.S. Army's tank forces.
Early life and education
Chaffee was bor ...
, in the US,
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
in France, and
Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, was a Sovie ...
in the USSR.
Liddell Hart
Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (31 October 1895 – 29 January 1970), commonly known throughout most of his career as Captain B. H. Liddell Hart, was a British soldier, military historian and military theorist. He wrote a series of military histor ...
held a more moderate view that all arms – cavalry, infantry and artillery – should be mechanized and work together. The British formed the all-arms
Experimental Mechanized Force
The Experimental Mechanized Force (EMF) was a brigade-sized formation of the British Army. It was officially formed on 1 May 1927 to investigate and develop the techniques and equipment required for armoured warfare and was the first armoured fo ...
to test the use of tanks with supporting forces.
In the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
only Germany would initially put the theory into practice on a large scale, and it was their superior tactics and French blunders, not superior weapons, that made the "blitzkrieg" so successful in May 1940.
For information regarding tank development in this period, see
tank development between the wars.
Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union all experimented heavily with tank warfare during their clandestine and "volunteer" involvement in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, which saw some of the earliest examples of successful mechanized combined arms —such as when
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
troops, equipped with Soviet-supplied tanks and supported by aircraft, eventually routed Italian troops fighting for the
Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
in the seven-day
Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the victory of the People's Republican Army (''Ejército Popular Republicano'', or EPR) and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid d ...
in 1937. However, of the nearly 700 tanks deployed during this conflict, only about 64 tanks representing the ''Franco'' faction and 331 from the ''Republican'' side were equipped with cannon, and of those 64 nearly all were
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
vintage
Renault FT
The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...
tanks, while the 331 Soviet supplied machines had 45mm main guns and were of 1930s manufacture. The balance of ''Nationalist'' tanks were machine gun armed. The primary lesson learned from this war was that machine gun armed tanks had to be equipped with cannon, with the associated armour inherent to modern tanks.
The five-month-long war between the Soviet Union and the Japanese 6th Army at ''Khalkhin Gol'' (
Nomonhan
Nomonhan is a small village in Inner Mongolia, China, south of the city of Manzhouli and near the China–Mongolia border.
In the summer of 1939, it was the location of the Nomonhan Incident, as it is known in Japan, or the Battle of Khalkhin G ...
) in 1939 brought home some lessons. In this conflict, the Soviets fielded over two thousand tanks, to the around 73 cannon armed tanks deployed by the Japanese, the major difference being that Japanese armour were equipped with
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
engines as opposed to the Russian tanks equipped with petrol engines. After General
Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...
inflicted a defeat on the Japanese 6th Army with his massed combined tank and air attack, the Soviets learned a lesson on the use of gasoline engines, and quickly incorporated those newly found experiences into their new
T-34
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...
medium tank during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Prior to World War II, the tactics and strategy of deploying tank forces underwent a revolution. In August 1939, Soviet General
Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...
used the combined force of tanks and airpower at
Nomonhan
Nomonhan is a small village in Inner Mongolia, China, south of the city of Manzhouli and near the China–Mongolia border.
In the summer of 1939, it was the location of the Nomonhan Incident, as it is known in Japan, or the Battle of Khalkhin G ...
against the Japanese 6th Army;
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the " blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in t ...
, a tactical theoretician who was heavily involved in the formation of the first independent German tank force, said "Where tanks are, the front is", and this concept became a reality in World War II. Guderian's armoured warfare ideas, combined with Germany's existing doctrines of ''Bewegungskrieg'' ("
maneuver warfare
Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare, is a military strategy which seeks to shatter the enemy's overall
cohesion and will to fight.
Background
Maneuver warfare, the use of initiative, originality and the unexpected, combined with a rut ...
") and
infiltration tactics
In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small independent light infantry forces advancing into enemy rear areas, bypassing enemy frontline strongpoints, possibly isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons. Soldiers ta ...
from World War I, became the basis of
blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...
in the opening stages of World War II.
World War II
![Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1975-102-14A, Panzer VI (Tiger II, Königstiger)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1975-102-14A%2C_Panzer_VI_%28Tiger_II%2C_K%C3%B6nigstiger%29.jpg)
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the first conflict in which armoured vehicles were critical to battlefield success, the tank and related tactics developed rapidly. armoured forces proved capable of tactical victory in an unprecedentedly short amount of time, yet new
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
weaponry showed that the tank was not invulnerable. During the Invasion of Poland, tanks performed in a more traditional role in close cooperation with infantry units, but in the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
deep independent armoured penetrations were executed by the Germans, a technique later called ''blitzkrieg''. Blitzkrieg used innovative
combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...
tactics and radios in all of the tanks to provide a level of tactical flexibility and power that surpassed that of the Allied armour. The
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
, with tanks equal or superior to the German tanks in both quality and quantity, employed a linear defensive strategy in which the armoured cavalry units were made subservient to the needs of the infantry armies to cover their entrenchment in Belgium.
[ Deighton (1979), ''Blitzkrieg, From the rise of Hitler to the fall of Dunkirk''.] In addition, they lacked radios in many of their tanks and headquarters, which limited their ability to respond to German attacks.
In accordance with blitzkrieg methods, German tanks bypassed enemy strongpoints and could radio for
close air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
to destroy them, or leave them to the infantry. A related development,
motorized infantry
Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...
, allowed some of the troops to keep up with the tanks and create highly mobile combined arms forces.
The defeat of a major military power within weeks shocked the rest of the world, spurring tank and anti-tank weapon development.
![M4A4 cutaway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/M4A4_cutaway.svg)
The
North African Campaign also provided an important battleground for tanks, as the flat, desolate terrain with relatively few obstacles or urban environments was ideal for conducting mobile armoured warfare. However, this battlefield also showed the importance of logistics, especially in an armoured force, as the principal warring armies, the German
Afrika Korps
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
and the
British Eighth Army
The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, ...
, often outpaced their supply trains in repeated attacks and counter-attacks on each other, resulting in complete stalemate. This situation would not be resolved until 1942, when during the
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...
, the Afrika Korps, crippled by disruptions in their supply lines, had 95% of its tanks destroyed and was forced to retreat by a massively reinforced
Eighth Army, the first in a series of defeats that would eventually lead to the surrender of the remaining Axis forces in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Merz-014-12A, Russland, Beginn Unternehmen Zitadelle, Panzer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101III-Merz-014-12A%2C_Russland%2C_Beginn_Unternehmen_Zitadelle%2C_Panzer.jpg)
When Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union,
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the Soviets had a superior tank design, the
T-34
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...
. A lack of preparations for the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
surprise attack, mechanical problems, poor training of the crews and incompetent leadership caused the Soviet machines to be surrounded and destroyed in large numbers. However, interference from
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, the geographic scale of the conflict, the dogged resistance of the Soviet combat troops, and the Soviets' massive advantages in manpower and production capability prevented a repeat of the German successes of 1940. Despite early successes against the Soviets, the Germans were forced to up-gun their Panzer IVs, and to design and build both the larger and more expensive
Tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
heavy tank in 1942, and the
Panther
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards.
***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...
medium tank the following year. In doing so, the ''Wehrmacht'' denied the infantry and other support arms the production priorities that they needed to remain equal partners with the increasingly sophisticated tanks, in turn violating the principle of combined arms they had pioneered.
