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Cutaway of an M4A4 Sherman tank, the primary tank
used by the United States and a number of the other
western allies during the Second World War.
Tiger II's of Schwere Heeres Panzer Abteilung 503
(s.H.Pz.Abt. 503) 'Feldherrnhalle' posing in
formation for the German newsreel
TankFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A tank is a large type of armoured fighting vehicle withtracks,
designed for front-line combat. Modern tanks arestrong mobile land
weapons platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating
gun turret. They combinethis with heavy vehicle armour providing
protection forthe crew of the weapon and operational mobility,
whichallows them to position on the battlefield inadvantageous
locations. These features enable the tankto have enormous
capability to perform well in a tacticalsituation: the combination
of strong weapons fire fromtheir tank gun and their ability to
resist enemy fire meansthe tank can take hold of and control an
area of thebattle and prevent other enemy vehicles from
advancing,for example. In both offensive and defensive roles,
theyare powerful units able to perform all primary tasks
required of armoured troops on the battlefield.[1] Themodern
tank was the result of a century of developmentfrom primitive
armoured vehicles, due to improvementsin technology such as the
internal combustion engine,which allowed the rapid movement of
heavy equipmentrequired to construct armoured vehicles. As a result
ofthese advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts incapability
during the World Wars of the 20th century.
Tanks in World War I were developed separately andsimultaneously
by Great Britain [2] and France as ameans to break the deadlock of
trench warfare on theWestern Front. Their first use in combat was
by theBritish Army on September 15, 1916 between thevillages of
Flers and Courcelette, during the Battle of theSomme. The name
"tank" was adopted by the Britishduring the early stages of their
development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose (see
etymology).While the French and British built thousands of tanks
between them, Germany was unconvinced of thetank's potential, and
built only twenty of her own.
Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the designs of World
War II. Important concepts of armouredwarfare were developed; the
Soviet Union launched the first mass tank/air attack at Khalkhin
Gol
(Nomonhan) in August 1939,[3] which later resulted in the T-34,
a predecessor of the main battle tank. Lessthan two weeks later,
Germany began their large-scale armoured campaigns that would
become known asblitzkrieg ("lightning war") massed concentrations
of tanks supported by motorised and mechanizedinfantry, artillery
and air power designed to break through the enemy front and
collapse enemy resistance.
The widespread introduction of HEAT warheads during the second
half of WWII led to lightweight anti-tankweapons with considerable
power. This caused major changes in tank doctrine and the
introduction ofeffective combined arms tactics. Tanks in the Cold
War were designed with these weapons in mind, and ledto greatly
improved armours during the 1960s, especially composite armour.
Improved engines, transmissionsand suspensions allowed tanks of
this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed
significantlyas well, with advances in shell design.
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During the 20th century, main battle tanks were considered a key
component of modern armies.[4] In the21st century, with the
increasing role of asymmetrical warfare and the end of the Cold
War, that alsocontributed to the increase of cost-effective Russian
anti-tank weapons worldwide, the importance of tankshas waned.
Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into
combined arms units whichinvolve the support of infantry, who may
accompany the tanks in infantry fighting vehicles. They are
alsousually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack
aircraft.[5]
Contents
1 History
1.1 Conception
1.2 World War I
1.3 Interwar period
1.4 World War II
1.5 Cold War arms race
1.6 21st century conflicts
1.7 Research and development
2 Design
2.1 Offensive capabilities
2.2 Protection and countermeasures
2.3 Mobility
2.4 Crew
2.5 Engineering constraints
3 Command, control and communications
3.1 Early
3.2 Modern
4 Etymology
5 See also
6 Notes and references
7 Bibliography
8 External links
History
Conception
The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept:
that of providing troops with mobileprotection and firepower. The
internal combustion engine, armour plate, and the continuous track
were keyinnovations leading to the invention of the modern
tank.
Armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various
armoured steam- and petrol-engined vehicleswere also proposed. The
first armoured car was produced in Austria in 1904. However, all
were restricted to
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Film clip of World War I-era
tanks.
Model of Leonardo's proposed
vehicle.
rails or reasonably passable terrain. It was the development of
a practicalcaterpillar track that provided the necessary
independent, all-terrainmobility.
Many sources imply that Leonardo daVinci and H.G. Wells in some
way foresawor "invented" the tank. Leonardo's late15th century
drawings of what somedescribe as a "tank" show a
man-powered,wheeled vehicle with cannons all aroundit. However the
human crew would nothave enough power to move it over larger
distance, and usage of animalswas problematic in a space so
confined.
The machines described in Wells's 1903 short story The Land
Ironclads area step closer, in being armour-plated, having an
internal power plant, and
being able to cross trenches. Some aspects of the story foresee
the tactical use and impact of the tanks thatlater came into being.
However, Wells's vehicles were driven by steam and moved on Pedrail
wheels,technologies that were already outdated at the time of
writing. After seeing British tanks in 1916, Wellsdenied 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."[6] It
is, though, possible that one of the British tankpioneers, Ernest
Swinton, was subconsciously or otherwise influenced by Wells's
tale.[7][8]
The "caterpillar" track arose from attempts to improve the
mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading theirweight, reducing
ground pressure, and increasing their adhesive friction.
Experiments can be traced back asfar as the 17th century, and by
the late nineteenth they existed in various recognizable and
practical forms inseveral countries.
It is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a
caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 hepatented a "machine,
that should carry and lay down its own road", but this was
Edgeworth's choice ofwords. 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.[9] The firstcombinations of
the three principal components of the Tank appeared in the decade
before World War One.In 1903, a Captain Levavasseur of the French
Artillery proposed mounting a field gun in an armoured boxon
tracks. Major W.E. Donohue, of the British Army's Mechanical
Transport Committee, suggested fixing agun and armoured shield on a
British type of track-driven vehicle.[10] In 1911, a Lieutenant
Engineer in theAustrian Army, Gnther Burstyn, presented to the
Austrian and Prussian War Ministries plans for a light,
three-man tank with a gun in a revolving turret.[11] In the same
year an Australian civil engineer namedLancelot de Mole submitted a
basic design for a tracked, armoured vehicle to the British War
Office.[12] InRussia, Vasiliy Mendeleev designed a tracked vehicle
containing a large naval gun.[13]
All of these ideas were rejected and, by 1914, forgotten,
although it was officially acknowledged after theWar that de Mole's
design was at least the equal of the tanks that were later produced
by Great Britain, andhe was voted a cash payment for his
contribution. Various individuals continued to contemplate the use
oftracked vehicles for military applications, but by the outbreak
of the War no one in a position ofresponsibility in any army had
any thoughts about tanks.
World War I
Great Britain
From late 1914 a small number of middle-ranking British Army
officers tried to persuade the War Office andthe Government to
consider the creation of armoured vehicles. Amongst their
suggestions was the use of
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British World War I Mark V* tank
Renault FT tanks, here operated
by the US army, pioneered the
use of a fully traversable turret
and served as pattern for most
modern tanks.
caterpillar tractors, but although the Army used many
suchvehicles for towing heavy guns, it could not be persuaded
thatthey could be adapted as armoured vehicles. The consequencewas
that early tank development in Great Britain was carried outby the
Royal Navy.
