1.
M10 tank destroyer
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The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, by November 1941, the Army requested a vehicle with a gun in a fully rotating turret after other interim models were criticized for being too poorly designed. The prototype of the M10 was conceived in early 1942, being delivered in April of that year, after appropriate changes to the hull and turret were made, the modified version was selected for production in June 1943 as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10. It mounted a 3-inch Gun M7 in a turret on a modified M4A2 Sherman tank chassis. An alternate model, the M10A1, which used the chassis of an M4A3 Sherman tank, was also produced, production of the two models ran from September 1942 to December 1943 and October 1942 to November 1943, respectively. The M10 was numerically the most important U. S. tank destroyer of World War II and it combined thin but sloped armor with the M4 Shermans reliable drivetrain and a reasonably potent anti-tank weapon mounted in an open-topped turret. During World War II, the user of the M10 tank destroyer was the United States. Several dozen were also sent to the Soviet Union, the M10 is often referred to by the nickname Wolverine, but the origin of this nickname is unknown. It is possibly a postwar invention, unlike other vehicles such as the M4 Sherman, M5 Stuart, or M7 Priest, the M10 was never assigned a nickname or referred to with one when used by American soldiers. They simply called it a TD beyond its formal designation, the anti-tank warfare mission was assigned to a new branch, the Tank Destroyer Force. Tank destroyer units were meant to counter German blitzkrieg tactics, Tank destroyers were explicitly not supposed to charge or chase enemy tanks. This led to a requirement for very fast, well-armed vehicles, though equipped with turrets, the typical American design was more heavily gunned, but more lightly armored, and thus more maneuverable, than a contemporary tank. The idea was to use speed and agility as a defense, rather than thick armor and it was a modified Cleveland Tractor Company airfield towing tractor mounting a 3-inch Gun T9 in a limited-traverse mounting A The T24, developed beginning in October 1941. The T24 was initially rejected as being too tall and the T40 was its improved derivative, the T40 was standardized as the M9 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage in May 1942. The 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35 combined an early-production M4A2 medium tank hull with the 3-inch Gun M7 from the M6 Heavy Tank in a cast, circular, open-topped turret. Using lessons learned from combat reports from the Philippines, the armor on the sides and this new test vehicle was designated the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35E1. Prototypes of these two vehicles were delivered to Aberdeen Proving Ground in April 1942, and the Army selected the T35E1 for further development on May 2,1942. The side and rear hull armor of the T35E1 was thinned from 1 inch to 0.75 inches in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle
M10 tank destroyer
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3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10
M10 tank destroyer
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M10 in action near
Saint-Lô, June 1944.
M10 tank destroyer
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M10 of the 701st
Tank Destroyer Battalion advances along a mountain road in Italy, 3 March 1945.
M10 tank destroyer
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Two American M10 tank destroyers in
France during
World War II.
2.
History of the tank
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Though initially crude and unreliable, tanks eventually became a mainstay of ground armies. By World War II, tank design had advanced significantly, the Cold War saw the rise of modern tank doctrine and the rise of the general-purpose main battle tank. The tank still provides the backbone to land operations in the 21st century. World War I generated new demands for armoured self-propelled weapons which could navigate any kind of terrain, the great weakness of the tanks predecessor, the armoured car, was that it required smooth terrain to move upon, and new developments were needed for cross-country capability. The tank was designed as a special weapon to solve an unusual tactical situation. It was a designed for one simple task, crossing the killing zone between trench lines and breaking into enemy. Few recognised during World War I that the means for returning mobility and shock action to combat was already present in a device destined to warfare on the ground. With increased firepower and protection, these forces would, only some 20 years later. Numerous concepts of armoured vehicles had been imagined for a long time. With advent of trench warfare in World War I, the Allied French and British developments of the tank were largely parallel, in the 15th century, a Hussite called Jan Žižka won several battles using armoured wagons containing cannon that could be fired through holes in their sides. But his invention was not used after his lifetime until the 20th century, in 1903, a French artillery captain named Léon Levavasseur proposed the Levavasseur project, a canon autopropulseur, moved by a caterpillar system and fully armoured for protection. This arrangement gave them the maximum of adaptability to the contours of the ground and they crawled level along the ground with one foot high upon a hillock and another deep in a depression, and they could hold themselves erect and steady sideways upon even a steep hillside. In the years before the Great War, two practical tank-like designs were proposed but not developed, in 1911, the Austrian engineering officer Günther Burstyn submitted a proposal for a fighting vehicle that had a gun in a rotating turret. In 1912, the Australian civil engineer Lancelot de Moles proposal included a model of a functional fully tracked vehicle. Both of these were rejected by their respective governmental administrations, benjamin Holt of the Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California was the first to file a US patent for a workable crawler type tractor in 1907. The centre of innovation was in England, and in 1903 he travelled to England to learn more about ongoing development. Holt paid Alvin Lombard US$60,000 for the right to produce vehicles under Lombards patent for the Lombard Steam Log Hauler. Holt returned to Stockton and, utilising his knowledge and his companys metallurgical capabilities, he became the first to design, in England, David Roberts of Hornsby & Sons, Grantham, obtained a patent for a design in July 1904
History of the tank
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A British
Mark I tank in action on 26 September 1916 (moving left to right). Photo by
Ernest Brooks.
History of the tank
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The
Levavasseur project described a crawler-tracked armoured vehicle equipped with artillery as early as 1903.
History of the tank
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1904 illustration of
H.G. Wells ' December 1903
The Land Ironclads, showing huge
ironclad land vessels, equipped with
pedrail wheels.
History of the tank
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A Holt tractor in the
Vosges during the spring of 1915 serving as an
artillery tractor for a French army
De Bange 155 mm cannon.
3.
Tanks in World War I
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The development of tanks in World War I was a response to the stalemate that had developed on the Western Front. Research took place in both Great Britain and France, with Germany only belatedly following the Allies lead, in Great Britain, an initial vehicle, nicknamed Little Willie, was constructed at William Foster & Co. during August and September 1915. The prototype of a new design that would become the Mark I tank was demonstrated to the British Army on February 2,1916, although initially termed Landships by the Landships Committee, production vehicles were named tanks, to preserve secrecy. The term was chosen when it became known that the workers at William Foster referred to the first prototype as the tank because of its resemblance to a steel water tank. The French fielded their first tanks in April 1917 and went on to far more tanks than all other combatants combined. The Germans, on the hand, began development only in response to the appearance of Allied tanks on the battlefield. Whilst the Allies manufactured several thousand tanks during the War, Germany deployed only 1680 of her own, the first tanks were mechanically unreliable. There were problems that caused considerable attrition rates during combat deployment, the heavily shelled terrain was impassable to conventional vehicles, and only highly mobile tanks such as the Mark and FTs performed reasonably well. The Mark Is rhomboid shape, caterpillar tracks, and 26-foot length meant that it could navigate obstacles, especially wide trenches, along with the tank, the first self-propelled gun and the first armoured personnel carrier were also constructed in World War I. The conceptual roots of the tank go back to ancient times, with the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the demonstrable power of steam, James Cowan presented a proposal for a Steam Powered Land Ram in 1855, towards the end of the Crimean War. Lord Palmerston is said to have dismissed it as barbaric, at one point in 1908, Major William E. Donohue of the Mechanical Transport Committee remarked to Roberts that he should design a new machine with armour, capable of carrying its own gun. But, disheartened by years of ultimately fruitless tinkering for the Army, in later years he expressed regret at not having pursued it. The Austrian government said it would be interested in evaluating it if Burstyn could secure commercial backing to produce a prototype, lacking the requisite contacts, he let it drop. An approach to the German government was similarly fruitless, De Moles proposal already had the climbing face, so typical of the later World War I British tanks, but it is unknown whether there was some connection. De Mole noted in 1919 that he was urged by friends before the war to approach the Germans with his design, before World War I, motorized vehicles were still relatively uncommon, and their use on the battlefield was initially limited, especially of heavier vehicles. Armoured cars soon became commonplace with most belligerents, especially in more open terrain. Armored cars did indeed prove useful in open land such as in deserts, the other issue was that it was very hard to add much protection or armament. The main limitation was the wheels, which gave a high pressure for the vehicles weight
Tanks in World War I
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A British Mark V (Male) tank
Tanks in World War I
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A British Mark V* tank —on the roof the tank carries an unditching beam on rails, that could be attached to the tracks and used to extricate itself from difficult muddy trenches and shell craters
Tanks in World War I
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1917: a British tank destroyed by the Germans in the
Western Front during WWI
Tanks in World War I
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Mark 3II; tank no. 799 captured near Arras on 11 April 1917
4.
Tanks of the interwar period
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This article discusses tanks of the interwar period. World War I established the validity of the concept and between the two world wars, many nations needed to have tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design. During and after World War I, Britain and France were the leaders in tank design. This early lead would be gradually lost during the course of the 1930s to the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, the final tank designs of 1918 showed a number of trends. The joint US and British Mark VIII tank was supposed to be a heavy tank design for them. The design should have overcome the limitations of the earlier British heavy tanks, the 34-foot-long, 37-ton armored vehicle was powered by a 300-hp V-12 engine and capable of 7 mph cross-country. Worldwide, many sizes of tank were considered, and much of the development effort went into light tanks that were primarily against infantry or for colonial police-type work. The worldwide economic difficulties of the 1920s and 1930s led to an emphasis on light tanks as they were much cheaper to produce than medium or heavy tanks. However, the Spanish Civil War showed that tank-versus-tank engagements and tank-versus-towed antitank gun engagements would now be a consideration for the future of tank warfare. It became clear that tanks would need to be heavily armoured, Tank shape, previously guided purely by considerations of obstacle clearance, now became a trade-off between a low profile, desirable for stealth, and weight savings. In Britain, a deal of study on the future of tank warfare was carried out. In the U. S. J. Walter Christie developed a series of fast tanks and this was combined with very high power-to-weight ratios achieved by fitting large aircraft engines in his tanks. Christies prototypes were purchased by the Soviet Union, and were to be developed into the BT tanks and eventually, on the eve of World War II. Today it may be difficult to understand why the idea found such resistance from the leadership of several armies. Part of the explanation is that the automotive industry was in its infancy. Tanks were rightly considered unreliable, troublesome equipment as late as the early 1930s, weak engines, poor transmissions, and fragile, short-life tracks contributed to this reputation. The international success of the Vickers six-ton tank is due more to its high reliability than any brilliance in the design, however, as the decade passed, engines, transmissions and tracks all improved. By the beginning of World War II, reliable engines and transmissions, a final trend in the between-the-wars period was changes in manufacturing methods
Tanks of the interwar period
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Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf. An on display at the Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster, Germany.
