A paintball tank, also known as a paintball armoured vehicle (PAV) is a vehicle, or a portable structure that resembles a vehicle, sometimes used in the sport of paintball, usually with the intent of military simulation. The purpose of the tank is to provide a mobile shelter for one or several players, from which they may employ their markers against players on the opposing team. Small pneumatic guns, effectively low-powered potato cannons loaded with foam darts, are also often employed against other tanks.
Paintball tanks are commonly used for woodsball and scenario paintball games, and similar designs have also seen use in Airsoft scenario games, with varying degrees of similarity to a true tank.
Although the method of propulsion, crew size, physical dimensions and weight, and the number and location of "weapons", all vary depending on tank type, all tanks share some common features:
Apart from the most spartan of automobile conversions (replacing the windows with netting and calling it a day), tanks typically feature a superstructure/casemate assembled from thin sheets of paintball-proof material such as laminated cardboard, plywood, fiberglass, or sheet metal. attached to the vehicle's frame in place of some or all of the normal body paneling. If a suitable structural member is not available, a custom frame, typically built from PVC or ABS pipe, wood, or steel tubing, may be built off of the existing structure. In the case of scratch-built tanks, the entire "chassi" may be built this way.
The tank's armament usually includes at least one paintball marker, and may include a low-velocity potato cannon loaded with foam projectiles for use against enemy tanks. Rules permitting, the main cannon may also be used against buildings occupied by opposing players, and some tanks have been demonstrated firing canister shot consisting of several paintballs between two paper wads, or contained within a flimsy paper/foam sabot, to be used against players on open ground. [2]
Because of the great variety in physical characteristics and functionality between vehicles, even those made by the same builder, tanks are type classified according to their propulsion method. A tank's type classification may or may not be indicative of the tank's physical size or weight, crew size, or other capabilities. For example, automobile-based designs are usually the largest because of the dimensions of the vehicle they were built on.
Some event producers may provide additional temporary classifications depending on physical size, crew size, or armament layout, such as Light Tank, Heavy Tank, or Tank Destroyer. Such event-specific classifications may have an associated ruleset for how the vehicle is allowed to navigate the play area, and what effort must be undertaken by the opposing team in order to defeat it.
These tanks are custom-built from the ground up, and as a result of the incredible freedom of design and influence of imagination involved in their creation, this group is the most diverse of all.
ATV-based tanks are ATVs fitted with weapons and protective coverings. The level of involvement varies here as well; some are simply quads or similar fitted with a removable netting cage, others feature scratch-built bodies and turrets and are capable of housing several players and their equipment. All-terrain vehicles, Golf carts, riding mowers and amphibious ATVs are the most popular bases for ATV tanks, thanks to ready availability, off-road ability and low price.
Automobile-based tanks are modifications to existing automobiles; ranging from minivans with firing ports and windows replaced by netting to near-replica vehicles featuring completely new bodies. The most common base vehicles are SUVs, Jeeps and trucks due to low cost and availability, although their high ground clearance and four-wheel drive is also helpful given poor conditions of many trails and roads in paintball fields. Minivans are also a common sight.
While paintball has standardized (and very strict) safety rules relating to markers, masks, and other equipment used by players, putting those players, their markers and masks, and additional equipment in an enclosed vehicle (motorized or not) creates additional safety concerns. The following is an aggregate of rules which may or may not all be in use at the same time at any particular field.
One of the most important aspects of paintball vehicle design is the prevention of enemy players "painting", and thus eliminating, the occupants of the vehicle. Depending on its design, a vehicle may offer incidental, partial, or complete paint protection for its crew, but the vehicle itself is typically vulnerable to certain types of "anti-tank" weaponry.
As an alternative to the methods described above, some fields may use "paint boxes"; sets of plates (typically plywood or OSB) attached to the front, sides, and rear of the vehicle, which must be entirely covered with paint in order for the vehicle to be eliminated. Other options include "hoops" into which the opposing team must launch their AT projectiles to score hits against the vehicle.
*Some fields allow smaller 2' x 2' flags.
Tankball is a vehicle-only variation of paintball. It is a fairly expensive mode of play, and is therefore far less common. The basic form involves vehicles driving around the field, firing paintball buckshot, or Nerf Rockets at one another.
Depending on the exact design of the vehicles involved (specifically the protective qualities of their "armour", and the exclusive use of periscopes to provide vision), tankball may allow for the use of higher-powered cannons, firing denser projectiles at higher velocities (on the condition that all vehicles are driven with the hatches closed while on the field). The absence of infantry on the field, and the high-density, high-velocity projectiles, allow for faster vehicle movement and more realistic engagement ranges.