As the result of an approach by Royal Naval Air Service
officerswho had been operating armoured cars on the Western
Front,
the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill[14] formedthe
Landships Committee, on 20 February 1915. The Director ofNaval
Construction for the Royal Navy, Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt, was
appointed to head theCommittee in view of his experience with the
engineering methods it was felt might be required; the twoother
members were naval officers, and a number of industrialists were
engaged as consultants. So manyplayed a part in its long and
complicated development that it is not possible to name any
individual as thesole inventor of the tank,[15] though the British
Government later made proportionate cash awards to those
itconsidered to have contributed. Their first design, Little
Willie, ran for the first time in September 1915 andserved to
develop the form of the track but an improved design, better able
to cross trenches, swiftlyfollowed and in January 1916 the
prototype, nicknamed "Mother", was adopted as the design for
futuretanks. 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.[14][16] Great Britain produced about 2,600 tanks of
various types during the war.[17]
The first tank to engage in battle was designated D1, a British
Mark I Male, during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the
wider Somme offensive) on 15 September 1916.[18]
France
Whilst several experimental machines were investigated in
France, it was acolonel of artillery, J.B.E. Estienne, who directly
approached theCommander-in-Chief with detailed plans for a tank on
caterpillar tracks, inlate 1915. The result was two largely
unsatisfactory types of tank, 400 eachof the Schneider and
Saint-Chamond, both based on the Holt Tractor.
The following year, the French pioneered the use of a full 360
rotationturret in a tank for the first time, with the creation of
the Renault FT lighttank, with the turret containing the tank's
main armament. In addition to thetraversible turret, another
innovative feature of the FT was its enginelocated at the rear.
This pattern, with the gun located in a mounted turretand the
engine at the back, has become the standard for most succeeding
tanks across the world even to this day.[19] The FT was the most
numeroustank of the War; over 3,000 were made by late 1918.
Germany
Germany fielded very few tanks during World War I, and started
development only after encounteringBritish tanks on the Somme. The
A7V, the only type made, was introduced in March 1918. with just 20
beingproduced during the war.[20] The first tank versus tank action
took place on 24 April 1918 at the SecondBattle of
Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IVs met three
German A7Vs. CapturedBritish Mk IVs formed the bulk of Germany's
tank forces during World War I; about 35 were in service atany one
time. Plans to expand the tank programme were under way when the
War ended.
Other nations
The United States Tank Corps used tanks supplied by France and
Great Britain during World War I.
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French Hotchkiss H-39 light
tank of 1939.
Production of American-built tanks had just begun when the War
came to an end. Italy also manufacturedtwo Fiat 2000s towards the
end of the war, too late to see service. Russia independently built
and trialed twoprototypes early in the War; the tracked, two-man
Vezdekhod and the huge Lebedenko, but neither went
into production. A tracked self-propelled gun was also designed
but not produced.[21]
Although tank tactics developed rapidly during the war,
piecemeal deployments, mechanical problems, andpoor mobility
limited the military significance of the tank in World War I, and
the tank did not fulfil itspromise of rendering trench warfare
obsolete. Nonetheless, it was clear to military thinkers on both
sides thattanks in some way could have a significant role in future
conflicts.[22]
Interwar period
In the interwar period tanks underwent further mechanical
development. Interms of tactics, J.F.C. Fuller's doctrine of
spearhead attacks with massedtank formations was the basis for work
by Heinz Guderian in Germany,Percy Hobart in Britain, Adna R.
Chaffee, Jr., in the U.S., Charles de Gaullein France, and Mikhail
Tukhachevsky in the USSR. Liddell Hart held amore moderate view
that all arms - cavalry, infantry and artillery - shouldbe
mechanized and work together. The British formed the
all-armsExperimental Mechanized Force to test the use of tanks with
supportingforces.
In the Second World War only Germany would initially put the
theory into practice on a large scale, and itwas their superior
tactics and French blunders, not superior weapons, that made
blitzkrieg so successful inMay 1940.[23] For information regarding
tank development in this period, see tank development between
thewars.
Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union all experimented heavily
with tank warfare during their clandestine andvolunteer involvement
in the Spanish Civil War, which saw some of the earliest examples
of successfulmechanised combined arms such as when Republican
troops, equipped with Soviet-supplied mediumtanks and supported by
aircraft, eventually routed Italian troops fighting for the
Nationalists in the seven-day
Battle of Guadalajara in 1937.[24] However, of the nearly 700
tanks deployed during this conflict, only about64 tanks
representing the Franco faction and 331 from the Republican side
were equipped with cannon, andof those 64 nearly all were World War
I vintage Renault FT tanks, while the 331 Soviet supplied
machineshad 45mm main guns and were of 1930s manufacture.[25] The
balance of Nationalist tanks were machinegun armed. The primary
lesson learned from this war was that machine gun armed tanks had
to be equippedwith cannon, with the associated armor inherent to
modern tanks.
The five-month-long war between the Soviet Union and the
Japanese 6th Army at Khalkhin Gol(Nomonhan) in 1939 brought home
some bitter lessons. In this conflict, and although the Japanese
onlydeployed about 73 cannon armed tanks, the Soviets fielded over
two thousand,[26] with the major difference
being that Japanese armor were equipped with diesel engines and
the Russian tanks petrol ones.[27] Evenafter General Georgy Zhukov
inflicted a bitter defeat on the Japanese 6th Army with his massed
combinedtank and air attack, the Soviets had learned a bitter
lesson on the use of gasoline engines, and quicklyincorporated
those newly found experiences into their new T-34 medium tank
during World War II.[28]
World War II
During World War II, the first conflict in which armoured
vehicles were critical to battlefield success, thetank and related
tactics developed rapidly. Armored forces proved capable of
tactical victory in anunprecedentedly short amount of time, yet new
anti-tank weaponry showed that the tank was notinvulnerable.
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Soviet T-34 tank
column advancing near
Leningrad, 1942
Rommel in North Africa, June
1942
Battle of Kursk was the largest
tank battle ever fought, with
each side deploying nearly
3,000 tanks.
Prior to World War II, the tactics and strategy of deploying
tank forces underwenta revolution. In August 1939, Soviet General
Georgy Zhukov used the combined
force of tanks and airpower at Nomonhan against the Japanese 6th
Army;[29]
Heinz Guderian, a tactical theoretician who was heavily involved
in the formationof the first independent German tank force, said
"Where tanks are, the front is",and this concept became a reality
in World War II.[30] During the Invasion ofPoland, tanks performed
in a more traditional role in close cooperation withinfantry units,
but in the Battle of France deep independent armouredpenetrations
were executed by the Germans, a technique later called
blitzkrieg.Blitzkrieg used innovative combined arms tactics and
radios in all of the tanks toprovide a level of tactical
flexibility and power that surpassed that of the Alliedarmour. The
French Army, with tanks equal or superior to the German tanks
inboth quality and quantity, employed a linear defensive strategy
in which thearmoured cavalry units were made subservient to
infantry as "support
weapons".[23] In addition, they lacked radios in many of their
tanks and headquarters,[31] which limited theirability to respond
to German attacks.
In accordance with blitzkrieg methods, German tanks bypassed
enemy strongpoints and could radio for closeair support to destroy
them, or leave them to the infantry. A related development,
motorized infantry,allowed some of the troops to keep up with the
tanks and create highly mobile combined arms forces.[23] Thedefeat
of a major military power within weeks shocked the rest of the
world, spurring tank and anti-tankweapon development.