Tanks of the interwar period
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Mark VIII (Liberty) Tank
Tanks of the interwar period
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The
BT-2 tank of 1932 was the first modification of
Walter Christie's design.
Tanks of the interwar period
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The British
A-13 Cruiser Mk IV tank.
5.
Tanks in World War II
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Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. Although tanks were the subject of research in the inter-war years. However, during World War II most armies employed tanks, Tank usage, doctrine and production varied widely among the combatant nations. By wars end, a consensus was emerging regarding tank doctrine, the tank was invented by the British in World War I, with nearly simultaneous development in France. Tanks of the First World War reflected the novelty of the idea, World War I tanks moved at a walking pace, were relatively unreliable, and the best usage of them was still developing up to the wars end. In addition to support, tanks fulfilled traditional cavalry roles, provided mobile artillery support. Tank design gradually improved in the period also. Reflecting the growth of the industry, tank engines, transmissions. By the beginning of the war in September 1939, tanks were available that could travel hundreds of miles on their tracks with a number of breakdowns. The war accelerated the pace of change in design, in particular, the gun-vs-armor race of the war led to rapid improvements in firepower and armor. The United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, the early tanks of Germany were inferior to many of their opponents tanks in the areas of armor and firepower. However, in their tactical employment the German tanks dominated all rivals early in the war, German doctrine stressed the use of rapid movement, mission-type tactics and combined-arms where tanks operated with mobile infantry and air support, this doctrine was popularly called Blitzkrieg. This doctrine required the Germans to equip their tanks with radios, in contrast, for example, almost 80 percent of French tanks lacked radios, essentially because their battle doctrine was based on a more slow-paced, deliberate conformance to planned movements. This required fewer radios at all levels, French tanks generally outclassed German tanks in firepower and armor in the 1940 campaign, but their poor command and control doctrine negated these advantages. By 1943, two-way radio was nearly universal in all armies, a trend towards heavier tanks was unmistakable as the war proceeded. In 1939, most tanks had maximum armor of 30 mm or less, by 1945, typical medium tanks had maximum armor over 60 mm thick, with guns in the 75–85 mm range and weights of 30 to 45 t. Light tanks, which dominated most armies early in the war, turrets, which had always been considered, but were not previously a universal feature on tanks, became recognized as essential. Also, mounting the gun in a turret ensured that the tank could fire from hull down cover, hull-mounted guns required that most of the vehicle be exposed to enemy fire
Tanks in World War II
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Combined arms in action: US
M4 Sherman, equipped with a 75 mm main gun, with infantry walking alongside.
Tanks in World War II
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A
German Tiger I tank in combat during the
Battle of Kursk in 1943
Tanks in World War II
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T3E2 tank with Christie suspension crossing an obstacle during tests in 1936
Tanks in World War II
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Early war production.
6.
Tanks in the Cold War
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During the Cold War, the two opposing forces in Europe were the Warsaw Pact countries on the one side, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries on the other side. The Warsaw Pact was seen by the West as having an aggressive force outnumbering the NATO forces, Soviet domination of the Warsaw Pact led to effective standardization on a few tank designs. In comparison, NATO adopted a defensive posture, the major contributing nations, France, Germany, the USA, and the UK developed their own tank designs, with little in common, while the smaller nations of NATO purchased or adapted these designs. After World War II, tank development continued largely as it had been because of the Cold War, Tanks would not only continue to be produced in huge numbers, but the technology advanced dramatically as well. Tanks became larger and their armour became thicker and much more effective, aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with big advances in shell design and terminal effectiveness. However, nowadays most tanks in service still have manually breech-loaded guns, many of the changes in tank design have been refinements to targeting and ranging, gun stabilisation, communications and crew comfort. Armour has evolved to keep pace with improvements in weaponry, but there have been no fundamental changes. The design and budgeting of tanks has known severe ups and downs, right after the war, tank design budgets were cut and engineering staff was often scattered. The Korean War proved that tanks were useful on the battlefield. Medium tanks gradually evolved into the new concept of the battle tank. This transition happened gradually in the 1950s, as it was realized that medium tanks could carry guns that could penetrate any practical level of armor at long range. The World War II concept of heavy tanks, armed with the most powerful guns and heaviest armor, likewise, World War II had shown that lightly armed, lightly armored tanks were of little value in most roles. Even reconnaissance vehicles shown a trend towards heavier weight and greater firepower during World War II, speed was not a substitute for armor, an increasing variety of anti-tank weapons and the perceived threat of a nuclear war prioritized the need for additional armor. The additional armor prompted the design of more powerful cannons. The main battle tank thus took on the role the British had once called the Universal tank, typical main battle tanks were as well armed as any other vehicle on the battlefield, highly mobile, and well armored. Yet they were enough to be built in large numbers. The classic main battle tanks of the 1950s were the British Centurion, the Soviet T-55 series, and these three basic vehicles were upgraded significantly over time. For example, the Centurion began life with the highly effective 17-pounder gun, the Russian 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
Tanks in the Cold War
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A US Army M60A3 main battle tank moves along a street in Germany during Exercise REFORGER '85
Tanks in the Cold War
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The M26 Pershing, one of the US tanks designed near the end of
World War II and used during the
Cold War.
Tanks in the Cold War
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British Centurion Mk 3
main battle tank at
Eastbourne Redoubt
Tanks in the Cold War
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M48 Patton
7.
Tanks in the Australian Army
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The Australian Army has used tanks from after the First World War, through the interwar period, the Second World War, the Cold War and to the present day. Throughout this period the Army has primarily been an infantry force. The Australian Armys tanks have seen combat during the Second World War and the Vietnam War, the first Australian tanks were a small number of British medium and light tanks which were operated mainly for training purposes during the 1920s and 1930s. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 led to a significant expansion of Australias armoured force, from 1942 large numbers of American light and medium tanks were delivered to Australia, along with British Matilda IIs. In addition, a number of Australian-designed Sentinel tanks were delivered to the Army during 1942 and 1943. Three armoured divisions capable of independent operations were formed during the Second World War, many individual units later fought against the Japanese in the Pacific, although only in regimental strength. With few modern tanks at the time of the Korean War, during the 1950s the Army standardised on the British Centurion tank, which saw action in Vietnam and remained in service until it was replaced with the German Leopard 1 in the mid-1970s. In addition to these types, the Army has operated small numbers of tank designs for training. The operational use of tanks during the part of the First World War established the validity of the tank concept. After the war, many nations recognised the importance of tanks, during and after the First World War, Britain and France were the intellectual leaders in tank design, while other countries generally followed, adopting their designs. Since then Australias armoured forces have fought in a number of battles during key conflicts, such as those in the Second World War and the Vietnam War. Primarily a light infantry force for most of its history, the Australian Army has used mainly in the direct support role as opposed to engaging in sweeping manoeuvre against other tanks. After the First World War, many European countries attempted to mechanise their cavalry, in parallel, Australian cavalry also shifted to military armoured units. The Australian Army tried various methods to integrate modern armour into their traditional horse cavalry formations, as a result, the Australian Army sought to obtain tanks of its own, however, due to post-war economic measures this was slow in occurring. Four British Vickers Medium Mark II tanks were procured in 1927 to build its force, the 1st Tank Section was subsequently was formed as a part-time Militia unit in 1930. The unit was based at Randwick, New South Wales, and training was undertaken at Greenhills. The 1st Tank Section was disbanded in November 1937 with the men and it was not the Australian Armys only armoured unit as the Second World War approached. The 2nd Light Tank Company was formed as a Militia unit at Caulfield, the light tank companies were then equipped with the Light Tank Mark VIa,10 of which had been acquired to replace the ageing Mark IIs
Tanks in the Australian Army
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1st Armoured Division
M3 Grant tanks in June 1942
Tanks in the Australian Army
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An Australian Light Tank
M3 Stuart I during the final
assault on Buna.
Tanks in the Australian Army
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Australian troops operate with a British tank during World War I. Tactics involving large numbers of tanks played a role in the success of the 1918 Allied counter-offensives.
Tanks in the Australian Army
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Vickers Light Tanks and
Universal Carriers of the
9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment in Syria in 1941.
8.
