Armed with a cannon, missiles, and machine guns, tanks are the ultimate weapon and dominate
the battlefield.
They remove man from the limitations of his frail flesh and wrap him in several inches
of solid steel and high-tech ceramics, turning him into a modern Roman god of war, dispensing
death and destruction to his enemies.
Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look
at 50 incredible facts about tanks.
50.
Tanks first saw duty in September 1916 during World War I at the Battle of the Somme.
Envisioned as a way of breaking the gridlock of trench warfare, most of these primitive
tanks quickly broke down and their ultimate effect on the enemy was more psychological
than kinetic.
49.
Tanks got their name from the British- during their development the Brits took to calling
the massive machines 'tanks' to make any German spies think that they were building massive
water tanks to provide water to troops.
48.
The very first tank, the Mark 1, weighed 26 tons and was armed with 57mm guns.
It had a top speed of 3.7 mph (6 kmh).
47.
A modern American Abrams M1A2 tank by comparison weighs 68.7 tons, is armed with a 120mm cannon,
and has a top speed of 41.5 mph (66.8 kmh).
46.
Tanks were categorized by gender depending on their armament during WWI.
Male tanks had cannons and female tanks had machine guns.
45.
Despite their terrifying presence on a battlefield, early tanks were not particularly effective.
By the end of the fourth day of the battle of Amiens in 1918, the British Tank Corps
which had consisted of over 500 tanks was left with only 6.
44.
Britain and France manufactured a total of 6,506 tanks during WWI- while Germany built
only 20 between 1916 and 1918.
43.
The smallest tank ever made was the French Renault UE Chenillette, just under nine feet
(2.7 meters) long and four feet (1.2 meters) tall.
42.
The largest tank battle in history was the Battle of Kursk in July, 1943.
An estimated 23,000 tanks and over four million men took part, and at the end of the battle
the Germans lost 350 tanks versus 800 by the Russians.
41.
The world's most expensive tank is the French army's AMX-56 Leclerc, with an estimated cost
of 12.5 million dollars.
40.
With over 22,000 tanks of varying degrees of modernity, Russia commands the largest
battle tank force in the world.
39.
The United States, with 9,000 tanks is second to Russia in tank numbers.
38.
The Russian military routinely hosts a 'tank biathlon' that tests crew’s ability to provide
accurate and rapid fire under a variety of terrain conditions, as well as tests the ruggedness
and durability of the vehicles themselves.
37.
In 2015 seventeen nations were invited to take part in Russia's tank biathlon, including
Angola, Kuwait, Nicaragua, China, India, Kuwait, and Venezuela.
Russia won all 13 categories of the tournament and all nations except China competed using
the Russian-built T-72 tank.
36.
The Battle of the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria is considered the greatest tank
battle ever fought in terms of military success.
An Israeli Defense Force of 3,000 troops, 180 tanks, and 60 artillery pieces brought
an assault of 28,000 Syrian troops, 800 tanks, and 600 artillery pieces to a dead standstill.
35.
Russia's T-54 and T-55 series of tanks are the most widely produced tank models in the
world.
Debuting in 1943, over 100,000 have been built and their most recent use came during the
Libyan Civil War in 2011.
34.
The most technologically advanced tank in the world is widely believed to be the US's
M1A2 Abrams, with a host of communications, surveillance and electronic defense and countermeasures.
33.
Russia's T-90 tank is equipped with the largest cannon in the world at 125 mms.
Russia's next generation T-14 Armata however also has a 125 mm cannon but can be upgraded
to a 152 mm cannon in the future for some serious power.
32.
The Battle of 73 Easting during the first Gulf War in 1991 is considered the “last
great tank battle of the 20thcentury”, and pitted Iraq's elite Republican Guard forces
against the US's 1st, 2nd, and 3rdArmored Divisions.
31.
Despite being widely feared for their expertise, even amongst American commanders, the battle
was nearly completely one-sided against Iraq's Republican Guard forces with Iraq suffering
up to 1,000 killed and wounded, 1,300 prisoners taken, 160 tanks destroyed, 180 personnel
carriers destroyed, 12 artillery pieces destroyed, and 80 wheeled support vehicles destroyed.
The US suffered 6 KIA, 19 wounded, and 1 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle destroyed.
30.
The stunning outcome of the Battle of 73 Easting led to Russian designers re-thinking several
elements of the T-72s design, as the T-72 had been the tank most in use by Iraqi forces.
Russian military leadership concluded after the battle that the only way to stop an American
armored advance would be the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
29.
Russia's next-generation T-14 tank is possibly the most advanced main battle tank in the
world- unfortunately its ballooning costs has led to Russia scrapping plans to buy more
than 100 of them and instead is turning to updating older T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks instead.
28.
Poland is experimenting with what it calls the “tank of the future”, called the PL-01.
The tank is coated with a chameleon-like skin that enables it to mimic the infrared signature
of its surroundings, making it much harder to detect with infrared sensors.
27.
The US's Abrams M1A2 is considered the best all-around tank in the world, with Russia's
T-14 directly challenging it for the top spot.