[ House (1984), ''Toward Combined Arms Warfare:A Survey of 20th Century Tactics, Doctrine, and Organization'' ] Soviet developments following the invasion included upgunning the T-34, development of self-propelled anti-tank guns such as the
SU-152
The SU-152 (russian: самоходная установка-152, СУ-152, Samokhodnaya Ustanovka-152) is a Soviet self-propelled heavy howitzer used during World War II.
It mounted a 152 mm gun-howitzer on the chassis of a KV-1S heavy tan ...
, and deployment of the
IS-2
The IS-2 (russian: ИС-2, sometimes romanized as JS-2The series name is an abbreviation of the name Joseph Stalin (russian: Иосиф Сталин); IS-2 is a direct transliteration of the Russian abbreviation, while JS-2 is an abbreviation of ...
in the closing stages of the war, with the T-34 being the most produced tank of World War II, totalling up to some 65,000 examples by May 1945.
![Shermans disembarking from LST at Anzio crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Shermans_disembarking_from_LST_at_Anzio_crop.jpg)
Much like the Soviets, when entering World War II six months later (December 1941), the United States'
mass production
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
capacity enabled it to rapidly construct thousands of relatively cheap
M4 Sherman
}
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...
medium tanks. A compromise all round, the Sherman was reliable and formed a large part of the Anglo-American ground forces, but in a tank-versus-tank battle was no match for the Panther or Tiger. Numerical and logistical superiority and the successful use of combined arms allowed the Allies to overrun the German forces during the
Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...
. Upgunned versions with the
76 mm gun M1
76 or Seventy-Six may refer to:
Common uses
* 76 (number)
* One of the years 76 BC, AD 76, 1776, 1876, 1976, 2076
Places
* Seventy Six, Kentucky
* Seventy-Six, Missouri
* Seventy-Six Township, Iowa (disambiguation), several places
Arts, enter ...
and the
17-pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder (or just 17-pdr)Under the British standard ordnance weights and measurements the gun's approximate projectile weight is used to denote different guns of the same calibre. Hence this was a 3-inch gun, of which ...
were introduced to improve the M4's firepower, but concerns about protection remained—despite the apparent armour deficiencies, a total of some 42,000 Shermans were built and delivered to the Allied nations using it during the war years, a total second only to the T-34.
Tank
hulls were modified to produce
flame tank
A flame tank is a type of tank equipped with a flamethrower, most commonly used to supplement combined arms attacks against fortifications, confined spaces, or other obstacles. The type only reached significant use in the Second World War, dur ...
s, mobile
rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rocket explosives as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also us ...
, and
combat engineering
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare task ...
vehicles for tasks including
mine-clearing
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...
and
bridging. Specialized self-propelled guns, most of which could double as
tank destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
s, were also both developed by the Germans—with their ''
Sturmgeschütz
''Sturmgeschütz'' (abbreviated StuG) meaning " assault gun" was a series of armored fighting vehicles used by both the German ''Wehrmacht'' and the ''Waffen-SS'' formations during the Second World War (1939-1945). The main StuGs were the StuG ...
'', ''
Panzerjäger
''Panzerjäger'' (German language, German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the World War II, Second World War. It was an Anti-tank war ...
'' and ''
Jagdpanzer
''Jagdpanzer'' (JgPz) is the name given in German to a heavily-armoured, tracked tank destroyer, although it may also be used for other kinds of self-propelled guns. Literally translated from German, ''Jagdpanzer'' is "hunting tank".
It typi ...
'' vehicles—and the ''
Samokhodnaya ustanovka'' families of AFV's for the Soviets: such turretless,
casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
-style
tank destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
s and
assault gun
Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed ...
s were less complex, stripped down tanks carrying heavy guns, solely firing forward. The firepower and low cost of these vehicles made them attractive but as manufacturing techniques improved and larger turret rings made larger tank guns feasible, the
gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
was recognized as the most effective mounting for the main gun to allow movement in a different direction from firing, enhancing tactical flexibility.
Cold War
![T-72A tank on parade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/T-72A_tank_on_parade.jpg)
During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, tension between the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
countries and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
) countries created an
arms race
An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more states to have superior armed forces; a competition concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and t ...
that ensured that tank development proceeded largely as it had during World War II. The essence of tank designs during the Cold War had been hammered out in the closing stages of World War II. Large turrets, capable suspension systems, greatly improved engines,
sloped armour
Sloped armour is armour that is neither in a vertical nor a horizontal position. Such angled armour is typically mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), as well as naval vessels such as battleships and cruisers. Sloping an a ...
and large-caliber (90 mm and larger) guns were standard. Tank design during the Cold War built on this foundation and included improvements to
fire control
Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control ...
,
gyroscopic
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotat ...
gun stabilization, communications (primarily radio) and crew comfort and saw the introduction of
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
rangefinders and
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
night vision equipment.
armour technology progressed in an ongoing race against improvements in
anti-tank weapons
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
, especially
antitank guided missiles like the
TOW
Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...
.
Medium tanks of World War II evolved into the ''
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
'' (MBT) of the Cold War and took over the majority of tank roles on the battlefield. This gradual transition occurred in the 1950s and 1960s due to
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
guided missiles
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
,
sabot
Sabot may refer to:
* Sabot (firearms), disposable supportive device used in gunpowder ammunitions to fit/patch around a sub-caliber projectile
* Sabot (shoe), a type of wooden shoe
People
* Dick Sabot (1944–2005), American economist and busi ...
ammunition and
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
warheads. World War II had shown that the speed of a light tank was no substitute for armour & firepower and medium tanks were vulnerable to newer weapon technology, rendering them
obsolete
Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...
.
In a trend started in World War II,
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
led to serial production of progressively upgraded models of all major tanks during the Cold War. For the same reason many upgraded post-World War II tanks and their derivatives (for example, the
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
and
T-72
The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...
) remain in active service around the world, and even an obsolete tank may be the most formidable weapon on battlefields in many parts of the world. Among the tanks of the 1950s were the British
Centurion
A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
and Soviet T-54/55 in service from 1946, and the US
M48 from 1951. These three vehicles formed the bulk of the armoured forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact throughout much of the Cold War. Lessons learned from tanks such as the
Leopard 1
The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought ...
,
M48 Patton
The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...
series,
Chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
, and T-72 led to the contemporary
Leopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...
,
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
,
Challenger 2
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as ...
,
C1 Ariete
The C1 Ariete ( en, battering ram) is the main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by Consorzio Iveco Oto Melara (CIO), a consortium formed by IVECO and Oto Melara, OTO Melara. The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turre ...
,
T-90
The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and compos ...
and
Merkava
The Merkava ( he, מרכבה, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces and the backbone of the IDF's armored corps. The tank began development in 1970, and its first generation, the Merkava mark 1, entere ...
IV.
Tanks and anti-tank weapons of the Cold War era saw action in a number of
proxy war
A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...
s like the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
,
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
,
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
,
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
and Arab-Israeli conflicts, culminating with the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
. The T-55, for example, has seen action in no fewer than
32 conflicts. In these wars the U.S. or NATO countries and the Soviet Union or China consistently backed opposing forces. Proxy wars were studied by Western and Soviet
military analysts and provided a contribution to the Cold War tank development process.
21st century
![Italian MBT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Italian_MBT.JPG)
The role of tank vs. tank combat is becoming diminished. Tanks work in concert with infantry in urban warfare by deploying them ahead of the platoon. When engaging enemy infantry, tanks can provide covering fire on the battlefield. Conversely, tanks can spearhead attacks when infantry are deployed in personnel carriers.