Tanks in the British Army
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Tanks first appeared on the battlefield as a solution to trench warfare. The British Army was the first to use them, who built them in secret to begin with, to keep the enemy from finding out about this new solution, the public were informed that the vehicles were large water carriers, or tanks, and the name stuck. World War I established the validity of the tank concept, after the war, many nations needed to have tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design and build them. During and after World War I, Britain and France were the leaders in tank design. This early lead would be gradually lost during the course of the 1930s to the Soviet Union who with Germany began to design and build their own tanks. While World War I saw the first use of the tank as a weapon of war, the British, American, German and Soviet armies all had different approaches to tanks and tank warfare, each with their fair share of successes and failures. The infantry tank was a developed by the British and French in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support the infantry in the attack. To achieve this they were heavily armoured compared to the cruiser tanks. The extra armouring came at the expense of speed, which was not an issue when supporting relatively slow moving infantry, no one individual was responsible for the development of the tank. Rather, a number of technological developments brought the development of the tank as we know it closer until its eventual form was unveiled out of necessity by the British army. The British army designs were forced by the warfare in which neither side could achieve more than small incremental gains without heavy loss of soldiers lives. They were made to cross the trenches and quickly break into the enemy rear, the next development of the more heavily armoured and upgunned tanks was brought about by the tank on tank battles in World War II German Blitzkrieg. This continued throughout the war, and led to heavy tanks which became the basis of the current Main Battle Tanks seen throughout the armies today. The Landships Committee commissioned Lieutenant Walter Gordon Wilson of the Royal Naval Air Service and William Tritton of William Foster & Co. Ltd. of Lincoln, constructed in great secrecy, the machine was given the code-name tank by Swinton. Nicknamed Little Willie, this prototype tank weighed 14 tons and could carry a crew of three, at speeds of less than 2 mph over rough ground. The great secrecy surrounding tank development, coupled with the skepticism of infantry commanders, the first use of the British tanks on the battlefield was the use of 49 Mark I tanks during the Battle of the Somme on 15 September 1916, with mixed, but still impressive results. Many broke down but nearly a third succeeded in breaking through, finally, in a preview of later developments, the British developed the lighter Whippet
Tanks in the British Army
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British
Crusader tanks moving to forward positions in the Western Desert on 26 November 1941.
Tanks in the British Army
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A German
propaganda photograph showing a British tank destroying a tree
Tanks in the British Army
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Medium Mk A Whippet
Tanks in the British Army
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Medium Mark Cs
9.
Tanks in China
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This article on military tanks deals with the history of tanks employed by various military forces belonging to the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China within China. In China, every sort of available import and captured weapon was used, warlords set up their own armies and bought what tanks and weapons they could. Many local armour versions were assembled from materials on hand, as an example, the use of tanks along with artillery in the Chinese army was generally in ones and twos, and they were usually hoarded to enhance the power and prestige of a commander, governor or warlord. Armor was not used en masse for shock, but in penny packets in a support role exclusively, tank against tank fighting with the Japanese was never contemplated. During the entire Sino-Japanese war from 1937-1945 there was not one single major tank on tank confrontation between Chinese and Japanese armor, Sun Yat-sen, first provisional president of China and his protégé Chiang Kai-shek tried to bring under control the warlords who controlled much of the nation. Trains were intended to be used offensively and could carry troops, weapons, Chiang Kai-shek, Sun Yat-sens close ally, took Suns place in the party when the latter died in 1925 and led the Northern Expedition to unify the country, becoming Chinas overall leader. This led to a break with the Communists and the expulsion of their Soviet advisors and a strengthening of Sino-German cooperation, along with German advisers and weapons and training. The cooperation intensified with the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 to the start of the war with Japan in 1937, the Russians became advisors again but by 1939 the USSR signed a non-aggression pact with Germany and relations started to cool. With the signing of the Soviet and Japanese non-aggression pact, China turned to the US, the US could only offer limited official help until the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the Americans into World War II and massive amounts of aid including US tanks. After World War II ended in 1945, the hostility between the ROC and the CPC exploded into civil war and many former Japanese weapons were used by both sides. Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist cause went steadily downhill until 1949, the Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin introduced tanks to China. The Manchurian Army purchased 14 more FTs in 1924-25, and these were used in the fighting with the warlord Wu Pei-fu in 1926. Surprised during the Northern Expedition by Chiang Kai-sheks National Revolutionary Army, however, the Japanese Army seized nearly all of Chinese/Manchurian FTs in 1931 when they occupied Manchuria. The tanks captured by the Japanese army were deployed in the Kwantung Army, in 1929,24 of the British Mk VI Carden Loyd tankettes were purchased by the Chinese Nationalists and its known they fought on the Lunghai front, apart from its armoured train fleet. Later they bought 20 Vickers 6-ton tanks between 1934 and 1936, which were used in combat against the Japanese in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937 and they also bought 29 Vickers Amphibious Tanks, which were developed in 1932 but not used in the United Kingdom. Chiang Kai-shek then turned to Germany, historically a great power, for the reorganisation and modernisation of the National Revolutionary Army. The Nationalists hired many German military advisers to help them with their buildup of the mechanisation, the German military advisers made the Nationalists purchase many European weapons through a German company with which the German advisers cooperated. The Nationalists bought Italian CV-33 and CV-35 tankettes, German Panzer I Ausf, a light tanks, and British 12-ton tanks
Tanks in China
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Chinese markings on Vickers Carden Loyd Light tanks.
Tanks in China
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Sun Yat-sen (middle) and
Chiang Kai-shek (on stage in uniform) at the founding of the
Whampoa Military Academy in 1924.
Tanks in China
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Chiang Kai-shek, Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army, emerged from the Northern Expedition as the leader of China.
Tanks in China
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Chairman
Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.
10.
Tanks of Czechoslovakia
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The first armored tanks and vehicles in Czechoslovakia were like most countries based on others designs and eventually evolved into their own tank designs. The Czech Army bought three Carden Loyd tankettes and a license for them in 1930, Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk building four copies that same year as prototypes for future orders. Furthermore, they were slow, underpowered and often broke down, one of the P-1 prototypes was rebuilt to address these issues with additional vision ports in all directions, internal ammunition storage and the machine guns field of fire increased to 60°. It was extensively tested during 1931—2 and a few changes were made as a result. The armor was increased from 6 to 8 mm and from 9 to 12 mm, Two of the other prototypes were rebuilt to the same standard, all three were officially accepted by the Army on 17 October 1933. The other prototype was given to the Shah of Iran. The order for seventy was placed on 19 April 1933, all being delivered by October 1934, in 1919, during the chaos following the breakup of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous Germans and Hungarians within the newly set borders. A Slovak patriot Milan Rastislav Štefánik, who helped organize Czechoslovak regiments against Austria-Hungary during the First World War, in the peace following the World War, Czechoslovakia emerged as a sovereign European state. It provided what were at the rather extensive rights to its minorities. During the Interwar period, democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France, and also with Romania and Yugoslavia, however, both Czechs and Slovaks enjoyed a period of relative prosperity. There was progress in not only the development of the countrys economy, the minority Germans came to accept their role in the new country and relations with Austria were good. Yet the Great Depression caused an economic downturn, followed by political disruption. Thereafter Czechoslovakia came under pressure from the revisionist governments of Germany. The Germans seized a large amount of the Czechoslovakian design tanks, the remainder of rump Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and included a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy. Thus, Slovakia seceded from Czecho-Slovakia in March 1939 and allied itself, as demanded by Germany, the government of the First Slovak Republic, led by Jozef Tiso and Vojtech Tuka, was strongly influenced by Germany and gradually became a puppet regime in many respects. A bloody German occupation and a war followed. The territory of Slovakia was liberated by Soviet and Romanian forces by the end of April 1945, after World War I the Polish army began the design of tankettes, light tanks, and armored vehicles, many by Škoda. A German engineer Joseph Vollmer after the war, joined Škoda and designed a light tank
Tanks of Czechoslovakia
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LT vz. 35 tanks in the
Škoda Works
Tanks of Czechoslovakia
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A Carden-Loyd tankette shown towing a howitzer.
Tanks of Czechoslovakia
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German map of the
First Slovak Republic in 1943
Tanks of Czechoslovakia
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Tančík vz. 33
11.
Tanks in France
–
French development into tanks began during World War I as an effort to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare. The Schneider CA1 was the first tank produced by France, and 400 units were built, the French also experimented with various tank designs, such as the Frot-Laffly landship, Boirault machine and Souain experiment. While the British began the design and use of tanks in World War I, France at the time developed its own tracked AFVs. In Britain a single committee had coordinated design, while the major industries remained passive, almost all production effort was thus concentrated into the Mark I and its direct successors, all very similar in shape. In France, on the hand, there were multiple and conflicting lines of development which were badly integrated. Already in January and February 1916 quite substantial orders were made, Army enthusiasm and haste would have its immediate drawbacks however. The first, the Char Schneider CA equipped with a short 75 mm howitzer, had poor mobility due to a track length combined with a hull that overhung front. It was unreliable as well, a maximum of only about 130 of the 400 built were ever operational at the same time and its innovative petro-electrical transmission, while allowing for easy steering, was insufficiently developed and led to a large number of breakdowns. But industrial initiative also led to swift advances, previous models had been box tanks, with a single crowded space combining the role of engine room, fighting compartment, ammunition stock and drivers cabin. The FT would have the largest production run of any tank of the war, with over 3700 built and that this would happen was at first far from certain, some in the French army lobbied for the alternative mass production of super-heavy tanks. Much design effort was put in line of development resulting in the gigantic Char 2C. French production at first lagged behind the British, after August 1916 however, British tank manufacture was temporarily halted to wait for better designs, allowing the French to overtake their allies in numbers. When the French used tanks for the first time on 16 April 1917, during the Nivelle Offensive, but that would not last long as the offensive was a major failure, the Schneiders were badly deployed and suffered 50% losses from German long-range artillery. The Saint-Chamond tanks, first deployed on 5 May, proved to be so designed that they were unable to cross the first line of German trenches. The French used a wide range of tanks, including many unique types. France was the second largest tank producer in the world, behind the Soviet Union, French cavalry tank designs saw attempts to balance the needs of firepower, protection and mobility. They also fielded a heavy tank design, and several types for scouting. In addition to these types, they were working on super-heavy breakthrough tanks
Tanks in France
–
The
Renault FT, the first "modern" tank to enter production
Tanks in France
–
Schneider CA1, the first French tank
Tanks in France
–
French Saint-Chamond tanks had long bodies with a lot of the vehicle projecting forward off of the short caterpillar tracks, making them more liable to get ditched in trenches.
Tanks in France
–
The French Renault R 35 tank
12.