However the undisputed best protected tank in the world is Britain's Challenger 2, with
its state-of-the-art composite Chobham armor a classified secret.
26.
During NATO's invasion of Iraq, a British Challenger 2 was struck by 14 RPGs and one
anti-tank missile.
The crew survived and the tank was back in operation six hours later.
25.
Another Challenger 2 was later hit by 70 RPGs and also survived.
24.
The only Challenger 2 ever destroyed in combat was a friendly-fire incident in 2003.
No Challenger 2 has ever been lost to enemy action.
23.
The fastest tank in the world is the British FV101 Scorpion, which can reach speeds over
51 mph (82 kph).
22.
Syrian rebels have developed their own homemade tank, the Sham II.
It is equipped with several inches of steel and iron armor and a turret-mounted machine
gun.
Five video cameras ring the tank and a PlayStation controller operates the machine gun.
21.
During the Korean War, US soldier Eduardo C Gomez took out an enemy tank single-handedly
by crawling across an open rice field, climbing atop the tank and prying open the hatch before
dropping a grenade inside.
Remembering to lock the hatch has been an important element of tank crew training since
then.
20.
During the Battle of Stalingrad factories in the wartorn city continued to produce tanks
unabated.
The tanks were unpainted and lacked gunsights, and driven straight from the factory floor
to the front line.
19.
During World War II a single Soviet KV-1 tank stalled the advance of an entire German division
for a full day, facing off against an infantry assault, several German tanks, and German
anti-tank guns.
Grenades thrown into the hatches eventually killed the crew inside, which were buried
with full military honors after the battle by the Germans.
18.
An Australian Mk3 Centurion, serial number 169041 was nicknamed the Atomic Tank after
surviving a 9.1 kiloton nuclear blast from 460 meters away.
The tank was driven off after the test and served for another 23 years.
17.
In 1989 as part of a crackdown against pro-Democracy protests, Chinese tanks massacred 300 students
protesting the Communist government.
16.
The most famous image of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, that of a single man stopping
a column of tanks with a raised hand- quickly spread around the world and is today one of
the most iconic images ever captured- yet as it is heavily censored in China most Chinese
do not recognize it.
15.
A tank designed by the Swiss military once suffered from a bug where turning on the heater
might cause the main gun to fire.
This would prove to be particularly tragic in a country with as chilly winters as Sweden's.
14.
The longest tank-to-tank kill in history occurred when a British Challenger tank destroyed an
Iraqi T-62 at a range of 5100 meters- or over 3 miles!
13.
In 2006 Hungarian protesters hotwired a 50 year old Soviet T-34 tank that was part of
an outdoor memorial and drove it against riot police.
12.
In the 1980s the Soviet Union developed a 'laser tank'.
Equipped with artificial-ruby powered lasers, the 1K17 Szhatie was meant to destroy enemy
optical equipment, but proved too expensive to be practical.
11.
During World War II the US developed a prototype 'super tank'- the T28 Super Heavy Tank.
Weighing in at nearly 100 tons this monster was meant to break through the German defenses
of the Siegfried line, but was ultimately abandoned.
10.
The Brad Pitt World War II film FURY featured an authentic and operational Tiger 1 tank
from WWII- the first time such a vehicle has ever appeared on film.
9.
Of 1300 of Germany's fearsome Tiger 1 tanks- widely believed to be some of the best made
during World War II- only 7 remain intact today.
8.
As a way to defeat German tanks, the Soviets trained dogs to carry bombs attached to their
backs and crawl under enemy tanks before detonating.
However because Soviet tanks were used in the training, when deployed the dogs targeted
Russian tanks instead of German tanks- a slight oversight.
7.
Arnold Schwarzenegger served as a tank crew member during his mandatory service in the
Austrian armed forces in 1965.
Later he bought the same tank he served in, an M47, and now uses it to support charitable
causes.
6.
Drive A Tank, a business in Kasota, Minnesota, is the only place in the United States civilians
are allowed to drive a military tank.
5.
During World War II German tanks were coated with a putty-like material known as Zimmerit
to prevent magnetic mines from sticking to them.
4.
Object 269 was a Soviet tank developed in 1959 that was designed to survive a nuclear
explosion.
Little did the Soviets know that the Australians had apparently beaten them to the punch.
3.
Along with the British Challenger, no American Abrams tank has ever been destroyed in combat
by enemy fire.
2.
Since WWII all British tanks are equipped with a device that allows for the heating
of water called a 'boiling vessel'- rumored to have been developed because British soldiers
used to have to exit their tanks to boil water and make tea which endangered them and wasted
time.
1.
The Nazis once planned a truly monstrous tank named, appropriately enough, the P 1500 “Monster”.
Weighing 1500 tons the tank was too big for road or rail and was designed as a 'land battleship'
with a crew of 100+.
Despite Hitler eagerly OK' ing the concept, it was eventually scrapped- probably for being
absolutely insane.
What other tank facts do you know of?
What's truly the best tank of all time?
Let us know in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video 50 Facts About Cold War.
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