The Kampfpanzer Leopard is a main battle tank designed by Porsche and manufactured by Krauss-Maffei in West Germany, first entering service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to make conventional heavy armour of limited value, the Leopard design focused on effective firepower and mobility instead of heavy protection. It featured moderate armour, only effective against low caliber autocannons and heavy machine guns, giving it a high power-to-weight ratio. This, coupled with a modern suspension and drivetrain, gave the Leopard superior mobility and cross-country performance compared to most other main battle tanks of the era, only being rivaled by the French AMX-30 and Swedish Strv 103. The main armament of the Leopard consisted of a German license-built version of the British Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm rifled gun, one of the most effective and widespread tank guns of the era.
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945. From the late 1950s, the T-54 eventually became the main tank for armoured units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and many others. T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts since their introduction in the second half of the 20th century.
The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light armour became vulnerable to newer anti-tank guns. It was produced in greater numbers than any other tank of the period, with more than 11,000 units manufactured giving it the title of the most produced tank during the interwar period. During the 1930s, the USSR developed 53 variants of the T-26, including flame-throwing tanks, combat engineer vehicles, remotely controlled tanks, self-propelled guns, artillery tractors, and armoured carriers. Twenty-three of these were series-produced, others were experimental models.
The T-28 was a Soviet multi-turreted medium tank. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry support tank intended to break through fortified defences. The T-28 was designed to complement the heavier T-35, with which it shared turret designs. The type did not have great success in combat, but it played an important role as a development project for Soviet tank designers. A series of new ideas and solutions that were tried out on the T-28 were later incorporated in future models.
The Stridsvagn 103, also known as the Alternative S and S-tank, is a Swedish Cold War-era main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden. "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of stridsvagn, Swedish for chariot and tank, while the 103 comes from being the third tank in Swedish service to be equipped with a 10.5 cm gun.
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war.
The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat into the 1980s. The chassis was adapted for several other roles, and these variants have remained in service. It was a very popular tank with good armour, mobility, and a powerful main armament.
The Cromwell tank, officially Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M), was one of the series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War. Named after the English Civil War-era military leader Oliver Cromwell, the Cromwell was the first tank put into service by the British to combine high speed from a powerful, reliable engine and reasonable armour. The intended dual-purpose high velocity gun could not be fitted in the turret, so a medium velocity dual purpose gun was fitted instead. Further development of the Cromwell combined with a high velocity gun led to the Comet tank.
The Comet tank or Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of the Second World War, during the Western Allied invasion of Germany. The Comet was developed from the earlier Cromwell tank and mounted the new 17 pdr High Velocity (HV) gun, in a lower profile, partly-cast turret. This gun was effective against late-war German tanks, including the Panther at medium range, and the Tiger.
The Tank, Cruiser, Challenger (A30) was a British tank of World War II. It mounted the QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun on a chassis derived from the Cromwell tank to add anti-tank firepower to the cruiser tank units. The design compromises made in fitting the large gun onto the Cromwell chassis resulted in a tank with a powerful weapon and reduced armour. However, the extemporised 17-pounder Sherman Firefly conversion of the US-supplied Sherman proved easier to produce and, with delays in production, only 200 Challengers were built. The Challenger was able to keep up with the fast Cromwell tank and was used with them.
The cruiser tank was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were developed after medium tank designs of the 1930s failed to satisfy the Royal Armoured Corps. The cruiser tank concept was conceived by Giffard Le Quesne Martel, who preferred many small light tanks to swarm an opponent, instead of a few expensive and unsatisfactory medium tanks. "Light" cruiser tanks carried less armour and were correspondingly faster, whilst "heavy" cruiser tanks had more armour and were slightly slower.
The Sherman Firefly was a medium tank used by the United Kingdom and some armoured formations of other Allies in the Second World War. It was based on the US M4 Sherman but was fitted with the more powerful British 76.2 mm (3.00 in) calibre 17-pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon. Conceived as a stopgap until future British tank designs came into service, the Sherman Firefly became the most common vehicle mounting the 17-pounder in the war.
The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank (MBT) of the United Kingdom from the 1960s into 1990s. When introduced, it was among the most heavily armed MBTs of the era, mounting a 120 mm Royal Ordnance L11 gun, the equal of the much larger specialist heavy tanks then in service. It also was among the most heavily armoured, with up to 195 mm (7.7 in) that was highly sloped to offer 388 mm (15.3 in) thickness along the line of sight.
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 FV 214 Conqueror, also known as Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, Conqueror was a British heavy tank of the post-World War II era. It was developed as a response to the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank. The Conqueror's main armament, an L1 120 mm gun, was larger than the 20-pounder (83.4 mm) gun carried by its peer, the Centurion. The Conqueror's role was to provide long range anti-tank support for the Centurion. Nine Conquerors were issued for each regiment in Germany, usually grouped in three tank troops. In the British Army both the Conqueror and the Centurion were replaced by the Chieftain.
The Sherman M-50 and the Sherman M-51, both often referred to abroad as the Super Sherman, were modified versions of the American M4 Sherman tank that served with the Israel Defense Forces from the mid-1950s to early 1980s. The M-51 was also referred to as the Isherman. However, the nicknames "Super Sherman" and "Isherman" were never officially used by the Israeli Defense Forces.
The Austin Armoured Car was a British armoured car produced during the First World War. The vehicle is best known for its employment by the Imperial Russian Army in the First World War and by different forces in the Russian Civil War.
This article deals with Sherman tanks extensive use around the world after World War II and catalogues foreign post–World War II use and conversions of Sherman tanks and variants based on the Sherman chassis.
Yad La-Shiryon is Israel's official memorial site for fallen soldiers from the armored corps, as well as one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. The cornerstone for Yad La-Shiryon was laid on December 14, 1982.
The T-54/T-55 tank series is the most widely used tank in the world and has seen service in over 50 countries. It has also served as the platform for a wide variety of specialty armoured vehicles.