Tanks were used to spearhead the initial US invasion of Iraq in 2003. As of 2005, there were 1,100
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
used by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in the course of the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, and they have proven to have an unexpectedly high level of vulnerability to
roadside bomb
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s. A relatively new type of remotely detonated mine, the
explosively formed penetrator
An explosively formed penetrator (EFP), also known as an explosively formed projectile (EFP), a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is the product of a shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively. As the name suggests, the ...
has been used with some success against American armoured vehicles (particularly the
Bradley fighting vehicle
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle platform of the United States developed by FMC Corporation and manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, formerly United Defense. It is named after U.S. General Omar Br ...
). However, with upgrades to their armour in the rear, M1s have proven invaluable in fighting insurgents in urban combat, particularly at the
Battle of Fallujah, where the US Marines brought in two extra brigades.
Israeli
Merkava
The Merkava ( he, מרכבה, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces and the backbone of the IDF's armored corps. The tank began development in 1970, and its first generation, the Merkava mark 1, entere ...
tanks contain features that enable them to support
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
in
low intensity conflict
A low-intensity conflict (LIC) is a military conflict, usually localised, between two or more state or non-state groups which is below the intensity of conventional war. It involves the state's use of military forces applied selectively and with ...
s (LIC) and
counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
operations. Such features are the rear door and rear corridor, enabling the tank to carry infantry and embark safely; the
IMI
IMI may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* IMI plc, a British engineering company
* IMI Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer
* Indian Music Industry, a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India
* Indonesian Motor ...
APAM-MP-T multi-purpose ammunition round, advanced
C4IS
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
systems and recently:
TROPHY active protection system
Trophy ( Israel Defense Forces designation מעיל רוח, lit. "Windbreaker") is a military active protection system (APS) designed to protect vehicles from anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), anti-tank roc ...
which protects the tank from shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons. During the
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
further modifications were made, designated as "Merkava Mk. 3d Baz LIC".
Research and development
![XM1202 MCS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/XM1202_MCS.jpg)
In terms of firepower, the focus of 2010s-era
R&D was increased detection capability such as
thermal imagers, automated fire control systems for the guns and increased
muzzle energy
Muzzle energy is the kinetic energy of a bullet as it is expelled from the muzzle of a firearm. Without consideration of factors such as aerodynamics and gravity for the sake of comparison, muzzle energy is used as a rough indication of the des ...
from the gun to improve range, accuracy and armour penetration. The most mature future gun technology is the
electrothermal-chemical gun. The XM291 electrothermal-chemical tank gun has gone through successful multiple firing sequences on a modified American
M8 Armored Gun System
The M8 Armored Gun System (AGS), sometimes known as the Buford, is an American light tank that was intended to replace the M551 Sheridan and TOW missile-armed Humvees in the 82nd Airborne Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR) of ...
chassis. To improve tank protection, one field of research involves making the tank invisible to radar by adapting
stealth technologies originally designed for aircraft. Improvements to
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
or and attempts to render it invisible through
active camouflage
Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage is camouflage that adapts, often rapidly, to the surroundings of an object such as an animal or military vehicle. In theory, active camouflage could provide perfect concealment from visual detection.
Activ ...
, which changes according to where the tank is located, are being pursued. Research is also ongoing in
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
armour systems to disperse or deflect incoming
shaped charges
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...
, as well as various forms of
active protection system
An active protection system is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle.
Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from, or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are design ...
s to prevent incoming projectiles (RPGs, missiles, etc.) from striking the tank.
Mobility may be enhanced in future tanks by the use of
diesel-electric or turbine-electric
series hybrid
Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power.
Hybrids come in many configurations. For example, a hybrid may receive its energy by burning gasoline, but sw ...
drives—first used in a primitive, gasoline-engined form with Porsche's ''
Elefant
The ''Elefant'' (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Wehrmacht Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, using VK 45.01 ...
'' German tank destroyer of 1943—improving fuel efficiency while reducing the size and weight of the power plant. Furthermore, advances in gas turbine technology, including the use of advanced
recuperator
A recuperator is a special purpose counter-flow energy recovery heat exchanger positioned within the supply and exhaust air streams of an air handling system, or in the exhaust gases of an industrial process, in order to recover the waste heat. ...
s, have allowed for reduction in engine volume and mass to less than 1 m
3 and 1 metric ton, respectively, while maintaining fuel efficiency similar to that of a diesel engine. In line with the new doctrine of
network-centric warfare
Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations or net-centric warfare, is a military doctrine or theory of war that aims to translate an information advantage, enabled partly by information technology, into a competitive advantag ...
, the 2010s-era modern battle tank shows increasing sophistication in its electronics and communication systems. The future of tanks has been challenged by the proliferation of relatively inexpensive anti tank guided missiles and rockets during the
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
.
Design
![M1 Abrams-TUSK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/M1_Abrams-TUSK.svg)
The three traditional factors determining a tank's capability effectiveness are its ''firepower'', ''protection'', and ''mobility''. Firepower is the ability of a tank's crew to identify, engage, and destroy enemy tanks and other targets using its large-caliber cannon. Protection is the degree to which the tank's armour, profile and camouflage enables the tank crew to evade detection, protect themselves from enemy fire, and retain vehicle functionality during and after combat. Mobility includes how well the tank can be transported by rail, sea, or air to the operational staging area; from the staging area by road or over terrain towards the enemy; and tactical movement by the tank over the battlefield during combat, including traversing of obstacles and rough terrain. The variations of tank designs have been determined by the way these three fundamental features are blended. For instance, in 1937, the French doctrine focused on firepower and protection more than mobility because tanks worked in intimate liaison with the infantry. There was also the case of the development of a heavy cruiser tank, which focused on armour and firepower to challenge Germany's Tiger and Panther tanks.
Classification
Tanks have been classified by weight, role, or other criteria, that has changed over time and place. Classification is determined by the prevailing theories of armoured warfare, which have been altered in turn by rapid advances in technology. No one classification system works across all periods or all nations; in particular, weight-based classification is inconsistent between countries and eras.
In World War I, the first tank designs focused on crossing wide trenches, requiring very long and large vehicles, such as the British Mark I; these became classified as
heavy tank
Heavy tank is a term used to define a class of tanks produced from World War I through the end of the Cold War. These tanks generally sacrificed mobility and maneuverability for better armour protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks ...
s. Tanks that fulfilled other combat roles were smaller, like the French Renault FT; these were classified as
light tank
A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...
s or
tankette
A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting. s. Many late-war and inter-war tank designs diverged from these according to new, though mostly untried, concepts for future tank roles and tactics. Tank classifications varied considerably according to each nation's own tank development, such as "cavalry tanks", "fast tanks", and "breakthrough tanks".
During World War II, many tank concepts were found unsatisfactory and discarded, mostly leaving the more multi-role tanks; these became easier to classify. Tank classes based on weight (and the corresponding transport and logistical needs) led to new definitions of heavy and light tank classes, with
medium tank
A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification is ...
s covering the balance of those between. The British maintained
cruiser tank
The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were develop ...
s, focused on speed, and
infantry tank
The infantry tank was a concept developed by the United Kingdom and France in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support infantrymen in an attack. To achieve this, the vehicles were generally heavily vehicle armo ...
s that traded speed for more armour.
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
s are tanks or other
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...
s specifically designed to defeat enemy tanks.