Although tankball is somewhat common on regular woodsball fields (using regular paintball vehicles and their standard equipment), the world's so far only purpose-made tankball field is located in Leicestershire, England. A small fleet of tanks (actually FV432 Armoured Personnel Carriers) are available for rental, fitted with cannons of the high-powered variety (firing 40mm diameter paint-filled pingpong balls). As previously mentioned, closed-hatch operation is mandatory as these super-sized paintballs have too much kinetic energy to safely impact unprotected persons.
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).
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament is often mounted within a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat.
Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy air weapons called paintball markers that are powered by compressed air or carbon dioxide and were originally designed for remotely marking trees and cattle.
The T-35 was a Soviet multi-turreted heavy tank of the interwar period and early Second World War that saw limited service with the Red Army. Often called a land battleship, it was the only five-turreted heavy tank in the world to reach production, but proved to be slow and mechanically unreliable. Most of the T-35 tanks still operational at the time of Operation Barbarossa were lost due to mechanical failure rather than enemy action. It was designed to complement the contemporary T-28 medium tank; however, very few were built.
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.
Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its General Staff number A.15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the Second World War. Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made important contributions to the British victories during the North African campaign. The Crusader tank would not see active service beyond Africa but the chassis of the tank was modified to create anti-aircraft, fire support, observation, communication, bulldozer and recovery vehicle variants.
Scenario paintball is a colloquialism used to represent a diverse array of paintball events that encompass many themes that may include historical re-enactments, movies, current pop culture, futuristic or video game simulations, and more. Others have no theme at all. They frequently feature game mechanics such as "medics" and "snipers" and "helicopters" carried out through various simulations. The common denominator for this type of play is anywhere from 75 to 5000 players, with at least 6 hours of continuous play. These events average 12 hours of game play across a weekend in 2 major play periods. The longest and most challenging events run 24 hours straight with no breaks, with elite players covering ultra marathon distances. Instead of playing on a single field at a venue, all fields are combined into one continuous playable area. To further enhance the theme of a game, field locations may be named for important story locations, and props of various sorts are added to the game. These may be objects that players collect for points, or even vehicles that take part in the fighting, like paintball tanks. Players may don costumes specific to the theme, such as historic military uniforms or other costumes.
FV433, 105mm, Field Artillery, Self-Propelled "Abbot" is the self-propelled artillery, or more specifically self-propelled gun (SPG), variant of the British Army FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), using much of the chassis of the FV430 but with a fully rotating turret at the rear housing the 105 mm gun and given the vehicle designation of FV433.
A gun turret is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in some degree of azimuth and elevation.
An autoloader or auto-loader is a mechanical aid or replacement for the personnel that load ammunition into crew-served weapons without being an integrated part of the gun itself. The term is generally only applied to larger weapons, such as naval weapons, tanks, and artillery; that would otherwise have a dedicated person or persons loading them.
A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun, paint gun, or simply marker, is an air gun used in the shooting sport of paintball, and the main piece of paintball equipment. Paintball markers use compressed gas, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or compressed air (HPA), to propel dye-filled gel capsules called paintballs through the barrel and quickly strike a target. The term "marker" is derived from its original use as a tool for forestry personnel to mark trees and ranchers to mark wandering cattle.
Paintball is an equipment-intensive sport and in order to safely conduct a game, every player requires a marker with propellant to fire the paint, a mask to protect the eyes and face, paintballs, and a loader to hold them. To ensure safety off the playing field, a barrel sock or plug for the marker is also compulsory.
The infanterikanonvagn 91, lit. 'infantry cannon wagon 91', was a high mobility assault gun that was developed to meet the operational requirements of the Swedish Army. It was designed and manufactured by Hägglund & Söner and employed common components with the Pbv 302 armoured personnel carrier series. The first prototypes of the ikv 91 were completed in 1969 with production running from 1975 until 1978. In total, 212 were manufactured.
Paintball is played with a potentially limitless variety of rules and variations, all of which are specified before the game begins. The most basic of all game rules is that players must attempt to accomplish a goal without being tagged with paintballs. Generally paintball is divided into either its original incarnation woodsball, or the small arena-based and tournament de facto speedball. Amongst these paintball game types, variations of basic rules can be played.
The 40M Nimród was a World War II Hungarian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on a license-built copy of the Swedish Landsverk L-62 Anti I SPAAG but with a new turret, and developed independently. Originally, it was intended to be used both in the anti-aircraft and tank destroyer roles, but it proved to be ineffective against heavily armored Soviet tanks like the KV-1. Therefore, it was primarily used against lightly armored vehicles and for air defense.
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
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.
Garford-Putilov armoured cars were an armoured fighting vehicle produced in Russia during the First World War era. They were built on the chassis of Garford Motor Truck Co. lorries imported from the United States.
The Leopard 2PL is a main battle tank used by the Polish Armed Forces, and is a modernized version of the older Leopard 2A4 tank, phased out by Germany and first acquired by Poland in the 2000s. The modernisation is currently being carried out in cooperation with Rheinmetall and the Polish Armaments Group.