The North African Campaign also provided an important
battleground fortanks, as the flat, desolate terrain with
relatively few obstacles or urbanenvironments was ideal for
conducting mobile armoured warfare. However,this battlefield also
showed the importance of logistics, especially in anarmoured force,
as the principal warring armies, the German Afrika Korpsand the
British Eighth Army, often outpaced their supply trains in
repeatedattacks and counter-attacks on each other, resulting in
complete stalemate.This situation would not be resolved until 1942,
when during the SecondBattle of El Alamein, the Afrika Korps,
crippled by disruptions in their
supply lines, had 95% of its tanks destroyed[32] and was forced
to retreat bya massively reinforced Eighth Army, the first in a
series of defeats thatwould eventually lead to the surrender of the
remaining Axis forces in Tunisia.
When Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union,
OperationBarbarossa, the Soviets had a superior tank design, the
T-34.[33] A lack ofpreparations for the Axis surprise attack,
mechanical problems, poortraining of the crews and incompetent
leadership caused the Sovietmachines to be surrounded and destroyed
in large numbers. However,interference from Adolf Hitler,[34] the
geographic scale of the conflict, thedogged resistance of the
Soviet combat troops, and the Soviets' massiveadvantages in
manpower and production capability prevented a repeat of
the Blitzkrieg of 1940.[35] Despite early successes against the
Soviets, theGermans were forced to up-gun their Panzer IVs, and to
design and buildboth the larger and more expensive Tiger heavy tank
in 1942, and thePanther 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 equalpartners with the
increasingly sophisticated tanks, in turn violating the principle
of combined arms they hadpioneered.[4] Soviet developments
following the invasion included upgunning the T-34, development
ofself-propelled anti-tank guns such as the SU-152, and deployment
of the IS-2 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
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Sherman tanks joining the U.S.
Fifth Army forces in the
beachhead at Anzio during the
Italian Campaign, 1944
At one time, the Soviet T-72
was the most widely deployed
main battle tank across the
world.[38]
1945.
Much like the Soviets, when entering World War II six months
later(December 1941), the United States' mass production capacity
enabled it torapidly construct thousands of relatively cheap M4
Sherman medium tanks.A compromise all round, the Sherman was
reliable and formed a large partof the Anglo-American ground
forces, but in a tank-versus-tank battle was
no match for the Panther or Tiger.[36] Numerical and logistical
superiorityand the successful use of combined arms allowed the
Allies to overrun theGerman forces during the Battle of Normandy.
Upgunned versions with the76 mm gun M1 and the 17 pounder were
introduced to improve the M4'sfirepower, but concerns about
protection remained despite the apparentarmor deficiencies, a total
of some 42,000 Shermans were built anddelivered to the Allied
nations using it during the war years, a total secondonly to the
T-34.
Tank hulls[37] were modified to produce flame tanks, mobile
rocket artillery, and combat engineeringvehicles for tasks
including mine-clearing and bridging. Specialised self-propelled
guns, most of which coulddouble as tank destroyers, were also both
developed by the Germans with their Sturmgeschtz,Panzerjger and
Jagdpanzer vehicles and the Samokhodnaya ustanovka families of
AFV's for theSoviets: such turretless, casemate-style tank
destroyers and assault guns were less complex, stripped downtanks
carrying heavy guns, solely firing forward. The firepower and low
cost of these vehicles made themattractive but as manufacturing
techniques improved and larger turret rings made larger tank guns
feasible,the gun turret was recognised as the most effective
mounting for the main gun to allow movement in a
different direction from firing, enhancing tactical
flexibility.[23]
Cold War arms race
During the Cold War, tension between the Warsaw Pact countries
andNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries created an
arms racethat ensured that tank development proceeded largely as it
had duringWorld War II. The essence of tank designs during the Cold
War had beenhammered out in the closing stages of World War II.
Large turrets, capablesuspension systems, greatly improved engines,
sloped armour and large-calibre (90 mm and larger) guns were
standard. Tank design during the ColdWar built on this foundation
and included improvements to fire control,gyroscopic gun
stabilisation, communications (primarily radio) and crewcomfort and
saw the introduction of laser rangefinders and infrared nightvision
equipment. Armour technology progressed in an ongoing race
againstimprovements in anti-tank weapons, especially antitank
guided missiles likethe TOW.
Medium tanks of World War II, evolved into the main battle tank
(MBT) ofthe Cold War and took over the majority of tank roles on
the battlefield. This gradual transition occurred inthe 1950s and
1960s due to anti-tank guided missiles, sabot ammunition and high
explosive anti-tankwarheads. World War II had shown that the speed
of a light tank was no substitute for armour and firepowerand
medium tanks were vulnerable to newer weapon technology, rendering
them obsolete.
In a trend started in World War II, economies of scale led to
serial production of progressively upgradedmodels of all major
tanks during the Cold War. For the same reason many upgraded
post-World War II tanksand their derivatives (for example, the T-55
and T-72) 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.[39] Amongthe tanks of the
1950s were the British Centurion and Soviet T-54/55 in service from
1946, and the US M48
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Tankers drive an M1A1 Abrams
tank in Germany.
Type 10 Japanese main battle
tank
Graphic representation of the
US Army's cancelled XM1202
Mounted Combat System
from 1951.[40] These three vehicles formed the bulk of the
armoured forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pactthroughout much of the
Cold War. Lessons learned from tanks such as the Leopard 1, M48
Patton series,Chieftain, and T-72 led to the contemporary Leopard
2, M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, C1 Ariete, T-90 andMerkava IV.
Tanks and anti-tank weapons of the Cold War era saw action in a
numberof proxy wars like the Korean War, Vietnam War,
Indo-Pakistani War of1971, Soviet war in Afghanistan and
Arab-Israeli conflicts, culminatingwith the Yom Kippur War. The
T-55, for example, has seen action in nofewer than 32 conflicts. In
these wars the USA or NATO countries and theSoviet Union or China
consistently backed opposing forces. Proxy warswere studied by
Western and Soviet military analysts and provided a
grimcontribution to the Cold War tank development process.
21st century conflicts
The role of tank vs. tank combat is becoming diminished. Tanks
work inconcert with infantry in urban warfare by deploying them
ahead of theplatoon. When engaging enemy infantry, tanks can
provide covering fire onthe battlefield. Conversely, tanks can
spearhead attacks when infantry are
deployed in personnel carriers.[41]
Tanks were used to spearhead the initial US invasion of Iraq in
2003. As of2005, there were 1,100 M1 Abrams used by the United
States Army in thecourse of the Iraq War, and they have proven to
have an unexpectedly highlevel of vulnerability to roadside
bombs.[42] A relatively new type ofremotely detonated mine, the
explosively formed penetrator has been usedwith some success
against American armoured vehicles (particularly the Bradley
fighting vehicle). 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.[43] Britaindeployed its Challenger 2
tanks to support its operations in southern Iraq.
Israeli Merkava tanks contain features that enable them to
support infantry in low intensity conflicts (LIC)and
counter-terrorism operations. Such features are the rear door and
rear corridor, enabling the tank tocarry infantry and embark
safely; the IMI APAM-MP-T multi-purpose ammunition round, advanced
C4ISsystems and recently: TROPHY active protection system which
protects the tank from shoulder-launchedanti-tank weapons. During
the Second Intifada further modifications were made, designated as
"MerkavaMk. 3d Baz LIC".
