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The first generation of main battle tanks was based on or influenced by designs of World War II, most notably the Soviet T-34. [4] The second generation was equipped with NBC protection (only sometimes), night-vision devices, a stabilized main gun and at least a mechanical fire-control system. [ 4 ]
Tank. A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament is often mounted within a turret.
- Overview
- Earliest developments
- World War I
tank, any heavily armed and armoured combat vehicle that moves on two endless metal chains called tracks. Tanks are essentially weapons platforms that make the weapons mounted in them more effective by their cross-country mobility and by the protection they provide for their crews. Weapons mounted in tanks have ranged from single rifle-calibre machine guns to, in recent years, long-barreled guns of 120- or 125-mm (4.72- or 4.92-inch) calibre.
This article discusses the development of tanks from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. For articles on related military platforms, see amphibious assault vehicle and armoured vehicle.
The use of vehicles for fighting dates to the 2nd millennium bce, when horse-drawn war chariots were used in the Middle East by the Egyptians, Hittites, and others as mobile platforms for combat with bows and arrows. The concept of protected vehicles can be traced back through the wheeled siege towers and battering rams of the Middle Ages to similar devices used by the Assyrians in the 9th century bce. The two ideas began to merge in the battle cars proposed in 1335 by Guido da Vigevano, in 1484 by Leonardo da Vinci, and by others, down to James Cowen, who took out a patent in England in 1855 for an armed, wheeled, armoured vehicle based on the steam tractor.
But it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that armoured fighting vehicles began to take practical form. By then the basis for them had become available with the appearance of the traction engine and the automobile. Thus, the first self-propelled armoured vehicle was built in 1900 in England when John Fowler & Company armoured one of their steam traction engines for hauling supplies in the South African (Boer) War (1899–1902). The first motor vehicle used as a weapon carrier was a powered quadricycle on which F.R. Simms mounted a machine gun in 1899 in England. The inevitable next step was a vehicle that was both armed and armoured. Such a vehicle was constructed to the order of Vickers, Sons and Maxim Ltd. and was exhibited in London in 1902. Two years later a fully armoured car with a turret was built in France by the Société Charron, Girardot et Voigt, and another was built concurrently in Austria by the Austro-Daimler Company.
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The outbreak of World War I in 1914 radically changed the situation. Its opening stage of mobile warfare accelerated the development of armoured cars, numbers of which were quickly improvised in Belgium, France, and Britain. The ensuing trench warfare, which ended the usefulness of armoured cars, brought forth new proposals for tracked armoured vehicles. Most of these resulted from attempts to make armoured cars capable of moving off roads, over broken ground, and through barbed wire. The first tracked armoured vehicle was improvised in July 1915, in Britain, by mounting an armoured car body on a Killen-Strait tractor. The vehicle was constructed by the Armoured Car Division of the Royal Naval Air Service, whose ideas, backed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston S. Churchill, resulted in the formation of an Admiralty Landships Committee. A series of experiments by this committee led in September 1915 to the construction of the first tank, called “Little Willie.” A second model, called “Big Willie,” quickly followed. Designed to cross wide trenches, it was accepted by the British Army, which ordered 100 tanks of this type (called Mark I) in February 1916.
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Simultaneously but independently, tanks were also developed in France. Like the very first British tank, the first French tank (the Schneider) amounted to an armoured box on a tractor chassis; 400 were ordered in February 1916. But French tanks were not used until April 1917, whereas British tanks were first sent into action on September 15, 1916. Only 49 were available and their success was limited, but on November 20, 1917, 474 British tanks were concentrated at the Battle of Cambrai and achieved a spectacular breakthrough. These tanks, however, were too slow and had too short an operating range to exploit the breakthrough. In consequence, demand grew for a lighter, faster type of tank, and in 1918 the 14-ton Medium A appeared with a speed of 8 miles (13 km) per hour and a range of 80 miles (130 km). After 1918, however, the most widely used tank was the French Renault F.T., a light six-ton vehicle designed for close infantry support.
Oct 20, 2024 · 8. German Leopard II. This tank is one of the most advanced MBTs in the world. It was billed as the tank that would save the flailing Ukrainians in the second year of their thus far three-year ...
Sep 6, 2022 · September 6, 2022. After six months of war in Ukraine, some observers have insisted that “we are seeing the very nature of combat change” and that tanks, along with fighter jets and warships, “are being pushed into obsolescence.”. But it is too soon to write off the tank, and we should resist jumping to other sweeping conclusions about ...
Jul 31, 2024 · This adaptability meant that the Sherman could be utilized for roles ranging from tank destroyer to command vehicle, illustrating its significance in the evolution of tanks in combat history. The M4 Sherman’s presence was felt in numerous significant battles, including D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, where its versatility contributed significantly to the outcome of engagements.
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Oct 6, 2023 · As a versatile and powerful platform, the K2 exemplifies South Korea’s position among the world leaders in tank technology. #8. Leopard 2A7+. The Leopard 2A7+, a flagship of German engineering, stands at the forefront of modern armored warfare, embodying a harmonious blend of firepower, protection, and mobility.
