With the Soviet introduction of the Soviet T-34, Germany was in need of a tank that could rival the Soviets potential firepower and strength. In fact much of the design of the Panther was based off of the T-34 including its sloping armor to help deflect artillery hits, thicker armor, and larger wheels. The Panther not only matched the advantages of the T-34 but strove to overcome them.

The Panther also featured the ability to operate with significantly less crew members. The tank easily ran with five men consisting of the commander, driver, radio operator, gunner, and loader.

As for armament, the Panther was not lacking. The Panther featured an upgraded 7.5 meter semi-automatic machine gun, and a 75 mm gun that had the capacity and ability to pierce rival tank armor. The tank also, in most cases, included 2 MG34 machine guns, one being operated by the radio operator. The Panther also featured upgraded armor 80mm thick slanted armor to help protect against and deflect direct hits by enemy weaponry.

The Panther was used all the way up until 1945 when it was replaced by newer more technologically advanced models, but continued to see limited use by enemy forces, especially the Red Army, who captured the tanks and turned them against the German forces.

The Panther tank was an important step towards the tanks that are now used in modern day Germany. 28 of these tanks survived all the way to modern times and can be seen in museums around the world including the most recent addition of a Panther model tank to the Canadian War Museum in 2008.

The first tank to come off the German armored assault assembly line was the A7V. Unfortunately because of the sheer size of these tanks the German army only made around 15. The A7V weighed a little over 30 tons and took almost entire army unit to run with 18 crew members needed to operate the monster.

After the war, the German army came to the realization that one of the main factors in their losses was their lack of adequate armored forces in the form of tanks. This led to a added push for adding more tanks to their forces. Unfortunately Germany was already going through a fuel shortage allowing them to only produce about ninety tanks, of which seventy five were captured.

Germany did not give up on their quest for the perfect armored vehicle. By the time World War II had come around the German army had gone through a few redesigns to land them with one of the most well known tanks in German history, the Panzer. The Panzer I came onto the battle field in the 1930’s but unfortunately with such light armor and only two machine guns in its arsenal, its service was short lived. The Panzer name however, lived on. The Panzer I was reborn many times until the eventual birth of the Panzer V, otherwise known as the Panther.

The Panther tank was a true masterpiece of war machinery, with huge influence of design based off the weaknesses of the Panzer I-IV series. In fact the Panther tank was considered one of the best tank designs of World War II because of its sheer abilities in its armor and fire power. The Panther served alongside the German Tiger tank series all the way up until the end of the war. Unfortunately many Panther tanks were captured and used by other countries in battle (in some cases battle against the Germans themselves) all the way up until 1950.

As for modern day Germany, the wars of its past have truly influenced their new designs. Around 1950, Germany and France came together to try and build the ultimate tank weapon. Eventually the partnership fell apart and Germany alone produced the Leopard I. Presently the German army actively uses an upgraded version, the Leopard 2, especially newer revised models like the Leopard 2A5 and even more recently the Leopard 2E. The Leopard features all of the bells and whistles of modern technology including the ability to drive underwater to depths of 13ft, improved night vision and laser capabilities, and an upgraded weapons and armor systems.

Even today the German Army continues to adapt its tank technologies based off of past experiences with battle and new technologies introduced to war market. We are sure to see that the German army will continue to change and adapt its tank forces to stay near the top for years to come.

British Naval tradition provided the platform for British tank design; in 1915, as the British “Landships Committee” combined armor, armament and motorized vehicle technology to create the “tank.” The September 15, 1916, “Battle of Fleurs-Courcelette” saw the first British “rhomboid” Mark I tank, designed for WWI trenches, in combat. British commanders were disappointed that only a few UK tanks advanced across “no-man’s-land;” and it did not lead to a general army breakthrough. The 28.4 tonnes Mark I tanks (88 mm armour) projected two naval 6-pounder guns out side sponsons and reached top speeds of 6 km/h. Pitfalls included inadequate ventilation (temperatures reached 50 Degrees Celsius), difficult steering and slow speeds.

