Tank Encyclopedia's Archives
A sub of Tank Encyclopedia. This is the new archive section, with all former entries, and a search engine. ➀ All single vehicles are accessible by nations and eras in a more consistent and logical way than previously. ADS are needed due to finance better server performances as audience grows. But you can support also it through merchandise here.
➁ New posts weekly. These are mere "entry into matter", for vehicles scheduled on tank-encyclopedia.com, that will be seen in the latter in much more detail. A link from the archive entry will point to the new article when up. There are still circa 2,000 serial armored vehicles to be treated over the years excluding prototypes and paper projects, so tank-afv.com will continue to run until all are treated, and follow the news of armoured vehicles around the world.
☄ About the site name: If a "Tank" is obvious to anyone in this context, "AFV" is an acronym which stands for "Armoured Fighting Vehicle". It is a catch-all definition for all military vehicles armoured (and armed), tracked or wheeled. For soft-skinned vehicles please visit truck-encyclopedia.com. See also The 2015 archive.
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Chinese PLAGF PTL-02 (2002)
♆ 10.09.2025 The PTL-02 Assault Gun debuted in 2001, as self-propelled assault gun (tank destroyer) based on the WZ-551 chassis. Equipped with the Type 86 100 mm high velocity smoothbore cannon with a muzzle brake, around 250 were delivered for the Chinese mechanised infantry formations. The 6x6 vehicle is no different from the base APC apart the turret, with slightly inferior performances, albeit the high pressure cannon could fire a range of APFSDS, APDS and other rounds against tanks. I attracted attention, leading to the design of the export model WMA-301, with a new turret and 105 mm cannon, NATO-compatible, widely sold in Africa, but with Myanmar as the second largest user after china.
Crusader Gun Tractor (1944)
♆ 04/09/2025 The Crusader gun tractor came out of a need for a vehicle to tow the heavy 76.2 mm QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun. Trucks had limits with their off-road mobility, and this a half-track, or better a fully tracked vehicle was preferred in many situations. On the other hand, the British Army still had many Crusader Tanks Mk.II and Mk.III in inventory, with their older turret ring supporting only the 2-pdr gun or the larger 6-pdr, but by late 1943 they had proved their limits. Many tanks were just mothballed and crews joined newly buuilt units with better tanks, mostly equipped with various Marks of the Sherman.
Ansaldo GL-203 (1930 Project)
27.08.2025 There were no shortages of prototypes from Italy for a more potent tank than the light and medium models fielded in 1940. However there was also no incentive for these. Rather, obscure super-heavy tank projects were seemingly prepared by Ansalso from 1927-28, released in 1933 allegedly for USSR own endavours on the new T39 breakthrough tank. The Ansaldo GL-203 is part of these. Pure invention or a genuine find ? Let's see...
WW1 Tanks & Armored Cars
Born in the Trenches, when the front became static, the idea of the tank was a resurgence of ...science fiction, when some looked at HG Wells' "land battleships" novel. In UK, development was stirred by Wintson Churchill and the Navy. In France, by an artillery officer, J.B. Estienne. And soon the world took notice. Tanks were rare and few in between still, with grand plans in 1918 that never were realized. When the front was not static, armored cars reigned supreme.
WW2 Tanks & Armored Cars
In 1939, thanks had nearly two decades to evolve at peacetime rate, though the boiling of new ideas of tactics and combined arms, with some armies more acute of these than any others. Ground combat proved absolute masters of these new ideas, the Wehrmacht, with luck and opposite incompetence. After moving to USSR, the fight moved to Africa, then to Italy and back to Western Europe at large, driving fast-paced innovation in a deadly food chain contest.
Cold War Armoured Fighting Vehicles
The atomic age started with the opposition of two superpowers, which developed deterrence but at the same time, always considered conventional warfare. Far from peaceful, this second half century, until 1991, saw gradual improvement, with a gap of twenty years before generations, towards 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation main battle tanks and a cohort of armoured personal carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and many specialized variants, wheeled and tracked.
Modern Armoured Fighting Vehicles
As the recent conflict in Ukraine shows us, the tank is still useful in the frame of a conventional war. However drones unexpectedly showed deadlier as well as artillery. Between 1991 and 2025are we really seeing a radical transformation of ground warfare ? One thing is sure through for all generals: The main battle tank is still king of the battlefield, when well used and accompanied. From city scapes to desert, steppe, rolly hills and mountains, even coming from the sea, the tank adapted and is there to stay.
