Role Of Tank In Battle Field From 20th Century Into 21st Century

Today Air force plays a dominant part in any kind of warfare and having control of the sky is more vital than important to win any possible battle but that’s only half a part of picture for the whole situation. In battlefield if you have total Air superiority but you will still need an infantry to conquer the enemy positions by land without which whole concept of war can’t be completed.

When it comes to land warfare Today we know tank as an impregnable part of infantry because it provide the mobility , firepower and armor protection in one package and help the infantry to cut through enemy defenses more easily in less time and with fewer friendly casualties. The tank we know today was a brainchild of the British inventors and their first tank “British Mark 1” was introduced in September 15, 1916 in “First World War” to cut through the dead lock of German trench warfare stalemate on western front and to end years of bloodshed.It was equipped with Two 6 pdr guns and 12 mm of armor protection against Heavy machine guns used in German trenches.French was next to follow and introduced “Renault FT” tank in 1917 against the German And it is said to be the first prototype of the modern era tank which can move its turret housing its 37 mm Main gun at 360 degree angle to fire in any direction gunner want irrespective of the way the body of the tank is moving. Armor of Renault FT is 22 mm of armor to provide it with nice protection at that time.It was Germans are the one who lagged behind in armored warfare during First World War Finally they have introduced their own version of A7V tank at the end of 1916  to fight against the odds of enemy armor. German A7V is equipped with 57 mm main gun which was most powerful gun placed on tanks of that time and also have superior 30 mm of armor protection on sides and 20 mm on front .But Germans got only handful of them and those was not quite enough to do some good against their enemies.The tanks was proved to be mechanically unreliable and cabin conditions are even worse for the crew but they have become the only mean to cross trenches covered with barbed wire , battle field full of craters made by artillery shelling and to evade the enemy heavy fire.

It is during the Second World War when true potential of the tank have been put to use. Tank has been introduced in the Second World War as a mainstay of the infantry warfare. And this time it was Germans Third Reich which have raised as world leader in Tank design and Armored warfare .The German “Tiger Tanks” and “Panzer 4” tanks are not only the most advanced and lethal tanks but they are at the epitome of the tank design of that time and there is no tanks in the world at that which can stand against its capabilities. But Western Allies and Russians are the one who unlike Germans give more importance to quantity than quality of the tanks. Therefore during Second World War they decided to go with less superior tanks than Germans which are easy to mass produce and could get repaired on-field.And this decision prove to be a blessing for them because German’s while having most superior Tanks of the war they are over-engineered to get mass produced and difficult to get Repaired on-field and this is the reason they have got seriously outgunned by inferior “Sherman tank’s” of Western Allies and “T- 34” of Soviet Army by thousands of tanks and rest his history when German got defeated in 1945 ending the Second World War. Tank has been put under constant research and development and it evolved to a great extent after the Second World War to the Modern Era. Since the first tank has been rolled out in 1916 it is in the race of superiority against the anti-tank weaponry and other tanks. A tank of the modern era has been evaluated on benchmarks of Armor, Firepower and Mobility and there is no tank in the world which can get unlimited amount of one of these capability without sacrificing the other , To become a potent weapon of choice, every tanks have to achieve balance between these three benchmarks.

Below are the Main Battle Tanks of Five different nation's of the world which are considered to be having the most lethal and advance technical superiority  in the present world and they are also considered to be achieved best balance between Armor, Mobility and Firepower.

M 1 Abrams Tank of United States

M 1 Abrams Tank Of United States -  M 1 Abrams Tank is the MBT currently in service with United States of America and it is designed as a successor of Patton tank. The design and development phase of M 1 Abrams Tank is done from 1979 to 1980 and finally it was put into production in 1980.

Armor Protection -  The Abrams is protected by British-designed Chobham armor , Chobham is a composite armor formed by spacing multiple layers of various alloys of steel, ceramics, plastic composites, and Kevlar, giving an estimated maximum (frontal turret) 64 inch of Rolled Homogeneous Armor to protect it against High Explosive Anti-Tank ,Kinetic Energy and Chemical Tank Rounds. It may also be fitted with Explosive reactive armor over the track skirts if needed and slat armor over the rear of the tank and rear fuel cells to protect against Anti-Tank Guided Missile. Beginning in 1987, M1A1 tanks received improved armor packages that incorporated depleted uranium (DU) mesh in their armor at the front of the turret and the front of the hull. Armor reinforced in this manner offers significantly increased resistance towards all types of anti-tank weaponry, but at the expense of adding considerable weight to the tank, as depleted uranium is 1.7 times more dense than Steel.

