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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 Organization ( NATO (since 1949) against each other. After World War II, tank design budgets were cut and engineering staff was often scattered. Many war planners believed that with the advent of nuclear weapons the tank was obsolete, given that a tactical nuclear weapon could destroy any brigade or regiment, whether it was armoured or not. In spite of this, tanks would not only continue to be produced in huge numbers, but the technology advanced dramatically as well. Tanks became larger and advances in
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 ...
made it much more effective. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design and terminal effectiveness.
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
domination of the Warsaw Pact led to effective standardization on a few tank designs. Oppositely, the key NATO nations – the US, UK, France, and West Germany – all developed their own tank designs. These had little in common, with smaller NATO nations purchasing or adapting one or more of these designs. The Korean War proved that tanks were still useful on the battlefield, given the hesitation of the great powers to use nuclear weapons. In the 1950s, many nations' tanks were equipped with
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
(nuclear, biologic, and chemical) protection, allowing mechanized units to defend against all three types of weapon, or to conduct breakthroughs by exploiting battlefield nuclear strikes. The decades since have seen continual improvements in tank design, but no fundamental change. Among these have been larger yet guns, correspondingly improved armor systems, and refinements to targeting and ranging ( fire control), gun stabilisation, communications and crew comfort.


Transition to main battle tanks

During and after World War II some medium tanks designs, such as the American M26 and Soviet T-44, were mass produced before the concept of a main battle tank idea had evolved. These were highly similar to early main battle tanks, with powerful guns, moderate armor, and decent mobility. Their successors, the M46 Patton and T-54, followed suit before the main battle tank doctrine was fully accepted.


Development of the main battle tank

Medium tanks 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 i ...
gradually evolved into the new concept of the main battle tank. This transition happened gradually in the 1950s, as it was realized that medium tanks could carry guns (such as the US 90 mm gun, Soviet 100mm
D-10 tank gun The D-10 is a Soviet 100 mm tank gun developed in late World War II. It originally equipped the SU-100 tank destroyers and was later selected for the T-55 tank, equipping these as late as 1979. On the T-55 the D-10 continues to be in active ...
, and especially the British L7 105 mm gun) that could penetrate any practical level of armour at long range. The World War II concept of
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, armed with the most powerful guns and heaviest armour, became obsolete since they were just as vulnerable as other vehicles to the new medium tanks. Likewise, World War II had shown that lightly armed, lightly armoured tanks were of little value in most roles. Even reconnaissance vehicles had shown a trend towards heavier weight and greater firepower during World War II; speed was not a substitute for armor and firepower. An increasing variety of anti-tank weapons and the perceived threat of a
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...
prioritized the need for additional armor. The additional armour prompted the design of even more powerful guns. The main battle tank thus took on the role the British had once called the 'Universal tank', filling almost all battlefield roles. Typical main battle tanks were well armed and highly mobile, but cheap enough to be built in large numbers. The classic main battle 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 le ...
, the Soviet T-55 series, and the US M46 thru the M48 series, which saw continuous updates throughout the Cold war. For example, the Centurion began life with the highly effective 17-pounder (76.2 mm) gun, but was upgraded to 20 pounder (84 mm) and then 105 mm main armament by 1959, with improved fire control and new engines. The Soviet T-55 started with a 100 mm gun, but has been upgraded with both 115 mm and 125 mm guns, much improved fire control systems, new engines, track, etc. The M46 series evolved through to the M60 series. The first Soviet main battle tank was the
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, whi ...
while the first American MBT was the M60 combat tank. These vehicles and their derivatives formed the bulk of the armoured forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War; many remain in use in the 21st century.