Assault gun
Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed ...
s are armoured fighting vehicles that could combine the roles of infantry tanks and
tank destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
s. Some tanks were converted to
flame tank
A flame tank is a type of tank equipped with a flamethrower, most commonly used to supplement combined arms attacks against fortifications, confined spaces, or other obstacles. The type only reached significant use in the Second World War, dur ...
s, specializing on close-in attacks on enemy strongholds with
flamethrower
A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
s. As the war went on, tanks tended to become larger and more powerful, shifting some tank classifications and leading to
super-heavy tank
A super-heavy tank or super heavy tank is any tank that is notably beyond the standard of the class heavy tank in either size or weight relative to contemporary vehicles.
Programs have been initiated on several occasions with the aim of creati ...
s.
Experience and technology advances during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
continued to consolidate tank roles. With the worldwide adoption of the modern
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
designs, which favour a modular universal design, most other classifications are dropped from modern terminology. All main battle tanks tend to have a good balance of speed, armour, and firepower, even while technology continues to improve all three. Being fairly large, main battle tanks can be complemented with light tanks,
armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
s,
infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...
s or similar relatively lighter armoured fighting vehicles, typically in the roles of
armoured reconnaissance
Armoured reconnaissance is the combination of terrestrial reconnaissance with armoured warfare by soldiers using tanks and wheeled or tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicles. While the mission of reconnaissance is to gather intelligence about ...
,
amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
or
air assault
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...
operations, or against enemies lacking main battle tanks.
Offensive capabilities
![105mm tank gun Rifling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/105mm_tank_gun_Rifling.jpg)
The
main weapon of modern tanks is typically a single, large-
caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
mounted in a
fully traversing (rotating)
gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
. The typical modern tank gun is a
smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.
History
Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...
weapon capable of firing a variety of ammunition, including
armour-piercing
Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour.
From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many warsh ...
kinetic energy penetrator
A kinetic energy penetrator (KEP), also known as long-rod penetrator (LRP), is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour using a flechette-like, high-sectional density projectile. Like a bullet or kinetic energy weapon, this type ...
s (KEP), also known as
armour-piercing discarding sabot
Armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) is a type of spin-stabilized kinetic energy projectile for anti-armour warfare. Each projectile consists of a sub-calibre round fitted with a sabot. The combination of a lighter sub-calibre projectile wit ...
(APDS), and/or
armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot
Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition, is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds ...
(APFSDS) and
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
(HEAT)
shells, and/or
high-explosive squash head
High explosive squash head (HESH) in British terminology, or high explosive plastic/plasticized (HEP) in American terminology, is a type of explosive projectile which uses a plastic explosive that conforms to the surface of a target before detonat ...
(HESH) and/or
anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
s (ATGM) to destroy armoured targets, as well as
high-explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
(HE)
shells for shooting at "soft" targets (unarmoured vehicles or troops) or
fortifications
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.
Canister shot
Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. Canister shot has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies. However, canister shot saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various ...
may be used in close or urban combat situations where the risk of hitting friendly forces with
shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
from HE rounds is unacceptably high.
[ USA Today (2005), ''Tanks adapted for urban fights they once avoided'']
A
gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...
is used to stabilise the main gun, allowing it to be effectively aimed and fired at the "short halt" or on the move. Modern tank guns are also commonly fitted with
insulating thermal sleeves to reduce gun-barrel warping caused by uneven
thermal expansion
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change its shape, area, volume, and density in response to a change in temperature, usually not including phase transitions.
Temperature is a monotonic function of the average molecular kinetic ...
,
bore evacuator
A bore evacuator or fume extractor is a device which removes lingering gases and airborne residues from the barrel of an armored fighting vehicle's gun after firing, particularly in tanks and self-propelled guns. By creating a pressure differe ...
s to minimise gun firing fumes entering the crew compartment and sometimes
muzzle brake
A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...
s to minimise the effect of
recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
on accuracy and
rate of fire
Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. This can be influenced by several factors, including operator training level, mechanical limitations, ammunition availability, and weapon condition. In m ...
.
Traditionally, target detection relied on visual identification. This was accomplished from within the tank through
telescopic periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
s; often, however, tank commanders would open up the hatch to view the outside surroundings, which improved situational awareness but incurred the penalty of vulnerability to sniper fire. Though several developments in target detection have taken place, these methods are still common practice. In the 2010s, more electronic target detection methods are available.
In some cases
spotting rifle
A spotting rifle or ranging gun is a small-calibre rifle used as a sighting device for artillery. The ballistics of the spotting rifle are matched to those of the artillery piece, so that if a shot from the spotting rifle lands on the target, it m ...
s were used to confirm proper trajectory and range to a target. These spotting rifles were mounted co-axially to the main gun, and fired
tracer ammunition
Tracer ammunition (AMO) (Tracers) are bullets or cannon-caliber projectiles that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. When fired, the pyrotechnic composition is ignited by the burning powder and burns very brightly, making t ...
ballistically matched to the gun itself. The gunner would track the movement of the tracer round in flight, and upon impact with a hard surface, it would give off a flash and a puff of smoke, after which the main gun was immediately fired. However this slow method has been mostly superseded by
laser rangefinding equipment.
Modern tanks also use sophisticated
light intensification and
thermal imaging
Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...
equipment to improve fighting capability at night, in poor weather and in smoke. The accuracy of modern tank guns is pushed to the mechanical limit by computerized
fire-control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...
s. A fire-control system uses a laser rangefinder to determine the range to the target, a
thermocouple
A thermocouple, also known as a "thermoelectrical thermometer", is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of the ...
,
anemometer
In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ( ...
and
wind vane
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...
to correct for weather effects and a muzzle referencing system to correct for gun-barrel temperature, warping and wear. Two sightings of a target with the range-finder enable calculation of the target movement
vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
. This information is combined with the known movement of the tank and the principles of
ballistics
Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and a ...
to calculate the
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
and
aim point {{Unreferenced, date=April 2007
In field artillery, the accuracy of indirect fire depends on the use of aiming points. In air force terminology the aiming point (or A.P.) refers to holding the intersection of the cross hairs on a bombsight when fixe ...
that maximises the probability of hitting the target.
Usually, tanks carry smaller caliber armament for short-range defense where fire from the main weapon would be ineffective or wasteful, for example when engaging
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
,
light vehicles or
close air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
aircraft. A typical complement of secondary weapons is a general-purpose machine gun mounted
coaxially with the main gun, and a heavier
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
-capable machine gun on the turret roof. Some tanks also have a hull-mounted machine gun. These weapons are often modified variants of those used by infantry, and so use the same kinds of ammunition.
Protection and countermeasures
![T-90 tank during the Victory Day parade in 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/T-90_tank_during_the_Victory_Day_parade_in_2009.jpg)
The measure of a tank's protection is the combination of its ability to avoid detection (due to having a low profile and through the use of camouflage), to avoid being hit by enemy fire, its resistance to the effects of enemy fire, and its capacity to sustain damage whilst still completing its objective, or at least protecting its crew. This is done by a variety of countermeasures, such as armour plating and reactive defenses, as well as more complex ones such as heat-emissions reduction.
In common with most unit types, tanks are subject to additional hazards in dense wooded and urban combat environments which largely negate the advantages of the tank's long-range firepower and mobility, limit the crew's detection capabilities and can restrict turret traverse. Despite these disadvantages, tanks retain high
survivability Survivability is the ability to remain alive or continue to exist. The term has more specific meaning in certain contexts. Ecological
Following disruptive forces such as flood, fire, disease, war, or climate change some species of flora, fauna, ...
against previous-generation
rocket-propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...
s aimed at the most-armoured sections.