Mobility - The M1 Abrams' Tank power plant is "Gas Turbine" engine which primarily used in helicopters, It comprises a 1,500 shaft horsepower which runs on automatic six speed (four forward, two reverse) transmission providing ground breaking Power to weight ratio of 27 hp/ton and providing it with top speed of 72 km/hr on paved roads, and 48 km/h cross-country. The tank is Multi-fuel capable which meaning that it can run on diesel, kerosene, any grade of motor gasoline, and jet fuel. The operational range of The M1 Abrams' Tank is also nice at 480 km.

Fire Power -  The M1 Abrams' Tank is provided with 120 mm smooth-bore main gun which is designed by Rheinmetall AG of Germany and license build in United States, this is the same gun used in leopard 2 main battle tank of Germany , Being a smooth-bore gun it have an advantage long endurance because rifled gun have to get changed after firing few hundred rounds as it rifling got worn-out but this problem is solved using Smooth-bore gun moreover smooth-bore gun can fire more variety of shells then the rifled one, The main gun of M1 Abrams' Tank can fire variety of High Explosive Anti-Tank Round ,Kinetic Energy Sabot Round ,Chemical Anti-Tank Rounds, Depleted Uranium Penetrating Round, Armor Piercing and Discarding Round.

                                                                                                         
                                                                 The main gun of The M1 Abrams' Tank is controlled by fire control computer which uses Infrared beam and other sensors to acquire data regarding range finding and Target acquisition to process and make sure the round fired from the main 120 mm guns hits on target. The main gun of M 1 Abrams Tank is electrically stabilized with the main chassis of the tank, that mean even if the tank is moving over the rough surface gun will be still stabilized on its target to fire the round with near accuracy to hit on target.

                                                                           
                                                             M1 Abrams' Tank  is also provided with  one 50 calibers (12.7 mm) Machine gun mounted on the commander hatch as a secondary weapon which can be used for both anti-aircraft and anti-personal roles, The loader of the tank is also provided with one 7.62 mm machine gun for anti-personal role and Turret of the M1 Abrams' Tank is also provided with one 7.62 mm co-axial Machine gun. M1 Abrams' Tank tank also uses smoke flares to create a cloak of smoke to make the tank visually untraceable for enemy in any battle scenario.

Limitation's –  The Turbine Engine of the M1 Abrams' Tank is good for providing the unmatched weight to power ratio of 27 hp/ton and 1500 Horsepower in total  but it guzzles the fuel at very high rate because of which it need a continues supply of fuel for which it have to rely on the chain of support vehicle which can be attacked on easily, The exhaust of the tank from its turbine engine creates very high temperatures around the tank due to which it is very hard for the infantry men to take cover behind the tank from enemy fire. The production of the M1 Abrams' Tank is very complicated job in means of engineering and it is also very expensive to produce and that is the main reason behind its moderate production rate.

German Leopard 2 Tank

German Leopard 2 Tank -  Leopard 2 Tank is the main battle tank currently in service with German army, it is developed as a successor of Leopard 1 Tank. The design and development the Tank which should be capable to work in any terrain and atmosphere and have world class firepower is started in 1972 and finally Leopard 2 Tank put into production in 1979. Leopard 2 Tank Considered being the most advance and lethal tank in the world. Which is near perfect blend of the Armor, Mobility and Firepower a tank can get.