Light tanks

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 o ...
s, such as the Soviet PT-76, maintained limited roles such as amphibious reconnaissance, support of Airborne units, and in rapid intervention forces which were not expected to face enemy tanks. The US
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
had similar strengths and weaknesses, but could also be airdropped, either by parachute or
LAPES The low-altitude parachute-extraction system (LAPES) is a tactical military airlift delivery method where a fixed-wing cargo aircraft can deposit supplies in situations in which landing is not an option, in an area that is too small to accura ...
. The value of light tanks for scouting has been diminished greatly by helicopters, although many continued to be fielded. During the early Cold War the US wielded the more conventional
M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...
. From the mid-late Cold War Infantry Fighting Vehicles such as the Soviet BMP and US M2 Bradley to an extent replaced light tanks, being similar to the extent that they are lesser armed and armored but lighter and cheaper than main battle tanks. At the end of the Cold War light tank-like armored cars were designed such as the South African
Rooikat The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; ) is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the ...
and the Italian
B1 Centauro The Centauro is a family of Italian military vehicles originating from a wheeled tank destroyer for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Ivec ...
which have seen service in the post-Cold War era.


Heavy tanks

Heavy tanks such as the T-10 continued to be developed and fielded along with medium tanks until the 1960s and 1970s, when the development of anti-tank guided missiles and powerful tank guns rendered them ineffective. The combination of large
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) warheads, with a long effective range relative to a tank gun, and with high accuracy, meant that heavy tanks could no longer function in a stand-off, or overwatch role; much cheaper antitank guided missiles could fill this role as well. Medium tanks were just as vulnerable to the new missiles, but could be fielded in greater numbers and had higher battlefield mobility.


The development of antitank weapons and countermeasures

After 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 world, Arab state ...
of 1973, when Israeli tanks were destroyed in large quantities by man-portable
wire-guided missile A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behi ...
s (ATGMs) fired by Egyptian infantry, concerns were raised on the vulnerability of tanks on the battlefield to antitank weapons. Subsequent analysis showed that Israeli forces had underestimated their opponents during the first phases of the war; their all-tank tactics ignored the newfound ability of Infantry armed with cheap AT weapons to stop tanks. Tactically, there was renewed recognition for the need for combined-arms tactics. This led to greater mechanization of Infantry and advanced artillery tactics and warheads. Tanks alone were vulnerable to Infantry, but a combined team of tanks, mechanized Infantry, and mechanized artillery could still win in the new environment. In 1974, the United States initiated a program to modernise its existing tank fleet and start real mass production of the M60A1, and later the M60A3; at the same time the M1 was developed. Budgets for tank design and production picked up during the administration of president Ronald Reagan, following tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In response to infantry-portable and vehicle-mounted ATGMS, ever more capable
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 fighti ...
were developed.
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 ...
,
composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...
, explosive reactive armour, and active protection systems—like the Russian Shtora,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
—were added to old and new tanks. Despite these improvements the larger missiles remained highly effective against tanks.


Missile armed tanks

During the latter half of the 20th century, some tanks were armed with
ATGM 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 Guided Missiles) which could be launched through 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 sign ...
or (in the case of "Shillelagh") a rifled main gun barrel with a provision to prevent imparting "spin" to the missile. In the U.S., the M60A2,
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
, and prototype MBT-70, with 152 mm barrel/launchers used the Shillelagh infrared-guided missile. During WWII a few tanks designs such as the M4 Sherman were modified to carry unguided rockets on the turret in addition to their main gun. This concept was to a limited extent carried into the Cold War with ATGMs; examples include the French AMX-13 and the Swedish Strv 81 (the Swedish version of the British centurion), both modified to carry SS.11 missiles on the top and sides of the turret, respectively. The MBT-70 was cancelled prior to production due to high cost, and superseded by the
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
, which used a conventional gun. The M551 and the M60A2 were widely considered disappointing due to problems of overall complexity, sensitive advanced electrical systems (some components of which involved the Shillelagh guidance system) and issues related to the conventional rounds with combustible cases, though the Sheridan would serve into the 1990s before finally being withdrawn. The M60A2's were eventually replaced by M60A3s using conventional 105 mm guns. The Soviet Union put gun-launched missiles into service in the mid-1970s, which continue to be used in CIS forces. Tanks capable of firing gun-launched missiles in Russian service include the T-72, T-80,
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 compo ...
, and upgraded T-55 (T-55AM2). Ukraine also employs missile-armed
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, whi ...
, T-80, and T-84 tanks.