However, as effective and advanced as armour plating has become, tank survivability against newer-generation
tandem-warhead
A tandem-charge or dual-charge weapon is an explosive device or projectile that has two or more stages of detonation, assisting it to penetrate either reactive armour on an armoured vehicle or strong structures.
Anti-tank
Tandem charges are ef ...
anti-tank missiles is a concern for military planners. Tandem-warhead RPGs use two warheads to fool active protection systems; a first dummy warhead is fired first, to trigger the active defenses, with the real warhead following it. For example, the
RPG-29
The RPG-29 "Vampir" (Russian for "vampire") is a Soviet reusable rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the last RPG to be adopted by the Soviet military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
T ...
from the 1980s is able to penetrate the frontal hull armour of the Challenger II and also managed to damage a M1 Abrams. As well, even tanks with advanced armour plating can have their tracks or gear cogs damaged by RPGs, which may render them immobile or hinder their mobility. Despite all of the advances in armour plating, a tank with its hatches open remains vulnerable to
Molotov cocktail
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
(gasoline bombs) and grenades. Even a "buttoned up" tank may have components which are vulnerable to Molotov cocktails, such as optics, extra gas cans and extra ammunition stored on the outside of the tank.
Avoiding detection
![Type 99 MBT front right](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Type_99_MBT_front_right.jpg)
A tank avoids detection using the doctrine of
countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
s known as CCD:
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
(looks the same as the surroundings), concealment (cannot be seen) and deception (looks like something else).
=Camouflage
=
![Challenger 2-Megatron MOD 45161486](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Challenger_2-Megatron_MOD_45161486.jpg)
Camouflage can include disruptive painted shapes on the tank to break up the distinctive appearance and silhouette of a tank. Netting or actual branches from the surrounding landscape are also used. Prior to development of infrared technology, tanks were often given a coating of camouflage paint that, depending on environmental region or season, would allow it to blend in with the rest of its environment. A tank operating in wooded areas would typically get a green and brown paintjob; a tank in a winter environment would get white paint (often mixed with some darker colors); tanks in the desert often get khaki paintjobs.
The Russian
Nakidka Nakidka is a Russian radar-absorbent material (RAM) camouflage that "eliminates the use of precision-guided weapons". Nakidka reduces the infrared, thermal, and radar band signatures of an object. It can be mounted on armored fighting vehicles, fie ...
camouflage kit was designed to reduce the
optical
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
,
thermal
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
,
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
, and
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
signatures of a tank, so that acquisition of the tank would be difficult. According to Nii Stali, the designers of Nakidka, Nakidka would reduce the probabilities of detection via "visual and near-IR bands by 30%, the thermal band by 2–3-fold, radar band by 6-fold, and radar-thermal band to near-background levels.
=Concealment
=
Concealment can include hiding the tank among trees or digging in the tank by having a combat bulldozer dig out part of a hill, so that much of the tank will be hidden. A tank commander can conceal the tank by using "hull down" approaches to going over upward-sloping hills, so that she or he can look out the commander's cupola without the distinctive-looking main cannon cresting over the hill. Adopting a turret-down or
hull-down
In sailing and warfare, hull-down means that the upper part of a vessel or vehicle is visible, but the main, lower body ( hull) is not; the term hull-up means that all of the body is visible. The terms originated with sailing and naval warfare ...
position reduces the visible silhouette of a tank as well as providing the added protection of a position in
defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
.
Working against efforts to avoid detection is the fact that a tank is a large metallic object with a distinctive, angular
silhouette
A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
that emits copious
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
and engine noise. A tank that is operating in cold weather or which needs to use its radio or other communications or target-detecting electronics will need to start its engine regularly to maintain its battery power, which will create engine noise. Consequently, it is difficult to effectively camouflage a tank in the absence of some form of cover or concealment (e.g., woods) it can
hide its hull behind. The tank becomes easier to detect when moving (typically, whenever it is in use) due to the large, distinctive auditory, vibration and thermal signature of its engine and power plant. Tank tracks and dust clouds also betray past or present tank movement.
Switched-off tanks are vulnerable to infra-red
detection {{Unreferenced, date=March 2018
In general, detection is the action of accessing information without specific cooperation from with the sender.
In the history of radio communications, the term "detector" was first used for a device that detected t ...
due to differences between the
thermal conductivity
The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by k, \lambda, or \kappa.
Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal ...
and therefore
heat dissipation
All electronic devices and circuitry generate excess heat and thus require thermal management to improve reliability and prevent premature failure. The amount of heat output is equal to the power input, if there are no other energy inte ...
of the metallic tank and its surroundings. At close range the tank can be detected even when powered down and fully concealed due to the
column of warmer air above the tank and the smell of diesel or gasoline. Thermal blankets slow the rate of heat emission and some thermal camouflage nets use a mix of materials with differing thermal properties to operate in the infra-red as well as the
visible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visual perception, visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called ''visible light'' or simply light. A typical human eye wil ...
.
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...
s can rapidly deploy a
smoke screen
A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships.
Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
that is opaque to
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
light, to hide it from the thermal viewer of another tank. In addition to using its own grenade launchers, a tank commander could call in an artillery unit to provide smoke cover. Some tanks can produce a smoke screen.
Sometimes camouflage and concealment are used at the same time. For example, a camouflage-painted and branch-covered tank (camouflage) may be hidden in a behind a hill or in a dug-in-emplacement (concealment).
=Deception
=
![E04934](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/E04934.jpg)
Some
armoured recovery vehicle
An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...
s (often tracked, tank chassis-based "tow trucks" for tanks) have dummy turrets and cannons. This makes it less likely that enemy tanks will fire on these vehicles. Some armies have fake "dummy" tanks made of wood which troops can carry into position and hide behind obstacles. These "dummy" tanks may cause the enemy to think that there are more tanks than are actually possessed.
Armour
![Challenger2-Bergen-Hohne-Training-Area-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Challenger2-Bergen-Hohne-Training-Area-2.jpg)
To effectively protect the tank and its crew, tank armour must counter a wide variety of antitank threats. Protection against
kinetic energy penetrator
A kinetic energy penetrator (KEP), also known as long-rod penetrator (LRP), is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour using a flechette-like, high-sectional density projectile. Like a bullet or kinetic energy weapon, this type ...
s and
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
(HEAT) shells fired by other tanks is of primary importance, but tank armour also aims to protect against infantry
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
,
grenades
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade gene ...
,
rocket-propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...
s,
anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
s,
anti-tank mines
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...
,
anti-tank rifles
An anti-tank rifle is an anti-materiel rifle designed to penetrate the armor of armored fighting vehicles, most commonly tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that can be carried ...
,
bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
s, direct
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
hits, and (less often)
nuclear, biological and chemical threats, any of which could disable or destroy a tank or its crew.
Steel armour plate was the earliest type of armour. The Germans pioneered the use of
face hardened steel during World War II and the Soviets also achieved improved protection with
sloped armour
Sloped armour is armour that is neither in a vertical nor a horizontal position. Such angled armour is typically mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), as well as naval vessels such as battleships and cruisers. Sloping an a ...
technology. World War II developments led to the obsolescence of homogeneous steel armour with the development of
shaped-charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...
warheads, exemplified by the
Panzerfaust
The ''Panzerfaust'' (, "armour fist" or "tank fist", plural: ''Panzerfäuste'') was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light an ...
and
bazooka
Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...
infantry-carried weapons which were effective, despite some early success with
spaced armour
Armour with two or more plates spaced a distance apart falls under the category of spaced armour. Spaced armour can be sloped or unsloped. When sloped, it reduces the penetrating power of bullets and solid shot, as after penetrating each plate ...
