Chariot
A tank, tank, or simply tank, is an armored combat vehicle with track or wheel drive, designed primarily to engage enemy forces using direct fire. A main battle tank is characterized by high-fire weapons, heavy armor, as well as a high degree of mobility that allows it to cross difficult terrain at relatively high speeds.
Although main battle tanks are expensive and require logistics, they are one of the most fearsome and versatile weapons on the modern battlefield, both for their ability to engage ground targets and for their value in panicking enemy infantry. The psychological effect on enemy soldiers due to the presence of the tank on the battlefield is called shock action.
Tanks are powerful attack machines, rarely operating alone, being organized into armored units in combined forces. Without such support, tanks, despite their armor and mobility, would be vulnerable to infantry, land mines, and artillery.
These vehicles have disadvantages in forests and urban areas, which negate the advantages of the vehicle's long-range fire capability, reduce its mobility, and limit the crew's ability to spot potential threats.
Chariots were first used during World War I to break up trench warfare, and their role evolved to take the place of cavalry on the battlefield. The tank and armored tactics have undergone many evolutions for almost a century. Although weapon systems and armor continue to be developed, many nations have been reconsidering the need for such heavy weapons in a period characterized by unconventional warfare.
Etymology
The name tank appeared in British factories: workers were tricked into military secrecy by telling them they were building mobile water tanks for the army, but were producing a combat vehicle.
History
The evolution of warfare towards greater mechanization led to the replacement of heavy or armored cavalry, also called cataphracts, by mechanical units that could also add the advantages of mobile artillery, at least in the open field, since in the fight urban battle tanks are much less effective.
Previous years 1480-1560
In the Leonardo da Vinci years, he created something in order to protect the Italians, creating the da Vinci tank, a tank with 30-50 high caliber guns that can rotate the entire tank 360 degrees in a circular fashion, making also bullet reloads, also the tank may have had blades, but a new version was never created with it.
World War I
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Fighting conditions on the Western Front prompted the British Army to begin research into a self-propelled vehicle that could cross trenches, knock down barbed wire, and be impenetrable to machine gun fire. Having seen the armored Rolls Royce used by the Royal Naval Air Service in 1914, and knowledgeable of the schemes for creating a tracked fighting vehicle, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill sponsored a committee, the Landships Committee. , to oversee the development of this new weapon.
The Landships Committee created the first successful prototype, nicknamed Little Willie, which was tested by the British Army on 6 September 1915. Although they were initially referred to as landships (landship), the first vehicles were colloquially called water transports and later tanks, to keep them secret. The word tank was used to give the impression to workers that they were building mobile water containers for the English army in Mesopotamia, and became official on December 24, 1915.
The first instance of an operational tank occurred when Captain H. W. Mortimore took a Mark I into combat during the Battle of the Somme on September 15, 1916.
The French developed the Schneider CA1 that was used for the first time on April 16, 1917, which, after poor results, was gradually replaced by the Renault FT. The latter instituted what would become the standard format for a tank: an armored base with track traction and a revolving turret carrying the main armament. The first time tanks were used en masse during combat was at the Battle of Cambrai, on November 20, 1917.
The tank would eventually make trench warfare obsolete, and the thousands of tanks used in the war by British and French forces made a significant contribution.
Initial results with the tanks were mixed: reliability issues (and high command impatience) caused considerable wear and tear in combat. Deployment in small groups also diminished their value and tactical impact. German forces suffered the shock and lacked anti-tank weapons, although they did discover anti-tank ammunition and the use of wider trenches to limit the mobility of British tanks.
Evolving battlefield conditions and continued unreliability forced Allied tanks to continue development for the remainder of the war, producing new models such as the Mark V, which could break through large obstacles, especially wide trenches.
Germany had a small number of tanks, mainly captured, during World War I. They only produced approximately twenty tanks of their own design, the Sturmpanzerwagen A7V.
Interwar Period
With the tank concept already established, various nations designed and built tanks between the two world wars. The British designs were the most advanced, due in large part to their interest in an armored force during the 1920s. In France they did not achieve as much development during the early years of the interwar period due to the state of their economy.
The case of Germany and Russia was special. Germany was strongly limited and controlled because of the Treaty of Versailles and Russia suffered an international blockade as it was a communist country, which made the leaders of the Western powers fear that their ideology could spread to their own nations. As a result of these pressures, both countries signed the Rapallo Treaty (1922), which broke the Russian blockade. This treaty was extended with secret clauses that allowed the development of the respective armies in Soviet territory. Already in 1929 both armies participated jointly in the improvement of the tanks and the training of their crews.
The United States did little development during this period because cavalry weapons were older than armor and managed to absorb most of the funding for tank development. Even George S. Patton, who had experience with tanks in war, was transferred from armor to cavalry.
During this time, several classes of tanks were common, most developed in the United Kingdom. Light tanks, which typically weighed ten tons or less, were used primarily for reconnaissance and featured a light gun that was useful against other light tanks. The medium, or cruising (as they were known in the UK), were somewhat heavier and designed for long distance travel at high speeds. Finally, heavy or infantry tanks, which were heavily armored and generally very slow.
The whole idea was to use the infantry tanks in conjunction with the infantry to effect a breakout, surviving enemy anti-tank fire thanks to their heavy armor. Once this combined force destroyed the enemy line, tank parties would be sent through the gap, attacking supply and command units far behind the lines. This two-stage strike tactic was the basic combat tactic of British tank formations and was adopted by the Germans as an essential component of the Blitzkrieg concept.
The doctrine of J.F.C. Fuller was the source for the work of major strategists: Hobart in the United Kingdom, Guderian in Germany, Chaffee in the United States, Charles de Gaulle in France, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky in the Soviet Union. They would all come to similar conclusions. Tukhachevsky's integration of airborne trackers was the most sophisticated and contentious; only Germany would actually put the theory into practice and, with superior tactics, they made the Blitzkrieg an effective weapon.
There had been thought of combat between tanks, but the focus was more on the use of anti-tank artillery and the like, such as tank destroyers. This was more true in the United States, where tanks were expected to avoid enemy armor, and dedicated tank destroyer units would be pitted against each other. Britain took the same path, and both produced light tanks in the hope that speed would prevent their destruction. However, it turned out in practice that these hopes were not well founded.
As the number of tanks on the battlefield increased, the possibility of encounters grew to the point that tanks had to be anti-tank vehicles as well. However, tanks designed to deal only with other armor were relatively vulnerable against other threats and did not fulfill the role of infantry support. Vulnerability to tank and anti-tank fire led to rapid upgrading of armor and weaponry in almost all designs. The tank's shape, originally intended to get around obstacles, has now become a benefit, featuring a low profile for concealment and stability.
World War II
During World War II, advances were made in tank design. The Germans initially fielded lightly armored and lightly armed tanks, such as the Panzer I, which had been created with the intention of only being used for training. These light but fast tanks and other armored items were a key element in the blitzkrieg. During the war all forces greatly increased the firepower and armor of their tanks: the Panzer I had only two machine guns, while the Panzer IV had a 75 mm gun and weighed less than 20 t. At the end of the war, the German medium tank, the Panther, had a 75mm rapid gun and weighed 45t.
Another of the advances during the war was the improvement of the suspension systems. Suspension quality was a major determinant of tank performance in the field. Tanks with limited suspension provided frequent jolts to the crew, limiting speed and making firing on the move virtually impossible. New systems, such as the torsion bar and Christie suspension, improved performance, allowing the Panther to cross terrain at speeds that would have been difficult for older models still in use.
At that time, most main battle tanks were equipped with radios, which improved unit coordination. The tank chassis was adapted for a wide number of military needs, including mine clearance and engineering duties. The major powers also developed specific self-propelled weapons: artillery, tank destroyers and assault guns. Russian and German tank destroyers were cheaper and simpler than tanks, while British and American tank destroyers hardly differed from main battle tanks.