Research and development
In terms of firepower, the focus of current R&D is on
increased detectioncapability such as thermal imagers, automated
fire control systems andincreased muzzle energy from the gun to
improve range, accuracy andarmour penetration.[44] The most mature
future gun technology is the
electrothermal-chemical gun.[45] The XM291
electrothermal-chemical tankgun has gone through successful
multiple firing sequences on a modifiedM8 Armored Gun System
chassis.[46]
To improve tank protection, one field of research involves
making the tankinvisible to radar by adapting stealth technologies
originally designed foraircraft. Improvements to camouflage or and
attempts to render it invisible
through active camouflage is being pursued. Research is also
ongoing in electromagnetic armour systems to
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Rifling of a 105 mm
Royal Ordnance L7 tank
gun.
disperse or deflect incoming shaped charge jets,[47][48] as well
as various forms of active protection systemsto prevent incoming
projectiles from striking the tank at all.
Mobility may be enhanced in future tanks by the use of
diesel-electric or turbine-electric series hybrid drives first used
in a primitive, gasoline-engined form with Porsche's Elefant German
tank destroyer of 1943 improving fuel efficiency while reducing the
size and weight of the power plant.[49] Furthermore, advances
in gas turbine technology, including the use of advanced
recuperators,[50] have allowed for reduction inengine volume and
mass to less than 1 m3 and 1 metric ton, respectively, while
maintaining fuel efficiency
similar to that of a diesel engine.[51]
In line with the new doctrine of network-centric warfare, the
modern battle tank shows increasingsophistication in its
electronics and communication systems.
Design
The three traditionalfactors determining atank's
capabilityeffectiveness are itsfirepower, protection, andmobility.
Firepower is theability of a tank's crew toidentify, engage,
anddestroy the enemy.Protection is the tankcrew's ability to
evade
detection, preserve themselves from enemy fire, and retain full
vehicle functionality after combat. Mobilityincludes the ability of
the tank to be transported by rail, sea, or air to the operational
staging area; from thestaging area by road towards the enemy; and
tactical movement over the battlefield during combat,
includingtraversing of obstacles and rough terrain.
Offensive capabilities
The main weapon of modern tanks is a single, large-calibre
cannon mounted in afully traversing gun turret. The typical modern
tank gun is a smoothbore weaponcapable of firing a variety of
ammunition, including armor-piercing kinetic energypenetrators
(KEP), also known as armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS),and/or
armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) and
highexplosive anti-tank (HEAT) shells, and/or high explosive squash
head (HESH)and/or anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) to destroy
armoured targets, as well ashigh explosive (HE) shells for engaging
soft targets or fortifications. Canister shotmay be used in close
or urban combat situations where the risk of hitting friendly
forces with shrapnel from HE rounds is unacceptably
high.[43]
A gyroscope is used to stabilise the main gun, allowing it to be
effectively aimedand fired at the "short halt" or on the move.
Modern tank guns are also commonlyfitted with insulating thermal
jackets to reduce gun-barrel warping caused by uneven thermal
expansion,bore evacuators to minimise fumes entering the crew
compartment and sometimes muzzle brakes tominimise the effect of
recoil on accuracy and rate of fire.
Traditionally, target detection relied on visual identification.
This was accomplished from within the tankthrough telescopic
periscopes; occasionally, however, tank commanders would open up
the hatch to view the
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An M1 Abrams firing
The Russian T-90 is fitted with
a "three-tiered" protection
systems:
1: Composite armour in the
turret
2: Third generation Kontakt-5
ERA
3: Shtora-1 countermeasures
suite.
outside surroundings, which improved situational awareness but
incurred the penalty of vulnerability tosniper fire, especially in
jungle and urban conditions. Though several developments in target
detection havetaken place especially recently, these methods are
still common practice.
In some cases spotting rifles were used confirm proper
trajectory and rangeto a target. These spotting rifles were mounted
co-axially to the main gun,and fired tracer ammunition
ballistically matched to the gun itself. Thegunner would track the
movement of the tracer round in flight, and uponimpact with a hard
surface, it would give off a flash and a puff of smoke,after which
the main gun was immediately fired. However these have beenmostly
superseded by laser rangefinding equipment.
Modern tanks also use sophisticated light intensification and
thermalimaging equipment to improve fighting capability at night,
in poor weather and in smoke. The accuracy ofmodern tank guns is
pushed to the mechanical limit by computerised fire-control
systems. A fire-controlsystem uses a laser rangefinder to determine
the range to the target, a thermocouple, anemometer and windvane 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
movementvector. This information is combined with the known
movement of the tank and the principles of ballistics tocalculate
the elevation and aim point that maximises the probability of
hitting the target.
Usually, tanks carry smaller calibre armament for short-range
defence where fire from the main weaponwould be ineffective, for
example when engaging infantry, light vehicles or aircraft. A
typical complement ofsecondary weapons is a general-purpose machine
gun mounted coaxially with the main gun, and a heavieranti-aircraft
machine gun on the turret roof. These weapons are often modified
variants of those used byinfantry, and so utilise the same kinds of
ammunition.
Protection and countermeasures
The measure of a tank's protection is the combination of its
ability to avoiddetection, to avoid being hit by enemy fire, its
resistance to the effects ofenemy fire, and its capacity to sustain
damage whilst still completing itsobjective, or at least protecting
its crew. This is done by a variety ofcountermeasures, such as
armour plating and reactive defences, as well asmore complex ones
such as heat-emissions reduction.
In common with most unit types, tanks are subject to additional
hazards inwooded and urban combat environments which largely negate
theadvantages of the tank's long-range firepower and mobility,
limit the crew'sdetection capabilities and can restrict turret
traverse. Despite thesedisadvantages, tanks retain high
survivability against previous-generationrocket-propelled grenades
in all combat environments by virtue of theirarmour.
However, as effective and advanced as armour plating has become,
tanksurvivability against newer-generation tandem-warhead anti-tank
missiles isa concern for military planners.[52] For example, the
RPG-29 from 1980s is
able to penetrate the frontal hull armour of the Challenger
II[53][54] and also managed to damage a M1Abrams.[55]
Avoiding detection
A tank avoids detection using the doctrine of countermeasures
known as CCD: camouflage (looks the same
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PLA's Type 99a tank with
disruptive camouflage painting
The British Challenger II is
protected by second-generation
Chobham armour
as the surroundings), concealment (cannot be seen) and deception
(lookslike something else).
Working against efforts to avoid detection is the fact that a
tank is a largemetallic object with a distinctive, angular
silhouette that emits copious heatand noise. Consequently, it is
difficult to effectively camouflage a tank inthe absence of some
form of cover or concealment (e.g., woods) it can hideits 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 power plant. Tank tracks and dust
clouds also betray past or present tank movement.Switched-off tanks
are vulnerable to infra-red detection due to differences between
the thermal conductivityand therefore heat dissipation of the
metallic tank and its surroundings. At close range the tank can
bedetected even when powered down and fully concealed due to the
column of warmer air above the tank andthe smell of diesel.
Thermal blankets slow the rate of heat emission and camouflage
nets use a mix of materials with differingthermal properties to
operate in the infra-red as well as the visible spectrum.