Tanks in the German Army
–
The development of tanks in World War I began as an attempt to break the stalemate which trench warfare had brought to the Western Front. The British and French both began experimenting in 1915, and deployed tanks in battle from 1916 and 1917 respectively, the Germans, on the other hand, were slower to develop tanks, concentrating on anti-tank weapons. Initially unconvinced that tanks were a threat, the High Command ordered just twenty A7Vs. They suffered from numerous design faults, and Germany actually used more captured British tanks than A7Vs, after the Armistice, all tanks in German hands were confiscated. Almost all were scrapped, and the various postwar treaties forbade the former Central Powers from building or possessing tanks. On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, although he initially headed a coalition government, he quickly eliminated his government partners. The German Army first used light Panzer I tanks, along with the Panzer II, the IV became the backbone of Germanys panzer force and the power behind the blitzkrieg. During the invasion of Russia in 1941, the Germans encountered the famous and this led Germany to develop the Panther or Panzer V in response. Its 75mm gun could penetrate the new Soviet tanks, Germany also developed the heavy Tiger I, released in 1942. The Tiger could defeat any Allied tank and was joined by the Tiger II, also known as King Tiger. Ryan specifically writes about these foreign workers in German tank manufacturing and this especially affected tanks built later in the war when forced labor had replaced German manpower in their manufacture. In the Battle of Kursk, when the newly arrived Panther tanks moved into their areas,45 out of 200 experienced mechanical problems requiring repair. A good example was the Großdeutschland Division, which had a brigade of two battalions of new Panther Ausf, D tanks come under its operational control before the battle. It also may have been an issue with the Tiger tanks, the Tigers reliability problems were well known and documented, Tiger units frequently entered combat understrength due to breakdowns. It was rare for any Tiger unit to complete a road march without losing vehicles due to breakdown, German factories and industry was devastated by the end of World War II, but by the 1950s, the nation began to look at designing new tanks. In total,6,485 Leopard I tanks were built, of which 4,744 were battle tanks and 1741 were utility and anti-aircraft variants, the Leopard quickly became a standard of European forces, and eventually served as the main battle tank in Germany. It was superseded by the Leopard 2, German tank development can be traced back to 1911, when Austrian Oberleutenant Gunther Burstyn proposed a design for motor vehicle gun with a turret. He patented his design in 1912 in Germany but it never progressed beyond paper, after British tanks went into action on 15 September 1916, the German Army immediately demanded their own landships
Tanks in the German Army
–
A German
Tiger I tank.
Tanks in the German Army
–
German demonstration against the
Treaty of Versailles in front of the
Reichstag building
Tanks in the German Army
–
Tiger I on a production line. 1944
Tanks in the German Army
–
Repair of the transmission of a Panther
13.
Tanks in the Italian Army
–
The current C1 Ariete is the current main battle tank of the Italian Army. Italy first imported the French Renault FT and produced an improved version. While the Fiat 3000 was being developed, France sent 100 of these FT tanks to Italy in 1918 so that Italian troops could get acquainted with tracked combat vehicles, by 1918, FIAT and Ansaldo, were the only industrial complex large enough to deal with tank production. The first model produced for the Royal Army, was the FIAT3000 and they were ready by 1922, and served well to forge Italian interwar armoured tactics and was in use until 1943. Another model developed in 1930, was the gun-armed serie II or FIAT 3000B, both formed the bulk of the Italian army corp until new models arrived in 1935. Soon after, the official designations incorporated Carro Armato or CA meaning armored carriage, Italy bought a number of Carden Loyd Mark VIs, built a few licence copies designated CV-29, and then developed this design further. Italy produced a number of CV-33 and CV-35 tankettes based on this Vickers-Carden-Lloyd concept. A native Italian design was the L6/40, a small light tank with a 20 mm Breda cannon. A medium tank, based on the Vickers Six-Tonner, was the M11-M13 series which had a very good 47 mm gun, the Carro Armato was the Italian Armys designation for tanks from 1938 onwards. This would be followed by a letter and a series of numbers, the letter would be either L, M or P meaning light, medium, and heavy tank respectively. The official Italian military tank classification differed from contemporary classifications in other countries, the numbers would follow the pattern of X/Y where X would be the weight in tonnes and Y the year of adoption. The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy and it was to be the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT, the design was accepted with deliveries to begin in May 1919, but the end of the war caused the original order to be cancelled and only 100 were delivered. The first Fiat 3000s entered service in 1921 and were designated as the carro dassalto Fiat 3000. Tests of the Model 21 revealed that the armament, consisting of two 6.5 mm machine guns, was inadequate, and adoption of a 37 mm gun as main armament was urged. The up-gunned version of the Fiat 3000, armed with a 37/40 gun, was tested in 1929 and was adopted in 1930 with the designation of carro dassalto Fiat 3000. Some Model 30s were also produced with two 6.5 mm machine guns as armament, as on the Model 21. A limited number of Model 21 vehicles were exported to Albania, Latvia and Abyssinia prior to 1930, the L3/35 was developed from the Carden Loyd Mark VI tankette, four of which were imported from Britain in 1929
Tanks in the Italian Army
–
Ariete tank of the Italian Army
Tanks in the Italian Army
–
Fiat 3000 tank, model 21
Tanks in the Italian Army
–
A Carden-Loyd tankette Mark VI
Tanks in the Italian Army
–
The Italian
Fiat-Ansaldo CV-33 tankette.
14.
Tanks in the Israeli Army
–
Before Israel gained independence in 1948, neither Israel nor the Arab nations surrounding it had many tanks. The Arabs and the Israelis had to find their weapons through arms dealers, the first armored tanks and vehicles in Israel were, like many other countries, imported or based on others designs, but eventually evolved into their own tank designs. But in Israel the plans to them began before the country even was formed and rudimentory built armoured cars. During this period the Jewish and Arab communities of British Mandate clashed with only light arms, while the British organized their withdrawal, from January onwards, operations became increasingly militarized. A number of Arab Liberation Army regiments infiltrated into Palestine, each active in a variety of distinct sectors around the different coastal towns and they consolidated their presence in Galilee and Samaria. The Army of the Holy War, under the command of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, having recruited a few thousand volunteers, al-Husayni organised the blockade of the 100,000 Jewish residents of Jerusalem. By March, al-Husaynis tactic had paid off, almost all of Haganahs armoured vehicles had been destroyed, the blockade was in full operation, and hundreds of Haganah members who had tried to bring supplies into the city were killed. The situation for those who dwelt in the Jewish settlements in the highly isolated Negev, the Arab League began to believe that the Palestinian Arabs, reinforced by the Arab Liberation Army, could put an end to partition. The British decided on 7 February 1948 to support the annexation of the Arab part of Palestine by Jordan, Ben-Gurion ordered Yigal Yadin to plan in preparation for the announced intervention of the Arab states. The result of his analysis was Plan Dalet, which was put in place from the start of April onwards, in case of resistance, the population of conquered villages was to be expelled outside the borders of the Jewish state. If no resistance was met, the residents could stay put, the first operation, named Nachshon, was directed at lifting the blockade on Jerusalem. Armored cars and forces tried to out the roads and escort supply trucks as they tried to reach Jerusalem. The Arab attacks on communications and roads has intensified, the failure of the convoys and the loss of Jewish armoured vehicles has shaken the Yishuv leaders confidence. 1,500 men from Haganahs Givati brigade and Palmachs Harel brigade conducted sorties to free up the route to the city between 5 April and 20 April. The operation was successful, and enough foodstuffs to last 2 months were trucked into to Jerusalem for distribution to the Jewish population, the success of the operation was assisted by the death of al-Husayni in combat. At the same time, the operation of the Arab Liberation Army was defeated at Mishmar HaEmek. Their Druze allies left them through defection, with the creation of Israels army, the three Palmach Brigades were disbanded and its members formed the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces high command for many years. The few tanks and armoured cars of these Brigades were the beginning of what was to become a history of armoured forces in the Israeli Army
Tanks in the Israeli Army
–
Palmach armoured vehicle
Tanks in the Israeli Army
–
Palestinian irregulars of the
Holy War Army, approaching
al-Qastal village near Jerusalem to take it back from Palmach.
Tanks in the Israeli Army
–
Air dropping supplies to besieged
Yehiam, 1948
Tanks in the Israeli Army
–
Palmach Infantry units go into action during the fight for Beersheba. 21 October 1948.
15.
Tanks in the Japanese Army
–
This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Japanese Army from their first use after World War I, into the interwar period, during World War II, the Cold War and modern era. The First World War established the validity of the tank concept, after the war, many nations needed to have tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design and build them. During and after World War I, Britain and France were the leaders in tank design. Japan took interest in tanks and procured some of the foreign designs, however, due to the outbreak of the Korean War, SCAP ordered Japan to re-militarize, forming the Japanese Ground-Self Defense Force and providing M4A3E8 Sherman and M24 Chaffee tanks. The JGSDF decided to develop its own tank, which resulted in the development of the current range of modern Japanese tanks built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Japanese system for naming tanks seems difficult to a Westerner, although it is logical. Like all weapons, the year of introduction is the first criteria and that year is computed on the historical calendar of Japan, starting 660 years BC. A Type 89 tank was introduced in 1929, the year 2589 of the Japanese calendar. The problem is that several weapons or tanks can be introduced the same year, the Japanese used ideograms to differentiate further the various weapons. The ideogram Chi meant a medium tank, Te a tankette, Ke an assault gun, Ho a self-propelled gun, there was a second ideogram to distinguish the models. The Type 97 Chi-Ha is a tank introduced in 1937. There is sometimes a surname to supplement or replace the ideograms, the Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha is a variation of the medium tank Chi-Ha with a new turret. The Type 95 had the surname Ha-Go given by the builder of the tank, after World War I ended, many European countries attempted to mechanize their cavalry. The Japanese cavalry experimented with a variety of armored cars with limited success and these wheeled armored cars were not suitable for most operations in Manchuria, due to the poor road conditions and severe winter climate. Japans army tried various methods to integrate modern armor into their traditional horse cavalry formations, the Imperial Japanese Army obtained a variety of models from foreign sources. The Japanese did not have any indigenous tank production capability, until the factories could be set up and infrastructure put in place, they continued buying from foreign sources. These models included one British Heavy Mk IV and six Medium Mark A Whippets, the Mk IV tank was purchased in October 1918 while the Whippets and Renaults were acquired in 1919. With this beginning, the Imperial Japanese Army establish a force in 1925. In 1929, the Imperial Japanese Army purchased the replacement for the Renault FTs, the Imperial Japanese Army also purchased several Vickers 6-Ton tanks and Carden Loyd tankettes from the British and used these as a basis for further development
Tanks in the Japanese Army
–
IJA4th Armored Division with Type 3 Chi-Nu
Tanks in the Japanese Army
–
Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go first prototype, 1934
Tanks in the Japanese Army
–
Japanese Whippets.