History in the Cold War


Korean War

In the Korean War M24 Chaffees were the first U.S. tanks to fight the North Korean T-34-85s. The Chaffee fared poorly against these much better-armed and armored medium tanks. Chaffees were more successful later in the war in their reconnaissance role, supported by heavier tanks such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M46 Patton. The heavier but older Pershing was deemed unsatisfactory due to its inferior mobility, which was unsuitable for a medium tank role as it used the same engine that powered the much lighter M4 Sherman, and 1949, the upgraded M26 received a new power plant and a main gun with
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 ...
, and the M46 Patton designation. Less than a thousand were upgraded to M46 standard. On 8 August 1950 the first M46 Pattons landed in South Korea. The tank proved superior to the much lighter North Korean
T-34-85 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 weapons. The Chri ...
, which were encountered in relatively small numbers. By the end of 1950, 200 M46 Pattons had been fielded, forming about 15% of US tank strength in Korea; the balance of 1,326 tanks shipped to Korea during 1950 included 679 M4A3 Shermans, 309 M26 Pershings, and 138 M24 Chaffee light tanks. Subsequent shipments of M46 and M46A1 Pattons allowed all remaining M26 Pershings to be withdrawn during 1951, and most Sherman equipped units were also reequipped. By 1953 the M24 Chaffees were completely replaced by the
M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...
, which was rushed to the battlefield by the U.S. Army. The Walker Bulldog was too late to see combat during the Korean War. British
Centurion tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post- World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seein ...
s, assisted by
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
s in the reconnaissance role, arrived in Korea in late 1950. The UK tanks had to operate in much colder conditions than their usual deployments on the
North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Bal ...
. The Centurions covered the retreat at the
battle of the Imjin River The Battle of the Imjin River ( fil, Labanan sa Ilog Imjin), also known as the Battle of Solma-ri ( ko, 설마리 전투) or Battle of Gloster Hill () in South Korea, or as Battle of Xuemali () in China, took place 22–25 April 1951 during the ...
with the tanks from C Squadron,
8th Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...
, under the command of Major Henry Huth and by 55 Squadron,
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...
. The British position on the Imjin river "was deemed safe" but vulnerable in case of an attack which prove to be case, and the tanks were able stand their ground in the battle. The Centurions were also in
Operation Commando Operation Commando was an offensive undertaken by United Nations Command (UN) forces during the Korean War between 3–12 October 1951. The US I Corps (including four U.S. Divisions, the 1st Commonwealth Division and the Republic of Korea Arm ...
and were used to capture high ground earning praise from the commander of I Corps. Thereafter the war was largely static and the Centurions were used as artillery against the infantry attacks which generally happened at night.