Armor Protection - Leopard 2 Tank uses spaced, multi-layered composite armor throughout the design. The Leopard 2 A5 and A6 models have additional armor added to the turret front, and on the hull and side skirts. The estimated protection for the Leopard 2 range from 940 mm on the turret, 620 mm on lower front hull against kinetic projectiles and Sabot round. The mine-protection plate for the belly of the Leopard 2 A6 is also provided to protect it against anti-tank mines and improvised explosive devices. The Leopard 2 A6 armored is sloped on such an angle that it make the Rpg-7 projectile to bounce off the surface and also provide extra protection against Armor piercing and discarding round  as it have to go through increased mass of armor when it is slanted at the extreme angles. Moreover Leopard 2 Tank is also provided with 76 mm smoke mortars and Infrared- decoys mounted on either side of the turret which can be electrically fired either as single rounds or in salvos of four to create a smoke screen and Infrared masking for providing the stealth to Leopard 2 Tank in case of close quarter battle with other tanks. The crew is also protected against Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) threats, as the Leopard 2 is equipped with a pressurized and sealed crew compartment which saves the crew from the threats from the outer atmosphere of the tank. The upper part of the tracks of Leopard 2 Tank is covered with side skirts, with the first two road wheels and idler covered by an armored skirt. The Leopard 2 is also equipped with an automatic fire protection system which uses fire extinguisher bottles which are triggered automatically by the fire detection system when temperatures rise above 82°C inside the fighting compartment.

Mobility - The Leopard 2 is propelled by the turbocharged diesel engine, which provides 1,500 horsepower of engine output. The diesel engine of Leopard 2  is a 4 stroke ,V 12 (12 cylinder) multi-fuel, liquid-cooled engine, which has an estimated fuel consumption rate of around 300 liters per 100 km and Leopard 2 is coupled to the Automatic transmission which has has 4 forward, 2 reverse gears. The Leopard 2 has 4 fuel tanks, which have a total capacity of approximately 1,160 liters, giving a maximum road range of about 500 km. The propulsion pack of Leopard 2 is capable of driving the Leopard 2 to a top road speed of 68 km/h .The engine and transmission is separated from the crew compartment through a fireproof Blast doors. The Leopard 2 has a torsion bar suspension to provide it cross-country mobility and easy to change and repair than hyro-numetic suspension. Leopard 2 is also provided with rubber pads on the tracks and layer of rubber on its wheels, which help in decreasing vibration of the main chassis generated through the friction between tracks and wheel metal surface and this provide stable platform for the firing of main gun and crew comfort .The Leopard 2 can drive through water 4 meters deep using a snorkel .The German Army has prioritized mobility in its Leopard 2 which is considered the fastest MBT in existence.

Firepower - Leopard 2 Tank is provided with 120 mm smoothbore main gun which is designed by Rheinmetall AG of Germany, this is the same gun used in M1 Abrams main battle tank of United States , Being a smoothbore gun it have an advantage long endurance because rifled gun’s got worn out after firing few hundred rounds but this problem is solved using Smoothbore gun moreover smoothbore gun in Leopard 2 and also make Leopard 2 suited to fire more variety of shells then the rifled one. The main gun of Leopard 2 is  can fire variety of High Explosive Anti-Tank Round, Kinetic Energy Sabot Round , Armor Piercing and Discarding Round. The main gun of The Leopard 2 is controlled by fire control computer which uses Infrared beam and other sensors to acquire data regarding range finding and Target acquisition to process and make sure the round fired from the main 120 mm guns hits on target. The main gun of Leopard 2 is Tank is electrically stabilized with the main chassis of the tank, that mean even if the tank is moving over the rough surface gun will be still stabilized on its target to fire the round with near accuracy to hit on target. The Leopard 2 is equipped with two secondary 7.62 machine guns; one mounted co-axially Mg on turret, the other on an anti-aircraft gun mounted near commander hatch.                    

Limitation's- The only disadvantage of the Leopard 2 is that it never been tested against the worthy competitor in a real war scenario else than that it’s a world best balance between Armor, Firepower and Mobility

Challenger 2 Tank of Great Britain

Challenger 2 Tank of Great Britain -  The challenger 2 is the Main Battle Tank currently in active service with United Kingdom. It was designed by BAE systems in 1986 and after years of research and development it was put to production in 1998.