Turrets, which were not a universal feature before, were recognized as a correct item. It was felt that if the tank gun was to be used to engage armored targets, then it needed to be as large and long range as possible, having a gun that could fire at any point. Multi-turreted tank designs such as the Soviet T-35 and T-28 were abandoned during World War II. Most of the tanks kept a machine gun in the hull.
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Cold War and after
After World War II, tank development continued with improvements to the medium and heavy classes. Light tanks were limited to reconnaissance work and, in the United States, in support of airborne forces. However, the weight limitations of air transports made it impossible to build a practical light tank, and this class died out over time.
The combination of better suspensions and engines allowed late war medium tanks to outperform early heavy tanks. With the addition of slightly more armor and slightly larger engines to compensate, the medium tanks were protected against most anti-tank weapons, while maintaining their mobility.
Some consider the Panther the turning point and the foundation for later designs. However, the Panther was not heavily armored nor could it fight heavy tanks on equal terms. The British Centurion tank is generally considered the first tank of this new generation, as it was capable of withstanding the impact of the famous German 88 mm cannon; It was armed with the 105mm Royal Ordnance L7 gun, superior to any other on the battlefield, and could reach 56km/h thanks to its 650hp Meteor engine.
The Centurion replaced all British medium tanks and led to the demise of the heavy tank, becoming what the British would call the Universal Tank, soon to be known as the " Main Battle Tank» (or Main Battle Tank, MBT).
In response to the threat of anti-tank guided missiles, the focus of development shifted from armor thickness to armor technology. Gun technology remained similar to previous decades, with most tanks using a manual loading system, but with great advances in ammunition effectiveness.
Although the basic roles and features of tanks were almost all developed at the end of World War I, the counterparts benefited in the 19th century XXI had increased by an order of magnitude. They had been refined in response to ever-changing threats and requirements, especially against other tanks. The advanced capabilities of the tanks were balanced by the development of other main battle tanks and the continued development of anti-tank weapons.
Design
The three traditional determining factors that determine tank effectiveness are firepower, mobility, and protection.
- La firepower is the capacity of a tank to defeat a target. For this we must take into account the maximum distance in which the target can be attacked, the ability to attack mobile targets, the speed with which it can attack multiple targets and the ability to defeat armoured vehicles or entrenched infantry.
- La mobility includes the speed and agility across the field, the types of terrain you can cover, the dimensions of the obstacles, trenches and waters you can cross, the ability to cross small bridges and the distance you can travel before you need to be resupplyed. Strategic mobility also includes the ability to travel at high speeds on roads and the possibility of being transported on trains or trucks.
- La protection is the amount and type of armor, how the reinforcements have been placed and which areas are prioritized (torret and front) to the detriment of others (part later). In addition, the low silhouette, the non-excessive noise and the minimum thermal trace are considered positive factors; active countermeasures and other means of avoiding enemy fire, as well as the ability to continue fighting after receiving damage are also valued.
The design of the main battle tank traditionally maintains a compromise between these three factors, considering that it is impossible to maximize all three: the increase in armor will increase the weight and, therefore, decrease the maneuverability; increasing firepower by using a larger gun will reduce both mobility and protection, due to reduced armor on the front of the turret.
To achieve a balance between the factors, different aspects must be considered, including military strategies, budget, geography, political will and the possibility of selling the tank to other countries.
Countries with a long manufacturing tradition have had their own influences:
- The United Kingdom has historically opted for better firepower and protection at the expense of some mobility. Britain maintains a small professional army, well trained, so the survival of the crew is important.
- The United States has a large army with sophisticated weaponry and a complex network of mobile support services. While their tanks are expected to be removed from support and repair units, less emphasis is placed on the crew's ability to maintain the tank for themselves or continue fighting once damage has been received.
- The Soviet Union traditionally had simple tanks to produce and maintain, like the T-34. The development of designs, controlled by the state, was made in incremental changes. Extensive maintenance was made in specialty deposits.
- Israel is a small but relatively rich nation, with limited personnel, in a hostile political environment. Its main concern is, therefore, the survival of the crew. To this end it has been the only nation to build a main combat car (MBT) with the engine located at the front, to increase the protection of its crew.
Medium Argentine Tank in an exhibition.
Other countries, due to their geographical situation, do not need large tanks for their defense, but rather smaller, highly mobile armored vehicles or even only light tanks, as is the case of the Brazilian Army or the Ecuadorian Army. The TAM (acronym for Argentine Medium Tank) deserves a special mention, an intermediate-sized tank whose design was commissioned by Argentina to Germany based on the Marder's hull and which also has its engine on the front.
Weaponry
Since World War I, the weapon par excellence of the tank was the cannon. Its technical nomenclature expresses its caliber and length. For example, the barrel of the M1A1 Abrams is the Rheinmetall L44, known by the Americans as the M256 120/44. That is, its caliber (diameter of the barrel tube) is 120 mm, and its length is 44 calibers (44 times its diameter).
The inside of the barrel, called the bore, can be fluted or smooth.
The first type was also the most used in the past. It was found that an ogival-shaped projectile is noticeably destabilized just after leaving the muzzle. This design was improved by adding rifling to the inside of the bore. These scratches or grooves in the metal, normally four and with a clockwise direction (turn to the right), have a spiral shape, begin in the chamber and end at the muzzle. Its mission is to give the projectile a rotational movement, generating a gyroscopic effect in it that drastically increases precision and range. The most rudimentary and simple example of this effect is a spinning top, where the radial acceleration it undergoes stabilizes it on its axis of rotation. With few exceptions, the 105 mm guns were the last to use rifling. The most modern anti-tank guns are smoothbore, that is, their inner surface is completely smooth and polished. Instead of stabilizing the howitzer through the aforementioned gyroscopic effect, they do so by adding fins to the shells, much like an arrow from a bow.
Smoothbore guns have in their favor that they can use much faster shells, have lower maintenance, and their length can be shorter to get good range and accuracy performance. In addition, sub-calibrated Sabot projectiles could not be used in rifled barrels, having to use a special sleeve that counteracted the spin effect, and after exiting the muzzle the projectile was stabilized by means of fins, as in a smooth-bore one. They also could not be used to fire missiles through the barrel.
This and other factors tipped the balance in favor of the smoothbore, despite the fact that lateral air currents affected the ballistic trajectory of howitzers more at long ranges, an effect that was partially solved by the use of computers ballistic.
In the beginning they were of small caliber, range and power, which allowed more than one to be mounted on turrets facing different directions. The evolution was slow until World War II, where they proved to be extremely useful weapons. In general terms, the calibers of the time were around 66 or 76 mm, but the most fearsome gun of the contest was the Flak 88/56. Originally intended as an anti-aircraft weapon, it did not take long to reveal itself as the best anti-tank weapon available to the German Army, after members of Division 501 used it in this way on the Eastern Front. It was capable of destroying any allied armor with one shot, even in the frontal area, and had a longer effective range. It was used on its own anti-aircraft trailer, but was also adapted and mounted on the Tiger I and II heavy tanks, with very good results. Other vehicles that used this gun were the Nashorn, Jagdpanther, and Elefant tank destroyers. Only the small number of these and the little air cover that Germany could organize prevented the losses of Allied armor from being catastrophic.
Currently the situation has not changed substantially, the main weapon of any tank is a high-velocity, large-caliber cannon, very technologically advanced thanks to modern iron and steel. The most common caliber is 120mm, although Russian artillery manufacturers use the 125mm.
Recently, high-velocity 140mm guns are being tested whose destructive power far exceeds that of today's, although armies have concluded that the cost of upgrading tanks and their ballistic computers is not worth the advantage. In short, its firepower is devastating but unnecessary, as combat often takes place at ranges of the order of 2,000m or less, where a hit from a 120mm gun would be just as lethal.
