An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
An amphibious vehicle is a vehicle that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, railway vehicles, combat vehicles and hovercraft.
The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1, meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st serial model". The BMP-1 was the first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) of the Soviet Union. It was called the M-1967, BMP and BMP-76PB by NATO before its correct designation was known.
Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed, the turret being attached before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet military forces. This vehicle was also built to compete with the Soviet heavy Kliment Voroshilov tank.
A beach armoured recovery vehicle (BARV) is an armoured recovery vehicle used for amphibious landings.
Hobart's Funnies is the nickname given to a number of specialist armoured fighting vehicles derived from tanks operated during the Second World War by units of the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army or by specialists from the Royal Engineers.
The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefield. At its peak in the 1980s, almost 2,500 vehicles were in use.
DD or duplex drive tanks, nicknamed "Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that was used by the Western Allies during and after the Normandy Landings in June 1944.
The Stalwart, formally classified by the British Army as Truck, High Mobility Load Carrier (HMLC), 5 Ton, 6 x 6, Alvis Stalwart and informally known by servicemen as the Stolly, and by former RCT as the Stally, is a highly mobile amphibious military truck. Built by Alvis Cars between 1960 and 1971, these vehicles served with the British Army from 1963 until 1993.
The FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor or C.E.T. is an amphibious specialist armoured vehicle formerly used by the British Army. A tracked, lightly armoured vehicle, with amphibious capability, the CET was used by Royal Engineers in ground preparation for bridge construction and towing activities in the front line of battle, such as digging vehicle fighting pits, constructing earthen barriers, repairing roads, recovery of disabled vehicles from water and other obstacles, preparing riverbanks for vehicle crossings and clearing obstacles.
The T-44 was a medium tank first developed and produced near the end of World War II by the Soviet Union. It was the successor to the T-34, offering an improved ride and cross-country performance, along with much greater armor. Designed to be equipped with an 85 mm main gun, by the time it was fully tested the T-34 had also moved to this weapon. Both tanks offered similar performance, so introducing the T-44 was not considered as important as increasing T-34 production. Fewer than 2,000 T-44s were built, compared to about 58,000 T-34s. Although the T-44 was available by the end of the war, it was not used in any battle. It was 1 ton lighter than the T-34-85 and slightly faster. The T-44 was heavily influential on the design of the T-54/55 main battle tank, most notably the removal of side sloping, thick frontal armor, and a low profile. Also notable was the T-44-100, a 100mm D-10T-armed prototype, which would be the same 100mm gun mounted on the T-54/55, bar some minor changes.
The BTR-50 is a Soviet tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC) based on the PT-76 light tank chassis. The BTR-50 was developed in 1952 and entered service with the Soviet Army in 1954. It ceased production in 1970. It has the ability to transport up to 20 fully equipped infantrymen, and can be armed with nothing, a 7.62 mm SGMB medium machine gun, or a 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun. It saw notable service in the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and most recently in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The Landkreuzer P. 1000 "Ratte" was a design for a 1000-ton tank to be used by Germany during World War II which may have been proposed by Krupp director Edward Grotte in June 1942, who had already named it "Landkreuzer". Submitted designs and drawings of the vehicle went under the names OKH Auftrag Nr. 30404 and E-30404/1, which were presented in December 1942. The tank was planned to be 1000 tonnes, far heavier than the Panzer VIII "Maus", the heaviest tank ever built. The project gained the approval of Adolf Hitler, who had expressed interest in the development of the tank but was cancelled by Minister of Armaments Albert Speer in early 1943.
The Norinco Type 63 is a Chinese amphibious light tank. First fielded in 1963, it is in many ways similar to the earlier Soviet PT-76. However, contrary to the popular belief, it does have some essential differences from the PT-76 in the vehicle's waterjet propulsion system, etc. It is also known under its industrial designation, the WZ-211. Type 63 is being replaced by Type 63A.
A vehicle snorkel is the land-based equivalent of the submarine snorkel which allows submarines to use diesel engines while submerged. Snorkels, when used by vehicles with air-breathing internal combustion engines, sometimes allow limited deep wading capability for river crossing or amphibious landing operations, particularly in the case of tanks and other armored vehicles. In such cases, the snorkel supplies air for both the engine and the sealed crew compartment, allowing total submersion. Often, the snorkel pipe is of large diameter and fits over the crew hatch, to provide an escape route for the crew in case the vehicle becomes stuck or disabled while underwater.
The T92 Light Tank, or 76-mm Gun Tank, T92, was an American light tank developed in the 1950s by Aircraft Armaments. It was designed as an airborne/airdropped replacement for the heavier M41 Walker Bulldog while retaining the mobility, protection level, and firepower of the latter. The unveiling of the Soviet PT-76 amphibious light tank pointed out that the future US light tank should be able to swim as well. Making the T92 amphibious was deemed impractical and the light gun tank program was cancelled in June 1958.
The Panhard M3 VTT is an amphibious armoured personnel carrier. Developed as a private venture for the export market, the M3 was built with the same mechanical and chassis components as the Panhard AML range of light armoured cars. The two vehicle types share a 95% interchangeability of automotive parts. The M3 is an extremely versatile design which can be configured for a wide variety of auxiliary battlefield roles. The most popular variants of the base personnel carrier included an armoured ambulance, a mobile command post, and an internal security vehicle. It could also be fitted with a wide variety of turrets and armament, ranging from a single general-purpose machine gun to medium calibre autocannon.
The OF-40 is an Italian main battle tank developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and Fiat, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by Fiat. Initial design work was started by OTO Melara in 1977, with the first prototypes ready by 1980.
A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of transport and logistics. They are primarily employed in the screening, armored reconnaissance, skirmishing, artillery observation, and supplementing landing operations in a fire support role of expeditionary forces where larger, heavier tanks are unavailable or have difficulties operating safely or efficiently.
The Tiger I was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm KwK 36 gun. 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. After August 1944, production of the Tiger I was phased out in favour of the Tiger II.