Interwar

The
M47 Patton The M47 Patton was an American main battle tank, a development of the M46 Patton mounting an updated turret, and was in turn further developed as the M48 Patton. It was the second American tank to be named after General George S. Patton, comm ...
was intended to replace the M46 Patton and M4 Sherman tanks. It had a 90 mm gun and a crew of 5. Despite it being the primary tank of the US it never saw combat while in US service. In early 1951, the U.S. initiated the design of the M48 Patton, designated the T-48 with a 90 mm gun. The T48 featured a new turret, new redesigned hull and an improved suspension. The hull machine gunner position was removed, reducing the crew to 4. On 2 April 1953, the Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes (OTCM), standardized the last of the Patton series tanks as the M48 Patton. Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early designs, up to the M48A2, were powered by a gasoline 12-cylinder engine which was coupled with an auxiliary 8-cylinder engine. The gas engines gave the tank a short operating range and were prone to catching fire when hit; this version was considered unreliable. The
M103 heavy tank The M103 Heavy Tank (officially designated 120mm Gun Combat Tank M103, initially T43) was a heavy tank that served in the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps during the Cold War. Introduced in 1957, it served through 1974, b ...
was manufactured at the
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Detroit Arsenal (DTA), formerly Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant (DATP) was the first manufacturing plant ever built for the mass production of tanks in the United States. Established in 1940 under Chrysler, the plant was owned by the U.S. government ...
and the first units were accepted in 1957. The M103 was designed to counter
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
heavy tanks. Its long-ranged 120 mm gun was designed to hit enemy tanks at extreme distances, although it was never used in combat. Of the 300 M103s built, most went to the Marines. The tank was relatively underpowered and the drive systems were fragile. The turret of the M103 was larger than that of the M48 or the M60 to make room for the huge 120 mm gun and the two loaders assigned to it, in addition to the gunner and the commander. The driver sat in the hull. The gun was capable of elevation from +15 to -8 degrees. The British introduced their Heavy Gun Tank F214 Conqueror with the same 120mm gun as the M103 into service in 1955. It stayed in service until 1960; the upgrading of Centurion tank to the L7 105mm gun having removed its purpose. While the US Army deactivated its heavy armor units with the reception of the new M60 series main battle tanks in 1960, the remaining M103s stayed within the US Marine Corps inventory until they began receiving the M60 series MBT. With the disappearance of the heavy tank from US forces came the full acceptance of the main battle tank in 1960 for the US Army, and later for the US Marine Corps. The British successor to Centurion was
Chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a 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 categorized as ...
in 1966. Chieftain was heavily armoured and had a 120mm gun following a doctrine of long range fire and survivability that would be needed against the more numerous Warsaw Pact tanks in the event of an invasion of West Germany.