Germany has updated their Leopard 2A5 and A6 with the L55, 120mm and 55 calibers in length, much more powerful than most similar guns. The British have decided to mount it on their Challenger 2 and remove the previous rifled barrel, for the reasons stated above. On the other hand, the Americans are reluctant to change the main weapon of the M1 series for fundamentally economic reasons. Their tactic has been to develop the munitions, and they currently possess the best kinetic armor penetrator of the day, the Sabot M829A3 depleted uranium round developed from its A1 predecessor, which saw combat in the First Gulf War. Its performance is secret but it is estimated to be as effective as Rheinmetall's new 55-calibre long barrel, making the expense of upgrading the main gun unjustifiable. The L55 is compatible with the M829A3 and although its excessive destructive power is well above the resistance of any modern armor, the Germans and the English use tungsten sabot ammunition with equally lethal power.
Modern guns generally have a thermal jacket that reduces the effect of uneven temperatures in the barrel. This heats up intensely after repeated firing. If it's raining, the top will be cooler than the bottom, just as a side breeze might cool only part of the gun. This uneven cooling would cause the barrel to curve almost imperceptibly, which would, however, affect accuracy at long ranges. Current tanks have laser collimators in the barrel that constantly measure the curvature of the barrel and introduce it into the firing computer so that it calculates the firing solution, correcting it.
Tanks generally carry other armaments for short-range defense against infantry or against targets where using the main weapon is ineffective or wasteful of ammunition. They are usually equipped with a 7.62mm light or 12.7mm heavy machine gun, mounted in parallel with the barrel (Coaxial Gun). However, others like the AMX-30 and AMX-40 carry a 20mm autocannon with a high rate of fire and can destroy a lightly armored vehicle. The Russian BMP-3 is also equipped with a 30mm automatic cannon in addition to the main gun. Additionally, many tanks carry one or several medium or heavy caliber machine guns on top of the turret, in an observation cupola for the commander and/or loader, to protect themselves from infantry or air attacks, although the latter with obvious limitations.
Historically, some tanks have been adapted for specialized tasks and use unusual main armament, eg flamethrowers. Today these weapons have disappeared.
Trigger Control
In early models, tank weapons were aimed with a rear sight and crosshairs, simple aiming mechanisms that were adjusted by hand like on a rifle.
Later, they used a stadiametric reticle to calculate, according to the size that the objective occupied in it, its distance. Even today modern tanks have this type of sights called GAS (Gunner Auxiliary Sight, auxiliary gunner sight) that are used if the scopes in normal mode are out of order. They are very robust sights without stabilization located on the mount of the weapon as a redundancy.
In short, aiming was poor at long distances and impossible on the move except for point-blank shots. Making accurate shots was a really difficult task. Over time, daytime optical sights, with zoom and some system for calculating distance, were used with better results. In the first, stadiametric reticles were used, they have been replaced first by stereoscopic rangefinders and finally by laser rangefinders. The latter have a laser emitter that operates in a non-visible spectrum, and a receiver for it. To calculate the distance, the system measures the time it takes for the laser beam to return after it is emitted by the rangefinder, bounces off the target and hits the device's receiver. Knowing the speed at which said beam travels, and the time it takes to bounce, the distance to the target is calculated very precisely. The laser beam scatters over distance, which can lead to multiple measurements. This is because the bounce occurs over the target, but also in front of or behind it. Faced with this eventuality, the gunner can choose which measurement is more correct, according to his experience.
Currently armored devices have modern sights (GPS, Gunner Primary Sight or Gunner's Main Sight). They are modern electronic sights that have a wide variety of systems to increase the probability of hitting the first shot. They have optical and digital zoom in day and night optics mode, and are part of the computerized firing system, working together with the ballistic computers and laser rangefinder. GPS sights are one or two axis stabilized, that is, they do not follow the gun in its superelevation move or the turret in its turn to add lead. In any of these situations the shooting reticle will remain centered on the target. The most modern models have stabilized sights on both axes, but the M1 series, for example, only have it on the vertical axis. Therefore, when lighting the target and calculating the necessary lead if it moves, you can see how the reticle jumps and moves on the horizontal axis. This is because the ballistic computer rotates the turret to "advance fire" and the scope cannot rotate away from the turret to keep the target centered.
Another notable advance over previous eras is the use of gyros that stabilize the main gun while the vehicle is in motion, allowing for highly accurate firing on the move. In World War II, shooting in these conditions was very difficult, since the gunner had to be guided solely by his experience to compensate for the movements of his own firing platform. If we add to this the movement of the target, it is almost impossible to hit except at very short distances. For this reason the tanks stopped to fire. The Gulf War pitted tanks of different generations against each other, because while the T-72s stopped to fire, the M1s did so while moving. Obviously the T-72s suffered catastrophic casualties, and this was considered a great lesson in modern warfare.
The system in question works by isolating the weapon mount from vertical movements caused by irregularities in the terrain, and the turret from hull rotation. Normally, to move the gun and the turret, electro-hydraulic or electric motors are used, the latter more commonly in modern devices due to their greater robustness. When a command is pressed by the gunner or commander of the tank, the interaction between the gyroscopes and the gun and turret motors occurs, producing stabilization automatically.
Ballistic computers calculate the superelevation needed to compensate for projectile drop over distance, and add the lead needed to compensate for firing if the target is moving. Adding lead means shooting ahead of the target, so that the target and the projectile hit each other. In the equations that the shooting computers handle to calculate the shooting solution, there are the distance, relative speed of the air, humidity, temperature of the barrel, barometric pressure, speed of the objective and the movement of the tank.
Current GPS systems consist of night optics systems, since combat in these conditions was practically impossible and only took place when there was a clear sky. Later, during the Cold War, infrared light scopes were developed. These had a passive receiver sensitive to that spectrum of light, but required powerful infrared spotlights to illuminate the area. Such artificial lighting could not be seen by the human eye, but could be seen by other passive infrared equipment. The projectors revealed the position of the car to the enemy, in the same way that a flashlight would give away someone who uses it at night to look for a hidden person. Apart from this clear disadvantage, its range was also very limited, so its use was practically a last resort unless it was certain that the enemy had less technology than their own.
Image intensifiers, passive equipment that increased ambient light, were also used. Its range was also very limited. With poor light, as on cloudy and moonless nights, they did not make it possible to distinguish a target. Nor when there was a lot of light, like on clear nights and a full moon. Its major limitation, aside from the need for a visible light range, was its poor range and resolution, which made it difficult for the gunner to distinguish a target even below 1,000 m. This type of equipment was used on T-72s during the Gulf War, and all they could do was aim at the muzzle flashes caused by M1A1 HA shots on the horizon. In several combats they did not know who was attacking them or from where, until they heard the echo of the cannons.
The night vision devices used by the most modern devices are thermal imaging systems, based on FLIR (Frontal Light InfraRed or frontal scanning infrared system) that distinguish temperature differences between objects. They allow to be used day and night and can detect camouflaged targets and difficult to locate with daytime optics, they allow vision even through smoke, fog or sand storms. The range of the current 3rd generation FLIR is very high and allows to detect a target even at the maximum range of the ammunition, and to distinguish it at distances of 3000 m or more.
Its performance is so high that many countries are investing in athermic paints and metals that are capable of reducing the heat signature of their military devices to make them more stealthy and force those with better optical technology to approach the range where their own it is also effective.
The most modern tanks incorporate two electronic observation systems, GPS and CS or Commander's Sight. The latter is located on the roof of the turret, and has independent movement of the turret, being able to align itself with the GPS at will to see what the gunner is shooting at. They are stabilized in both axes and incorporate all the functions of the GPS except for access to lead calculation in many cases. The commander of the tank has a command called Override in which he can take control of the turret and the weapons prevailing over the gunner, using the optical features provided by his own sight for shooting.. He can also be used to locate another target while the gunner is busy with one, known as the Hunter-Killer role, or Observer-Shooter. The system is designed so that once the first target has been engaged, the commander uses his override stick and aligns the main gun with the CS sight, then disabling the override function and commanding the gunner to attack that target. Meanwhile, he goes back to using his visor to locate new targets.
