The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest tanks in service at nearly 68 short tons, it introduced several modern technologies to US armored forces, including a multifuel turbine engine, sophisticated Chobham composite armor, a computer fire control system, separate ammunition storage in a blow-out compartment, and NBC protection for crew safety. Initial models of the M1 were armed with a licensed-produced 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 gun, while later variants feature a licensed Rheinmetall 120 mm L/44.
Chobham armour is the informal name of a composite armour developed in the 1960s at the British tank research centre on Chobham Common, Surrey. The name has since become the common generic term for composite ceramic vehicle armour. Other names informally given to Chobham armour include Burlington and Dorchester. Special armour is a broader informal term referring to any armour arrangement comprising sandwich reactive plates, including Chobham armour.
The Jagdpanzer 38, originally the leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as Hetzer, was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis.
The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially christened as a Patton tank. The US Army considered it a "product-improved descendant" of the Patton tank's design. The design similarities are evident comparing the original version of the M60 and the M48A2. It has been sometimes informally grouped as a member of the Patton tank family. The United States fully committed to the MBT doctrine in 1963, when the Marine Corps retired the last (M103) heavy tank battalion. The M60 tank series became America's primary main battle tank during the Cold War, reaching a production total of 15,000 M60s. Hull production ended in 1983, but 5,400 older models were converted to the M60A3 variant ending in 1990.
The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German Army. It is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon, and is powered by a V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and 13 other European countries, as well as several non-European nations, including Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore. The Leopard 2 was used in Kosovo with the German Army, in Afghanistan with the Dutch, Danish and Canadian contributions to the International Security Assistance Force, and saw action in Syria with the Turkish Armed Forces.
The AMX-30 is a main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966. The first five tanks were issued to the 501st Régiment de Chars de Combat in August of that year. The production version of the AMX-30B weighed 36 metric tons, and sacrificed protection for increased mobility. The French believed that it would have required too much armour to protect against the latest anti-tank threats, thereby reducing the tank's maneuverability. Protection, instead, was provided by the speed and the compact dimensions of the vehicle, including a height of 2.28 metres. It had a 105 mm gun, firing a then advanced high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead known as the Obus G. The Obus G used an outer shell, separated from the main charge by ball bearings, to allow the round to be spin stabilized by the gun without spinning the warhead inside which would disrupt jet formation. Mobility was provided by the 720 horsepower (540 kW) HS-110 diesel engine, although the troublesome transmission adversely affected the tank's performance.
The Tanque Argentino Mediano is a medium tank in service with the Argentine Army. Lacking the experience and resources to design a tank, the Argentine Ministry of Defense contracted German company Thyssen-Henschel. The vehicle was developed by a German and Argentine team of engineers, and was based on the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle chassis.
The Royal Ordnance L7, officially designated Gun, 105 mm, Tank, L7, is the basic model of the United Kingdom's most successful tank gun. The L7 is a 105 mm L/52 rifled design by the Royal Ordnance Factories intended for use in armoured fighting vehicles, replacing the earlier QF 20-pounder (84 mm) tank gun mounted on the Centurion tank. The successful L7 gun has been fitted on many armoured vehicles including the British Centurion, the German Leopard 1 and several variants of the US MBTs M48 Patton and M60 in an altered design, the M68.
The Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschütz III. Guderian objected against the needless, in his eyes, diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the StuG III was still more than adequate for its role.
The Puma is a German infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) designed to replace the aging Marder IFVs currently in service with the German Army. Production of the first batch of 350 vehicles began in 2010 and was completed in August 2021. A second batch of 229 Pumas received funding. Mass production began on 6 July 2009. The companies responsible for this project are Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme, which created a joint venture, Projekt System Management GmbH (PSM). The Puma is one of the world's best-protected IFVs, while still having a high power-to-weight ratio.
The AMX-30E is a Spanish main battle tank based on France's AMX-30. Although originally the Spanish government sought to procure the German Leopard 1, the AMX-30 was ultimately awarded the contract due to its lower price and the ability to manufacture it in Spain. 280 units were manufactured by Santa Bárbara Sistemas for the Spanish Army, between 1974 and 1983.
The Sd.Kfz. 234, was a family of armoured cars designed and built in Germany during World War II. The vehicles were lightly armoured, armed with a 20, 50 or 75 mm main gun, and powered by a Tatra V12 diesel engine. The Sd.Kfz. 234 broadly resembles the appearance of Sd.Kfz. 231 .
Tanks in the Spanish Army have over 90 years of history, from the French Renault FTs first delivered in 1919 to the Leopard 2 and B1 Centauro models of the early 21st century. The Spanish FTs took part in combat during the Rif War and participated in the first amphibious landing with tanks in history, at Alhucemas. In 1925, the Spanish Army began to undertake a program to develop and produce a Spanish tank, an upgraded version of the Renault FT, called the Trubia A4. Although the prototype performed well during testing, the tank was never put into mass production. Spain also experimented with the Italian Fiat 3000, acquiring one tank in 1925, and with another indigenous tank program called the Landesa. However, none of these evolved into a major armor program, and as a result the FT remained the most important tank, in numbers, in the Spanish Army until the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
The Panzer 61 was a Swiss Cold War era medium tank later reclassified as a second-generation main battle tank. The tank had a weight of 36.5 tons and was powered by a 630 hp diesel engine, which gave it a top road speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The primary armament of the Panzer 61 was a 105 mm main gun.
The Panzer 68 was a Swiss main battle tank developed by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette in Thun in the late 1960s, and was the main tank of the Swiss Army until the late 1990s.
This article deals with the tanks serving in the German Army throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, the Cold War tanks of the West German and East German Armies, all the way to the present day tanks of the Bundeswehr.
The Mittlerer Panzer 1958 or Panzer 58 was a medium tank of Swiss design. Twelve tanks were produced and later converted to Panzer 61s.
Eidgenössische Konstruktionswerkstätte English: "Federal Constructions Works", short K+W, was a Swiss state-owned enterprise, with the aim of making the Swiss military independent of foreign sources for its equipment needs. It was established in 1867 in Thun and produced artillery, vehicles and other typical military equipment. In 1914 Switzerland put in an effort to make itself independent of foreign suppliers of military aircraft and started the production of the DH-1 in Thun. Long-standing connections to the ETH Zurich ensured the necessary know-how. 1940 the aviation department moved from Thun to Emmen and in 1943 it became a separate unit of the Swiss Armed Forces independent under the name of Eidgenössisches Flugzeugwerk (F+W). The Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette focused now on the production of armoured fighting vehicles for the Swiss Army, both of its own designs and licensed production of M113 armored personnel carriers and Leopard 2 tanks and other land systems for the Swiss Army. Since 1995 it changed its name several times, started exporting and is now part of RUAG Defence.
The history and development of tanks in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps can be broken down into smaller categories: their origin during World War I; the interwar period; World War II; the Cold War; and the modern era.
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.
