Tanks

Tracked, heavily armored combat vehicles that can destroy enemy forces by direct fire. Most tanks in use today are main battle tanks (MBT), which have heavier armor and a larger-caliber main gun than other types of tanks. Tanks have seen action across the globe in every major combat engagement since World War I. Since their development, the vehicles have improved greatly in speed, armament, armor, and size.

Types of Tanks

The main battle tank (MBT) is the most powerful direct-fire land-based weapon. An example of this firepower is the 120mm main gun mounted on the U.S. M1 Abrams tank. Although MBTs are employed mainly to fight other MBTs, they can also be used against other targets, such as infantry troops.

The term main battle tank is used to distinguish this type of vehicle from lighter, less expensive tanks, generally used in airborne and amphibious operations, as well as older tanks. One such smaller tank is the socalled tankette, a small tank, usually without a turret, that carries a crew of two and has one or two machine guns. Tankettes were produced mainly in Great Britain in the 1930s, and production of the vehicles ceased with the onset of World War II as the tankette's limited usefulness and vulnerability to more powerful tanks became apparent.

Light tanks are small and designed for speed. They have been used in a scouting role and to strike vulnerable areas of enemy formations. Some were even light enough to be airlifted into battle. Most saw action in World War I and World War II, but the M551 Sheridan tank employed by the U.S. Army saw action in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm.

Medium-sized tanks were the predecessors of today's MBTs. Examples of these tanks include the M4 Sherman and M48 Patton tanks of the United States and the Russian T-34 tank. Heavy tanks were designed to break through enemy formations with their powerful guns and armor. The tanks are no longer in use, however, due to their lack of speed and high cost. Notable examples of the heavy tank are the PzKfw V and VI tanks built and used by the Germans during the World War II.

Another type of tank is the infantry tank. Originally developed during World War I by the British and French, this type of tank was slow and heavily armored. These features suited its main purposes, which were to clear battlefields of obstacles and to protect advancing friendly troops. Examples of the infantry tank are the British Mk II Matilda and the Mk IV Churchill, both of which served with distinction in World War II.

Developed by the Germans in World War II, tank destroyers usually consisted of an antitank gun mounted on an existing tank chassis. Tank destroyers combined powerful main guns (usually over 75mm) with speed, but they were lacking in armor. Although designed to destroy other tanks, tank destroyers were eventually superseded by the more capable medium tank. Examples of tank destroyers include the Russian SU-85 and the German Rhinoceros, which combined a Panzer chassis with an 88mm gun.

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