The tactical advantage is clear, it allows you to locate enemies faster, and provides a second electronic viewfinder in case the GPS is damaged.
Ammo
Tank guns can fire ammunition of a wide variety of types, many specialized for fighting other tanks.
To combat other modern heavily armored tanks they use KE kinetic penetrators. Projectiles "arrow" or APFSDS (Armoured Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot). Fired at speeds of 1,600 meters per second or more, they are basically massive metal bars of great length and smaller caliber than the barrel, fitted to the barrel by means of a disposable sabot cap that comes off as it exits the barrel. Made of very hard and dense materials, they use their great weight and speed to destroy their target with brute force, throwing shrapnel and projectile debris that ricochet inside the cabin, annihilating the crew. Depleted uranium KEs also have pyrophoric characteristics, since upon impact they cause the pyrolysis of particles of the projectile in a pulverulent and incandescent state that cause a general fire.
The flight of this type of projectile is very tense and with very short effective ranges estimated at about 4,000 meters. Beyond that distance, its kinetic energy is drastically reduced with distance, making target destruction unlikely. This is because the resistance offered by the atmosphere is proportional to the velocity of the projectile. The stabilizer fins are to blame for creating the drag or "drag" that slows down the projectile. Speed has been found to negatively affect stability during flight. Faster KEs are more inaccurate at long range, but more powerful. The Americans have managed to make their depleted uranium M829A3 travel at the relatively slow speed of 1,555 meters per second, creating a very stable trajectory projectile.
Contrary to what you might think, this type of ammunition never ricochets off the armor. Its power is so high that even if it hits at obtuse angles, it still penetrates metal. The latest composite armor is designed to allow the shell to break up before its full mass destroys the armor, although only the thickness of the shell can save the crew.
To combat less resistant targets, such as troop transports or older tanks, they use HEAT high-explosive anti-tank ammunition. It is based on a chemical explosive surrounding a copper cone with the vertex facing backwards and the flat face forwards. Upon detonation, the copper becomes a stream of plasma at extremely high temperatures and speeds of the order of 8 kilometers per second in a linear fashion, melting from the vertex outwards. The charge is therefore directed only towards the front and melts the armor, injecting the plasma inside the vehicle with lethal results for the crew. Anti-tank missiles and grenades fall into this category since their operation is analogous. There are dual HEAT warheads designed to counteract the effect of reactive armor. The upgrade to these ammunition is the MPAT shells. They are basically the same as the HEAT, only they can incorporate electronic fuzes that slow the explosion of the charge, allowing the warhead to penetrate walls and detonate behind them.
Some main battle tanks, including the M551 Sheridan, T-72, T-64, T-80, T-90, T-84 and PT-91 can fire anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) through their cannon or using external launchers. This functionality can extend the effective combat range of the tank beyond that achieved with conventional ammunition, depending on the capabilities of the ATGM system. It also provides the tank with a useful weapon against slow, low-altitude airborne targets such as helicopters. They use the beam of their laser rangefinder for guidance, although older models are wire-guided. As they fly towards their target, they unwind cable from a coil and the operator directs the missile through the scopes, adjusting its trajectory.
Currently the Israeli army has developed its LAHAT missile for the modern Merkava series. The Americans also plan to launch missiles from their M1s but have the drawback that their laser rangefinder was not designed to emit a continuous beam, nor can it make constant measurements without burning up. For this reason, his interest is based on developing sophisticated ammunition for the cannon that does not involve the laser as missile guidance. This is mainly due to the fact that the use of guided missiles has diverted it towards attack helicopters, aviation, infantry and light armored vehicles.
Another more recent type of ammunition is the HESH type. It is based on a ductile plastic explosive warhead that is crushed against metal just before exploding. In doing so, it transmits a strong vibration that causes the metal to rupture on the inside, throwing shrapnel into the cabin and annihilating the crew without the need to penetrate the armor.
There are more modern ammunition, such as the North American STAFF type (Smart Target Activated Fire and Forget, intelligent activation self-guided ammunition). This projectile detonates above the target and fires a kinetic or shaped charge against the top of the target, easily destroying it. It consists of a microchip programmed at the moment of the shot that calculates, depending on the distance of the target, the moment of detonation. When approaching the programmed distance, a sensor activates to detect the enemy tank, and detonates the charge when it is directly above it.
Classic HEP ammunition is also available to engage unarmored troops or targets. The warhead is made up of plastic explosive that uses the shock wave as a means to cause destruction.
Depending on the lessons of urban combat in Iraq, a new warhead is being tested against infantry, the M1028. These contain a multitude of tungsten balls, like a large shotgun shell. They scatter over distance, causing serious injury or death to those within their range of about 500 meters. There is also another variant of this ammunition with non-lethal effects.
Another type that the North Americans are studying is guided ammunition with superior to the visual range for their M1A2 SEP, although its characteristics have not yet been revealed. A secondary guidance mode is envisioned in which an infantryman, an armored spotter, or a helicopter shines a laser on the target and the Abrams fires from great distances.
Protection
The main battle tank is one of the most heavily armored vehicles in modern armies. Its armor is designed to protect the vehicle and its crew against a wide variety of threats. Protection against kinetic penetrating hits fired by other tanks is commonly considered the most important. Tanks are also vulnerable to DU ammunition, anti-tank missiles and mines, large bombs, and direct artillery hits, which can disable or destroy them and kill their crews.
Tanks are especially vulnerable to aerial threats. Most main battle tanks offer almost complete protection from artillery shrapnel and small anti-tank weapons such as self-propelled grenades. The amount of armor required to protect against every conceivable threat from every angle would be too heavy and impractical, so armor design must strike the right balance between protection and weight.
Shielding
Most armored fighting vehicles are made of welded alloy steel plates, or more rarely due to cost, formed in one piece, and in some cases aluminum or other light alloys such as synthetic fibers. The relative effectiveness of a certain armor is expressed by comparing its resistance with a sheet of homogeneous rolled steel (RHA or Rolled Homogeneous Armor).
The tanks are not protected by armor of uniform thickness, instead the thickness depends on the probability of receiving a hit in each zone. Therefore, the part where there will be a higher level of protection will be the turret mantlet. In it goes the weapons, and in most cases you have to expose that area to enemy fire when shooting. The slope of the armor is variable, although all modern designs have it, even models with composite armor, especially difficult to mold.
To take advantage of this, the tanks use as much as possible the so-called combat position or Hull Down (hull down); Taking advantage of the cover offered by the terrain, such as a hill, the driver must face the threat and advance until only the turret is above the cover. This position allows the main weapon to be fired, exposing a smaller surface area to attack, since the hull is protected behind the obstacle. You can also take the lookout position, where only the gunner's and commander's visors peek out, exposing even less of the tank. Or the hidden position in which no piece appears. The driver's skill is vital in the maneuver, since he must adopt the best possible combat position every time. After firing he must roll the tank back to the guard or concealed position for the duration of the main gun loading process, and repeat the process as many times as necessary.
The second most protected part is the front of the helmet. Given its position, the hull has considerably less armor than the front of the turret, but it usually has a large slope which increases the effective thickness and increases protection.
The sides of the hull and turret are relatively lightly protected, making a hit less likely. They are usually the same thickness, just enough to offer protection against underpowered weapons. A shot from a KE shell or a heavy missile that hits that area perpendicular to the armor plane has a high chance of destroying the tank.
The lower part and the roof have little protection, of variable thickness but in any case a few centimeters, which is clearly insufficient to counteract any type of anti-tank weapon, although sufficient to protect from shrapnel, grenades, artillery or explosions.
The rear is the least likely to receive attacks and therefore consists of a testimonial armor capable of resisting shots, non-direct explosions, grenades and shrapnel. A hit from any anti-tank weapon in such a zone can easily destroy the most modern tank imaginable, hitting fuel, ammunition or turret basket. In any case, the loss of mobility makes him an unbeatable target.