Tanks in the Japanese Army
–
Experimental Type 91 Heavy Tank
16.
Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces
–
This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Polish army from their first use after World War I, into the interwar period, during World War II, the Cold War and modern era. During and after World War I, Britain and France were the leaders in tank design. After World War I, many nations needed to have tanks and they contributed to the Allied effort throughout the war. The Polish Army was recreated in the West, as well as in the East, after World War I the Polish Armed Forces received the Renault FT light tank, with 174 FTs being used by its forces. In 1918 the newly organized Polish 1st Tank Regiment had been equipped with 120 of the small, the unit was based on equipment and part of personnel of former French 505th Tank Regiment, and was equipped with the most modern tanks of the time, the Renault FT. After the war the 1st Tank Regiment, along with Gen. Hallers Army, returned to Poland, thanks to this, Poland became the fourth biggest armoured power in the world at that time. They also participated in the Polish-Soviet War, which by 1920 most of the French personnel had departed back to France, in July 1920, FTs tanks were used in the Defense of Grodno and defense of Lida, and Rowne. Then, they part in the great Warsaw Battle in August 1920 and some damaged tanks were put on railway flatcars. In 1924,6 Renault TSF radio command tanks were bought in France and they were based upon the FT hull, fitted with a radio in a big superstructure in a place of a turret. Also, in 1929-1930, some of newer Renault tank designs were bought and they were 5 Renault M26/27 tanks and 1 Renault NC-27 tank. The M26/27 was a development of the FT, with the hull and armament, fitted with a new track mechanism. The Renault NC-27 was a development of the FT, with a redesigned hull and new chassis. The Polish Armed Forces looked at the Carden-Loyd Mk. VI tankette, the TKS was an improved model with a new hull and a more powerful engine. The armour of the TK was up to 8 mm thick, in 1939, re-arming of the tankettes with 38FK20 mm machine guns began, but only about 24 were completed before the outbreak of World War II. Their advantages were, mobility, good obstacle crossing and small dimensions and it was estimated, that they fit better as cavalry reconnaissance vehicles, than newly acquired wz.28 halftrack armoured cars. As a result, the Polish authorities decided to buy a licence for manufacturing Carden-Loyd Mk. VI. However, at the end of the 1920s, the Polish Armed Forces felt that they also needed a new tank model. The Military Institute of Engineering Research sent Captain Ruciński to the United States to legally acquire a Christie M1928 tank, its blueprint, the tank was to be used as a base for a new Polish light tank. The Poles however never received the machine and Christie fearing legal charges, the work was based on available data and advertising leaflets as well as notes and sketches that Captain Ruciński obtained from Christie
Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces
–
The
Blue Army included the 1st Tank Regiment of 120
Renault FT tanks, the fourth largest tank unit of the world.
Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces
–
Polish Single turret 7TP tank.
Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces
–
TKS tankette in
Polish Army Museum
Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces
–
Polish Vickers Mark E 6-Ton Tank
17.
Tanks of South Korea
–
The history and development of the tank in the South Korea spans the period from their adoption after World War II with the foundation of the South Korean Army, into the Cold War and the present. Only the upgrades to the Pattons were carried out, with the results the Republic of Korea began to undertake a program to develop and produce a South Korean tank, heavily based on the M1. The development of the vehicle resulted in the South Korean K1 88-Tank was completed in 1983. In the North, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, in the South, elections supervised by the United Nations were held, a Republic of Korea was declared, and Syngman Rhee inaugurated as its first president. In December, the UN General Assembly declared this a lawful government, the United States engaged in the decolonization of Korea from Japan after World War II. After three years of administration by the United States, the South Korean government was established. On June 25,1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the Korean War, when the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950, using T-34s, the South Koreans had no armor of their own so had to retreat in the face of North Korean tanks. Soon after the invasion of South Korea, the United Nations voted to support the South Koreans, with the Korean War so closely following on the heels of World War II, many of the top tanks used in World War II were also utilized during the Korean War. The first tanks to be used by UN forces in South Korea were American M24 Chaffee light tanks and they were sent to South Korea from Japanese army bases. While the Chaffee was useful for infantry support, it could not stand up to a T-34, upon the onset of the Korean War, U. S. forces were sent to defend South Korea against invasion by North Korea and later China. At the time, the Soviet Union had boycotted the United Nations and this allowed the UN to intervene when it became apparent that the superior North Korean forces would unify the entire country. In the Korean War M24 Chaffees fared poorly against the North Korean T-34-85s, so the M24s were put in reconnaissance roles, supported by heavier tanks such as the M4, M26, and M46. 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, 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 new M41 tank in the United States Army which was designated the M41 Walker Bulldog. The M41 was an agile and well armed, the Walker Bulldog was rushed to the battlefield but saw limited combat. British tanks, the Centurion tank with Cromwell tanks for reconnaissance, the tanks had to operate in much colder conditions than their usual North German Plain deployments. The Centurions covered the retreat at the battle of the Imjin River and were used throughout the war, unlike in the Second World War, in which the tank proved a decisive weapon, the Korean War featured few large-scale tank battles
Tanks of South Korea
–
An
K1 88-Tank tank of the
South Korean Army.
Tanks of South Korea
–
USMC M46 Patton, 8 July 1952. Note the different rear plate and twin fender-mounted exhausts.
Tanks of South Korea
–
Supporting the 8th ROK Army Division, a M4A3E8
Sherman tank fires its 76mm gun at KPA bunkers at "Napalm Ridge", Korea, 11 May 1952
Tanks of South Korea
–
Knocked out North Korean T-34 during the
Korean War in September 1950 near
Seoul after the
amphibious landings at Inchon.
18.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
–
This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Soviet Union from their first use after World War I, into the interwar period, during World War II, the Cold War and modern era. After World War I, many nations needed to have tanks, during and after World War I, Britain and France were the intellectual leaders in tank design, with other countries generally following and adopting their designs. This early lead would be gradually lost during the course of the 1930s to the Soviet Union who with Germany began to design, the Treaty of Versailles had severely limited Germanys industrial output. The final tank designs in World War I showed a number of such as in the US. However, the French Renault FT set the pattern for almost all tanks that followed it, these generally had lower track profiles and more compact hulls. Another notable design that influenced the Soviets was the Vickers A1E1 Independent and its design influenced the Soviet T-35 heavy tank. The Spanish Civil War showed that tank-versus-tank engagements and tank-versus-towed antitank gun engagements would now be a major consideration and it became clear that future tanks would need to be heavily armoured and carry larger guns. The Soviet Unions efforts in design and production must be understood in the context of the experience of the Russian Civil War. During the civil war, the use of armoured trains and artillery trains was common and this tended to lead to a greater interest in tanks and armoured cars compared to some western nations. The rapid growth of industry in the USSR under the Five-Year plans made a large tank fleet possible. The Soviets also spent tens of millions of dollars on U. S. equipment and technology to modernise dozens of automotive and tractor factories, in the U. S. J. Walter Christie had developed a series of fast tanks, based on his revolutionary Christie suspension system. This was combined with very high power-to-weight ratios achieved by fitting large aircraft engines in his tanks. Some of his prototypes were purchased by the Soviet Union, and were to be developed into the BT tanks and eventually, on the eve of World War II, the famous T-34. The BT series in turn influenced the British cruiser tank designs such as the A-13 Cruiser Mk IV, Crusader, the French pioneered manufacturing methods in the use of very large castings to form gun mantlets, turrets and eventually, entire tank hulls. In Soviet Russia, the armoured forces preceded the Tank Corps. They consisted of the armoured units made of armored vehicles. The country did not have its own tanks during the Civil War of 1918-1920, a number of the Mark V tanks saw service in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War on the White Russian side. Most were subsequently captured and used by the Red Army in the Russian Civil War, in January 1918, the Red Army established the Soviet of Armored Units, later renamed to Central Armored Directorate and then once again to Chief Armored Directorate
Tanks in the Soviet Union
–
Soviet BT-7 tanks on parade.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
–
Mark VIII (Liberty) Tank
Tanks in the Soviet Union
–
Vickers A1E1 "Independent"
Tanks in the Soviet Union
–
Mark V Composite tank used in
Russian Civil War.
19.