Camouflage attempts to breakup the distinctive appearance and
silhouette of a tank. Adopting a turret-down or hull-down position
reducesthe visible silhouette of a tank as well as providing the
added protection of a position in defilade.
The Russian Nakidka camouflage kit was designed to reduce the
Optical, Thermal, Infrared, and Radarsignatures of a tank, so that
acquisition of the tank would be difficult. According to Nii Stali,
the designers ofNakidka, 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.[56]
Armour
To effectively protect the tank and its crew, tank armour must
counter awide variety of antitank threats. Protection against
kinetic energypenetrators and high explosive anti-tank (HEAT)
shells fired by other tanksis of primary importance, but tank
armour also aims to protect againstinfantry rocket-propelled
grenades, anti-tank guided missiles, anti-tankmines, bombs, direct
artillery hits, and (less often) nuclear, biological andchemical
threats, any of which could disable or destroy a tank or its
crew.
Steel armour plate was the earliest type of armour. The Germans
pioneeredthe use of face hardened steel during World War II and the
Soviets alsoachieved improved protection with sloped armour
technology. World War II
developments led to the obsolescence of homogeneous steel armour
with the development of shaped-chargewarheads, exemplified by the
Panzerfaust and bazooka infantry weapons which were effective,
despite someearly success with spaced armour. Magnetic mines led to
the development of anti-magnetic paste and paint.
British tank researchers took the next step with the development
of Chobham armour, or more generallycomposite armour, incorporating
ceramics and plastics in a resin matrix between steel plates, which
providedgood protection against HEAT weapons. High explosive squash
head warheads led to anti-spall armourlinings, and kinetic energy
penetrators led to the inclusion of exotic materials like a matrix
of depleteduranium into a composite armour configuration.
Reactive armour consists of small explosive-filled metal boxes
that detonate when hit by the metallic jetprojected by an exploding
HEAT warhead, causing their metal plates to disrupt it. Tandem
warheads defeatreactive armour by causing the armour to detonate
prematurely. Modern Reactive armour protects itselffrom Tandem
warheads by having a thicker front metal plate to prevent the
precursor charge from detonatingthe explosive in the reactive
armour. Reactive armours can also reduce the penetrative abilities
of kineticenergy penetrators by deforming the penetrator with the
metal plates on the Reactive armour, thereby
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Blazer explosive reactive
armour (ERA) blocks on an
Israeli M-60
IDF Merkava Mk4 tank with
Trophy APS (" ") during
training
Two German Army Leopard 2s
demonstrate their deep-wading
capabilities
M1 Abrams offloading from
Landing Craft Air Cushioned
vehicle.
reducing its effectiveness against the main armour of the
tank.
Grenade launchers which can rapidly deploy a smoke screen that
is opaqueto Infrared light, to hide it from the thermal viewer of
another tank. Themodern Shtora countermeasure systems provides
additional protection byinterfering with enemy targeting and
fire-control systems.
Active protection system
The latest generation of protectivemeasures for tanks are active
protectionsystems, particularly "hard-kill". The Soviet Drozd, the
Russian Arena, theIsraeli Trophy and Iron Fist, Polish ERAWA, and
the American Quick Killsystems show the potential to dramatically
improve protection for tanksagainst missiles, RPGs and potentially
kinetic energy penetrator attacks, butconcerns regarding a danger
zone for nearby troops remain. As for 2011,only the Israeli Trophy
system, installed on the Merkava Mk4, has beencombat-proven, as it
successfully intercepted Rocket-propelled Grenadesand various
anti-tank missiles during operational missions on the Gaza
Stripborder.
Mobility
The mobility of a tank is described by its battlefield or
tactical mobility, itsoperational mobility, and its strategic
mobility. Tactical mobility can bebroken 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
trenchesor through water. Operational mobility is a function of
manoeuvre range;but also of size and weight, and the resulting
limitations on options formanoeuvre.
Tactical mobility
Tank agility is a function of the weight of the tank due to its
inertia whilemanoeuvring and its ground pressure, the power output
of the installedpower plant and the tank transmission and track
design. In addition, roughterrain effectively limits the tank's
speed through the stress it puts on thesuspension and the crew. A
breakthrough in this area was achieved duringWorld War II when
improved suspension systems were developed thatallowed better
cross-country performance and limited firing on the move.Systems
like the earlier Christie or later torsion-bar suspension
developedby Ferdinand Porsche dramatically improved the tank's
cross-countryperformance and overall mobility.[57]
Tanks are highly mobile and able to travel over most types of
terrain due to their continuous tracks andadvanced suspension. The
tracks disperse the weight of the vehicle over a large area,
resulting in less groundpressure. A tank can travel at
approximately 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph) across flat terrain
and up to 70kilometres per hour (43 mph) on roads, but due to the
mechanical strain this places on the vehicle and thelogistical
strain on fuel delivery and tank maintenance, these must be
considered "burst" speeds that invitemechanical failure of engine
and transmission systems. Consequently, wheeled tank transporters
and railinfrastructure is used wherever possible for long-distance
tank transport. The limitations of long-range tankmobility can be
viewed in sharp contrast to that of wheeled armoured fighting
vehicles. The majority of
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The M1 Abrams is powered by
a 1,500 shaft horsepower
(1,100 kW) Honeywell AGT
1500 gas turbine engine, giving
it a governed top speed of
45 mph (72 km/h) on paved
roads, and 30 mph (48 km/h)
cross-country.
blitzkrieg operations were conducted at the pedestrian pace of 5
kilometres per hour (3.1 mph), and that was
only achieved on the roads of France.[58]
The tank's power plant supplies kinetic energy to move the tank,
andelectric power via a generator to components such as the turret
rotationmotors and the tank's electronic systems. The tank power
plant has evolvedfrom predominantly petrol and adapted
large-displacement aeronautical orautomotive engines during World
Wars I and II, through diesel engines toadvanced multi-fuel diesel
engines, and powerful (per unit weight) butfuel-hungry gas turbines
in the T-80 and M1 Abrams.
Tank power output and torque in context:
VehiclePoweroutput
Power/weight Torque
Mid-sizedcar
Toyota Camry2.4 L
118 kW(158 hp)
79 kW/t(106 hp/t)
218 Nm(161 lbfft)
Sports carLamborghiniMurcilago
6.5 L
471 kW(632 hp)
286 kW/t(383 hp/t)
660 Nm(490 lbfft)
Racing carFormula One
car 3.0 L710 kW(950 hp)
1,600 kW/t(2,100 hp/t)
350 Nm(260 lbfft)
Main battletank
Leopard 2,M1 Abrams
1,100 kW(1,500 hp)
18.0 to18.3 kW/t (24.2
to 24.5 hp/t)
4,700 Nm(3,500 lbfft)
LocomotiveSNCF Class T
20001,925 kW(2,581 hp)
8.6 kW/t(11.5 hp/t)
Strategic mobility
Strategic mobility is the ability of the tanks of an armed force
to arrive in a timely, cost effective, andsynchronized fashion. For
good strategic mobility transportability by air is important, which
means thatweight 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 manysophisticated designs can
only be produced at a relatively low rate. The US Military for
instance keeps 6000
MBTs in storage.[59]
In the absence of combat engineers, most tanks are limited to
fording rivers. The typical fording depth forMBTs is approximately
1 metre (3.3 ft), being limited by the height of the engine air
intake and driver'sposition. Modern tanks such as the Russian T-90
and the German Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks can ford toa depth of
3 to 4 metres when properly prepared and equipped with a snorkel to
supply air for the crew andengine. Tank crews usually have a
negative reaction towards deep fording but it adds considerable
scope forsurprise and tactical flexibility in water crossing
operations by opening new and unexpected avenues ofattack.
