Tanks | ||
| A Tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front line combat, distinguished by its strong armour, heavy firepower, and caterpillar tracks. The combination of protection, firepower and mobility was conceived to break the deadlock of trench warfare during the First World War. Today, tanks are the mainstay of mechanised ground forces and an essential component of combined arms tactics. Tanks played a major role in World War II. Most WWII armies employed tanks, and production levels reached thousands per month. Tank doctrine, production and design varied widely among the combatant nations. However, most tanks fell into one of several categories based on their designs and purposes. | ||
Light Tanks  |
Medium Tanks  |
Heavy Tanks  |
Tank Destroyers  |
Super Heavy Tanks  |
Main Battle Tanks  |
| See also: Tanks (Category) | ||
Light Tanks | |||||
| Light Tanks, also known as Cruiser Tanks, are characterised by their fast speed. These tanks are often small in profile and have limited armament. Light tanks were a major feature of the pre-WWII build up, where they were expected to advance quickly and operate through breakthroughs created by heavier vehicles. Typically employed for reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, harassing supply lines and engaging infantry positions, light tanks are of limited use in combat against other tanks. | |||||
  7TP |
  AMR-35 |
  BT-42 | |||
  Crusader |
  Carro Veloce CV.33 |
 FT-17 | |||
 Harry Hopkins |
  M22 Locust |
 M24 Chaffee | |||
 Mark VI |
  Panzer 38(t) |
  Panzer II | |||
 R35 |
  T-26 |
 T-60 | |||
 T-70 |
 Tetrarch |
 TK Tankette | |||
  Type 2 Ka-Mi |
 Type 94 Tankette |
 Type 95 Ha-Go | |||
 Type 97 Te-Ke | |||||
| < Top Index | See also: Light Tanks (Category) | Medium Tanks > | |||
Medium Tanks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medium Tanks are the middle ground between the highly mobile light tanks and combat-focused heavy tanks. Carrying effective armament and moderate armour on a mobile chassis makes a medium tank flexible and cost effective. The most successful and widely-produced tanks of the war were all medium tank designs, and the concept would pave the way for the designs of modern Main Battle Tanks. A balance of offensive and defensive traits make medium tanks ideal for flanking and mobile warfare, or for supporting heavier vehicles in assaults. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Centurion |
 M3 Lee |
 M4 Sherman |
 M13/40 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Matilda |
 Carro Armato P26/40 |
 Panzer III |
 Panzer IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Panther |
  Sentinel |
 SOMUA S35 |
 T-34 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 T-44 |
 Type 3 Chi-Nu |
 Type 89B |
 Type 97 Chi-Ha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| < Light Tanks | See also: Medium Tanks (Category) | Heavy Tanks > | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heavy Tanks | |||||||||||
| Heavy Tanks, known also as Infantry Tanks or Breakthrough Tanks, are designed to force breaches through concentrated defensive lines. The hallmarks of the heavy tank class are formidable armour and powerful armament at the cost of low manoeuvrability. Their direct combat potential allows them to spearhead assaults and blunt counterattacks. However, due to their high costs of production, maintenance and repair, heavy tanks were fielded in lower numbers than other classes during WWII. Despite their slow speeds, heavy tanks are ideal for both attacking and defending strongpoints. | |||||||||||
 ARL 44 |
 Black Prince |
 Char B1 bis |
 Churchill | ||||||||
 IS-2 |
 KV-1 |
 KV-2 |
 M26 Pershing | ||||||||
 Mark IV |
 Neubaufahrzeug |
 Tiger I |
 Tiger (P) | ||||||||
 Tiger II |
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| < Medium Tanks | See also: Heavy Tanks (Category) | Tank Destroyers > | |||||||||
Tank Destroyers | |||||||||||
| Tank Destroyers, sometimes referred to as Assault Guns, are vehicles which specialise in destroying armoured targets. Most tank destroyers forgo a rotating turret for a weapon mounted in a casemate that must be aimed by rotating the tank. Removing the weight and technical complexity of a turret allows for larger and more potent guns to be mounted on tank destroyers and typically also offers a lower profile. With their powerful cannons fixed in forward firing positions, tank destroyers are vulnerable to flanking and historically carried limited anti-infantry weaponry. They are best suited for ambushes or assaults on static defensive positions. | |||||||||||
 Elefant |
 Hetzer |
 ISU-152 |
 Jagdpanzer IV | ||||||||
 Jagdpanther |
 Jagdtiger |
  Maresal |
 Semovente da 75/18 | ||||||||
 StuG III | |||||||||||
| < Heavy Tanks | See also: Tank Destroyers (Category) | Super Heavy Tanks > | |||||||||
Super Heavy Tanks | |||||
| A Super Heavy Tank is a semi-official term used to refer to a class of exceptional vehicles that take the characteristics of heavy tanks to the extreme. Super Heavy Tanks are very slow, extremely heavy and prohibitively expensive, however, they also carry incredible firepower and nigh-impenetrable armour. Most super heavy tanks were designed for specific roles, such as breaking through the heaviest of enemy defences. Most designs of this type never saw action. Super Heavy Tanks are the perfect candidates for spearheading dangerous, frontal assaults. | |||||
 Karl-Gerät 040 |
 Maus |
 T28/95 |
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| < Tank Destroyers | See also: Super Heavy Tanks (Category) | Main Battle Tanks > | |||
Main Battle Tanks | ||
| Technological advances in engine, armour and shell technology late in WWII led to the development of Universal tanks, today known as Main Battle Tanks. This was a design that superseded the previous classes by achieving a fusion of light tank agility, heavy tank protection and tank destroyer armament. Main battle tanks did not see action during WWII. However, their influential design saw them become the mainstay of armoured ground armies up until the present day. The combat capabilities of main battle tanks are far superior to those of other WWII classes. | ||
 Type 10 |
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| < Super Heavy Tanks | Top Index > | |