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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♆ 06.11.2025
Sd.Kfz.265 (1940)
The Sd. Kfz. 265 also called kleiner Panzerbefehlswagen refers to a series of different types of armored radio and command vehicle based on the German Panzerkampfwagen I, which was developed before the Second World War and manufactured until the end of 1937. This interesting but somewhat extreme form of conversion was used until 1945 but the approach was discontinued for simpler tank conversions (Befehlspanzer).
♆ 31.10.2025
Centurion Mk.5 AVRE (1963)
The Centurion AVRE ("Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers") was the cold war reincarnation of the Churchill AVRE Petard of WW2, already used by the Royal Engineers from 1944 for a variety of roles. The 1950s Centurion Main Battle Tank was used as a "reboot" of the concept, fitted this time with a modern 165 mm demolition gun capable of sending at 2,000 yards (1,800 m) a 60 lb (27 kg) HESH projectile, fitted with an hydraulically operated dozer blade, mine plough, fascine bundle, roll of metal Class 60 Trackway and capable of towing the Viper mine-clearance equipment or utility trailer. Produced from 1963 in limited quantities, it was used in combat, in 1972 Operation Motorman and 1991 Gulf War.
♆ 23.10.2025
Panhard AM 40 (1939)
The Panhard AM 40 (or Panhard 201) was a prototype armoured car designed to replace earlier models from 1938, which combined several innovative features. Unfortunately, testing delays and the war interrupted all developments, and albeit 600 were ordered in May 1940, none was ever produced and the sole prototype was shipped in Morocco to avoid capture, but its fate is unknown. The Panhard 201 had a consireable legacy as work resumed on the concept in 1945 to later lead to the development of the even larger and more radical Panhard EBR, whch saw action for decades in the cold war.
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.
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.
20/10.2025 
D-3 Draisina (1934)
The D-3 armored draisine was a self-propelled, armored railcar built by for Soviet in the interwar, up to the summer of 1941. The D-3 was developed from 1932 to fill the needs of the Red Army for a mass-produced, heavily armed patrol railcar. To make it affordable, as many of already existing and proven elements were used. The armament consisted in two T-26 tank model 1933 and its engine, coupled with the D-35 gearbox...
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.
Steyr 640 (1935)
02.11.2025 The Steyr 640 (1937) was the main 6x4 lorry of the Austrian Army, with a 1.5 ton payload, produced until 1941 to 3,780 vehicles total, mostly for the Wehrmacht after the Anschluss. It was also declined into a field ambulance as the Steyr 643 Krankenwagen (Kfz.31), the Funkwagen, and a 6x4 staff car, Kfz.21 Komandeurwagen. Largely seen as obsolete after 1941 it was repaced in production by the standardized 4x4 lorry Steyr 1500 A/2000 A (type 270) until 1945 which shared the same chassis and many elements with the Type 274 Kubelwagen (c19,000 made combined).
Older Entries:
Polski-Fiat 621 (1935) * ATS-59 (1959) * TAM-150 (1979) * Toyota JF-45 * BMW R75 (1940) * Mazur D-350 (1958) * 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.
10 cm horská houfnice vz. 16/19
➾ gun produced 1914-1918
Author's rendition of the Skoda Vz.19 Mountain Gun
A Czech field gun also used by Germany from 1939 as the 10 cm GebH 16/19(t) and 10.5 cm GebH(t), passed onto Hungary and Slovakia. Italian modifications were interesting. The "100/17 Mod. 14 mont" and "100/17 Mod. 16 mont" were born after a series of modifications carried out at the Naples Military Arsenal. The carriage had pneumatic wheels and was transported in two loads. It was used in Somalia with the Italian Security Corps and in WW2 the Balkans, North Africa, East Africa and on the Eastern front, and until 1975 after the 1950s "100/17 Mod. 14/16/50" mount. and "100/17 Mod. 14/50" adapted for fast towing and with a circular firing platform. It was of some use against tanks in 1939 with the EP armor-piercing ready to fire with hollow charge and EPS (special).
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, 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...