Tanks in the Spanish Army
–
Tanks in the Spanish Army have over 90 years of history, from the French Renault FTs first delivered in 1919 to the Leopard 2 and B1 Centauro models of the early 21st century. The FT took part in combat during the Rif War and participated in the first amphibious landing with tanks in history, at Alhucemas. In 1925, the Spanish Army began to undertake a program to develop and produce a Spanish tank, heavily based on the Renault FT, although the prototype performed well during testing, the tank was never put into mass production. Spain also experimented with the Italian Fiat 3000, acquiring one tank in 1925, and with another indigenous tank program called the Landesa. However, none of these evolved into a major armor program, between July 1936 and April 1939, during the Spanish Civil War, the two opposing armies received large quantities of tanks from foreign powers. The Spanish Civil War, although the grounds for the nations which would ultimately take part in World War II. The Spanish Army ended the Spanish Civil War with a fleet of light tanks, looking to field more modern and capable tanks, the Spanish government and army approved a venture to design and manufacture a better light tank, known as the Verdeja. Although the tank proved extremely capable, a lack of raw materials, furthermore, the armys requirements were temporarily satisfied by the procurement of Panzer IVs in late 1943. However, the failure to acquire more Panzer IVs led Spain to field a largely antiquated collection of light tanks, in 1953, the United States and Spain signed a military aid program agreement which led to the supply of M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks. Almost immediately after, the Spanish Army and the Spanish Ministry of Defense began to look for a future Spanish tank and this turned into the Lince tank program. Over half of the AMX-30Es were upgraded to a known as the AMX-30EM2. However, the M60s and modernized AMX-30Es did not provide Spain with a modern tank for the next century. In 1994, the Spanish Ministry of Defense began to negotiate with the German government over the purchase of the Leopard 2. Ultimately,108 Leopard 2A4s were procured and integrated into the Spanish Army, while 219 Leopard 2Es were built in Spain, the Leopard 2E and Leopard 2A4 replaced the fleet of M60 Patton tanks, while Spains AMX-30EM2s were replaced by Italian B1 Centauro anti-tank cavalry vehicles. Presently, the Spanish Army possesses 108 Leopard 2A4s and 219 Leopard 2Es, before First World War Spanish Army bought a Schneider-Brillié in 1909 to be used in Melilla, where armed conflict with local tribes was going on. This was a French bus platform that was fitted with an armoured body, although it was big, slow and its performance was not good Spanish Army learnt the value of armored vehicles and bought a second one. Spanish Army officers appreciated the advantages of using advanced technology in Colonial War in Spanish Morocco. The Spanish armys interest in the tank began near the end of World War I and this purchase, however, was not processed until 15 January 1919
Tanks in the Spanish Army
–
An
M48 Patton tank of the
Spanish Army on display at the El Goloso Museum of Armored Vehicles in October 2007.
Tanks in the Spanish Army
–
Renault FT of the
Spanish Army, at the El Goloso Museum of Armored Vehicles
Tanks in the Spanish Army
–
Lone surviving piece of a Schneider CA1 tank used by the Spanish Army
Tanks in the Spanish Army
–
An image of the Trubia A4, illustrating the improved turret concept
20.
Tanks in the United States
–
This article on military tanks deals with the history and development of American tanks, their origin during World War I, the interwar period, World War II, the Cold War, and the modern era. The U. S. entered the First World War on the side of the Entente Powers in April,1917, a joint Anglo-American programme was set up to develop a new type of heavy tank similar to those then in use by the British. It was, though, expected that sizeable quantities of tanks would not be available until April of 1918. S, some heavy tanks would also be supplied by Great Britain. The battalion shipped out on the night of March 26, the M1917 was the U. S. s first mass-produced tank, a license-built near-copy of the French Renault FT. The US Army ordered approximately 4,440 M1917s between 1918 and 1919, receiving about 950 before cancelling the contract. A requirement of 1,200 was decided, later increased to 4,400, and some sample Renault tanks, plans, and various parts were sent to the US for study. The design was to be carried out by the Ordnance Department, under the job title Six-ton Special Tractor, and orders for the vehicles placed with private manufacturers. The Army in France was expecting the first 300 M1917s by April,1918, but production had not begun by June, production of the M1917 did not begin until the autumn, and the first completed vehicles emerged only in October. Two arrived in France on November 20, nine days after the end of hostilities, the Ford 3-Ton M1918 was one of the first light tank designs by the U. S. It was a small two-man, one-gun tank, armed with a M1919 Browning machine gun, design on the 3-ton tank started in mid-1918. The 3-Ton was a tank designed so that American forces could use another tank besides the Renault FT. Its two Model T ford engines were controlled from the driver- seated at the front- with a gunner beside him who had control of a. 30/06 machine gun on a limited-traverse mount. A contract for 15,000 of these vehicles was awarded, however, the contract for the 15,000 tanks was ended after the Armistice, leaving only the fifteen original vehicles produced. Initially, two independent US tank organizations developed in parallel, the Tank Corps in France, and the Tank Service in the US. Throughout the war, the units, resulting in a divided command structure with two men—Rockenbach and Welborn—separately directing the development of the American armored arm. Eisenhowers mentor, Lt. Colonel Ira Clinton Welborn, was an officer who had been awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Cuba during the Spanish–American War. On March 5,1918, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker appointed Welborn to serve as director of the Tank Service in the United States. The Tank Corps, was created in France as a unit of the American Expeditionary Force and its first commander was Colonel Samuel Rockenbach, though Captain George S. Patton was the first officer actually assigned to the new unit
Tanks in the United States
–
"Breaking the Hindenburg Line" by
William Longstaff.
Tanks in the United States
–
US M1917 tank
Tanks in the United States
–
US Ford 3-Ton Tank
Tanks in the United States
–
Patton in
France in 1918.
21.
Light tank
–
Early light tanks were generally armed and armored similar to an armored car, but used tracks in order to provide better cross-country mobility. The fast light tank was a feature of the pre-World War II buildup. Numerous small tank designs and tankettes were developed during this period and known under a variety of names, modified IFVs are assuming these roles in many militaries due to their immediate availability, and as a cheaper alternative to developing and fielding a pure light tank. In World War I industrial initiative also led to swift advances and it would be Renaults small tank design the FT, incorporating a proper climbing face for the tracks, that was the first tank to incorporate a top-mounted turret with a full rotation. Previous models had been box tanks, with a crowded space combining the role of engine room, fighting compartment, ammunition stock. The FT would have the largest production run of any tank of the war - with over 3,700 built it was more numerous than all British, the Carden Loyd tankette and its derivatives were adopted by several nations as small tracked vehicles carrying a machine gun for armament. In 1928, the British firm of Vickers-Armstrong started promoting another design by John Carden and Vivien Loyd as the six-ton tank, although rejected by the British Army, it was bought by a large number of nations in small numbers. It formed the basis of the Soviet T-26 and the Polish 7TP tank, as the only tank fit for immediate manufacture, it was a key element in the expansion of the British Army in the period leading up to the outbreak of war. In general, French tanks of the 1930s were well-armored, innovative vehicles that owed little to foreign designs, the lack of radios with the light tanks was not seen as a major drawback, since French doctrine called for slow-paced, deliberate maneuvers in close conformance to plans. The role of small unit leaders was to execute plans, not to take the initiative in combat, in 1939, a belated effort was made to improve flexibility and increase the number of radios. Throughout the interwar period the US produced only a few hundred tanks, from the end of World War I to 1935, only 15 tanks were produced. Most were derivatives or foreign designs or very poor quality private designs, the Christie designs were among the few better examples, but the US Army acquired only three Christies and did not pursue the idea any further. Budget limitations and the low priority given to the army meant that there were few resources for building tanks, the US Army instead developed and tested tank components such as suspensions, tracks, and transmissions. This paid off when production had to be initiated on the outbreak of war, the Soviet BT tanks were the most advanced in the 1930s, extremely fast and mounting high velocity 45 mm cannons. Their only drawback were their petrol engines which caught fire often, the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank was equipped with a diesel engine, and although mounting a 37 mm cannon, it was a low velocity gun with a maximum effective range of about 700 meters. However, this conflict would be instrumental in developing the famous T-34 medium tank, germanys armored Panzer force was not especially impressive at the start of the war. In the invasions of Poland and France, the German forces were made up of the Panzer I. The Panzer I was little more than a vehicle armed only with machine guns
Light tank
–
British light tank Mk V
Light tank
–
The M8 armored gun system with 105 mm gun
Light tank
–
Type 95 Ha-Go tanks in
New Britain following the Japanese surrender
Light tank
–
South Vietnamese M41 Walker Bulldog tanks during a training operation
22.
Medium tank
–
Many of the medium tanks lines became what are called main battle tank in most countries. The first tanks to carry the name Medium appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A Whippet and it was smaller and lighter than the British heavy tanks and only carried machine guns. The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwar period and its existence outlasted the super-heavy tank and heavy tank and gradually transitioned into the main battle tank. Medium tanks of the period included the British Vickers Medium Mark II. There were medium tanks that focused on capabilities, and medium tanks which were more focused on the anti-tank role. The French cavalry tanks focused on speed in addition to power and they were similar to what other countries called medium tanks. The result was the T-34 medium tank, whose superb capabilities shocked the German Wehrmacht when it invaded the Soviet Union. The lessons of Blitzkrieg, first employed by the Germans and eventually adopted by other nations, found their best expression in formations of mutually-supporting medium tanks, the traditional view of infantry and cavalry tank roles was rendered obsolete. During and after World War II, the roles of tanks were gradually taken over by less-expensive armoured cars. Heavy tanks, having shown their limitations in combat, experienced a limited post-war arms race of progressively more heavily armed and armoured designs, with the rise of more sophisticated anti-tank missile weapons, to which heavy tanks had demonstrated high vulnerability, these too were eventually phased out. Simpler and more economical self-propelled guns, and later anti-tank guided missiles, came to fulfil some fire-support and anti-tank roles, the role of medium tanks started with a prioritisation of speed. Medium tanks could travel faster, but needed help to cross trenches, in British use, this evolved into the Cruiser tank class, while other tank doctrines formed around the medium tank making the main advance. In this later use, medium tanks represent the intent of producing a successful balance of firepower, mobility. Medium tanks aim to be suitable to the widest variety of roles, with less reliance on other types of tank during normal operations Light tank Heavy tank Super-heavy tank Main battle tank
Medium tank
–
M48A1 Patton American medium tank
Medium tank
–
Sherman medium tank from World War II, the workhorse of U.S. armoured forces
Medium tank
–
Panzer IV German medium tank
23.