Vietnam War era

Tanks for the most part, saw limited action in Vietnam compared to the heavy fighting in Korea, but even in the Vietnam jungle the M48 Patton saw tank-to-tank duels. On March 3, 1969, the Special Forces camp at Ben Het was attacked by the NVA 202nd Armored Regiment. The 202nd was tasked with the mission of destroying the camp's 175 mm self-propelled guns. One of the PT-76s had detonated a land mine, which not only alerted the camp, but also lit up the other PT-76s attacking the firebase. Flares had been sent up, thus exposing adversary tanks, but sighting in on muzzle flashes, one PT-76 scored a direct hit on the turret of a M48, killing two Patton crewmen and wounding two more. A second Patton, using the same technique, destroyed a PT-76 with their second shot. At daybreak, the battlefield revealed the wreckage of two PT-76s and one BTR-50 armored personnel carrier. The M48s saw extensive action during the Vietnam War, over 600 Pattons would be deployed with US Forces during the war. The initial M48s landed with the US Marines in 1965.Dunstan Remaining Pattons deployed to South Vietnam were in three U.S. Army battalions, the 1-77th Armor near the DMZ, the 1-69th Armor in the Central Highlands, and the 2-34th Armor near the Mekong Delta. Each battalion consisted of approximately fifty seven tanks. M48s were also used by Armored Cavalry Squadrons in Vietnam, until replaced by
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 ...
Sheridan tanks. The M67A1
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 Wor ...
tank (nicknamed the Zippo) was an M48 variant used in Vietnam. When US forces commenced redeployment operations, many of the M48A3 Pattons were turned over to the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...
(ARVN) forces, in particular creating the ARVN 20th Tank Regiment; which supplemented their
M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...
units. During the
North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wi ...
(NVA) Easter Offensive in 1972, tank clashes between NVA T-54/ PT-76 and ARVN M48/M41 units became commonplace, but on 23 April 1972, tankers of the 20th Tank Regiment were attacked by an NVA infantry-tank team, which was equipped with the new '' 9M14M Malyutka'' ( NATO designation: Sagger) wire guided
anti-tank 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- ...
. During this battle, one M48A3 Patton tank and one M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle (ACAV) were destroyed, becoming the first losses to the Sagger missile; losses that would echo on an even larger scale a year later during 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 world, Arab state ...
in the Middle East in 1973. In the mid-1970s, the M48A5 upgrade was developed to allow the vehicle to carry the heavier 105 mm gun. This was designed to bring the M48s up to speed with the M60 tanks then in regular use. Most of the M48s were placed into service with reserve units by this time. By the mid-1990s, the M48s were phased out. The M48s performed admirably in Vietnam in the infantry-support role. However, there were few actual tank versus tank battles. The M48s provided adequate protection for its crew from small arms, mines, and
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. The plans were laid in the US in the late fifties, for a tank with a 105 mm main gun and a redesigned hull offering better armor protection. The resulting M60 largely resembled the M48 it was based on, but has significant differences. The M60 mounted a bore evacuated 105 mm main gun, had a hull with a straight front slope whereas the M48's hull was rounded, had three support rollers per side to the M48's five, and had road wheels constructed from aluminum rather than steel. The hull of the M60 was a single piece steel casting divided into three compartments, with the driver in front, fighting compartment in the middle and engine at the rear. The driver looked through three M27 day periscopes, one of which could be replaced by a night vision periscope. Initially, the M60 had essentially the same turret shape as the M48, but this was subsequently replaced with a distinctive "needlenose" design that minimized frontal cross-section to enemy fire. The M60 was the last US main battle tank to utilize homogeneous steel armor for protection. It was also the last to feature either the
M60 machine gun The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for ...
or an escape hatch under the hull. Originally designated the M68, the new vehicle was put into production in 1959, reclassified as the M60, and entered service in 1960. Over 15,000 M60s (all variants) were constructed. In 1963, the M60 was upgraded to the M60A1. This new variant, which stayed in production until 1980, featured a larger, better-shaped turret and improvements to the armor protection and shock absorbers. The M60A1 was also equipped with a stabilization system for the main gun. However, the M60A1 was still not able to fire on the move, as the system only kept the gun pointed in the same general direction while the tank was traveling cross country. It did however enable the coaxial machine gun to be brought to bear while moving. The
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
was initiated when the replacement for the
M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...