The first “tank versus tank” battle raged on April 24, 1918, between three British Mark IVs and three German A7s at Villers-Bretonneux, France. The Germans took the village, but were repulsed by an Australian counter-attack. The UK WWI tank record was incomplete due to limited deployment, mechanical problems and lack of mobility.

Eventually, the UK grouped tanks into categories based on function: “Cruisers / Light Tanks (faster, less armour, less armament); Infantry Tanks (slower, heavier armour); Main Battle Tanks (medium armour, medium armament) and Heavy Tanks (heavy armour, heavy armament).

British Mark V and Whippet Tanks were used in the Russian Civil War - fascines were used to fill in trenches, allowing for a more upright construction design. The 5 tonnes British Mark II through V “light tanks” (1929 to 1936) had Vickers machine guns and reached top speeds of 50 km/h.

The WWII German “Blitzkrieg,” revolutionised tank warfare using massed tanks, leading infantry over vast swaths of territory. UK tank designers responded with mobile “cruiser tanks,” such as the Convenanter, Cromwell and Crusader; UK military tradition - hearkening back to the days of the Spanish Armada - favored mobility. The Convenanter had engine cooling problems. The Cromwell shed her track. The Crusader also had mechanical problems, but proved useful when the British Eighth Army used 1230 of her tanks, (top speeds of 43 km/h and an upgraded 6-pounder gun) with infantry at El Alamein, Egypt, to overwhelm 210 German-Italian tanks and infantry. WWII revealed tank superiority in wide open terrain.

The slow Matilda infantry tank could only reach top speeds of 24 km/h and had steering problems. She was replaced by the Valentine, which suffered from a cramped interior. The 38.5 tonnes Churchill had upgraded 6-pounder guns to better match German tank weaponry.

Then during the Cold War, the UK developed “main battle tanks,” - such as the 33 tonne Comet (77 mm High Velocity gun, 102 mm armour and top speeds of 50 km/h) and the Centurian, whose Czechoslovakian ZB-53 machine gun, was an example of shared technology - to combat Soviet aggression.

British tank designers had many failures, including the TOG prototype’s electro-mechanical problems. And although the 66 tonnes British Conqueror “heavy tank” had good handling and 178 mm armour - it was unreliable and never used in combat.

The Vickers Company (1828 to 2004) first demonstrated her skills in tank design with the Matilda and Valentine. After 1998, Vickers produced the Challenger 2 tanks with Chobham ceramic vehicle armour and top speeds of 59 km/h. Its inadequate air filter system allowed ingested sand and dust to damage the engine. Again, UK ingenuity was called upon to upgrade technology to solve mechanical problems.

The original challenger was full of revolutionary features including its suspension and Chobham armor. It also had a much more accurate firing mechanism than most other tanks on the market at that time. Unfortunately, its accuracy was matched with slowness of fire causing it to get one of the lowest ratings on the market. Using the tanks weaknesses as improvement points, Vickers designed a new tank dubbed Challenger 2 which was then selected as an MBT (Main Battle Tank) and is still used in the field of warfare today.

Challengers are usually armed with a 20 mm tank gun on a turret that can spin 360 degrees in only nine seconds and in most cases fires HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) rounds. The tank is also equipped with a chain gun and a machine gun for anti air defense as well as L8 smoke grenade launchers for close combat. As for its defenses, the challenger tank uses Chobham armor, the details of which are still classified information.

Each tank carries a crew of four members; though it can run on a crew of three if the tank incorporates an auto loader verses a human loader for its ammunition systems. When fully loaded with ammunition and crew this tank can operate at speeds as high as 75km/h on the road and 40km/h cross country.

The tank has seen action in just about every conflict since the mid 1980’s including the gulf war, Kosovo, the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, and even more recently Basra in 2007. Even through all of its battles only 2 challenger tanks have been damaged and one destroyed in battle, with one of those being caused by friendly fire from another challenger tank.

The challenger tank still continues to morph into different offshoots of vehicles to fill the needs of today’s army. These remodels include the Titan, Trojan, CRARRV, and the Challenger 2E. The Titan helps to deploy tanks across bodies of water, the Trojan for combat engineering, the CRARRV for the repair and recovery of damaged tanks in the field, and the Challenger 2E with a substantially upgraded weapons and stability system. As you can see, the Challenger Series of tanks has left quite a history as well as is paving the way for future generations of warfare.