. Magnetic mines led to the development of
anti-magnetic paste and paint. From WWII to the modern era, troops have added improvised armour to tanks while in combat settings, such as sandbags or pieces of old armour plating.
British tank researchers took the next step with the development of
Chobham armour
Chobham armour is the informal name of a composite armour developed in the 1960s at the British tank research centre on Chobham Common, Surrey. The name has since become the common generic term for composite ceramic vehicle armour. Other name ...
, or more generally
composite armour
Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different material such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the sam ...
, incorporating
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
s and plastics in a
resin
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
matrix between steel plates, which provided good protection against HEAT weapons.
High-explosive squash head
High explosive squash head (HESH) in British terminology, or high explosive plastic/plasticized (HEP) in American terminology, is a type of explosive projectile which uses a plastic explosive that conforms to the surface of a target before detonat ...
warheads led to
anti-spall armour linings, and kinetic energy penetrators led to the inclusion of exotic materials like a matrix of
depleted uranium
Depleted uranium (DU; also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy or D-38) is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope than natural uranium.: "Depleted uranium possesses only 60% of the radioactivity of natural uranium, hav ...
into a composite armour configuration.
Reactive armour
Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ener ...
consists of small explosive-filled metal boxes that detonate when hit by the metallic jet projected by an exploding HEAT warhead, causing their metal plates to disrupt it.
Tandem warhead
A tandem-charge or dual-charge weapon is an explosive device or projectile that has two or more stages of detonation, assisting it to penetrate either reactive armour on an armoured vehicle or strong structures.
Anti-tank
Tandem charges are ef ...
s defeat reactive armour by causing the armour to detonate prematurely. Modern reactive armour protects itself from Tandem warheads by having a thicker front metal plate to prevent the precursor charge from detonating the explosive in the reactive armour. Reactive armours can also reduce the penetrative abilities of
kinetic energy penetrator
A kinetic energy penetrator (KEP), also known as long-rod penetrator (LRP), is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour using a flechette-like, high-sectional density projectile. Like a bullet or kinetic energy weapon, this type ...
s by deforming the penetrator with the metal plates on the Reactive armour, thereby reducing its effectiveness against the main armour of the tank.
Active protection system
![Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Storming Ahead](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_Storming_Ahead.jpg)
The latest generation of protective measures for tanks are
active protection system
An active protection system is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle.
Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from, or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are design ...
s. The term "active" is used to contrast these approaches with the armour used as the primary protective approach in earlier tanks.
*
Soft kill
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
measures, such as the Russian
Shtora
Shtora-1 (russian: Штора, "curtain") is an electro-optical active protection system or suite for tanks, designed to disrupt the laser designator and laser rangefinders of incoming anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The system is mounted on t ...
countermeasure system, provide protection by interfering with enemy targeting and fire-control systems, thus making it harder for the enemy threats to lock onto the targeted tank.
*
Hard kill systems intercept incoming threats with a projectile(s) of its own, destroying the threat. For example, the Israeli
Trophy
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
destroys an incoming rocket or missile with shotgun-like projectiles. The Soviet
Drozd
Drozd ( rus, Дрозд, , ˈdrost, Ru-дрозд.ogg, thrush) is an active protection system (APS) developed in the Soviet Union, designed for increasing tanks' protection against anti-tank missiles and RPGs. It is considered the world's firs ...
, the Russian
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
, the Israeli
Trophy
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
and
Iron Fist, Polish
ERAWA, and the American
Quick Kill
Quick Kill is an active protection system (APS) designed to destroy incoming anti-tank missiles, rockets, and grenades. The Quick Kill system is designed and produced by Raytheon for the U.S. Army. The Quick Kill system was part of the Unite ...
systems show the potential to dramatically improve protection for tanks against
missiles
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
,
RPGs RPG may refer to:
Military
* Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon
**''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade launc ...
and potentially kinetic energy penetrator attacks, but concerns regarding a
danger zone for nearby troops remain.
Mobility
The mobility of a tank is described by its battlefield or tactical mobility, its operational mobility, and its strategic mobility.
* Tactical mobility can be broken down firstly into agility, describing the tank's acceleration, braking, speed and rate of turn on various terrain, and secondly obstacle clearance: the tank's ability to travel over vertical obstacles like low walls or trenches or through water.
* Operational mobility is a function of manoeuvre range; but also of size and weight, and the resulting limitations on options for manoeuvre.
* Strategic mobility is the ability of the tanks of an armed force to arrive in a timely, cost effective, and synchronized fashion.
Tactical mobility
![M1 strategic mobility](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/M1_strategic_mobility.jpg)
Tank agility is a function of the weight of the tank due to its inertia while manoeuvring and its
ground pressure
Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. It also applies to the feet of a walking person or machine. Ground pre ...
, the power output of the installed power plant and the tank
transmission
Transmission may refer to:
Medicine, science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual transmission
*** ...
and
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
design. In addition, rough terrain effectively limits the tank's speed through the stress it puts on the
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
and the crew. A breakthrough in this area was achieved during World War II when improved suspension systems were developed that allowed better cross-country performance and limited firing on the move. Systems like the earlier
Christie or later
torsion-bar
A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end term ...
suspension developed by
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...
dramatically improved the tank's cross-country performance and overall mobility.
Tanks are highly mobile and able to travel over most types of terrain due to their
continuous track
Continuous track is a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle b ...
s and advanced suspension. The tracks disperse the weight of the vehicle over a large area, resulting in less
ground pressure
Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. It also applies to the feet of a walking person or machine. Ground pre ...
. A tank can travel at approximately across flat terrain and up to on roads, but due to the mechanical strain this places on the vehicle and the logistical strain on fuel delivery and tank maintenance, these must be considered "burst" speeds that invite mechanical failure of engine and transmission systems. Consequently, wheeled tank transporters and rail infrastructure is used wherever possible for long-distance tank transport. The limitations of long-range tank mobility can be viewed in sharp contrast to that of wheeled
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...
s. The majority of blitzkrieg operations were conducted at the pedestrian pace of , and that was only achieved on the roads of France.
![M88 pulling M1 engine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/M88_pulling_M1_engine.jpg)
The tank's power plant supplies
kinetic energy
In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion.
It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its accele ...
to move the tank, and
electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
power via a
generator
Generator may refer to:
* Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals
* Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
* Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
to components such as the
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
rotation motors and the tank's electronic systems. The tank power plant has evolved from predominantly petrol and adapted large-displacement aeronautical or automotive
engines
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
during World Wars I and II, through
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s to advanced
multi-fuel
Multifuel, sometimes spelled multi-fuel, is any type of engine, boiler, or heater or other fuel-burning device which is designed to burn multiple types of fuels in its operation. One common application of multifuel technology is in military sett ...
diesel engines
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-calle ...
, and powerful (per unit weight) but fuel-hungry
gas turbines
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
in the
T-80
The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72. The chief designer of the T-80 was So ...
and
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
.
Operational mobility
Strategic mobility
![HIT Al-Zarrar MBT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/HIT_Al-Zarrar_MBT.jpg)
Strategic mobility is the ability of the tanks of an armed force to arrive in a timely, cost effective, and synchronized fashion. For good strategic mobility transportability by air is important, which means that weight and volume must be kept within the designated transport aircraft capabilities. Nations often stockpile enough tanks to respond to any threat without having to make more tanks as many sophisticated designs can only be produced at a relatively low rate. The US for instance keeps 6,000 MBTs in storage.
