Tank Encyclopedia's Archives

tank afv large logo 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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New Entries

♆ 04/10/2024
Russian tanks PTS-2 (1985)
The Soviet PTS-2 is a tracked amphibious transport vehicle developed during the Cold War by the Soviet Union. It's a versatile military vehicle designed to carry troops, equipment, and supplies over water and rough terrain. The PTS-2 was an upgrade to the earlier PTS-M series, only used now by Russia (16 lost) and Ukraine. The PTS-2 like its precedessor is capable of traversing rivers, lakes, and marshy terrain with up to 12 tons cargo. In addition to 6-10 tons trucks it could carry up to 75 soldiers with full gear. Only a few were produced until the fall of USSR. Its current replacement is the PTS-4 accepted in 2011, based on the T-80 MBT drivetrain with T-72 components.
♆ 27/09/2024
M1126 Stryker's updates: Loosely based on the LAV-III and manufactured by GDLS it shared very little components. Nearly 5,000 made from 2002 and constantly improved, as the cornerstone of the US Army's Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). They saw heavy action in Iraq and Afghanistan , rising concerns about their suvivability against RPG, mines and IEDs which prompted a serie of upgrade packages, the most obvious being the Slat armour kit, as well as the StrykShield situational awareness kit. First of a serie of updates on this long post, with all variants.
♆ 20/09/2024
British tanks FV 438 Swingfire
The FV438 Swingfire was an armoured anti-tank vehicle derived from the FV 430 series, a conversion of the FV 432 armoured personal carrier to accommodate a twin Swingfire anti-tank guided missiles launcher, with its reload system and 12 more missiles thanks to its two firing bins. It was introduced in the early 1970 in the British Infantry Regiments and Royal Armoured Corps, then after the 1977 reform to the Royal Artillery, then passed onto ATGM troops in Armoured regiments in the early 1980s. The FV 438 never saw action (but the missile was) and was phased out in 1985.
ww1

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

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

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

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 2024are 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:

Nissan Crocodile Rhodesia 1980s

South Africa: Bosvark, MRAP Samil-50 Kwevoel RV, Ribbok, Hippo
Israel: Merkava II, 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: FV 433/438 swingfire, Lloyd carrier, 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, M136 VADS, M108 SPG, LAV-300, M113 FIST, M106 MortarCarrier, M577 Command, M730 MIM-72 Chaparral, M103, M110 howitzer
USSR/Russia: 9P148 Konkurs, 2S7M Malka, 9M317 BUK-M2, 9K330 Tor, 1S91-kvardat, 9K37M1 buk-M (SA-17-Grizzly), 2S35 Koalitsiya, Kamaz Typhoon, 9P148, BTT-1, MT-55, 9P157-2_Khrizantema-S, 9P163M-1-Kornet, 2S23-Nona-SVK, 9P148-Konkurs, 9K31-Strela-10, BMO-T, BMP-2M, BPM-97-Vystrel, BTR-T, Ural Typhoon, VPK7829 Bumerang, R-381T-Taran, R-145BM, PTS-II, 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: BMP-1U, Varta MRAP, BTR-60M Khorunzhy APC , BTR4 MV1, 2S22 Bohdana
And also: TAB-77, LAV-6, GAZ-3937 'Vodnik', M120 Rak (base Rosomak), ShKH vz. 77 DANA, RCH-155, AHS Krab, ShKH Zuzana, Archer, T-155 Fırtına RODEF-4, Pereh-tank-destroyer, T34-D30-SPH, Iranian Rakhsh-APC, Patria II AMV, Light Tank Mark II, Mark III, Spanish AFVs interwar, TAB 77+ 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

2024 Announcement

Announcement German Tanks
catalog of tanks

Centennial.
Hundreds of pages, for free

The full catalog: All AFVs of the world by country and eras, 2017 Edition.

armoured trains encyclopedia

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.

Kozma Minin PL-42
18/09/2024 l Kozma Minin, PL-4 AA/Artillery Railcar (1942)
Kozma Minin was a World War II armored train, named for a Russian merchant who helped Prince Dmitri Pozharsky to defend Russia against a Polish invasion in the early 17th century. The armoured train was completed in February 1942 featuring an armoured locomotive, trailer, two AA/Rocket armoured railcars and two twin T-34/76 tank turrets/four light machine guns railcars. This update is about the M-8 rocket launcher plus two M1939 37-mm anti-aircraft guns. Kozma Minin and BP-660 soldiered in 1942-45 from Ukraine to the outskirts of Berlin.
trucks

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.
Mercedes 250GD
Mercedes Benz 250 GD & G class (1978)
09/10/2024 The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, also known as the G-Wagon or Geländewagen, was a multi-purpose off-road vehicle in production since 1979. Originally designed as a military vehicle, it became famous for its rugged design and off-road capabilities combining all-wheel drive with differential lock, and high ground clearance. It is still used by a number of militaries around the world, including the German Bundeswehr, for transport, reconnaissance, command and control. The Bundeswehr's 205 GD vehicles are equipped with a winch, all-terrain tires, and communications system and the model had been largely exported to many militaries.

Older Entries:

Guy Quad Ant (1939) * Autocarro Leggero SPA 36R (1934) * BM-14 * Dodge D-15 (1941) * Laffly S 35 T (1937) * ZIL-157 * Scammell Pioneer TRCU * AT-L *
antitank encyclopedia

The Antitank-Encyclopedia.
All the means to destroy a Tank.

From early antitank cannons and rifles to missiles, mines and RPGs.
French 75 French Canon de 75 M1897
75 10.10.2024: The "soixante-quinze" or "75" as dubbed, officially Canon de 75 modèle 1897 and designed by Schneider remained the most iconic field gun of the French army, and beyond arguably of WW1. Between 21,000 and 30,000 were manufactured before, during and after the great war and it became the number one US artillery piece. In 1897 with its hydro-pneumatic recoil, smokeless powder, rotating screw, it was capable of 15 up to 30 rpm for well trained crews. There was nothing like it. It was adopted by the US and still used in WW2, including on tanks and SPGs. The French from 1933 designed two antitank guns and AP rounds for it, even an APDS rounds by Brandt from 1938... More to come in its anti-tank variants.


Here on the St Chamond.