Lavishly so the World War 2 tanks were carefully and skifully thought out. Starting with what was believed to be the top dog of them all; The Russian T-34 which led the platoon of tanks with pride.

The ‘Panzer tank’ itself served faithful as a German delight in it’s well rounded operations and macho manly design. On the other hand The brawling ‘Jagdpanzer destroyer was that indeed, a massive destroying machine. With the aggressiveness of being the last one to stand the ‘Stug lll assault guns’ held it’s rank. If a thicker iron suit was desired the Koenigstiger was called to order, and the destructive military war horse type ‘Flying Elephant’ itself took the prize.
Whenever these military defense units were rolled onto the field, thier appearance to do combat was quite impressive. If it was Versatility that was needed, then M4 Sherman was the most versatile, if brute strength was the mood, the M26 showed off it’s military brass everytime it hit the field to do combat. Eithier way these infamous World War 2 tanks were ranked amongst the ‘fittest of the fit’ in the regime.

If a tank of ill-repute had to be mentioned as being a lemon of military warfare, the T-72 took the saddest excuse for a tank trophy with it off the field. Aside from that many expert Veterans and novice alike would agree that the worst tank that ever could be constructed, would be the one that couldn’t pass The military weapon success test. Whether it was said through by trial and error or rumor. No matter what the votes were and how they were counted, one thing stood strong and sure. If the tank wasn’t able to fit the bill either from the construction of the hull, or the gears of the chambers to fire; it was simply and undisputedly labeled a military no go.

Through the years advancement and improvement of these and other units, were again skillfully mastered. If the tanks couldn’t take the atmospheric elements or the impact of a sturdier hit, then more thicker construction to the body was given. If it was the trenches being to deep and wide that harrassed the soldiers, tanks with wider terrain mobility was built. If the speed for distance was the culprit, faster tank modules came to the rescue. Whatever the need of the tanks; muscle bound infantry skills stayed hard at work accessing greater implements of grandeur by which to fight, win and brag.

Firepower is an important concept in design because without it, a tank cannot defense itself. Tanks are often sent in to places where other forms of military vehicles and troop system cannot go. Mobility gives the tank short range movement over territory that may be rough or have many obstacles that other vehicles in the military could not pass through. And protection gives a tank the ability to get through hostile territories without injury to the driver and the crew.

The ways tanks are designed are directly related to the cost. If a specific nation cannot afford many tanks, the tanks that they do have will be made stronger and better able to withstand attacks. If a nation has more money to spend on tanks, they can produce lighter weight tanks that will move faster across the terrain, but may be lacking in enough armour to completely protect themselves against all attacks.

While a tank can protect itself, mobilize to get where it needs to go, and also defend with its firepower, the design of the military tank is not conducive to letting all three areas of design to be at their maximum potential. If you increase any of the three design elements, your other two areas with ultimately have to take a backseat to the most important issue at hand. For instance, if you wan to add more armour to your tank, the result will be an increase in weight while will decrease the mobility of the machine. And increase in firepower will also put you at a loss for speed and armour protection. Because of this, tanks are designed in different ways in order to have a balance of all of these elements within one set of tanks.

And since the Second World War, tank design has moved from the large scale mechanics to design in technological advances. With these advances, military outfits are better able to perform out on the battlefield. This technology comes in the areas of firepower and mobility. There are many upgrades in weapons and the ability to reduce the number of crew members that are needed when sending a tank onto the field. This in turn reduces casualties in the field when a tank is destroyed. Most tanks are equipped with a large caliber gun that will have a 360 degree range of fire. Other weapons can be mounted onto the tank in order to increase firepower to take out soft targets, but as mentioned before, this design will ultimately mean sacrificing speed and armour in order to build up the firepower of the tank.

Because military tanks are designed with those three different aspects in mind, there are multiple models and versions of the same tank available within the military organizations around the world. The bigger the organization, the more design variations they will have.

In reality tank drivers are taught the skills necessary to survive on the battlefield.  Several variants of tanks are often used to put them through their paces. Among the many skills that are taught, driving a 70 ton monster can be among the most enjoyable. Enlisted and officers alike are given instruction in this task.

