The
United States Military
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Tanks A tank is a heavily armed, track-laying military vehicle. It can go up to 60 mph. Tanks are classified to be light, medium, and heavy. They range in weight from approximately 14 to 15 metric tons, have at least 15 cm(6 in) of armor plate, and mount cannons ranging from 75 mm to 122 mm in the tank’s turret. The turret is a structure on top of the tank that can rotate 360 degrees, enabling the tank to fire in any direction. In addition, tanks often have both light and heavy machine guns. Light tanks are used for reconnaissance; heavier tanks are used primarily to penetrate or flank enemy defenses. The concept of armor protection dates from antiquity. By the 5th century BC Greek warriors, and sometimes their horses, wore armor. Florentine artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci designed a crank-operated covered chariot in 1482, but development of an effective, track-laying armored vehicle was only possible after the invention of the internal-combustion engine.Tanks continue to be an important part of military forces and have played an important role in many wars, such as the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Modern tanks do not differ substantially from tanks used toward the end of WW2, but are better armored, faster, and used more powerful cannons. In addition, computer firing controls enable modern tanks, such as the M1 Abrams tank of the United States military, to accurately fire on targets even while moving. |