At present, main battle tanks are resistant to specialized missile attacks. During World War II, Rocket Artillery gained a fearsome reputation, especially in France after the Battle of Normandy; post-war analysis revealed that many casualties were misfires. The tank guns fired armor-piercing ammunition like the Hurricane's 40mm. Even a Molotov cocktail in the engine area. Prior to World War II, various designers attempted to slope the armor on experimental main battle tanks. The most famous and successful success of this idea was the Soviet T-34. Angled armor plates increased their effectiveness against projectiles, as it increased their perpendicular effective width, and increased the chance of ricochets.
Light infantry can also immobilize a tank by damaging the undercarriage with anti-tank weapons. To prevent damage to these vital areas, tanks often have armored skirts on the sides protecting the suspension and road wheels. They also offer additional protection for the sides of the hull, since the shaped charge projectiles detonate in the skirt, still far from the hull. However, for the KE the skirts do not offer more resistance than the air itself.
Weapons using high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, such as the bazooka, were a new threat in World War II. These projectiles carried a warhead with a high explosive charge that caused great damage. At the end of the conflict a real revolution in ammunition appeared with the invention of the HEAT shaped charge projectile.
This ammunition consists of a copper cone with the flat part towards the front and the vertex towards the back, surrounded by chemical explosive, leaving the front part of the warhead hollow. Said hollow space is necessary to allow the explosive to detonate on impact on the armor and the shock wave melts the copper cone from the vertex forward, forming a jet of plasma directed towards the front at very high temperatures and speeds of up to 8 kilometers. per second that literally melts the armor and punches a small hole through it to inject said plasma into the vehicle, killing the crew.
Even the smallest HEAT shells pierce several tens of centimeters of RHA steel regardless of firing distance. No armor could combat its effects until it was discovered by chance, while studying the effects of HEAT projectiles, that an explosion close to the point of impact could prevent the formation of the lethal jet of gases and incandescent copper: reactive armor, or ERA, was born.. A German scientist discovered by testing HEAT charges against Russian tanks that it penetrated the armor, but never found a trace of the plasma jet on the opposite side of the turret interior. Instead, he observed that some shell casings had exploded. This led him to believe that an explosion helped to avoid the Munroe effect of shaped charges. Thus, the ERA consisted of metal plates encasing a plastic explosive, which detonated on impact from a HEAT and created a shock wave that diverted the destructive force. Although the protection was far from optimal, it was considered a breakthrough as adding little weight drastically improved the effectiveness of the armor.
However, munitions manufacturers learned their lesson and created HEAT rounds with a double warhead; at the beginning of the projectile there was a first explosive charge that detonated the ERA, and the second charge destroyed the car without problems.
Until the mid-1960s, no one was able to counter this destructive power, as RHA armor that would withstand a hit would be so thick and impractical by virtue of its weight. This is how composite armor was born, of which the so-called Combination K armor was the first to be used in a mass-produced tank, the T-64, which consisted of 2 layers of steel with another of aluminum. Such a combination offered the best protection by easily deflecting the plasma jet from shaped charges. Subsequently, the development of these shields was followed, moving on to the use of chorodin and ceramic inlays. In the 1980s, the American M1 and British Challenger were fitted with Chobham armour, which gave them excellent protection, still below the composites used by the Soviets on their T-80s. However, with the arrival of the 90s, the new M1 and Challenger appear, with improvements in the armor mentioned before, and it is still used today in the modern versions of these last tanks, although with deep and secret modifications. This armor vastly increased the equivalent RHA protection so that, for example, the M1A1 turret front offered over a thousand millimeters of RHA protection against HEAT shells, now unable to destroy the tank even with dual warheads. The French Leclerc, Leopard 2 and Merkava are other tanks equipped with modern composite armor, especially the Leclerc. It is the most modern, and its armor is light and very resistant.
However, the enemy to beat for armor is KE or Kinetic Penetrators. They are long bars of heavy metal alloys stabilized with fins that concentrate all their weight and speed after the shot in a very small area, so that their enormous kinetic energy destroys the armor by brute force and introduces shrapnel inside the cabin. of the tank, which bounce off the interior walls and cause the death of the crew. The thickness of the armor is the only protection against these flying bulldozers, many capable of piercing more than 500 mm of RHA steel at 2000 meters and the most sophisticated depleted uraniums penetrate more than 800 mm of RHA plates.
Other projectiles are more modern, such as HESH warheads, which use plastic explosives that are crushed against the vehicle's armor and detonate, discharging a powerful shock wave of such magnitude and frequency that it causes the inside face of the armor to splinter, killing to the crew without the need to penetrate the armor. As a defense, apart from the thickness of the armor, some vehicles have layers of anti-shrapnel materials inside, such as the M1A1 HA that equips heavy depleted uranium plates.
Grenade launchers, smoke and passive defenses
Most armored vehicles carry smoke grenade launchers that can rapidly deploy a smoke screen to conceal a withdrawal from an ambush or attack. The smoke screen is very rarely used offensively, as attacking through it blocks the attacker's vision and gives the enemy an early indication of the impending attack. Modern smoke grenades work in both infrared and visible light.
Some smoke grenades are designed to create very dense clouds capable of blocking laser beams from enemy target designators or rangefinders, as well as reducing vision, lessening the chance of an effective shot, especially with slow weapons such as anti-tank missiles that require the operator to keep aiming at the tank for a relatively long time.
Many main battle tanks, such as the French Leclerc, use the grenade launchers for tear gas grenades and antipersonnel fragmentation grenades. Many Israeli tanks carry a small mortar that can be fired from inside the tank.
Prior to the introduction of thermal imaging, the most common smoke grenade was the white phosphorus grenade which created a smoke screen very quickly and was also useful as an incendiary weapon against infantry in the blast zone.
Since the introduction of thermal imaging, most main battle tanks carry a smoke grenade containing a plastic or rubber compound that burns in small fragments providing better concealment against thermal devices.
Some tanks have smoke generators that can continuously create smoke, instead of the instant but short duration grenades. Smoke generators generally work by injecting fuel into the tailpipe, which partially burns the fuel, but leaves enough unburned or partially burned particles to create a dense smoke screen.
Modern main battle tanks have been fitted with other passive defense systems such as laser warning devices, which trigger an alarm when the tank is marked or targeted by a laser designator or rangefinder. Other passive defenses include radio alert devices, which provide a warning if the tank is targeted with a radar system that are often used in guided anti-tank weapons.
Countermeasures
Passive countermeasures, such as the Russian Shtora system, attempt to interfere with the guidance systems of hostile guided missiles.
Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA), or Explosive Reactive Armor, is another important type of protection against high-explosive anti-tank weapons, in which sections of armor explode to dissipate the focused force of the warhead directed charge. Reactive armor is added to the outside of the tank, in the form of bricks.
Active Protection Systems (APS) go one step beyond reactive armor. An APS uses radar or other detection technology to automatically react to hostile fire. When the system detects hostile fire towards the tank, it calculates a fire resolution and directs an explosive round to intercept or disrupt the attack within a few meters of the target.
Crew Exposed
A tank is generally in its safest state, when the commander is in his unsafe personal position, standing in the turret, sticking his body out the hatch, with only his helmet and body armor protecting him. In this high position, the commander can see around the vehicle without restriction, and has the best opportunity to observe enemy anti-tank operations or natural and man-made obstacles that could immobilize or slow down the tank.
Periscopes and other tank sight systems give a reduced field of view despite constant advances in optics and electronics. Thus, when a tank advances through hostile territory with its hatches closed, the commander and crew are personally safer, but the tank as a whole is exposed to danger due to the extreme reduction in force. visibility.
Mobility
There are essentially three main aspects of mobility to consider, the basic mobility of the tank such as its speed across terrain, the ability to overcome obstacles and its overall mobility on the battlefield such as its range, the bridges that can cross or what transportation vehicles can take it. It is also called agility by the crew and designers of the armored vehicles.
