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This is a list of main battle tanks, and other vehicles serving that role, in active military service with countries of the world. A main battle tank (MBT) is the type of powerful, heavily armoured and highly mobile tank which is the backbone of a mechanized land force.
The first generation of main battle tanks was based on or influenced by designs of World War II, most notably the Soviet T-34. [4] The second generation was equipped with NBC protection (only sometimes), night-vision devices, a stabilized main gun and at least a mechanical fire-control system. [ 4 ]
Japan, South Korea and Poland [citation needed] are generally considered de facto nuclear states due to their believed ability to wield nuclear weapons within 1 to 3 years. [17] [18] [19] South Africa produced six nuclear weapons in the 1980s, but dismantled them in the early 1990s. South Africa signed the NPT in 1991. [20] [21]
The M4 was one of the best known and most used American tanks of World War II. Like the Lee and Grant, the British were responsible for the name, with this tank's namesake being Civil War General, William Tecumseh Sherman. The M4 Sherman was a medium tank that proved itself in the Allied operations of every theater of World War II.
Some Sherman tanks were up-armoured in the field with glacis plates and other armour cut from knocked-out tanks to create Improvised Jumbos, named after the heavily armoured M4A3E2 assault tank. In the Vietnam War , U.S. " gun trucks " were armoured with sandbags and locally fabricated steel armour plate. [ 20 ]
M3 Stuart (M3A3, M5A1) (50 tanks, only used in India-Burma Theater by Chinese Expedition Army) M24 Chaffee – 233; M18 Hellcat; Type 95 Ha-Go (captured only) Type 97 Chi-Ha (captured only) Panzer I (10 bought from Germany before the war) Vickers 6-ton (20 bought from UK before the war) Vickers amphibious tank M1931 (29 tanks purchased from GB)
Tank classification is a taxonomy of identifying either the intended role or weight class of tanks.The classification by role was used primarily during the developmental stage of the national armoured forces, and referred to the doctrinal and force structure utility of the tanks based on design emphasis.
A British heavy tank during World War I. Modern armored warfare began during the First World War of 1914–1918. Strategists wanted to break the tactical, operational and strategic stalemates forced on commanders on the Western Front by the effectiveness of entrenched defensive infantry armed with machine guns – known as trench warfare.