Amphibious tanks are specially designed or adapted for water
operations, but they are rare in modernarmies, being replaced by
purpose-built amphibious assault vehicles or armoured personnel
carriers inamphibious assaults. Advances such as the EFA mobile
bridge and MT-55 scissors bridge have also reducedthe impediment to
tank advance that rivers posed in World War II.[60]
Crew
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The tank commander's position
in an AMX Leclerc
A view in a M1A1 Abrams tank
of the gunner's station (bottom
left) and commander's station
(top right)
The Indian Arjun MBT's
hydropneumatic suspension at
work, while moving over a
bump track.
Tank commander redirects here. For other meanings see Tank
commander (disambiguation).
Most modern tanks most often have four crew members, or three if
anauto-loader is installed. These are the:
Commander - The commander is responsible for commanding the
tank, most often in conjunction with other tanks and
supporting
infantry. The commander is provided with all round vision
devices
rather than the limited ones of the driver and gunner.
Driver - The driver drives the tank, and often also serves as
the tank's
day-to-day mechanic.
Gunner - The gunner is responsible for laying the gun.
Loader - The loader loads the gun, with a round appropriate to
the target. In tanks with auto-loaders
this position is omitted.
Historically, crews have varied from just two members to a
dozen. Forexample, preWorld War II French tanks were noted for
having a two-mancrew, in which the overworked commander had to load
and fire the gun inaddition to commanding the tank. First World War
tanks were developedwith immature technologies; in addition to the
crew needed to man themultiple guns and machine guns, up to four
crewmen were needed to drivethe tank: the driver, acting as the
vehicle commander and manning thebrakes, drove via orders to his
gears-men; a co-driver operated the gearboxand throttle; and two
gears-men, one on each track, steered by setting oneside or the
other to idle, allowing the track on the other side to slew thetank
to one side.
With World War II the multi-turreted tanks proved impracticable,
and asthe single turret on a low hull design became standard, crews
became standardized around a crew of four orfive. 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
inaddition to acting as a co-driver or radio operator.
Well designed crew stations, giving proper considerations to
comfort and ergonomics, are an important factorin the combat
effectiveness of a tank, as it limits fatigue and speeds up
individual actions.
Engineering constraints
A noted author on the subject of tank design engineering Richard
MOgorkiewicz[61] outlined the following basic engineering
sub-systems thatare commonly incorporated into tank's technological
development:
Mobility of tanks (through chassis design)
Tank Engines
Tank Transmissions
Suspensions and Running gear
Soil-Vehicle Mechanics
Tank guns and Ammunition
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Ballistics and Mechanics of Tank Guns
Vision and Sighting Systems
Illuminating and Night Vision Systems
Fire Control Systems for main and auxiliary weapons
Gun Control Systems
Guided Weapons
Armour Protection
Configuration of Tanks
To the above can be added unit communication systems and
electronic anti-tank countermeasures, crewergonomic and survival
systems (including flame suppression), and provision for
technological upgrading.Few tank designs have survived their entire
service lives without some upgrading or modernisation,particularly
during wartime, including some that have changed almost beyond
recognition, such as the latestIsraeli Magach versions.
The characteristics of a tank are determined by the performance
criteria required for the tank. The obstaclesthat 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.[62]
Tank design is a compromise between its technological and
budgetary constraints and its tactical capabilityrequirements. It
is not possible to maximise firepower, protection and mobility
simultaneously whileincorporating the latest technology and retain
affordability for sufficient procurement quantity to
enterproduction. For example, in the case of tactical capability
requirements, increasing protection by addingarmour will result in
an increase in weight and therefore decrease in mobility;
increasing firepower byinstalling a larger gun will force the
designer team to increase armour, the therefore weight of the tank
byretaining same internal volume to ensure crew efficiency during
combat. In the case of the Abrams MBTwhich has good firepower,
speed and armour, these advantages are counterbalanced by its
engine's notablyhigh 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 manufactureand cost, and the impact
of a given tank design on logistics and field maintenance
capabilities, have alsobeen 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 and M60A2 proved to be toocomplex or expensive to
manufacture, and made unsustainable demands on the logistics
services support ofthe armed forces. The affordability of the
design therefore takes precedence over the combat
capabilityrequirements. Nowhere was this principle illustrated
better than during the Second World War when twoAllied designs, the
T-34 and the M4 Sherman, although both simple designs which
accepted engineeringcompromises, were used successfully against
more sophisticated designs by Germany that were morecomplex 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, engineeringsimplicity has
become the primary constraint on tank design since the Second World
War despite advancesin mechanical, electrical and electronics
technologies.
Since the Second World War, tank development has incorporated
experimenting with significant mechanicalchanges to the tank design
while focusing on technological advances in the tank's many
subsystems toimprove its performance. However, a number of novel
designs have appeared throughout this period withmixed success,
including the Soviet IT-1 and T-64 in firepower, and the Israeli
Merkava and Swedish S-tankin protection, while for decades the
USA's M551 remained the only light tank deployable by
parachute.
Command, control and communications
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German Army Leopard 2A6M
incorporates networked
battlefield technology
Merkava Mark 4 main battle
tank is equipped with a digital
C4IS battle-management
system.
Commanding and coordinating tanks in the field has always been
subject toparticular problems, particularly in the area of
communications, but inmodern armies these problems have been
partially alleviated by networked,integrated systems that enable
communications and contribute to enhancedsituational awareness.
Early
Armoured bulkheads, engine noise, intervening terrain, dust and
smoke,and the need to operate "buttoned up" are severe detriments
tocommunication and lead to a sense of isolation for small tank
units,individual vehicles, and tank crewmen. Radios were not then
portable orrobust enough to be mounted in a tank, although Morse
Code transmitters were installed in some Mark IVsat Cambrai as
messaging vehicles.[63] Attaching a field telephone to the rear
would became a practice onlyduring 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[64] andcommunications between vehicles
was accomplished using hand signals, handheld semaphore flags
whichcontinued in use in the Red Army/Soviet Army through the
Second and Cold wars, or by foot or horsemounted
messengers.[65]
Modern
On the modern battlefield an intercom mounted in the crew
helmetprovides internal communications and a link to the radio
network, and onsome tanks an external intercom on the rear of the
tank providescommunication with co-operating infantry. Radio
networks employ radiovoice procedure to minimize confusion and
"chatter".
A recent development in AFV equipment and doctrine is
integration ofinformation from the fire control system, laser
rangefinder, GlobalPositioning System and terrain information via
hardened militaryspecification electronics and a battlefield
network to display information onenemy targets and friendly units
on a monitor in the tank. The sensor datacan be sourced from nearby
tanks, planes, UAVs or, in the future infantry(such as the US
Future Force Warrior project). This improves the tankcommander's
situational awareness and ability to navigate the battlefieldand
select and engage targets. In addition to easing the reporting
burden by automatically logging all ordersand actions, orders are
sent via the network with text and graphical overlays. This is
known as Network-centric warfare by the US, Network Enabled
Capability (UK) or Digital Army Battle Management System.(Israel)
"
Etymology
The word tank was first applied to the British "landships" in
1915, before they entered service, to keep theirnature secret.