Driving Positions

Of the four crewmembers of a usual tank, the driver has the most comfortable and user friendly crew compartment. Unlike the loader, gunner and tank commander located in the turret, the driver calls the hull of the vehicle his home. Located in the forward end of the tank, the driver climbs into his compartment through a hatch located on the front slope of the tank. Additionally, the driver also has another possibility to enter the tank from inside the turret, through an access door in the turret basket, but this option is only available when the turret is oriented over the rear of the tank lining up the access door with the back of the drivers compartment. He soon finds himself sitting in essentially a recliner, with feet elevated and a nice comfortable headrest that flips down once the driver is situated comfortably.

Checks

The driver puts on his Combat Vehicle Crewman’s helmet, plugs it in to the communications box, and performs a radio check with the rest of the crew. It is very important that the driver can communicate with the tank commander to prevent accidents as well as understand other commands from the commander. He then makes necessary adjustments to the rest of the station. The next thing the driver will do, after receiving the command to do so from the tank commander, is to start the tank via a driver’s control panel located on the left side of the driver’s compartment (right side on some tanks).

Instruments

The control panel provides the driver with much of the information he needs to operate the tank. It has speed and temperature gauges, warning lights and troubleshooting procedures, and even a navigation system that displays the driving routes preprogrammed from the tank commanders station (not available on the some tanks) as well as a myriad of other functions.

Driving

The driver simply presses a button to start the tank engine. Prior to starting the tank, the driver will also adjust his steering column, which resembles motorcycle handlebars. The handgrips rotate, controlling the throttle. In the center of the steering column “handlebars” is the gear selector switch. After the driver has made the necessary adjustments to his position, he is ready to drive the vehicle. Once the tank engine is at full operating capacity, the driver will put the tank in gear. He has a few gears to choose from, to include the Drive gears, Reverse, Pivot, and Neutral. Essentially the M1 has an automatic transmission. Once the tank is moving, the ride is amazingly smooth and the tank is extremely responsive as well as amazingly quiet. The loudest feature of the tank, short of the main gun firing, is the sound of the track-pads hitting the ground. The engine remains eerily silent as the 70 ton beast rumbles through the wilderness.

Driving Style

Travelling on a hydraulic suspension, many of the bumps and rough terrain are dissipated in the fluidity of motion of the shocks, road arms, road-wheels, and other suspension components. It has to be a decent sized ditch for the driver to feel the jarring effects of it. That is one main reason why coordination between the driver and tank commander are so important. Prior to entering large holes or ditches, the driver must slow down before entering the obstacle, and then apply power to drive out of it. If a driver were to enter a big hole at full speed, injuries to the personnel on board could be the result. The driver’s view is extremely limited with three periscopes that give him a narrow field of view. This lack of vision is compensated with guidance from the tank commander, who has a birds-eye view of the surrounding terrain. When maneuvering through rough terrain, anything up to small trees is easily crushed, but the driver has the capability to pivot steer through the worst of it.

Responsibilities

When the tank is stopped and the parking brake is set, then the driver becomes one of the hardest working crewmembers of the tank. He inspects the suspension, tightening bolts, applying grease, and installing track-pads when necessary. Then he removes the access panel for the engine on the rear deck of the vehicle and checks the fluid levels among other preventive maintenance measures. And when it is time for the heavy work, like changing road-wheels or swapping out engines, the driver is in the thick of it performing all of the hard work with the rest of the crew.

General Points to Remember

- Driving the tank, as in accelerating & braking is often suprisinly very similar to a normal car.

- When sat in the driving seat of any tank you will be amazed at how little vision you have surrounding you.

- You need to be very aware of the size of the vehicle, in some tanks you may be sat in the center in others you may be offeset. Tanks can be 11ft wide plus, so you need to know how much ‘tank’ there is around you.

- When driving you will constantly be fine tuning the smoothness of the ride. Due to the weight of the tank and missed gear change or rough controlling will be felt throughout and can put strain on the tank.

A good resourse to start with is:

TankSim - www.tanksim.com