The mobility of a tank can be divided into three aspects:
- Mobility in the battlefield, which is a function of the performance of your engine and system of marches, determining aspects such as acceleration, speed, dimensions of vertical obstacles, of badeo, etc.
- Tactical mobility is the ability of the combat car to be easily transported within the same theatre of operations.
- Strategic mobility is the possibility of easily transporting the armoured from one theatre of operations to another, depending on its mass, the possibility of being airborne, etc.
A main battle tank is designed to be highly maneuverable and to tackle most types of terrain. Its wide tracks spread the weight of the vehicle over a large area, resulting in ground pressure that can be less than the pressure of a human foot. The types of terrain that pose a problem are generally very soft terrain such as swamps, or rocky terrain with scattered large boulders. On normal terrain, a tank can reach a speed of 30 to 50 km/h. Road speeds can reach 90 km/h for a not very long period of time.
The logistics of getting from point A to point B are not always easy. In theory, or during a test drive of a few hours, a main battle tank performs better on terrain other than road than any other wheeled combat vehicle. On the road, the fastest tank isn't much slower than the average wheeled combat vehicle design.
In practice, however, the heavier weight of the main battle tank combined with the relative weakness of the track chain parts means that top road speed is actually momentary before mechanical failure occurs. Although the maximum off-road speed is lower, it cannot be continuously maintained, due to the variety and unpredictability of the terrain, except in cases such as plains and sandy deserts.
Since an immobilized tank is an easy target for mortar, artillery, and specialized anti-tank units, a minimum speed is maintained, and when possible tanks are moved on trains or transports rather than using their engines. Invariably, tanks are transported by wagon in any country with a rail infrastructure, since no army has enough transports to carry all its tanks. Loading and unloading planning is a crucial job, and railway bridges and depots are prime targets for enemy forces to delay the advance.
The average speed of a tank unit in countries or regions with no rail infrastructure or few roads in good condition, or roads with frequent mines or ambushes, is comparable to that of a person on horseback or on a bicycle. Frequent stops should be planned for preventative maintenance and checks to avoid interruptions during combat. In addition, tactical stops are made so that infantry or air units can scout for the presence of enemy anti-tank groups.
Another question about mobility is getting the tank to the theater of operations. Tanks, especially main battle tanks, are extremely heavy, making it difficult for them to be transported by air. Using slow means of transport by land and sea makes tanks a problem for use in quick reaction forces.
Some armored vehicles use wheels instead of tracks to increase speed and reduce maintenance needs. These vehicles lack the mobile superiority of tracked vehicles in difficult terrain, but are better suited for quick reaction forces as it increases strategic speed.
Aquatic Operations
For most tanks, water operations boil down to wading. The depth of fording is generally limited to the height of the engine air intake, and to a lesser degree, to the driver's position. Typical fording depth for main battle tanks is 900 and 1200 millimeters.
Deep Wading
With preparation some tanks can ford considerably deeper water. Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks like all modern tanks when properly equipped with breathing apparatus or snorkel. This tube, made up of rings, connects to the commander's hatch and provides air and the possibility of an escape route. The height of this tube can reach three meters.
Some Russian tanks can also perform this type of operation. Unlike the Leopard, the Russian snorkel is only a few centimeters in diameter so it cannot function as an escape route. The length of the Russian snorkel is usually about two meters.
This type of fording requires careful preparation of the tank by closing the entrances and exits of the vehicle. Crew often have a negative reaction to deep fording. However, if planned and executed correctly, this type of action adds considerable opportunity for surprise and flexibility in waterway operations.
Amphibious tanks
Some light tanks like the PT-76 are amphibious, propelled through the water usually by their tracks or hydrojets.
In World War II, the M4 Sherman tank was converted to an amphibious tank by adding a rubber cover to provide some buoyancy. It was designated the Sherman DD and was used during D-Day to provide fire support on the initial landing beaches. The DD Shermans could not fire when floating, as the rubber cover was above the barrel. A few of these cars sank due to bad weather, although those that washed up on the beach provided important support during the first critical hours.
Another "amphibious" tank project was the so-called Panzer III Tauchpanzer, which was designed to be launched from landing ships and go to the coast directed from other ships. Unlike the amphibious Sherman, these Panzer IIIs were not intended to float, but to go underwater, due to protective covers around the turret. It was planned to use these tanks in Operation Sea Lion (German invasion of Britain), but the operation was eventually cancelled. Later they demonstrated their effectiveness crossing the Soviet rivers that the rest of the vehicles were unable to cross.
Power plants
The main battle tank's powerplant provides power for vehicle movement and other systems, such as turret rotation or electrical power for a radio. World War I tanks generally used gasoline engines, although some models used a mixed gasoline and electric motor system.
During World War II there were different types of engines, many were adaptations of aircraft engines. In the Cold War, tanks switched to a diesel engine, and in the early 1970s the advent of gas turbines began.
The weight and type of powerplant, influenced by its transmission and powertrain, essentially determine how fast and maneuverable the tank will be, but the terrain effectively limits the top speed of tanks due to wear and tear of the suspension and the crew.
Diesel engines
Most modern main battle tanks use a diesel engine for economic and tactical reasons. They are very robust and reliable, as well as offering reasonable consumption and easy maintenance. They usually have 10 or 12 cylinders and use turbochargers, reaching 1,500 horsepower. Another advantage is the low flammability of the fuel, which offers an obvious advantage in the event of an impact.
The fuel tank is usually in the back (in the Merkava it is in the front) and holds 1000 liters or more. Sometimes the fuel is stored in external tanks and even if more autonomy is needed in a small trailer attached to the back, which can be detached during combat. Most modern engines tend to be polyfuel and can run on diesel, gasoline and other similar fuels.
Gas turbines
Gas turbine engines are used by very few tanks, such as the M1 Abrams series and the Russian T-80.
Their biggest advantages are that they are comparatively much lighter and more compact than diesel engines of similar power. The Abrams makes 1,500 horsepower from a powerplant that can be changed in less than half an hour. They also allow intense acceleration and immediate power availability, as well as great reliability. Another interesting feature is its low noise emission. Contrary to popular belief, gas turbines are very quiet. They emit a high-pitched, high-frequency sound that is indistinguishable from a distance, unlike the low-frequency, low-pitched sound of noisy diesel engines. This gives them an obvious tactical advantage over them, being able to sneak up on the enemy. When the M1A1 was operating in Europe as a training tank, the Germans nicknamed it: "the whispering death".
On the other hand, they are engines with a very high fuel consumption, since even at idle speed they rotate at thousands of revolutions per minute. Monitor an area in combat position with the engine running it is considered a waste of fuel, although in conditions of possible enemy contact it is not turned off for security reasons. As a curiosity, an M1 Abrams consumes approximately 40 liters of fuel during the turbine start-up process, since to speed up its start-up it uses all the injectors to the maximum. Fortunately during normal use its consumption decreases. It therefore presents major logistical problems since near the tanks there will have to be refueling units even in combat conditions. Consumption is so critical that in order not to exhaust the car's batteries or fuel by keeping the engine running, auxiliary power modules have been designed with small internal combustion engines, which generate enough electricity to maintain the electronic systems without batteries or the turbine. On the other hand, it requires time to enter into operating mode before being able to move the car, which can be inconvenient in surprise artillery attacks or similar situations.
The thermal mark of a gas turbine is greater than that of a diesel engine, mainly due to the jet of exhaust gases that it continuously expels.
The turbine is more reliable and easier to maintain than a piston engine, as it has a simpler construction with few moving parts. In practice, however, these parts experience greater wear because their working speeds are very high.
The turbine is very sensitive to dust and fine sand due to its large air consumption and the need for it to be as clean as possible, to prevent dirt from entering the combustion chamber, or abrasions on the blades of the turbine. In operations in deserts they must use special filters and change them several times a day. If the filter fails or is fitted incorrectly objects or shrapnel could enter and damage the engine. Although piston engines also need filters, these are more resistant and durable.