Several explanations of the precise origin of the term have been
suggested, including:
It arose in British factories making the hulls of the first
battle tanks: workmen and possible spies were
to be given the impression they were constructing mobile water
tanks for the British Army, thus
keeping the production of a fighting vehicle secret.[22]
1.
The term was first used in a secret report on the new motorised
weapon presented to Winston
Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, by British Army
Lt.-Col. Ernest Swinton.[66]2.
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A biography of Winston Churchill states that, to disguise the
device, drawings were marked "water
carriers for Russia." When it was pointed out that the title
might be shortened to "WCs for Russia,"
the drawings were relabelled "water tanks for Russia," and
eventually the weapon was just called a
tank.[67] (In fact, the prototype was referred to as a
water-carrier for Mesopotamia [see below]. The
Russian connection is that some of the first production Tanks
were labelled in Russian "With Care to
Petrograd," as a further security measure.)
3.
On December 24, 1915, a meeting took place of the
Inter-Departmental Conference (includingrepresentatives 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(Secretary to the Landships
Committee, later head of the Mechanical Warfare Supply Department)
says thatat that meeting "Mr. (Thomas J.) Macnamara (M.P., and
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to theAdmiralty) then
suggested, for secrecy's sake, to change the title of the Landships
Committee. Mr.d'Eyncourt agreed that it was very desirable to
retain secrecy by all means, and proposed to refer to thevessel as
a "Water Carrier." In Government offices, committees and
departments are always known by theirinitials. For this reason I,
as Secretary, considered the proposed title totally unsuitable.* In
our search for asynonymous 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 wrongly added, " and the name has
now been adopted by all countries in the world."[68]
(* The initials W.C. are a British abbreviation for a water
closet; in other words, a toilet. Unfortunately, laterin the War a
number of Mk IV Tanks were fitted with grapnels to remove barbed
wire. They were designated"Wire Cutters" and had the large letters
"W.C." painted on their rear armour.)[69]
Colonel Ernest Swinton, who was secretary to the meeting, says
that he was instructed to find anon-committal word when writing his
report of the proceedings. He later discussed it with a Lt-Col W.
DallyJones, 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." [70] Swinton's
Notes on the Employment of Tanks, in which heuses the word
throughout, was published in January 1916.
In July 1918, Popular Science Monthly reported, "Because a
fellow of the Royal Historical Society hasunintentionally misled
the British public as to the origin of the famous "tanks," Sir
William Tritton, whodesigned and built them, has published the real
story of their name ... Since it was obviously inadvisable toherald
"Little Willie's" reason for existence to the world he was known as
the "Instructional DemonstrationUnit." "Little Willie's" hull was
called in the shop orders a "water carrier for Mesopotamia;" no one
knewthat the hull was intended to be mounted on a truck. Naturally,
the water carrier began to be called a "tank."So the name came to
be used by managers and foremen of the shop, until now it has a
place in the armyvocabulary and will probably be so known in
history for all time."[71]
D'Eyncourt's account differs from Swinton's and Tritton's: " . .
. when the future arrangements were underdiscussion for
transporting the first landships to France a question arose as to
how, from a security point ofview, the consignment should be
labelled. To justify their size we decided to call them
'water-carriers forRussia' - the idea being that they should be
taken for some new method of taking water to forward troops inthe
battle areas. Lt.-Col. Swinton . . . raised a humorous objection to
this, remarking that the War Officepundits would probably contract
the description to 'W.C.'s for Russia', and that we had better
forestall this by
merely labelling the packages 'Tanks'. So tanks they became, and
tanks they have remained."[72] Thisappears to be an imperfect
recollection. He says that the name problem arose "when we shipped
the first twovehicles to France the following year" (August, 1916),
but by that time the name "tank" had been in use foreight months.
The tanks were labelled "With Care to Petrograd," but the belief
was encouraged that theywere a type of snowplough.
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In saying that the word tank was adopted worldwide, Stern was
wrong. In France, the second country to usetanks in battle, the
word tank or tanque was adopted initially, but was then, largely at
the insistence ofColonel 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[73][74] and to their own asKampfwagen.[75] Later,
tanks became referred to as "Panzer" (lit. "armour"), a shortened
form of the fullterm "Panzerkampfwagen", literally "armoured
fighting vehicle". In the Arab world, tanks are calledDabbba (after
a type of siege engine). In Italian, a tank is a "carro armato"
(lit. "armed wagon"), withoutreference to its armour. Norway uses
the term stridsvogn and Sweden the similar stridsvagn ("chariot",
lit."battle wagon"), whereas Denmark uses kampvogn (lit. battle
wagon). Finland uses panssarivaunu(armoured wagon), although tankki
is also used colloquially. The Polish name czog, derived from
verbczoga si ("to crawl"), is used, depicting the way of machine's
movement and its speed. In Japanese, theterm sensha (, lit. "battle
vehicle") is taken from Chinese and used, and this term is likewise
borrowedinto Korean as jeoncha (/); more recent Chinese literature
uses the English derived tnk(tank) as opposed to zhnch (battle
vehicle) used in earlier days.
See also
Armored car (military)
Armoured warfare
Hobart's Funnies
Hull-down
Infantry fighting vehicle
Lancelot de Mole
Light tank
Lists of armoured fighting vehicles
Main battle tank
Military engineering vehicle
Narco tank
Skid steer
Super-heavy tank
Tank classification
Tank desant
Tank destroyer
Tankette
The first tank battle
Unmanned ground vehicle
Notes and references
^ von Senger and Etterlin (1960), The World's Armored Fighting
Vehicles, p.9.1.
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-251098792.
^ Coox (1985), p. 579, 590, 6633.
^ a b House (1984), Toward Combined Arms Warfare:A Survey of
20th Century Tactics, Doctrine, and
Organization
4.
^ Tranquiler, Roger, Modern Warfare. A French View of
Counterinsurgency, trans. Daniel Lee, "Pitting a
traditional combined armed force trained and equipped to defeat
similar military organisations against insurgents
reminds one of a pile driver attempting to crush a fly,
indefatigably persisting in repeating its efforts."
5.
^ Wells, H.G. (1916), "V. Tanks", War and the Future
(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1804/1804-h/1804-
h.htm#2H_4_0011), p. 1
6.
^ Harris, J.P. Men, Ideas, and Tanks. Manchester University
Press, 1995. P387.
^ Gannon, Charles E. Rumors of War and Infernal Machines:
Liverpool University Press, 2003. P678.
^ Edgeworth, R. & E. Memoirs of Richard Lovell Edgeworth,
1820, pp 164-69.
^ The Devil's Chariots: The Birth and Secret Battles of the
First Tanks John Glanfield (Sutton Publishing,
2001)
10.
Tank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tank&printable=yes
18 od 23 04/03/2015 18:25
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^ Gunther Burstyn Angwetter, D.& E. (Verlag Der
sterreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2008)11.
^ "Australia To The Fore. Invention of the War Tank"
(http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/65020239).
Trove.nla.gov.au. 1920-02-12. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
12.
^ Russian tanks, 1900-1970 The Complete Illustrated History of
Soviet Armoured Theory and Design John
Milsom (Stackpole Books, 1971)
13.
^ a b Churchill, p. 31614.
^ Churchill, p. 31715.