In the absence of
combat engineer
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare ta ...
s, most tanks are limited to
fording small rivers. The typical fording depth for MBTs is approximately , being limited by the height of the engine air intake and driver's position. Modern tanks such as the Russian
T-90
The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and compos ...
and the German
Leopard 1
The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought ...
and
Leopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...
tanks can ford to a depth of when properly prepared and equipped with a
snorkel to supply air for the crew and engine. Tank crews usually have a negative reaction towards deep fording but it adds considerable scope for
surprise and tactical flexibility in water crossing operations by opening new and unexpected avenues of attack.
Amphibious tank
An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian), is a vehicle that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, railway vehicles, combat vehicles an ...
s are specially designed or adapted for water operations, such as by including snorkels and skirts, but they are rare in modern armies, being replaced by purpose-built
amphibious assault vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAVP-7A1 (formerly known as Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel-7 abbr. LVTP-7)—is a fully tracked amphibious vehicle, amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Ar ...
s or
armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
s in
amphibious assaults. Advances such as the
EFA
EFA may refer to: England Football Association
Arts
* European Film Academy, a trade organisation
* European Film Awards, organized by the European Film Academy
* European Festivals Association, an arts festival organisation
Commerce
* Electri ...
mobile bridge and
armoured vehicle-launched scissors bridges have also reduced the impediment to tank advance that rivers posed in World War II.
Crew
![T72B3-Crew](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/T72B3-Crew.svg)
Most modern tanks most often have four crew members, or three if an
auto-loader
An autoloader or auto-loader is a mechanical aid or replacement for the personnel that load ordnance into crew-served weapons without being an integrated part of the gun itself. The term is generally only applied to larger weapons, such as naval ...
is installed. These are the:
*
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
– The commander is responsible for commanding the tank, with all-round vision devices rather than the limited ones of the driver and gunner. He guides the gunner roughly onto target and guides the driver around turns and obstacles.
*
Gunner – The gunner is responsible for
laying the gun, the process of aiming an artillery piece at targets. It may be laying for direct fire, where the gun is aimed similarly to a rifle, or indirect fire, where firing data is calculated and applied to the sights. The term includes automated aiming using, for example, radar-derived target data and computer-controlled guns. Gun laying means moving the axis of the bore of the barrel in two planes, horizontal and vertical. A gun is "traversed" (rotated in a horizontal plane) to align it with the target, and "elevated" (moved in the vertical plane) to range it to the target.
* Loader – The loader loads the gun, with a round appropriate to the target (HEAT, smoke, etc.) as ordered by either the commander or the gunner. The loader is usually the lowest ranked member of the crew. In tanks with auto-loaders this position is omitted.
*
Driver – The driver drives the tank, and also performs routine maintenance on the automotive features.
![3rd ID M1A1 Abrams TC and Gunner 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/3rd_ID_M1A1_Abrams_TC_and_Gunner_2008.jpg)
Operating a tank is a team effort. For example, the loader is assisted by the rest of the crew in stowing ammunition. The driver is assisted in maintaining the automotive features.
Historically, crews have varied from just two members to a dozen. First World War tanks were developed with immature technologies; in addition to the crew needed to man the multiple guns and machine guns, up to four crewmen were needed to drive the tank: the driver, acting as the vehicle commander and manning the brakes, drove via orders to his gears-men; a co-driver operated the gearbox and throttle; and two gears-men, one on each track, steered by setting one side or the other to idle, allowing the track on the other side to slew the tank to one side. Pre-World War II French tanks were noted for having a two-man crew, in which the overworked commander had to load and fire the gun in addition to commanding the tank.
With World War II the multi-turreted tanks proved impracticable, and as the single turret on a low hull design became standard, crews became standardized around a crew of four or five. In those tanks with a fifth crew member, usually three were located in the turret (as described above) while the fifth was most often seated in the hull next to the driver, and operated the hull machine gun in addition to acting as a co-driver or radio operator. Well-designed crew stations, giving proper considerations to comfort and ergonomics, are an important factor in the combat effectiveness of a tank, as it limits fatigue and speeds up individual actions.
Engineering constraints
![Arjun MBT bump track test](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Arjun_MBT_bump_track_test.JPG)
A noted author on the subject of tank design engineering,
Richard Ogorkiewicz
Richard Marian Ogorkiewicz (2 May 1926 – 24 November 2019) was a Polish British engineer and armoured fighting vehicle historian.
Life
Richard Ogorkiewicz, born Ryszard Marian Ogórkiewicz, was born in Bydgoszcz. He was a son of Polish Colonel ...
, outlined the following basic engineering sub-systems that are commonly incorporated into tank's technological development:
* Mobility of tanks (through chassis design)
* Tank
engines
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
* Tank
transmissions
*
Suspensions
In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually ...
and
running gear
In railway terminology the term running gear refers to those components of a railway vehicle that run passively on the rails, unlike those of the driving gear. Traditionally these are the wheels, axles, axle boxes, springs and vehicle frame of a ...
* Soil-vehicle mechanics
*
Tank gun
A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also ...
s and
ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
*
Ballistics
Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and a ...
and mechanics of tank guns
* Vision and sighting systems
* Illuminating and
night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...
systems
*
Fire control systems for main and auxiliary weapons
*
Gun control systems
*
Guided weapons
*
armour
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
protection
* Configuration of tanks
To the above can be added unit communication systems and electronic anti-tank countermeasures, crew ergonomic and survival systems (including flame suppression), and provision for technological upgrading.
Few tank designs have survived their entire service lives without some upgrading or modernization, particularly during wartime, including some that have changed almost beyond recognition, such as the latest Israeli
Magach
Magach (, "battering-ram") is the designation of a series of tanks in Israeli service. The tanks are based on the American M48 and M60 Patton tanks. The name continued to be used for all Patton tanks, including the M60. Magach 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are ...
versions.
The characteristics of a tank are determined by the performance criteria required for the tank. The obstacles that must be traversed affect the vehicles front and rear profiles. The terrain that is expected to be traversed determines the track ground pressure that may be allowed to be exerted for that particular terrain.
Tank design is a compromise between its technological and budgetary constraints and its tactical capability requirements. It is not possible to maximise firepower, protection and mobility simultaneously while incorporating the latest technology and retain affordability for sufficient procurement quantity to enter production.
For example, in the case of tactical capability requirements, increasing protection by adding armour will result in an increase in weight and therefore decrease in mobility; increasing firepower by installing a larger gun will force the designer team to increase armour, the therefore weight of the tank by retaining same internal volume to ensure crew efficiency during combat. In the case of the Abrams MBT which has good firepower, speed and armour, these advantages are counterbalanced by its engine's notably high fuel consumption, which ultimately reduces its range, and in a larger sense its mobility.
Since the Second World War, the economics of tank production governed by the complexity of manufacture and cost, and the impact of a given tank design on logistics and field maintenance capabilities, have also been accepted as important in determining how many tanks a nation can afford to field in its force structure.
Some tank designs that were fielded in significant numbers, such as
Tiger I
The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
and
M60A2
The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...
proved to be too complex or expensive to manufacture, and made unsustainable demands on the logistics services support of the armed forces. The ''affordability of the design'' therefore takes precedence over the combat capability requirements.
