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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Cadillac Gage Commando Scout (1977)
♆ 28.05.2026 The Cadillac Gage Scout was a light "scout car" like the M3 from WW2, and only designed for the export market as there was no official US Army demand for it. It was first announced in October 1977 at the Association of the United States Army meeting in Washington D.C. and technically largely reused elements of the Cadillac Gage Commando of the 1960s. Production of a few prototypes and demonstrators went on from 1977 and it really entered service by 1982. The next year in 1983, Indonesia placed an order for 28; then in August 1986, Egypt orderd 112 of them, with half delivered in 1986 and the remainder in 1987, ending the production with 140 vehicles. In 2010, Federal Defense Industries agreed with Textron Marine & Land Systems to produce aftermarket parts to support for these vehicles abroad. In 2011, Napco also partnered with Textron to provided extra authorized aftermarket parts and support for the Scout, which remained active today.
CV 90
♆ 22.05.2026
The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) (stridsfordon 90, strf 90 or Stridsfordon 90) represents a Tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle, declined into a whole family. It was designed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in association with Hägglund & Söner and Bofors, strarting in 1986 and ending with a production from 1993. Albeit it was designed to enter service with Sween only at first, this successful platform continuously evolved, from the Mk 0 to the current Mk IV through export customer and changing battlefield requirements. With more than 1,400 built today and a growing base of users in Europe, this is going to become a standard, especially with the recent "Nordic Initiative" of shared procurements and harmonization of practices. Indeed of its ten actual users, seven are part of the NATO alliance and are mostly nordic countries.
Mowag Eagle
♆ 15.05.2026 The Mowag Eagle is a famous, modern lineage of Swiss 4x4 wheeled armoured vehicle from Mowag, which ended owned by GDELS (General Dynamics European Land Systems). The vehicle could be summarized as a "Swiss Humvee". It was designed in the last years of the cold war as a replacement for current light 4x4 vehicles of the Swiss Army, as a national variant of the Humvee by Mowag, and evolving along the needs of the army and the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq; The production, with the Duro made with Germany, resulted in the MRAPs of the Mowag VI and V family, vastly different from the Eagle I-III, as they shared little in common. This post is about the Eagle I, II and III but will be updated for the Eagle IV and V, quite different...
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 2026are 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.
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.
10/02/2026 
Zaamurets' secondary cars (1916)
Zaamurets was a fascinating armoured train in WW1, probably amongst the most famous. Until then, focus has been on the 8-wheeled bogies two-turret main wagon part, but the full train also comprised an armoured locomotive and at least two more artillery wagons. The base was the same, bit one was designed to be placed other at the tail end or head of the convoy, and the other had a taller turret, which design changed due to the howitzer that took place in it...
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.
Renault AHR
31.05.2026 The Renault AHR is the last of the AH series truck which existed in short (AHS), medium (AHN) and long (AHR) series. The AHR were in fact the first to be presented by Renault factory at Boulogne Billancourt, ready for trials in december 1939 and tested by the Vincennes commission in March 1940. Thus, only a few were deployed in active uniots by May 1940. The immense majority was used by the Wehrmacht's Heeresversorgung and Intendantur regional depots at division level, but bound on roads. Powered by a Renault 4,086 cc 6-cyl. gasoline engine rated for 75 hp at 2,800 rpm, 4-speed forward, 1-reverse gearbox, single-reduction axle for a top speed was 60 km/h, and carrying 5 tonnes of payload they were the largest of the three but those retained by civilian service all had a wood gasifier reducing their output to 52 hp and range to 150 km. Renault also tested two prototypes, the 6x2 AHZ (March 1941) 6x4 210 H.
2026 Entries:
5P85TE2 TEL and S-400 Triumf (2007) * Henschel Type 33 (1928) * Kaiser Jeep M715 (1965) * Hotchkiss M201 (1954) * Kamaz Palantin-K Truck (2002) * SG-10 (1949) * Isuzu Type 94 (1934) * BAZ-6909 (1990) * White 704S (1939) * Morris Tilly (1939) * Kamaz Murmansk BN (2014) * UNIC P107 * DOK-M Heavy Dozer (1967) * 9A82 TELAR (1983) * M548 (1959) * Jackal (2007) * Podlet 1K (2015) * Vw.Typ.87 Kommandeurswagen (1940) * Bedford OY (1939)
The Antitank-Encyclopedia.
All the means to destroy a Tank.
From early antitank cannons and rifles to missiles, mines and RPGs.
2A65 Msta-B (1987)
➾ Field Gun produced 1987-95; 500+ manufactured.
The 2A65 "Msta-B" (after the Msta River) was/is a Soviet/Russian (1987) towed 152.4 mm howitzer. "B" was for Buksiruyemaya, "towed". It was developed by the Central Design Bureau Titan from 1976 to 1986 and manufactured by the Motovilikha Plants. It is in servce currently with Russian forces at army level artillery units, seeing action in the Donbass, Syria and Ukraine and also exported to Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan.
It is also capable of firing several type of classic HE rounds and even a nuclear artillery shell. But against tank formations, this gun is most efficient with the conventional, but nasty OF23 cargo projectile weighing 42.8 kg, with a maximum range of 26 kilometers, as it contains 42 High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) bomblets, each able to penetrate 100 mm of conventional steel armour. It is towed by either the KrAZ-260 or Ural 4320 6x6 trucks.
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), M3 HT in IDF service, M50 AGM launcher, 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, Renault FT command, 370-Recoiless-GunsSPG, TC5000XYB
XMas Special !
Fill your basket, offer and delight your friends/family with brand new posters* of iconic tanks of WW2 to this day:
First of this new serie: All Tiger tanks liveries. See the free web version (10x smaller) and the Panther poster available here
More to come soon !
*Also available: Photo print, metal and canvas prints, postcards, mugs, bucket or dad hats, desk mat, baseball cap, t-shirts, tops, latptop or ipad/iphone skin, sleeves, cases, snap cases, but also acrylic blocks and wood mounted prints, taperstry, clocks, coasters, comforter, duvet, shower curtain, throw blanket, pillow, drawstring bag, tote or duffle bag, backpack, pin, scarf, socks, zipper pouch, hardcover journal and spiral notebook, apron and this Xmas 2023 novelty: A Jigsaw puzzle...