^ McMillan, N: Locomotive Apprentice at the North British
Locomotive Company Ltd Glasgow Plateway Press
1992
16.
^ Glanfield, Devil's Chariots17.
^ Regan (1993), The Guinness Book of More Military Blunders, p.
1218.
^ Steven J. Zaloga, The Renault FT Light Tank, London 1988,
p.319.
^ Willmott (2003), First World War, p. 22220.
^ " - 0008.htm"
(http://vadimvswar.narod.ru/ALL_OUT/TiVOut9801/RuTLe
/RuTLe008.htm) (in Russian). Vadimvswar.narod.ru. Retrieved
2012-05-13.
21.
^ a b Willmott (2003), First World War22.
^ a b c d Deighton (1979), Blitzkrieg, From the rise of Hitler
to the fall of Dunkirk.23.
^ Time (1937), Chewed up24.
^ Manrique p. 311, 321, 32425.
^ Goldman p. 1926.
^ Coox p. 300, 318, 43727.
^ Coox 99828.
^ Coox p. 579, 590, 66329.
^ Cooper and Lucas (1979), Panzer: The Armored Force of the
Third Reich, p. 930.
^ Forty (2004), p.251.31.
^ Stroud, Rick (2012). The Phantom Army of Alamein. Bloomsbury.
p. 219.32.
^ Zaloga et al. (1997)33.
^ Stolfi, Hitler's Panzers East34.
^ Deighton (1979), Blitzkrieg, From the rise of Hitler to the
fall of Dunkirk, p 30735.
^ Cawthorne (2003), Steel Fist: Tank Warfare 1939 - 45, p.
21136.
^ Starry pp. 45, 79, 129, 143, 153, etc37.
^ T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974-93 By Steven J. Zaloga, Michael
Jerchel, Stephen Sewell
(http://books.google.com/books?id=Q_jCD6i0iccC&pg=PA3&dq=t-72+tank+soviet&lr=&as_brr=3&
ei=WORMSq6gFYnmM7SFtTI&client=firefox-a). Books.google.com.
1993-09-30. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
38.
^ Steven Zaloga and Hugh Johnson (2004), T-54 and T-55 Main
Battle Tanks 19442004, Osprey, 39-41, ISBN
1-84176-792-1, p. 43
39.
^ von Senger und Etterlin (1960), The World's Armoured Fighting
Vehicles, pp. 61, 118, 18340.
^ Dougherty, Martin J.; McNab, Chris (2010), Combat Techniques:
An Elite Forces Guide to Modern Infantry
Tactics, Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-312-36824-1
41.
^ USA Today (2005), Tank takes a beating in Iraq42.
^ a b USA Today (2005), Tanks adapted for urban fights they once
avoided43.
^ Pengelley, Rupert, A new era in tank main armament, pp.
1521153144.
^ Hilmes, Rolf (January 30, 1999), "Aspects of future MBT
conception". Military Technology 23 (6): 7.
Moench Verlagsgesellschaft Mbh.
45.
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^ Goodell, Brad (January 1, 2007), "Electrothermal Chemical
(ETC) Armament Integration into a Combat
Vehicle". IEEE Transaction on Magnetics, Volume 23, Number 1,
pp. 456-459.
46.
^ Wickert, Matthias, Electric Armor Against Shaped Charges, pp.
42642947.
^ Xiaopeng, Li, et al., Multiprojectile Active Electromagnetic
Armor, pp. 46046248.
^ Electric/Hybrid Electric Drive Vehicles for Military
Applications, pp. 13214449.
^ McDonald, Colin F., Gas Turbine Recuperator Renaissance, pp. 1
- 3050.
^ Koschier, Angelo V. and Mauch, Hagen R., Advantages of the
LV100 as a Power Producer in a Hybrid
Propulsion System for Future Fighting Vehicles, p. 697
51.
^ BBC News (2006) Tough lessons for Israeli armour52.
^ "Defence chiefs knew 'invincible' tank armour could be
breached" (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages
/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=450477&in_page_id=1770),
Daily Mail, 24 April 2007
53.
^ Sean Rayment (2007-05-12). "MoD kept failure of best tank
quiet" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews
/1551418/MoD-kept-failure-of-best-tank-quiet.html). Sunday
Telegraph.
54.
^ Michael R. Gordon (2008-05-21). "Operation in Sadr City Is an
Iraqi Success, So Far"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/world/middleeast/21sadr.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin).
The
New York Times.
55.
^ "Nakidka" kit for protection against surveillance and
precision-guided systems (http://web.archive.org
/web/20090707002753/http://www.niistali.ru/pr_secure/nobron_en.htm#7)(archive)
56.
^ Deighton (1979), Blitzkrieg, From the rise of Hitler to the
fall of Dunkirk, pp. 15457.
^ Deighton (1979), Blitzkrieg, From the rise of Hitler to the
fall of Dunkirk, p.18058.
^ John Pike. "M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank"
(http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground
/m1-specs.htm). Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
59.
^ Deighton (1979), Blitzkrieg, From the rise of Hitler to the
fall of Dunkirk, pp.234-25260.
^ Technology of Tanks, Richard M Ogorkiewicz, Jane's Information
Group, 199161.
^ Journal of the United Service Institution of India, Volume 98
(http://books.google.com
/books?id=iZI8AQAAIAAJ&q=%22while+the+terrain+limits+the+unit+track+pressure%22&
dq=%22while+the+terrain+limits+the+unit+track+pressure%22),
United Service Institution of India, 1968, p. 58,
retrieved 4 April 2011
62.
^ Macksey, K., Tank vs Tank, Grub Street, London, 1999, p.
3263.
^ Fletcher, D., British Mark I Tank 1916, Osprey, p. 1964.
^ Wright 2002, Tank: The Progress of a Monstrous War Machine, p.
48, "To the extent that they communicated
at all, the tank crews did so by squeezing carrier pigeons out
through a hole in a gun sponson, by brandishing a
shovel through the manhole,mili or by frantically waving
coloured discs in the air."
65.
^ Barris (2007), Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age April 912,
1917, p.11666.
^ Gilbert (1991), Churchill: A Life, p.298.67.
^ Tanks 1914-1918; The Log Book of a Pioneer. Hodder &
Stoughton, 1919, p.3968.
^ Fletcher, David (introduction); Chamberlain, Peter et al.
(1998). Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the World,
Volume One. Cannon Publications. p. 49. ISBN 1-899 695 02 8.
69.
^ Eye-Witness, And the Origin of the Tanks; Major-General Sir
Ernest D. Swinton; Doubleday, Doran & Co.,
1933, p161
70.
^ Popular Science Monthly, July 1918, p7.71.
^ A Shipbuilder's Yarn; E.H.W.T. d'Eyncourt, Hutchinson &
Co., 1948, p11372.
^ Die Tankschlacht bei Cambrai: Dr. Georg Strutz, pub
1929.73.
^ [1]
(http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/8666)74.
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^ Die deutschen Kampfwagen im Weltkriege; Ernst Volckheim,
1937.75.
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External links
OnWar's Tanks of World War II
(http://www.onwar.com/tanks/index.htm) Comprehensive
specifications and diagrams of World War II tanks.
Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tank&oldid=649777999"
Categories: Tanks Armoured fighting vehicles by type English
inventions Armoured warfare
Tracked armoured fighting vehicles
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