Main battle tank facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Main battle tank |
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German Leopard 2A5 main battle tank.
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| Type | Tank |
| Service history | |
| In service | Cold War-now |
| Specifications | |
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Main
armament |
Tank cannon |
A main battle tank (MBT), also called a battle tank, is a tank that is used as the most powerful combat vehicle in modern armies. They were made to replace the light, medium and heavy tanks used in World War II with just one tank. Lighter armor made it easier to put bigger guns on tanks without adding weight. Light tanks are still used in places where heavy ones cannot go.
MBT's are the main force in ground fights but get help from other combat vehicles and soldiers who travel in infantry combat vehicles. They also get help from observation or attack aircraft.
Contents
History
Cold War
Medium tanks were the earliest MBTs. MBTs started replacing medium tanks when guns on medium tanks became powerful enough to win against heavy tanks. Heavy tanks could not carry armor strong enough to win against medium tanks.
The nuclear weapon threat and other anti-tank weapons in the Cold War made countries add more protection to survive in all types of combat. Weapon designers made powerful cannons to defeat the armor.
The British Centurion is generally considered to have been the world’s first main battle tank, although the term was not popularised until long after it entered service. The British followed this up with the Chieftain main battle tank, which entered service in 1966. The first Soviet main battle tank was the T-64 and the first American MBT was the M60 Patton. By the late 1970s, MBT's were manufactured by France, West Germany, Britain, India, Japan, the USSR, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
The Soviet Union made MBTs very quickly because it needed them for their type of war. The Soviet Union improved the cannon by replacing the loader crewman with an automatic autoloader. This made the turret smaller which also makes the tank harder to see or hit The Soviet Union made missiles that could be shot much farther than other ammunition.
Gulf War
After the Cold War, American tanks quickly defeated Iraqi tanks in the Gulf War. The American MBTs were still not as good as attack helicopters at destroying Iraqi tanks. Some said that the MBTs could not stop an enemy force from attacking.
Images for kids
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German Army Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks in August 2010
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Early model Mark I tank at the Battle of Somme, 1916
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Abandoned French Hotchkiss H-39 light cavalry tank, Battle of France, 1940
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New Panther tanks being loaded for transport to the Eastern Front
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Centurion Mk 3
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Soviet T-64 undergoing decontamination.
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A very early model M60 with M48 turret and 105mm cannon.
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A German Leopard 2 in the PSO-version, prepared for asymmetric warfare.
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The Challenger 2 is equipped with Chobham armour, an advanced composite armour.
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The Russian T-14 Armata has a three-tier protection system, with the Afghanit APS, the Malachit ERA, and composite armour.
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Merkava Mk 3d BAZ of the Israel Defense Forces firing its main gun.
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French Leclerc
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Circular review system of the company LimpidArmor
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Ukrainian BM Oplot, produced by the KMDB guided onto a tank transporter.
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A former British Army Challenger 1
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The Italian Ariete. Its relatively low weight (54 tonnes) facilitates mobility, especially while crossing bridges.
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U.S. Marines during the Iraq War ride on an M1A1 Abrams tank in April 2003.
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See also
In Spanish: Carro de combate principal para niños
