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Period: to
Tank Evolution Timespan
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French FT-17
The French FT-17 is arguably the first tank put into production. It was first produced during WWI, but the exact date differs. The FT-17 was not referred to as a tank, but a land ship. I will call it a tank in this paragraph because that is what we would call. It did not have a large main weapon we now think of as standard on a tank, but a smaller machine gun. That’s the reason that is it debated if it is the first tank, because it does not have a large main weapon. -
French FT-17 continued
Some argue that it is more of an armored car than a tank. The FT-17 had 22mm of armor on it and could go a maximum of 5 miles per hour. It was mostly ineffective on the battlefield because it was very slow and that made it a target for artillery. It was more widely used as infantry support. APA Citation:Tank History. (n.d.). History of the Tank. Retrieved from http://www.wwiivehicles.com/wwii/tank-history.asp -
British Mark I
If the FT-17 wasn’t the first tank, then this one was. It was put into battle on September 15 1916.This is also where the origin of the word tank came in. In order to ensure German spies didn’t get wind of a new armored vehicle, the British government said that the vehicle they were creating was a “mobile water cistern”. That’s where the name tank came from. There were two variations of the Mark I, male and female. -
British Mark I continued
The male version and had two six-pound guns, which were much closer to what we think of as a tank cannon now. In case of a close attack by infantry, both versions had two Vickers light machine guns mounted next to the six-pound guns and one mounted on the front. The only difference on the female version was that instead of the six-pound guns they had two heavy machine guns. APA Citation:Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. (n.d.). First World War British Tank Doctrine â. Retrieved from htt -
German Panzer
The Panzer tank was the counterpart of the M4 Sherman, predating it slightly, and out performing it in most categories. The Panzer I tank went into production in 1934, although this version was not much better than the Sherman. Once the Panzer IV was created that in 1937 it became the core of the German tank program. It had a 75mm main gun with two machine guns on it too. Its armor could be anywhere from 8mm to 30mm. -
German Panzer
The Panzer IV had a max speed of 18 mph, while the Panzer II had a max speed of 25 mph, which was the fastest Panzer the Germans would produce. APA Citation:Spartacus Educational. (n.d.). Spartacus Educational. Retrieved from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWpanzer.htm -
M4 Sherman continued
This put it at a clear disadvantage to the Panzer, which had more armor, better armament, and was more accurate. It was adapted later in the war to accommodate for changes. APA Citation:Sherman tank. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540138/Sherman-tank -
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman was the next innovation. It was one of the first and most widely mass produced true tanks. It went into full production in 1942. There were 49,324 produced during the course of the war. It had a 75mm gun main turret and had only 3.5 inches of armor. The reason that they had put so little armor on was to make it be able to move faster than the competition, with a max speed of 29 mph as opposed to the 25 mph that the Panzer had. -
M1 Abrams
The Abrams first entered service in the army in 1980. There are four variants of it currently, M1/IPM1, M1A1, M1A2, and the M1A2 SEP. The main turret’s size varies per variant, but for the most part they have 120mm turrets and a max speed of 45 mph. It has a 1500 hp jet engine in it, which for those people who don’t know engines, that’s a big engine. The exact amount of armor is not stated. APA Citation:ARMY.MIL Features. (n.d.). Abrams Tank Fact File for the United States Army. Retrieved from -
Trophy Active Defense System continued
The first is detection, which is when it spots a threat, then it verifies the threat, then shoots fragments out at an trajectory that will intercept the missile far enough away to not injured the tank. APA Citation:Trophy Active Protection System. (n.d.). Trophy Active Protection System. Retrieved from http://defense-update.com/products/t/trophy.htm -
Trophy Active Defense System
One of the biggest innovations to tanks isn’t even a tank. It is called the Trophy system. The first prototype was produced in 2007, while the first successful test was in 2009. They are currently being deployed onto our military vehicles. The Trophy System is an anti-rocket system designed to eliminate rockets at a safe distance. It was created by RAFAEL, who was contracted to do it by the Israeli government. It has three stages.
