The Leclerc is a third-generation French main battle tank developed and manufactured by Nexter Systems. It was named in honour of Marshal Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, a commander of the Free French Forces, who led the 2nd Armoured Division in World War II.
The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M26 Pershing, M4 Sherman, M46 and M47 Patton tanks, and was the main battle tank of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. Nearly 12,000 M48s were built, mainly by Chrysler and American Locomotive Company, from 1952 to 1961. The M48 Patton was the first U.S. medium gun tank with a four-man crew, featuring a centerline driver's compartment and no bow machine gunner. As with nearly all new armored vehicles it had a wide variety of suspension systems, cupola styles, power packs, fenders and other details among individual tanks.
The M47 Patton was an American Medium tank, a development of the M46 Patton mounting an updated turret, and was in turn further developed as the M48 Patton. It was the second American tank to be named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates of tanks in battle.
The M36 tank destroyer, formally 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage, M36, was an American tank destroyer used during World War II. The M36 combined the hull of the M10 tank destroyer, which used the M4 Sherman's reliable chassis and drivetrain combined with sloped armor, and a new turret mounting the 90 mm gun M3. Conceived in 1943, the M36 first served in combat in Europe in October 1944, where it partially replaced the M10 tank destroyer. It also saw use in the Korean War, where it was able to defeat any of the Soviet tanks used in that conflict. Some were supplied to South Korea as part of the Military Assistance Program and served for years, as did re-engined examples found in Yugoslavia, which operated into the 1990s. Two remained in service with the Republic of China Army at least until 2001.
The Type 74 is a main battle tank (MBT) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a supplement to the earlier Type 61. It was based on the best features of a number of contemporary designs, placing it in the same class as the US M60 Patton or German Leopard 1. Like these designs, it mounts the M68 rifled 105 mm gun. The design did not enter widespread use until 1980, by which point other Western forces had introduced more capable designs.
The T95 was an American prototype medium tank developed from 1955 to 1959. These tanks used many advanced or unusual features, such as siliceous-cored armor, new transmissions, and OPTAR fire-control systems. The OPTAR incorporated an electro-optical rangefinder and was mounted on the right side of the turret, and was used in conjunction with the APFSDS-firing 90 mm T208 smoothbore gun, which had a rigid mount without a recoil system. In addition, although the tanks were designed with a torsion beam suspension, a hydropneumatic suspension was fitted, and one of the tanks was fitted with a Solar Saturn gas turbine for demonstration purposes.
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.
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.
Tank development both evolved considerably from World War II and played a key role during the Cold War (1945–1990). The period pitted the nations of the Eastern Bloc and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO against each other.
The Type 61 tank is a main battle tank developed and used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Ares Incorporated is an American weapons manufacturer and firearms engineering company co-founded by the American weapons inventor and developer Eugene Stoner in 1971. The company is based in Port Clinton, Ohio, and produces fire control systems, turret systems, small arms, automatic cannons and industrial machinery. Mr. Stoner left the company in 1989, joining Knight's Armament Company in 1990, where his designs included the Stoner 96, a further refinement of the Ares LMG/Stoner 63.
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 Expeditionary Tank was a light tank developed in the 1980s initially by Teledyne Vehicle Systems. Later joined by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the companies entered the US Army's Armored Gun System (AGS) competition with the design. Since the tank never entered service, it did not receive an official designation. Alternative names for the Expeditionary Tank include the Teledyne Light Tank and the Slammer.
This article deals with the history and development of American tanks from the end of World War II and during the Cold War.
An oscillating turret is a form of turret for armoured fighting vehicles, both tanks and armoured cars. The turret is unusual in being made of two hinged parts. Elevation of the gun relies on the upper part of the turret moving relative to the lower part.
Heavy tank project Emil, known under the cover name of Kranvagn or KRV for short, was a heavy tank developed secretly in Sweden during the early 1950s; Kranvagn, meaning mobile crane, was a cover-name. The intention was to replace the Swedish Army's disparate tank fleet with a tank that could counter the Soviet IS series heavy tanks and be upgraded continuously. The initial design, in 1950, proposed mounting a 10.5 cm autoloader in an oscillating turret. Due to its size, weight and power to weight it was considered by many to be more of a medium tank than a heavy tank.
The ELC project was a prototype light tank project launched by the French Ministry of Defense in 1955. The purpose of the ELC project was to develop a lightly armoured, heavily armed fighting vehicle capable of being airlifted for rapid deployment.
The T57 heavy tank was an experimental heavy tank developed by the American military during the Cold War era as a further development of the M103 heavy tank. Featuring heavy armor and a long range 120 mm rifled gun, the T57 was supposed to serve as a replacement to the M103 in service with American heavy tank units in Europe. Armor on the hull front was to range between 5–8 in (130–200 mm) in thickness and the turret was to be 5.98 in (152 mm) at maximum on all sides. Like the French AMX 50 project, it was to feature an oscillating turret and was also to receive a 153 mm gun. Experiments were also conducted to investigate mounting a 203 mm gun, but this was soon found to be infeasible. When multiple problems were discovered in the turret oscillation system on account of the excess weight of the heavily armored turret and the gun, the project was dropped.
The 90mm gun tank T42 was a medium tank powered by the AOS-895-3, a 6-cylinder, air cooled, opposed cylinder, supercharged engine displacing 895.9 cubic inches. It was intended to fulfill OTCM 32529's, dated December 2, 1948, call for a tank weighing 36 tons and equivalently armed as the M46 while having superior armour. With an engine producing only 500 hp, concern about the T42's performance was expressed. Testing, with a T40 loaded to the weight of T42 and powered by the AOS-895 through a CD-500 transmission, revealed it to be only equivalent in performance to the late model M4A3, which was below the design estimates.
The Obiekt 490 "Poplar", or Object 490, was an experimental Soviet tank developed in the early 1980s. Two versions of the vehicle existed under the same project name, however the designs were radically different, with the second being one of the most unusual designs in the history of tank development. The vehicle was designed by Eugenie Morozov, who was the son of Alexander Alexandrovich Morozov. The project was cancelled in 1991 following the collapse of the USSR and Morozov's death.