Upcoming:
South Africa: Bosvark, MRAP Samil-50 Kwevoel RV, Ribbok, Hippo
Israel: Merkava, III, IV, M109A5 Doher/Rochev, Magach 5 Golan, M113 Golan/Zelda Toga (IDF service), MAR 290/90, M3 HT in IDF service, M50 AGM launcher, Haviv MLR, Eshel HaYarden, M2310 shilem
Britain: Vickers Mk.I MBT, Centurion AVRE, Light Mk.IV Colonial Pattern, Light Tank Mk.II, Wasp Carrier, Bren Carrier (update), FV430 Bulldog, FV105 Sultan, FV103 Spartan
USA: M548, M728 CRV, M40 155mm HMC, T12E1 CGMC, M15 Combination GMC, M13 MGMC, M12 155mm SPG, M14 MGMC, M17 MGMC, M39 Carrier, T1 Cunningham, M22 Locust, M3 HMC-75mm, M4 sherman flail, Marmon CTLS, Sherman-MkV-Crocodile, M108 SPG, LAV-300, M113 FIST, M106 MortarCarrier, M577 Command, M103, M110 howitzer
USSR/Russia: 9M317 BUK-M2, 9K330 Tor, 1S91-kvardat, 9K37M1 buk-M (SA-17-Grizzly), 2S35 Koalitsiya, BTT-1, MT-55, 9P157-2 Khrizantema-S, 9P163M-1-Kornet, 2S23 Nona SVK, BMO-T, BMP-2M, BMP-97 Vystrel, BTR-T, Ural Typhoon, R-381T-Taran, R-145BM, STZ-5 tractor/BM-13-16(Ni tank), Pioneer(Komomolets), T26T/BNSP reco vehicle/TP26, Ya12 tractor(T60/70), GT-MU soviet airborne APC, GAZ-2330 Tigr
China: Type 63G mod. light tank, VT4, Yitian-SPAAML, PLZ-07, PLZ-52, PGZ-07, PTL-02, Type 63C APC amphib Ukraine ready: BTR-60M Khorunzhy APC , BTR4 MV1
And also: LAV-6, M120 Rak, Archer, RODEF-4, Pereh-tank-destroyer, T34-D30-SPH, Iranian Rakhsh-APC, Patria II AMV, Light Tank Mark II, Mark III, Spanish AFVs interwar, TAB B33 Zimbru, Ford Lynx, Rhodesian Crocodile, Serge CDS, Jordan Khalid MBT, Jordan Al Hussein, Leonardo-M60 , wasserwerfer-SK2, BTR-152 vz53 SPAAG, MT-55, BTS-4A, BTS-2, M47M_AVLB, Renault FT command, 370-Recoiless-GunsSPG, TC5000XYB
2025 Announcement
Centennial.
Hundreds of pages, for free
The full catalog: All AFVs of the world by country and eras, 2017 Edition.
Armored Trains.
The New section in development
The same database as for tanks: Railroad networks developed in the XIXth soon found a military use. Before even WWI, train attacks led to armed and armored trains. This had going on for more than a century now. This will cover all WW1, WW2, but also cold war and even recent armoured trains on the long run.
12/08/2025 
BD-41 (1942)
The BD-41 armoured self-propelled railroad car was designed and made between December 1941 and January 1942 in Moskow at Voitovitch plant. The hull was welded from 8-10 mm armoured plates, placed on a chassis of a local auto-section railway car. It was given a standard T-26 model 1931 dual turret, armed with a 37mm and coaxial 7.62 mm, on top of the hull. It was powered by a gasoline front-mounted engine which exhausted both forward of the turret and on the left side, while the crew entered by the side right door.
There were seats and ammunition storage for 4-6 men, including two to man the turret, and assistant and a railcar officer. A few DB-41 were manufactured for testing, siverging in some points, at the plant, before swapping to a more advanced model. These were transferred to the 7th separate batallion of armoured trains for trials but not adopted for mass production. Instead, the few prototypes went on to serve in 1942-44 operations until their loss. Note: Future dedicated article on all these different soviet railroad cars planned.
Trucks
Military Trucks and staff cars.
A dedicated section for softskin vehicles, from WWI to this day: Trucks, staff cars, reconnaissance vehicles, and artillery tractors: Truck-Encyclopedia.com.
Mazur D-350 (1958)
14.09.2025 The Mazur D-350 was the main Polish tracked artillery tractor (registration number UAK 5419) from the late 1950s. About 1,000 were manufactured and it was used also by Czechoslovakia and exported abroad, based on many elements from the T54A tank manufactured in Poland. It remained in service until the fall of USSR.
Older Entries:
Renault AH series (1941) * Bedford QL * GAZ 66 (1964) * Ford V3000S * Mack NR (1942) * TAM-110 (1976) * Land Rover Serie II FC * UAZ 469 (1972) * Type 95 Mini Truck * FAP-13 (1962) *
The Antitank-Encyclopedia.
All the means to destroy a Tank.
From early antitank cannons and rifles to missiles, mines and RPGs.
Cannone da 75/27 modello 11
➾ Field Gun produced 1911-1918
The 1906 75 mm Krupp rapid-fire gun, tested in the 1911 Libyan War, which mobility left to be desired and was developed further until Vickers-Terni found a lightweight chassis creating the modello 1911. The 75/27 was used in many roles, both in WWI and WW2, especially in the latter as anti-tank model, at El Alamein and on the eastern front in 1942, with notably the Armor-piercing explosive, or EPS Mod. 42 (hollow-charge). It was also used by the Germans until 1945 as the 7.5 cm FK 244 (i). It was notably, with the latter ammunition able to defeat a T-34/76 on its side or rear, able to penetrate 50 mm armour sloped at 45°, at 500m. It's main tractor was the Fiat-SPA TL37 albeit there has been in North Africa notably some attempts to carry it on a truck flatbed in portee, but no enclosed armoured vehicle or semovente notably due to its very long recoil. The only exception was the Autocarro da 75/27 (Full name Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 Libya) built in 20-30 units after the outbreak of hostilities in Libyan workshops of the 12th Self-Grouping AS (North Africa) to compensate for the lack of self-propelled guns. Full story.