, the T92 Light Tank, was canceled. The need for even lighter weight to make the tank transportable presented the design with a particularly difficult problem; guns capable of defeating modern tanks at reasonable ranges were so large that they demanded a large vehicle to carry them, so large that they couldn't be used as a "light" tank. The use of HEAT rounds instead of conventional penetrating ammunition could address this, but HEAT rounds work better at larger calibers. Gun weight is typically the product of caliber and muzzle velocity, so in the case of the XM551 they sacrificed the muzzle velocity, producing the low-velocity but relatively large-caliber 152 mm ''M81''. HEAT rounds fired by the M81 could defeat any contemporary tank at shorter ranges, but its low velocity made it difficult to use at longer ranges, especially against moving targets. The large low-velocity gun was also ideal for infantry support, where higher performance anti-tank guns would often fire right through soft targets and their small-caliber guns left little room for explosive filler. The
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
tank would thus be ideal for both direct fire support as well as short-distance anti-tank engagements. The only niche where the
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
was not ideal was the medium and long-range anti-tank engagement. The muzzle velocity was so low that a HEAT round fired at longer ranges would have to be "lofted", making aiming difficult, and the flight time would be so long that a moving target would be very difficult to hit. However, it appeared there was a solution to this problem by equipping the tank with gun-fired
anti-tank 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. For longer range engagements a missile would be fired instead of a HEAT round, and although its velocity would also be relatively slow, the guidance system would make a hit highly likely anyway. The
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
appeared to offer the best of both worlds; for infantry support the large calibre gun allowed it to fire full-sized artillery rounds and canister shot, while also giving it reasonable short-range anti-tank performance from the same gun. The
M551 Sheridan 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 ...
had a steel turret and aluminum hull. It was powered by a large diesel engine. The M551 thus had excellent mobility, able to run at speeds up to 45 mph, which at that time was unheard of for a tracked vehicle. Swimming capability was provided by a flotation screen. Production started on late July 1966, and entered service in June 1967. More than 1,600 M551s were built between 1966 and 1970. Total cost of the M551 program was $1.3 billion. The vehicle proved to be very noisy and unreliable under combat conditions. The armor was thin enough that it could be penetrated even by heavy machine gun rounds as well as being highly vulnerable to mines. Firing the gun would often adversely affect the delicate electronics, which were at the early stages of transitioning to solid state, so the missile and guidance system was omitted from vehicles deployed to Vietnam. The gun had problems with cracks developing near the breech after repeated firing. Most field units were modified to help address the problem but gun also was criticized for having too much recoil for the vehicle weight, the second and even third road wheels coming clear off the ground when the main gun fired. The Sheridan saw extensive action in the Vietnam War, being assigned to nearly all armored cavalry squadrons in country. In 1969, armored cavalry units began replacing their M48 Patton tanks. The battle reports from the troops were sometimes glowing, while the reports higher up the chain of command were often negative. A 1969 evaluation of the vehicles found the M551 was employed in reconnaissance, night patrol and road clearing, accumulating 39,455 road miles and 520 combat missions, with a ready rate of 81.3 percent. Despite vulnerability to rockets and mines, it was judged worth applying modifications and equip all cavalry squadrons with the Sheridan.
Washer evaluation 1969.
The Sheridan was much appreciated by the infantry who were desperate for direct-fire support, which generally served in combination with M113 armored personnel carrier#M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle .28ACAV.29, ACAVs (M113s) as armored cavalry units consisted of both M113s and M551s as part of their TO&E. Armor units consisted solely of tanks (minus headquarters company) and Mechanized Infantry units consisted solely of M113s. In this role the real problem with the Sheridan was its limited ammunition load of only 20 rounds and 8 missiles (though M551s in Vietnam service were not equipped with missiles or their guidance equipment, increasing the basic load of conventional rounds). A common field-modification was to mount a large steel shield, known as an "ACAV set" (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle), around the commander's 50-cal. (12.7 mm) gun, allowing it to be fired with some level of protection. The driver has an unusual rotating hatch which has vision blocks when rotated forward. Included with the set was an extra layer of steel belly armor which was bolted onto the vehicle's bottom, although only covering from the front to halfway to the end, possibly due to weight reasons. A standard modification made during the mid-70's was the addition of the "Cereal Bowl" commander's cupola. This mod came about due to the broken rib effect that occurred when the Sheridan fired conventional rounds, the recoil would pitch the TC against the armor plating resulting in cracked ribs.