Cruiser Tank
–
The cruiser tank was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed to function as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry. Cruiser tanks were developed after the Royal Armoured Corps were not satisfied with many of the tank designs of the 1930s. The cruiser tank concept was conceived by Giffard Le Quesne Martel, there were two main types of cruiser tanks, light cruiser tanks and heavy cruiser tanks. Light cruiser tanks were armoured and relatively fast, while heavy cruiser tanks were more heavily armoured. The Crusader was superseded by the A27 Cromwell reaching service in 1944, the A34 Comet - a better-armed development of Cromwell - entered service in lesser numbers in late 1944. The Centurion tank introduced in 1946 became the Universal tank of the United Kingdom, transcending the cruiser and infantry tank roles, financial constraints had made it impossible to produce a vehicle suitable for close support and for exploitation. The thinking was behind several tank designs which saw action during the Second World War, British armoured operations theory flowed from the decision to build two types of tank in parallel and use them to equip two types of unit and formation. Infantry tanks went to Army Tank Battalions, sometimes grouped administratively into Army Tank Brigades of the RTR, small, fast, lightly-armed tanks like the Light Tank Mk VI operated as reconnaissance vehicles. Armoured division theory emphasised using the speed of cruiser tanks for independent action to protect flanks, attacks on an opponents flanks and rear, pursuit and counter-attack. Giffard Le Quesne Martel originated the concept, while Assistant Director. Martel preferred a large number of smaller and simpler tanks to swamp an opponent, like naval cruisers, cruiser tanks were fast and mobile for operations independent from slower-moving infantry with their heavier infantry tanks and artillery. F. C. Fuller, Percy Hobart and B. H. Liddell-Hart, the cruiser tank was designed for use in a way similar to cavalry, which made speed the most important factor and to achieve this, early cruisers were lightly armoured and armed to save weight. The emphasis on speed unbalanced the British designs, on limited engine power, the idea that speed is armour was considered most important in the Royal Tank Corps. An even bigger problem for most cruiser tanks was the small calibre of their main gun, the first cruisers were armed with the 2-pounder gun. This gun had adequate armour penetration against early war tanks, but was never issued high explosive ammunition and this made the cruisers less able to deal with towed anti-tank guns. The Cromwell had too small a turret ring for the intended high-velocity gun and was fitted with the dual-purpose medium-velocity 75 mm gun, the tank had a high-power engine giving it a maximum speed around 40 mph on roads. It was the tank design in the British cruiser line. As the UK had large numbers of US M4 Sherman tanks, despite the emphasis on high mobility, most cruisers were plagued by mechanical unreliability, notably the Crusader tank in the hot and gritty desert of the North Africa Campaign
Cruiser Tank
–
Crusader I with its auxiliary turret in place
Cruiser Tank
–
Cruiser Tank Mark I (A9)
Cruiser Tank
–
A damaged Cruiser Mk I CS abandoned in
Calais, 1940.
Cruiser Tank
–
The Cruiser Mark III (A13) with large wheels typical of the Christie suspension
24.
Heavy tank
–
As lighter tanks were introduced, the larger designs became known as heavies. A similar breakthrough role remained into World War II, as tank-v-tank combat became more common, heavy tanks mounted very powerful anti-tank guns. By the end of the war they were used both for dealing with heavy fortifications as well as antitank work and they were also known as breakthrough tanks, indicating their purpose of spearheading the attack. They were usually organised into specialised heavy tank units, the emergence of the main battle tank spelled the end of the heavy tank as a separate class, although a number of post-war examples were produced. These were generally gone by the 1960s, heavy tanks achieved their greatest successes both fighting other, lighter tanks, and destroying fortifications with their very large guns. But the greatest drawback is cost which translates into production quantities and/or design and this case repeated itself in the operational use of the Tiger II of which only 492 were produced. Heavy tanks feature very heavy armour and weapons relative to lighter tanks, many heavy tanks shared components from lighter tanks. For example, the US M103 shared many components with the lighter Patton tanks including its transmission, as a result, they tend to be either underpowered and comparatively slow, or have engine and drive train reliability problems. In case of a new design development, which was the case with the German Tiger I. The heavy tank concept originated in World War I and co-existed with light, the first British tank, the Mark I of World War I, was introduced to break through German defensive lines of trenches and barbed wire. When lighter, faster tanks were introduced, the tanks were classified as heavy. The Char 2C was one of the largest tanks ever produced, at the start of World War II, the French and the Soviets were the only countries to have inventories of heavy tanks, such as the Char B1, T-35, and KV-1. The Matilda II infantry tank, though not weighing as much as the others, was designed to the British infantry tank concept and had thicker armour than most tanks in service at the time. Later war examples were the German Tiger I and II, as well as the Soviet IS series, note that heavy versus medium is more a question of tactical roles than weight, the Panther, for example, was a medium tank that outweighed most Allied heavy tanks. Near the end of World War II, the M26 Pershing was sent to Europe in limited numbers, the largest tank guns were approaching maximum calibre whose shell could still be handled by the crew, even using awkward two-part ammunition, which greatly slowed their rate of fire. Thanks to improved gun designs and fire technology, postwar medium tanks were catching up to heavy tanks in firepower. The tactical value of heavy tanks thus declined to the point that no new designs were fielded, doctrine held that less expensive self-propelled artillery could serve in the infantry support role. Older heavy tanks with steel armour were rendered obsolete by anti-tank guided missiles, light tank Medium tank Super-heavy tank Main battle tank
Heavy tank
–
Soviet
IS-3 heavy tank
Heavy tank
–
The German
Tiger I heavy tank
Heavy tank
–
A Soviet IS-3 heavy tank
25.
Super-heavy tank
–
Super-heavy tank, also super heavy tank, is a semi-official term for any armoured fighting vehicle in the class beyond heavy tanks. As such, they can most easily be distinguished from vehicles by their very large size. Weight-classes are only meaningful when comparing contemporary vehicles, examples were designed in World War I and World War II, along with a few in the Cold War. The first super-heavy tank was designed by the Russian naval engineer Vasily Mendeleyev who worked on the project from 1911 to 1915, the tank was envisioned to be invulnerable to almost all contemporary threats but remained on paper because of its high construction cost. Following the production of their first tanks, the British Flying Elephant was designed as a tank that would be resistant to artillery fire, since mobility was more important than protection, and the tanks already developed were successful, work on the project was stopped. The German K-Wagen was a very heavy design carrying 4 guns, Two of them were under construction when the war ended and both were demolished. During World War II all of the major combatants introduced prototypes for special roles. Adolf Hitler was a proponent of war winning weapons and supported projects like the 188 tonne Maus, and even larger 1,000 tonne Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte and 1,500 ton Landkreuzer P.1500 Monster. The British and Soviets all built prototype designs similar to the Jagdtiger, and the US was working on the then known T95 Gun Carriage, however, most of these designs never passed the prototype stage, and only some have ever been in existence. The idea of heavy tanks saw less development after the war. The advances in technology allowed large tanks to stay in the approximate up to 65 ton range. Examples include Object 279 and T29 Heavy Tank, further advances in armour technology have given the armour of late 20th century tanks the estimated equivalent of over a meter of rolled homogeneous armour. At the same time the weapon development allows for any equal adversary to destroy any target detected and tracked by the array of different sensors available. United Kingdom TOG1 –80 tons, built in 1940, designed for ground conditions similar to those experienced in WWI, tOG2 –80 tons improved design of TOG1, one prototype. Flying Elephant – First World War-era project at 100 tons, not built, tortoise heavy assault tank –80 tons, designed to attack fortifications. FCM F1 –139 tons, World War II era replacement for the Char 2C, to attack fortifications, ordered, nazi Germany Panzer VII Löwe – About 95–100 tons, cancelled in favour of Maus. Panzer VIII Maus –188 tons, two prototypes, both were captured by the Soviet army, although one was partially destroyed. One can now be seen at the Kubinka Tank Museum, panzerkampfwagen E-75 –95 tons, designed to succeed Tiger II
Super-heavy tank
–
British
TOG2 (80 tons) at
The Tank Museum, Bovington
Super-heavy tank
–
Model of the
Flying Elephant design
26.
Main battle tank
–
A main battle tank, also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the armor-protected direct fire and maneuver role of many modern armies. Through the 1960s, the MBT replaced almost all other tanks, today, main battle tanks are considered a key component of modern armies. Modern MBTs seldom operate alone, as they are organized into armoured units which involve the support of infantry and they are also often supported by surveillance or ground-attack aircraft. In World War I, tanks were classed into light, medium, and heavy based on weight, as tank combat evolved, tank design suffered from a number of limitations due largely to engine power and transmission capability. A designer could produce a tank with high maneuverability, armour, or a large gun, the first prioritised maneuverability, and thus had a limit on weight. These were known variously as cavalry tanks, light tanks, medium tanks and these tanks had different uses depending on the countrys tank doctrine but were generally used to exploit holes in the enemy lines and run far into the rear areas in self-supporting armoured groups. This would disrupt enemy logistics and command-and-control, as well as delay the movement of reserves to the front and it was believed operations of this sort would undermine or completely destroy the ability for the front-line troops to continue the battle. The second class prioritised armour and thus weighed more, limiting maneuverability and these were known as infantry tanks, heavy tanks, or assault tanks. They were generally designed to assault enemy lines, working in concert with front-line infantry, as these were expected to move forward at the same speed as the men, higher speeds were not required and the engine power could instead be used to carry a much greater load. Infantry tanks featured much larger amounts of armour, heavier guns, as the nature of tank warfare evolved, tanks designed for other specialised roles also saw development. This included dedicated tank destroyers, and engineer tanks such as Hobarts Funnies, Tank destroyers had varied successes and often ended up engaging enemy infantry instead of their intended targets. German assault gun armoured vehicles like the Sturmgeschütz III were found effective in an anti-tank role, in spite of a great amount of theory and pre-war testing, the plans for armoured combat quickly proved themselves outdated. The battlefield did not bog down like it did in World War I and this was especially evident in the great sweeping battles in North Africa and the Soviet Union, where armoured forces executed drives of hundreds of miles. In these cases the problems with having two became especially evident, the tanks able to go toe-to-toe with the enemy were generally found miles to the rear. Those able to maintain the drive were lightly armoured and proved easy prey for enemy anti-tank guns, as these evolved, the tanks own weapons had to grow larger in order to deal with enemy tanks with the same level of armour. This evolution led to the development of a more general-purpose medium tank, medium tanks formed the bulk of the tank combat forces. Generally, these designs massed about 25-30 tonnes, were armed with cannons around 75 mm, notable examples include the Soviet T-34, the German Panzer IV, and the US M4 Sherman. The widespread production of designs led to most others being pushed out of service or into niche roles
Main battle tank
–
German Army Leopard 2 A5 main battle tanks in August 2010
Main battle tank
–
Centurion Mk 3
Main battle tank
–
Soviet T-64 undergoing decontamination
Main battle tank
–
A very early model M60 "Patton" with M48 turret and 105mm cannon
27.
