Tank
device · 1916 · Electric age
An armoured tracked combat vehicle; the first in battle was the British Mark I.
What it is made of
- Continuous track — has part. Tracks let a tank cross trenches and rough ground.
- Armour — has part. Armour protects the crew.
- Tank gun — has part. A gun in a rotating turret.
- Diesel engine — has part. Most modern tanks are powered by a diesel (the Mark I had a petrol engine).
- Transmission (gearbox) — has part. The transmission carries torque to the drive sprockets and lets the tank turn.
- Torsion bar suspension — has part. The road wheels of many tanks are sprung on torsion bars.
- Gas turbine — has part. Some tanks (T-80, Abrams) have a gas turbine engine.
- Machine gun — has part. The Mark I’s machine guns.
- Periscope — has part. Observation devices.
- Reactive armour — has part. Modern tanks.
- Composite armour — has part. Multi-layer armour.
Principles and materials it uses
- Steel — is made of. The armour is steel.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Holt tracked tractor — was inspired by. The British designers of the first tanks drew on the experience of Holt’s tracked tractors.
- Armoured car — evolved from. The tank combined the armour of an armoured car with the off-road ability of tracks.
- Armoured personnel carrier — evolved into. They appeared at the end of the First World War.
What it is a kind of
- Combat vehicle — is a kind of. A tank is a kind of combat vehicle.
Things built in a similar way
- Body armour — works like. One idea of protection — armour — at different scales.
- Siege tower — works like. An armoured mobile shelter and platform for attacking fortifications.