Post-Vietnam

The US Army began to phase out the Sheridan in 1978, although at the time there was no real replacement. Nevertheless, the
82nd Airborne The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thori ...
were able to keep them on until 1996. The Sheridan was the only air-deployable tank in the inventory, and as an elite force they had considerably more "pull" than general infantry and armor units who were forced to get rid of them. Their units were later upgraded to the ''M551A1'' model, including a thermal sighting system for the commander and gunner. The Sheridan's only air drop in combat occurred during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, when fourteen M551's were deployed; four were transported by C-5 Galaxies and ten were dropped by air, but two Sheridans were destroyed upon landing. The Sheridans' performance received mixed reviews. They were lauded by their operators and some commanders as providing firepower in needed situations to destroy hard targets. However, the Sheridans' employment of only HEAT rounds limited their effectiveness against reinforced concrete construction. Fifty-one Sheridans were deployed in the Gulf War as some of the first tanks sent. They would not be very effective against the Russian-built T-72s. Their role was limited by age and light armor to reconnaissance duties, possibly 6 or less Shillelagh missiles were test fired at empty Iraqi bunkers, these fewer than a half-dozen missiles, were the only time that the Shillelagh had been fired in a combat environment, from the inventory of the aforementioned 88,000 missiles produced. Several attempts to upgun or replace the Sheridan have been made, but none were successful. Several experimental versions of the Sheridan mounting a new turret carrying a 105 mm gun were made, but the resulting recoil was too great. Several possible replacements for the M551 were tested as a part of the XM8 Armored Gun System and Expeditionary tank efforts of the early and late 1980s respectively, but none of these entered service. The Stryker Mobile Gun System has replaced the light tank role of the United States. During the 1960s, the US and West Germany entered a joint project for a new tank common to both armies and intended to enter service in the 1970s. The MBT-70 project was technically advanced with sophisticated suspension, a low silhouette, spaced armor and advanced gun systems but suffered from excessive costs and the Germans pulled out of the project at the end of the decade. After Vietnam, the M60 tank was upgraded and designated the M60A2. It featured an entirely new low-profile turret with a commander's machine-gun cupola on top, giving the commander a good view and field of fire while under armor but spoiling the low profile. It also featured a 152 mm gun, which fired conventional rounds as well as guided missiles. The M60A2 proved a disappointment, though technical advancements would pave the way for future tanks. The Shillelagh/M60A2 system was phased out from active units by 1981, and the turrets scrapped. Most of the M60A2 tanks were rebuilt as the M60A3. In 1978, work began on the M60A3 variant. It featured a number of technological enhancements, including smoke dischargers, a new rangefinder, and M21 ballistic computer, and a turret stabilization system. In addition it reverted to the 105 mm gun. All active American M60s eventually underwent the conversion to the A3 model. The M60A3 was phased out of US service in 1997. The German
Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus ''Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
tank, another 105mm armed tank, was introduced in 1965. It was sold widely to several nations in NATO as well as worldwide. It was followed in 1979 by the
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 ...
with a 120mm
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 sign ...
gun. In 1976, prototypes of a new tank which became the
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
were delivered by Chrysler Defense and General Motors armed with a 105 mm rifled gun. The Chrysler Defense design was selected for development as the M1. In 1979, General Dynamics Land Systems Division purchased Chrysler Defense. The
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
came from the diverted funds from the over budget and impractical MBT-70 and XM815 projects. The M1 was the first of its kind. It feature a low profile turret and for the first time ever on a tank, composite
Chobham armor 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 n ...
. Despite all these advances, the Abrams still retained the 4-man crew of the M60 tank as the
autoloader 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 nava ...
was considered unproven and risky. It was armed with the same L7-derived 105mm gun as the M60. Over 3200 ''M1 Abrams'' were produced and first entered US Army service in 1980. About 6,000 upgraded ''M1A1 Abrams'' were produced and used the German 120 mm smoothbore gun, improved armor, and a
CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consist ...
protection system. As the Abrams entered service in the 1980s, they would operate alongside M60A3 tanks. These exercises usually took place in Western Europe, especially West Germany, but also in some other countries like South Korea. During such training, Abrams crews honed their skills for use against the Soviet Union. However, by 1991 the USSR had collapsed and the Abrams would have its trial by fire in the Middle East. The British FV4030/4 Challenger, continuing with a 120mm rifled gun and protected by Chobham armor entered service in 1983.