Tankette
–
A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for infantry support and scouting. Colloquially it may simply mean a small tank. Several countries built tankettes between the 1920s and 1940s, and some saw limited combat in the phases of World War II. The vulnerability of their armor, however, eventually led armies to abandon the concept. Tankettes were made both in two- and three-man models, some were so low that the occupant had to lie prone. Some models were not equipped with turrets, or just a simple one that was traversed by hand or leg. They were significantly smaller than light tanks and did not have a tank gun, the genesis of the tankette concept was the armoured warfare of World War I. The breakthrough tanks were isolated and destroyed and reinforcements plugged the hole in the trench line. The tankette was conceived in the early interwar period to solve this problem. The first designs were a sort of mobile, one-man machine gun nest protected against small arms fire and this idea was abandoned and the two man-model, mainly intended for reconnaissance, was produced instead. The moving up of infantry while protecting them was solved with the personnel carrier. In 1925 British tank pioneer Giffard Le Quesne Martel built a tank, the Morris-Martel, in his garage and showed it to the War Office. The publicity caused John Carden and Vivian Loyd to produce their own, both types were developed further, but the two-man Carden Loyd tankette was considered the classic and most successful design, with many other tankettes modeled after it. While the design was influential, few Carden Loyd tankettes saw combat, however, the design did lead to the universal carrier, which had an extensive operational history in the Second World War. The Italian Royal Army equipped three armoured divisions and three fast divisions with L3/33 and L3/35 tankettes, the L3s were used in large numbers during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, and almost every place Italian soldiers fought during World War II. Some L3s went with the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia as late as Operation Barbarossa, the French armoured reconnaissance type of the 1930s was essentially a tankette in form, specifically intended for scouting ahead of the main force. In 1935, the Soviets experimented with transporting T-27s by air, the Imperial Japanese Army became one of the most prolific users of tankettes, producing a number of designs intended for jungle warfare
Tankette
–
A
TKS tankette in the
Polish Army Museum.
Tankette
–
An Italian L3/33
Tankette
–
German
Wiesel, a related modern concept, seen here in the Ozelot anti-air version.
28.
Assault gun
–
The term is a literal translation of the German word Sturmgeschütz. Nazi Germany introduced the first purpose-built assault gun, the StuG III, in 1940, historically, the custom-built fully armoured assault guns usually mounted the gun or howitzer in a fully enclosed casemate on a tank chassis. In most cases, these vehicles also presented a lower profile as a target for the enemy. The assault gun looks and works in the way as the similar tank destroyer. This was contrasted with the destroyer, which utilized higher velocity. Therefore, these vehicles often sacrificed being able to fire a good high-explosive shell in exchange for maximal armour penetration characteristics. Towards the beginning of the war, a vehicle could generally be used in both roles, but that changed as the classes became increasingly specialized as the war progressed. Assault guns were used during World War II by the forces of Nazi Germany. Early in the war, the Germans began to create makeshift assault guns by mounting their infantry support weapons on the bed of a truck or on obsolete tanks with the turret removed. Later in the war, both the Germans and the Soviets introduced fully armoured assault guns into their arsenals. Early on, the Soviets built the KV-2, a variant of the KV-1 heavy tank with a short-barrelled 152 mm howitzer mounted in an oversized turret, the primary German assault gun was the Sturmgeschütz III. The Germans also built a number of fully armoured turretless assault guns, including the StuG IV, Brummbär. The latter two were heavy vehicles, and were built only in small quantities. Independent battalions were deployed as stiffeners for infantry divisions. US and UK forces also deployed vehicles designed for a support role. Two versions of the American Sherman tank were armed with the M4105 mm howitzer, the M4 and the M4A3, these were designated assault guns in US usage of the term. The Churchill, Centaur and Cromwell tanks were all produced in versions armed with 95 mm howitzers, the Churchill Mark V and Mark VIII, the Centaur Mark IV, American tank destroyer units were often used in the assault gun role for infantry support. The AVRE version of the Churchill Tank was armed with a Spigot mortar that fired a 40 lb HE-filled projectile 150 yards and its task was to attack fortified positions such as bunkers at close range
Assault gun
–
StuG III with 75 mm gun, first in service for the Syrian army, now in an Israeli museum.
Assault gun
–
The Soviet
SU-76 was easily constructed in small factories incapable of producing proper tanks.
Assault gun
–
Sturmtiger in the
Deutsches Panzermuseum at
Munster, Lower Saxony.
Assault gun
–
A preserved Sherman M4(105).
29.
Self-propelled gun
–
A self-propelled gun is a form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers. Self-propelled guns are mounted on a wheeled or tracked chassis. As such the gun can be maneuvered under its own power as opposed to a gun that relies upon a vehicle or other means to be moved on the battlefield. Self-propelled guns are combat support weapons, they are employed by combat support units fighting in support of, or attached to, self-propelled guns are best at providing indirect fire but can give direct fire when needed. It may be armoured, in case it is considered an armoured fighting vehicle. Typically, self-propelled guns are more lightly armoured and may not have turrets, the greatest tactical advantage in the case of artillery guns is clearly the greater degree of mobility they have compared to towed artillery. A secondary advantage in the case of – even lightly – armoured guns is the protection offered to the gun crews. The first attempts to give artillery a greater degree of manoeuvrability was in World War I, although mechanical tractors had been used to tow some artillery, most were still towed by horses. The Gun Carrier Mark I was a piece that was transported by. Between the wars, in the development of their armoured warfare tactics and it carried an 18 pounder gun on a chassis derived from their then medium tank and as such was able to keep up and cross the same ground as the tanks it was intended to support. As well as use as a gun, the gun could be elevated sufficiently for use against aircraft. Self-propelled guns and howitzers are used in the way as their towed variety. Self-propelled artillery can also include other types of weapons not considered a self-propelled gun. Assault guns are artillery pieces, meant to support infantry by direct fire with high explosive ammunition
Self-propelled gun
–
The British
AS-90 self-propelled guns in Basra (August 2008).
Self-propelled gun
–
CAESAR howitzer on a
Unimog U2450L
6×6 truck chassis.
Self-propelled gun
–
A modern Chinese
PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzer built for export.
Self-propelled gun
–
A modern
PzH 2000 howitzer of the
German Army.
30.
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
–
An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun or self-propelled air defense system, is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability. The Russian equivalent of SPAAG is ZSU, for zenitnaya samokhodnaya ustanovka, specific weapon systems used include machine guns, autocannons, larger guns, or missiles, and some mount both guns and longer-ranged missiles. Platforms used include both trucks and heavier vehicles such as APCs and tanks, which add protection from aircraft, artillery. Anti-aircraft guns are mounted in a quickly-traversing turret with a high rate of elevation. They are often in dual or quadruple mounts, allowing a high rate of fire, today, missiles have largely supplanted anti-aircraft guns. Anti-aircraft machine guns have long been mounted on trucks, and these were common during World War I. A predecessor of the WWII German 88 anti-aircraft gun, the WWI German 77 mm anti-aircraft gun, was truck-mounted and used to great effect against British tanks, the British QF3 inch 20 cwt was mounted on trucks for use on the Western Front. The gun could be elevated for anti-aircraft use, Vickers Armstrong also developed a SPAAG based on the chassis of the Mk. E 6-ton light tank/Dragon Medium Mark IV tractor, mounting a Vickers QF-1 Pom-Pom gun of 40 mm. About 26 were sold to Siam and saw action as infantry support guns and this was probably the first tracked SPAAG manufactured in series. Later the British also developed a version of the Mk. VI Light Tank armed with four guns that was known as Light Tank AA Mk. I. And also a twin 15 mm version based on the Light Tank Mk. V was built, among early pre-war pioneers of self-propelled AA guns were the Germans. By the time of the war, they fielded the SdKfz 10/4 and 6/2, later in the war similar German halftracks mounted quadruple 20 mm weapons. Larger guns followed on larger trucks, but these mountings generally required off-truck setup in order to unlimber the stabilizing legs these guns needed. One exception to rule was the Italian Cannone da 90/53 which was highly effective when mounted on trucks. The 90/53 was a weapon, notably in the anti-tank role. Other nations tended to work on truck chassis, starting in 1941, the British developed the en portee method of mounting an anti-tank gun on a truck. This was to prevent the weapon from being damaged by long-distance towing across rough, stony deserts, however, crews tended to fire their weapons from their vehicles for the mobility this method provided, with consequent casualties. This undoubtedly inspired their Morris C9/B, a Bofors 40 mm AA gun mounted on a derived from the Morris Quad Field Artillery Tractor truck
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
–
Soviet-made
ZSU-23-4 at
Camp Pendleton. The ZSU-23 is the canonical modern SPAAG system.
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
–
A World War 1, British, truck–mounted, QF 3 inch gun
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
–
German Wirbelwind at CFB Borden. The Wirbelwind is typical of WWII and 1950s SPAAGs, itself being a
Flakvierling quadmount AA battery on a
Panzer IV chassis.
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
–
Czechoslovak self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
M53/59 Praga developed in the late 1950s.
_-_Jagdpanzer_Kanone_90_mm.jpg)