Turbine engines have an additional tactical problem, since expelling the jet of gases from the rear does not allow infantry to advance taking cover behind the vehicle, which is a major problem in urban combat.
Sonic, seismic and thermal traces
Immobile main battle tanks can be well camouflaged in wooded areas or forests where there is natural cover, making detection and attack from the air more difficult. On the contrary, in open areas it is very difficult to hide a tank. In both cases, when the tank starts its engine or begins to move it can be more easily discovered due to the noise and heat generated by its engine. Track marks left by tanks on the ground can be seen from the sky, and movement in deserts creates easily-spotted dust clouds.
A stalled tank that has just shut down its engine has a significant heat mark. Even if the tank is hidden behind a hill, it is still possible for an expert operator to spot the column of hot air above the tank. This risk can be reduced by using thermal materials that reduce heat radiation. Some camouflage nets are made of materials that distribute heat irregularly, which reduces the regularity of the tank's thermal trace, there are also real clothing that cover the tanks on their entire surface, including the cannon that allow to decrease its infrared signature.
The diesel engine or gas turbine that drives the tank has power comparable to that of a diesel locomotive. The noise generated by a single tank can be heard over great distances. When a tank starts its engine while stopped, the ground around it begins to shake. In motion, these vibrations increase. Acoustic and seismic signatures between diesel engines are similar; in gas turbines, the acoustic mark is greater due to its generated high-frequency sound that makes it more distinguishable from other noises.
The power output of modern tank engines, generally over 750 kW or 1000 hp ensures that they produce a distinctive thermal trace. The compact mass of metal of the tank's hull dissipates heat leaving a precise mark. A moving tank is an easy target to detect with infrared scanners.
Getting a tank moving proved important during the Kosovo war in 1999. During the first weeks of the conflict, NATO air sorties were ineffective in destroying Serbian tanks. This changed when the Kosovo Liberation Army faced the tanks. Although the KLA had little chance of destroying these tanks, their purpose was to get the armor moving so that it would be easier for NATO air forces to identify and destroy.
Command, control and communications
The command and coordination of an armored organization on the battlefield has always been exposed to particular problems. Due to the isolation of small units, individual vehicles, and even the tank crew, special arrangements have been made. Armored hulls, engine noise, terrain, dust and smoke, and the need to operate with a closed hatch are the main communications problems.
The commander must order every crew action, movement, and fire. In early tanks, the commander's task was hampered by the need to load or fire the main gun. In many armored combat vehicles, even current ones, the commander transmits movement orders to the driver by tapping his foot on the shoulders and back. Modern vehicles usually have an intercom, allowing all crew members to talk to each other, and use the radio equipment. Some tanks have an external intercom at the back, so the infantry can talk to the crew.
In early tank operations, communications between members of an armored company were carried out using hand signals or banners, and in some situations, crew members had to leave their tank and approach the other. In World War I, situation reports were sent to command centers by releasing homing pigeons. Signals with flares, smoke, movement, and gun firing were used by veteran aircrews to coordinate their tactics.
Between 1930 and 1950, most nations equipped their armored forces with radios, but visual signals were still used. A modern tank is usually equipped with radio equipment that allows it to communicate with a company or battalion radio network, and possibly a larger-scale network, to coordinate with other armies. Company or battalion commanders' tanks usually carry an additional radio.
Most armored forces operate with the crew commander, and possibly other members, with the hatch open, during their best alert state. When there is enemy fire, or potential ABQ conditions, the crew closes the hatches and can only see the battlefield through scopes and periscopes, seriously reducing their ability to find targets and perceive hazards.
Since the 1960s, a tank commander has had increasingly sophisticated equipment for target acquisition. In a main battle tank, the commander has panoramic sights, with night vision equipment, allowing him to assign one or more targets, while the gunner engages another. More advanced systems allow the commander to take control of the turret and fire the main gun in an emergency.
Recent developments in equipment have improved fire control, with laser rangefinder, GPS data, and digital communications.
Classification
Initially, they are classified by their weight, thus appearing light, medium and heavy tanks. Then new types would appear, as tanks and other motorized vehicles are armored, armed with tracks and have weapons. This is how tanks specialized in the weapon of engineers (bridge cars, minelifting cars), sappers, command, telecommunications, etc. appear. Self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers and anti-aircraft could also be considered as tanks. Some current infantry or troop transport vehicles (ATVs) can be considered another type of tank, despite being battle tanks whose main function is to transport elements to the battlefield.
Vulnerability
While the tank is a powerful weapon on the battlefield (though not in urban warfare, as the Battle of Stalingrad demonstrated), it is not invulnerable. In fact, this superiority of the tank has been the reason to focus on upgrading anti-tank weapons. With the advent of anti-tank helicopters and their ability to hit the higher areas less protected by armored vehicles, it has been said that the tank was obsolete. This seems a premature statement since there have been no notable combats between both systems with similar forces, although many voices (especially those who donate funds to the army) severely affirm that tanks are weapons that are too expensive, heavy, and logistically not very versatile. Today open field battles comparable to those of the Gulf War will be increasingly unlikely, "stand off" with scopes and long-range guns, which the English and Americans practiced with the Iraqis in the first Gulf War. The observable trend is toward close-range combat, even in urban environments. There the vulnerability of the cars is especially evident, since they are specifically designed to fight against other tanks, because in the Second World War the anti-tank tanks were more profitable than the anti-infantry ones, so they were developed more. The armor distribution is illuminating: a heavily armored front, relatively lightly armored sides and a very lightly armored rear, floor and roof, with little more than testimonial protection.
The best example is the current post-war situation in Iraq, where more M1 Abrams are being lost in urban environments than during the first and second Gulf wars. The Abrams is a formidable main battle tank, but its protection, firepower and mobility characteristics provide little advantage in close-range combat, where it can be attacked from all possible angles and exploit the lack of protection in vital parts such as the engine, roof or bottom. Windows, sewers, portals, vehicles... any point is a potential source of danger for an armored vehicle in an urban environment.
For example, an improvised mine (IED; Improvised Explosive Device, in English) buried in the road caused the death of the driver of an M1A1 Abrams HA, who nevertheless was able to protect his four crew members from direct fire from kinetic projectiles from the T-72 and even from friendly fire. Several tanks were also lost to RPG-7 hits, anti-tank rocket launchers of Soviet origin that the insurgents possess in large quantities and that can be purchased on the black market at an extremely low price, and can easily destroy any multi-million heavy tank. dollars if it hits the right place. In short, in urban combats protection and mobility are seriously compromised. A shaped charge shell on the roof could easily have fatal consequences at least for the turret crew, or if it hits the hull it could set the fuel on fire, or damage the engine. The military claims that a stationary tank is still better than a sitting duck. In any case, it will be out of service, and most likely permanently.
Although the firepower of a main battle tank is considered indisputable, nowadays anti-tank weapons research has reached a high level, from the manufacture of smart mines that are deployed when detecting the presence of armored vehicles and attacking from above, sub-calibrated munitions that are either fired by conventional artillery, carried by a battle tank, or by aviation, until the manufacture of long-range heavy laser-guided missiles; which makes them especially dangerous in urban or closed environments, and those of short range; They are carried by the infantry.
These light devices have a "top attack" mode, where the projectile describes a ballistic trajectory to hit the target in its upper part (the forerunner of this modality was the AGM 114 "Hellfire&# 34;, anti-tank missile used by the Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship). Within its range, of the order of 1 or 2 kilometers, missiles such as the American FGM-148 Javelin, the Israeli Spike, the British MBT LAW, among others, They are capable of destroying any modern combat tank, including the new, more sophisticated models such as the M1A2 Abrams, the French Leclerc, the Leopard 2A6 or the Merkava Mk4, which have recently been equipped with composite and/or added armor, but with certain weak points such as the roof, the engine bay, the junction of the turret with the hull, and it is that protecting these areas would mean, apart from an increase in the weight of said armored vehicles to unacceptable levels, they would imply too onerous expenses for any army from the actuality. In addition, within modern military doctrine, despicable practices are no longer called for, such as making it mandatory to sacrifice the crew to win the game against a rival formation that is considered a threat; It is enough that with a missile these considerations are left aside, since these can cause serious damage that reaches the point of disabling the tanks for their operation, obviously well used.