Gulf War/Iraq war

The Gulf War saw the US Marines still deploying obsolete M60 tanks while the rest of the tank forces had Abrams. The Iraqi forces were initially regular army units, equipped with tanks such as
T-54/55 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 Ta ...
tanks and T-62s. The Coalition main battle tanks, such as the U.S.
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
, British
Challenger 1 The FV4030/4 Challenger 1 is a British main battle tank (MBT) used by the British Army from 1983 to 2001, when it was superseded by the Challenger 2. It is also currently used by the Royal Jordanian Army as its main battle tank, after heavy m ...
, and Kuwaiti
M-84 The M-84 is a Yugoslav main battle tank, a variant of the Soviet T-72. The M-84 is still in service in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kuwait. Development and production Development The M-84 is based on the Soviet T-72M (exp ...
AB were vastly superior to the Chinese
Type 69 The Type 69 () and Type 79 () are Chinese second generation main battle tanks. Both were developments of the Type 59 medium tank (a locally produced Soviet T-54A) with technologies derived from T-62. They were the first indigenously developed ...
and domestically built T-72 tanks used by the Iraqis, with crews better trained and armoured doctrine better developed. The majority of Iraqi armored forces still used old Chinese Type 59s and
Type 69 The Type 69 () and Type 79 () are Chinese second generation main battle tanks. Both were developments of the Type 59 medium tank (a locally produced Soviet T-54A) with technologies derived from T-62. They were the first indigenously developed ...
s, Soviet-made T-55s from the 1950s and 1960s, and some poor quality Asad Babil tanks (domestically assembled tank based on Polish T-72 hulls with other parts of mixed origin). These machines were not equipped with up-to-date equipment, such as
thermal sight A thermographic weapon sight, thermal imagery scope or thermal weapon sight is a sighting device combining a compact thermographic camera and an aiming reticle. They can be mounted on a variety of small arms as well as some heavier weapons. As wi ...
s or laser rangefinders, and their effectiveness in modern combat was very limited. The Iraqis failed to find an effective countermeasure to the thermal sights and sabot rounds used by Coalition armour. This equipment enabled them to engage and destroy Iraqi tanks from more than three times the range that Iraqi tanks could engage coalition tanks. Some Iraqi crews even fired training rounds at the U.S. and British tanks. These rounds (purchased in great number during the Iran–Iraq War due to their inexpensive cost) had soft steel penetrators and thus no hope of penetrating the advanced
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 na ...
of the Coalition tanks. In the Iraqi war in 2003, an Iraqi division the 6th Armored Division of the
Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...
. which was equipped with T-55s and
BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ...
s defending the control of key bridges over the Euphrates River and the Saddam Canal at Nasiriyah, were decimated by US Marines with
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
, and the division as a unit rendered incapable for combat during the
Battle of Nasiriyah The Battle of Nasiriyah was fought between the US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, aided by the British military, and Iraqi forces from 23 March to 2 April 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq. On the night of 24–25 March, the bulk of t ...
in March 2003, during the invasion. In addition to the
T-54/55 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 Ta ...
and
T-62 The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armour. In contras ...
tanks that Iraq had, the most feared to US armoured forces were the T-72 tanks in the Iraqi forces. Only
Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wi ...
divisions were equipped with Iraqi-modified T-72s. Many of the Iraqi T-72s were dug-in or hidden in groves, and then used to ambush the US or British tanks. In the war, the Iraqi T-72s were the preferred target for Apache helicopters and A-10s, in an attempt to diminish the combat power of
Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wi ...
divisions. The only chance for the ''Asad Babil'' T-72s against American tanks was to lure them to close range combat, or trying to ambush them from dug-in positions. But even in those conditions, the M1s usually prevailed, as proven in circumstances like the Battle of Baghdad, and the drive to the capital, where dozens of Iraqi MBTs were obliterated, or near Mahmoudiyah, south of Baghdad, April 3, 2003, (
Iraqi Freedom {{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 ...
) when US tanks engaged their counterparts from just 50 yards, shattering seven enemy T-72s without losses. The Lion of Babylon T-72 was utterly outclassed by the
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
, the Challenger and by any other contemporary Western main battle tank during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.


See also

*
History of the tank The history of the tank begins with World War I, when armoured all-terrain fighting vehicles were introduced as a response to the problems of trench warfare, ushering in a new era of mechanized warfare. Though initially crude and unreliable, t ...
*
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 projecte ...
*
Comparison of World War I tanks This is a comparison of the characteristics of tanks used in World War I. Tanks used in World War I Immediate post-war tanks Tanks planned for production and with completed prototypes during the war, but entered service after it ended. See ...
* Tanks of the interwar period *
Tanks in World War II Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. Even though tanks in the inter-war years were the subject of widespread research, production was limited to relatively small numbers in a few countries. However, during World War II, mo ...
*
Comparison of early World War II tanks This table compares tanks in use by the belligerent nations of Europe and the Pacific at the start of the Second World War, employed in the Polish Campaign (1939), the Battle of France (1940), Operation Barbarossa (1941), and the Malayan Campaign ( ...
* Post-Cold War Tanks


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanks In The Cold War