Nowhere was this principle illustrated better than during the Second World War when two Allied designs, the
T-34
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...
and the
M4 Sherman
}
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...
, although both simple designs which accepted engineering compromises, were used successfully against more sophisticated designs by Germany that were more complex and expensive to produce, and more demanding on overstretched logistics of the Wehrmacht. Given that a tank crew will spend most of its time occupied with maintenance of the vehicle, engineering simplicity has become the primary constraint on tank design since the Second World War despite advances in mechanical, electrical and electronics technologies.
Since the Second World War, tank development has incorporated experimenting with significant mechanical changes to the tank design while focusing on technological advances in the tank's many subsystems to improve its performance. However, a number of novel designs have appeared throughout this period with mixed success, including the Soviet
IT-1
The IT-1 (russian: Истребитель танков–1 - 'Istrebitel tankov–1', lit. 'tank destroyer-1') was a Soviet cold war missile tank based on the hull of the T-62. The tank fired specially designed 3M7 Drakon missiles from a pop-up ...
and
T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while ...
in firepower, and the Israeli
Merkava
The Merkava ( he, מרכבה, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces and the backbone of the IDF's armored corps. The tank began development in 1970, and its first generation, the Merkava mark 1, entere ...
and Swedish
S-tank
The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the Alternative S and S-tank, is a Swedish post-World War II main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden. "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of ''stridsvagn'', Swedish for chariot an ...
in protection, while for decades the US's
M551
The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV (Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle) was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swi ...
remained the only light tank deployable by parachute.
Command, control, and communications
Commanding and coordinating tanks in the field has always been subject to particular problems, particularly in the area of communications, but in modern armies these problems have been partially alleviated by
networked,
integrated systems that enable communications and contribute to enhanced
situational awareness
Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
.
20th century
World War I and Interwar period
armoured
bulkheads, engine noise, intervening terrain, dust and smoke, and the need to operate "buttoned up" (with hatches closed) are severe detriments to communication and lead to a sense of isolation for small tank units, individual vehicles, and tank crew. Radios were not then portable or robust enough to be mounted in a tank, although
Morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
transmitters were installed in some Mark IVs at Cambrai as messaging vehicles. Attaching
a field telephone to the rear would become a practice only during the next war. During World War I when these failed or were unavailable, situation reports were sent back to headquarters by some crews releasing carrier pigeons through loopholes or hatches and communications between vehicles was accomplished using hand signals, handheld
semaphore flags
Flag semaphore (from the Ancient Greek () 'sign' and - (-) '-bearer') is a semaphore system conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Informa ...
which continued in use in the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
/
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
through the Second and Cold wars, or by foot or horse-mounted messengers.
World War II
From the beginning, the German military stressed wireless communications, equipping their combat vehicles with radios, and drilled all units to rely on disciplined radio use as a basic element of tactics. This allowed them to respond to developing threats and opportunities during battles, giving the Germans a notable tactical advantage early in the war; even where Allied tanks initially had better firepower and armour, they generally lacked individual radios.
By mid-war, Western Allied tanks adopted full use of radios, although Russian use of radios remained relatively limited.
Cold War era
![MerkavaMk4 ZE001m](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/MerkavaMk4_ZE001m.jpg)
On the modern battlefield an
intercom
An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings which functions independently of the public telephon ...
mounted in the crew helmet provides internal communications and a link to the
radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio ( duplex communication) type ...
, and on some tanks an external intercom on the rear of the tank provides communication with co-operating infantry. Radio networks employ radio
voice procedure
Radiotelephony procedure (also on-air protocol and voice procedure) includes various techniques used to clarify, simplify and standardize spoken communications over two-way radios, in use by the armed forces, in civil aviation, police and fire di ...
to minimize confusion and "chatter".
A recent development in AFV
equipment
Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tools or other objects commonly used to achieve a particular objective. Different job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and ...
and doctrine is integration of information from the
fire control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...
,
laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...
,
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
and terrain information via
hardened military specification
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
and a
battlefield network
''Battlefield Network'' is a 2000 Hong Kong television drama produced by ATV and starring Sunny Chan, Wayne Lai, Astrid Chan and Berg Ng. It was aired on ATV Home from 18 December 2000 to 16 March 2001 with one part airing from 18 December 2000 ...
to display information on enemy targets and friendly units on a
monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...
in the tank. The sensor data can be sourced from nearby tanks, planes,
UAVs
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
or, in the future infantry (such as the US
Future Force Warrior
Future Force Warrior was a United States military advanced technology demonstration project that was part of the Future Combat Systems project. The FFW project sought to create a lightweight, fully integrated infantryman combat system. It was one ...
project). This improves the tank commander's
situational awareness
Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
and ability to
navigate
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
the battlefield and select and engage targets. In addition to easing the reporting burden by automatically logging all orders and actions, orders are sent via the network with text and graphical overlays. This is known as
Network-centric warfare
Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations or net-centric warfare, is a military doctrine or theory of war that aims to translate an information advantage, enabled partly by information technology, into a competitive advantag ...
by the US,
Network Enabled Capability
Network-enabled capability, or NEC, is the name given to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence long-term intent to achieve enhanced military effect through the better use of information systems towards the goal of "right information, right place ...
(UK) or
Digital Army Battle Management System צי"ד (Israel). Advanced battle tanks, including the
K-2 Black Panther, have taken up the first major step forward in adopting a fully
radar integrated Fire Control System which allows it to detect tanks from a further distance and identify it as a friend-or-foe as well as increasing the tank's accuracy as well as its capability to lock onto tanks.
21st century
![Limpid Armor LCG DSS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Limpid_Armor_LCG_DSS.jpg)
Performing situational awareness and communication is the one of four primary MBT functions in the 21st century.
To improve the crew's situational awareness MBTs use
circular review system with a combination of
Augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
and
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
technologies.
Further advancements in tank defense systems have led to the development of
active protection system
An active protection system is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle.
Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from, or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are design ...
s. These involve either one of two options:
# Soft-kill – The Soft-kill protection systems use integrated on-board
radar warning receiver
Radar warning receiver (RWR) systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected, like a fighter aircraft's fire control radar. The warning can th ...
s which can detect incoming anti-tank missiles and projectiles. Once detected, soft-kill measures will be deployed which involves deploying
smoke screen
A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships.
Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
s or
smoke grenade
Smoke grenades used at demonstrations in Paris, 2008
upBritish L83A1 Smoke Grenade manufactured in May 2008. This grenade has already been used.
A smoke grenade is a canister-type grenade used as a signaling device, target or landing zone mark ...
s which interfere with the incoming missile's
infra-red
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
tracking system. This will cause the incoming missile to miss the tank or to deactivate entirely
# Hard-kill – The more advanced approach involves the
Hard-kill
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
measures. These involve directly destroying the incoming enemy missile or projectile by deploying the tank's own anti-missile projectile. This is seen as a more reliable approach due to its direct intervention measures rather than interference measures of the soft-kill systems. Both these active protection systems can be found on several
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
s including the
K2 Black Panther
The K2 Black Panther (Hangul: K2 '흑표'; Hanja: K2 '黑豹') is a South Korean main battle tank designed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. The tank was designed to meet the strategic requirements of the Re ...
, the Merkava and the Leopard 2A7.
Combat milestones
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
OnWar's Tanks of World War IIComprehensive specifications and diagrams of World War II tanks.
{{Authority control
Armoured fighting vehicles by type
English inventions
Armoured warfare
Tracked armoured fighting vehicles
Articles containing video clips