Given that passive protection seems to have reached the practical limit, progress is being made towards lightweight "SLAT" type armor, composed of metal grids that detonate the shaped charge projectile before touching the hull, radically decreasing its effectiveness. It is the update of the metal chains that the Merkava Mk 3 has, for example, to protect the back of its turret, and they have exactly the same utility. But the solution doesn't seem to overload the vehicle with more armor, but to evade the attack. Under this premise, several armies have decided to design different types of active protection for their tanks: the idea is "if you can't survive an impact, try to avoid being shot at".
Active protection may attempt to confuse the attacking operator. The "Shtora" Russian responds to this end. Used in the late T-80 and T-90 series, it is based on 2 thermal emitters located at the ends of the turret mantlet, and they give false images to the operator using thermal vision systems such as FLIR. It has not yet been tested in combat and its effectiveness against modern western 3rd generation FLIR systems remains to be seen. The downside is that gunners could be trained to counter the jamming effect of 'Shtora', making it feel more like an emergency solution than a definitive one.
Others are based on smoke screens deployed automatically by detecting the incidence of a missile guidance laser beam on the tank, or taking a distance measurement by means of a ballistic laser rangefinder from another tank. Said smoke is specially designed to prevent vision with day sight and especially thermal vision systems. By blocking the missile's homing beam, or the laser to take the range, the firing computers cannot calculate the firing solution and there is a better chance of avoiding a hit that would most likely be fatal. The French Leclerc is equipped with this type of active defense, called Galix. A counterpart system is being investigated on the Russian T-90.
Other active protection systems are based on millimeter radars that detect the attacking missile or rocket, calculate the time of impact and deploy an explosive countermeasure system at the opportune moment that destroys or diverts the missile in mid-flight, a few meters before to reach your goal. The utility of these systems is currently being tested by the Americans, Russians, and Israelis on their M1A2, Merkava Mk4, and T-90 models. Of course these systems offer zero protection against high velocity kinetic penetrator projectiles (the composition and especially the thickness of the armor is the only thing that can stop them), but they seem especially effective with missiles.
A military maxim states that you cannot attack what you cannot see. The Americans seem particularly interested in it, given their level of investment in expensive and sophisticated so-called "stealth" aircraft, such as the F-117 attack plane, the B-2 bomber, the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, the F-22 Raptors, etc.
Cloaking a tank against day optics is relatively easy, but it's almost impossible against thermals. For this reason, special paints are studied that reduce the thermal signature, so that a cold tank is little or not observable under FLIR systems. Thus, it is hoped that a gunner cannot identify a target, or even locate it if the distance is sufficient. Preventing the location by millimeter radars that equip modern combat helicopters is a much more difficult task, although with these paints the observable trace for the radar operator can also be reduced.
In any case, and despite so much progress, heavy tanks are called to stop being kings of the battlefield, as they are considered less and less necessary, expensive to maintain, and present worrying logistical problems. The goal of so many investigations points to a light tank, even with tires instead of tracks, with sophisticated active defenses and armed with missiles. This definitely looks like the system that will be used by armies in the future. It will have a multitude of versions, such as the Swedish CV90 or the Spanish Pizarro, and due to its lightness it will be much more mobile.
Infantry
The tank is still vulnerable to infantry, especially in closed terrain and urban areas. Tanks' armor and mobility are notable advantages, but they also make them heavy and noisy. This can give enemy infantry the initiative, allowing them to spot, track, and avoid the tanks until they can counterattack. Armored tactics have insisted on using infantry support since the defeats of heavy tanks in World War II.
For veteran troops, it is relatively easy for a soldier to get close to the tank, especially when the hatches are closed, due to the tank crew's limited vision. If the hatch is open and a crew member sticks his head and part of his body out, he may be shot.
Once a soldier is close to the tank, they cannot be aiming the main gun or coaxial machine gun. When tanks are in groups this is less of a problem, as they can communicate with neighboring tanks to defend them by using their machine guns and small arms against the soldier without damaging the tank.
While most infantry anti-tank weapons like rockets, missiles and grenades, these can penetrate the least armored areas and deal transmission damage to immobilize the tank. Tanks are also vulnerable to hand-placed anti-tank mines.
A classic example of an anti-tank rocket is the RPG family of Soviet origin. They have been very effective and have been widely used in countless conflicts. The latest version, the RPG-29, during the last armed conflict in Lebanon has demonstrated the ability to destroy the most protected of armored vehicles, the Merkava.
In addition, in built-up areas, the tank is very vulnerable to being attacked from high areas and, sometimes, low areas, receiving hits in the least protected parts.
Artillery
Conventional artillery shells are not effective against tanks, as the armor can withstand these hits except for a direct hit from a sufficiently powerful shell. Even if the shell does not penetrate the armor, it can still disable the tank due to the hit.
In the last thirty years, however, a wide variety of anti-tank projectiles have been developed, such as laser-guided (CLGP) missiles that virtually guarantee a hit on the top of the armor.
There are ways to try to neutralize or destroy a tank such as throwing a large number of HEAT or HEDP grenades with the possibility of hitting the tank, which will take damage since they will hit the top of the chassis. Another way is to scatter a number of small anti-tank mines, which probably won't penetrate armor, but may damage the tracks and immobilize the tank.
These types of ammunition are usually fired by medium caliber artillery, 152 or 155 mm. Large caliber mortars (81 mm and larger) with internally and externally guided munitions have also been developed.
Helicopters
One of the biggest threats to the tank today is the attack helicopter, armed with long-range anti-tank missiles, rockets, and automatic or chain guns.
The helicopter can be placed in a position where it is not easy to see from a tank, and then attack from any point. The mobility of these devices is their greatest advantage over the limited vision offered by tanks.
The quintessential anti-tank weapon for helicopters are guided missiles, most of which have sufficient range to be fired from beyond the range of the ground target. This however may change due to the imminent development of new anti-helicopter rounds that can be fired from the main gun. Modern T-series of Russian tanks possess the AT-11 Sniper, a long-range missile capable of engaging low and slow flying targets, much like a helicopter in combat.
Armed with rockets, they can cause enough damage to compromise the tank's functionality even if they don't destroy it. Similarly, the powerful 20 or 30mm autocannons can do similar indirect damage, and allow you to hit vulnerable areas like the ceiling if shooting conditions allow it.
Mines
Tanks are still vulnerable to anti-tank mines. These have the main advantage of their very low cost and easy concealment. They are also especially dangerous, when attacking one of the least armored areas. They are often lethal to light armor and troop transports, and at the very least immobilize a heavy tank.
Recently there are models of anti-tank mines activated by magnetic sensors that detect the presence of armored vehicles, capable of even firing a charge carrying sub-munitions that attacks the tank from above.
Mines are and will continue to be great enemies of armored vehicles, since breaking the tracks means, in a heavy tank, raising the turret, lifting the hull, repairing the road wheels and installing new tracks.
Airplanes
Many ground attack aircraft have been specifically built for close air support, such as the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II and the Sukhoi Su-25, which includes tank destruction. These planes can use weapons similar to helicopters, as well as free-fall or laser-guided bombs.
Research and development
There is much speculation about how tanks will evolve in today's conflicts. Research aims to make the tank invisible to radar by adapting stealth technologies originally created for aviation. New propulsion systems and armor are also being investigated.
If tank designs switch to electric motors like those used in heavy construction equipment, instead of direct drive, or use railgun type weapons, as is being studied on ships, there will continue to be a need for a better powerplant. The gas turbine and diesel engine serves today's needs, but it is possible that other experimental engine types did.