Armor Protection –  Challenger 2 Tank is the most heavily armored and best protected tank in the world. The hull and turret of the tank is protected with the chobham armor which is twice the strength of military grade steel of same thickness and it is said to be protected against RPG 7 from point blank range and also protected to maximum extent from other anti-tank munitions. Challenger 2 Tank also comes with an option of Adding “Explosive Reactive Armor” bricks to further enhance its world leading protection. All this protection of Challenger 2 makes it only tank is the world which never gets destroyed in any battle during his whole life cycle to date. But this bulky armor makes the total weight of the Challenger 2 to 66 ton which brings it to the category of heavy tanks.

Mobility- Challenger 2 Tank is equipped with V 12 (12 cylinder arranged in V formation 6 on each side) Super charged diesel engine producing 1200 horsepower in total and this give the 66 ton tank a leading weight to power ratio of 20 Horse Power per Ton. Challenger 2 Tank has a top speed of 60 Km/hr on road and a range of 550 km with fuel tank of 1600 liters. The hydro-pneumatic suspension gives its superiority over the leaf spring suspension and provides it with the capability of cross-country speed of 50 km/hr in any type of terrain.

Fire power -  Challenger 2 Tank is provided with the 120 mm rifled main gun which can punch trough the toughest armor of the other tanks within the range of 5 km. The Challenger 2 Tank got the computerized fire-control system coupled with infrared range finder to hit the target accurately even 5 km away. Challenger 2 Tank got the stabilized main gun that provide it with the capability of firing its main gun with nice accuracy while the tank is moving in any direction . Challenger 2 Tank got one 7.62 mm commander Machine Gun and one 7.62 mm coaxial Machine Gun as a secondary weapon.

Limitation's -   Challenger 2 Tank is provided with world beating Armor protection and fierce Fire power but this make it as heavy as 66 ton due to which it relies on a nice civil infrastructure like strengthened bridges which can hold its weight and this decreases its mobility in a battle situation in less developed countries in which civil infrastructure is not that good. Moreover the production rate of Challenger 2 Tank is dead slow, there are only 450 of them produced and this possess the threat even if enemy got nice number of low quality tanks.

French Amx-56 Leclerc

French Amx-56 Leclerc -   France have always been seen as pioneer of tank design and warfare and considered to be inventor of world first modern tank Renault FT. Currently Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is serving as the Main Battle Tank of France and considered to be technologically most advance tank of the world. France has started the production of the Amx-56 Leclerc in 1991 as a successor to Amx-30.

Armor Protection -  Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is protected by active protection system from GIAT, which fires a variety of smoke grenades and infra-red screening rounds, as well as anti-personnel grenades. The hull and the turret of Amx-56 Leclerc are protected by various layers of modular composite armor, which can be replaced easily for repair or upgraded over the years. Amx-56 Leclerc also has the option of adding Explosive Reactive Armor tiles to further enhance its survival 

Mobility -  Amx-56 Leclerc Tank has an eight-cylinder engine V8 diesel engine producing  1500 hp with fully-automatic transmission having five forward and two reverse gears. The maximum on-road speed of Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is 75 km/h and 55 km/h cross country. The maximum range tank is 550 km, which can further enhanced to 650 km with removable external tanks.The combat weight of Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is just 56 tons which made it one of the lightest main battle tanks in the world, This further provides it with one of the best power-to-weight ratios among the Western tanks of 27 hp per ton and makes it one of the fastest accelerating MBTs of its generation because it can reach 0 to 32 km/h in 5 seconds. The engine exhaust gasses from the engine are cooled to reduce the thermal signature to protect it against IR seeking anti-tank munitions.

Fire power -  The Leclerc is equipped with a Nexter 120 mm smooth-bore gun. This gun is capable of firing the same NATO standard 120 mm rounds. The Amx-56 Leclerc Tank has a unique auto-loading system which was specifically designed to reduce the crew needed to three by eliminating the human loader. The Leclerc auto-loader allows a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute and it can fire all modern day rounds like High Explosive Anti-Tank Round, Kinetic Energy Sabot Round, Chemical Anti-Tank Rounds and Armor Piercing and Discarding Round. The main gun of Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is controlled by fire control computer which uses Infrared beam and other sensors to acquire data regarding range finding and Target acquisition to process and make sure the round fired from the main 120 mm guns hits on target. The main gun of Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is electrically stabilized with the main chassis of the tank, that give the capability to Amx-56 Leclerc Tank to fire while traveling at a speed of 50 km/h on a target 4,000 meters away. The gun is 52 calibers long instead of the 44 calibers common on most tanks of the Leclerc's generation, giving the rounds a higher muzzle velocity to penetrate the armor of other tank.

Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is also equipped with a 12.7 mm coaxial machine gun which is an increased amount of fire power than 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun compared to other modern tanks and it also got one Remote operated 7.62 mm commander machine gun which can be fired while commander being seated inside the tank which further increase the crew surviving potential.

Limitation's -  Amx-56 Leclerc Tank is over dependent on the technology and electronics, For instance the auto loader which takes the place of human loader personnel to load the main gun which is protected against possible failure and quite flawless as compared to other prototype auto loaders of other countries but its failure can leave the tank in defenseless situation and same applies for its electrically operated remote 7.62 mm commander machine gun which is indirectly operated from within the tank itself. It also shares the same disadvantage of over-engineered tanks which are difficult and expensive to mass produce.

Israel Merkava Mark 4 Tank

Israel Merkava Mark 4 -  Merkava Tank is the Main Battle Tank currently in service with Israel armed forces. Merkava Mark 4 tank is a major development over Merkava Mark 1 which itself came into existence in 1977 as Israel need a homemade option for their country fighting with its neighbors since its existence and been using foreign tanks like British centurion tank which is not suited with the geography of Israel they need something specially designed for their own terrain. That make Merkava Mark 4 the only tank which is built with the consultancy of tank regiments live war feeds and lessons learned from the war.

Armor Protection  – The Merkava Mark 4 is considered to be most safe tank for its crew and the whole tank is designed around the crew protection as a main purpose. The armor of the tank is composite homogeneous rolled armor which is made from various sandwiched layer of metal ,Kevlar and other homogeneous products and its armor I sloped in such a way that the projectile have to go through more mass of armor for penetrating it. Merkava Mark 4 is the only tank in world which has placed the engine of the tank in front which provide added protection for the crew survival which are seated behind the armor and the huge engine of the tank moreover it can also use the option of adding Explosive reactive armor tile to further enhance its protection. Merkava Mark 4 is also provided with unique escape hatch at the rear of the tank which saves the crew of the tank in case of tank being on fire and upper hatch are blocked.

Mobility - The Merkava Mark 4 is provided with turbocharged V12 diesel engine generating 1,500 horsepower was designed by MTU a German based design and is manufactured under license. The Merkava Mark 4 is weighted 65 ton which put it in heavy class tanks but the powerful diesel engine provides the world class power to weight ratio of 23 hp per ton and nice top speed of 55 km/hr.With the large fuel tank of 1400 liters The Merkava Mark 4 got the high operational range of 500 km which adds up to its mobility. The Merkava Mark 4 is also been provided with helical spring suspension system which is better than the classic torsion bar suspension and give it go anywhere endurance.

Fire Power - The Merkava Mark 4 is armed with a lethal 120 mm smooth-bore main gun which can punch trough the toughest armor of the other tanks but its main gun can be used not only to fire tank rounds but it can fire Lahat anti-tank missile too which further make it more lethal. The Merkava Mark 4 got the world standard computerized fire-control system coupled with infrared range finder to hit the target accurately several miles away. The Merkava Mark 4 got its main gun electrically stabilized which provides it with the capability of firing its main gun with nice accuracy while the tank is on the move. The Merkava Mark 4 got one 7.62 mm commander Machine Gun and one 7.62 mm coaxial Machine Gun as a secondary weapon. But unlike other MBT’s in the world it also provided with one 60 mm mortar system with optical sights which is operated remotely from inside the tank and this provided the Merkava Mark 4 with added lethality to its firepower. The Merkava Mark 4 is also provided with active protection system in which it can pop smoke and Infra-red decoys to mask it position in a situation of assault or in defense of tank itself.

Limitation's - The Merkava Mark 4 got the world standard Armor protection but this also adds up-to its weight which is 65 ton heavy tanks which is countered with its powerful engine providing near best power to weight ratio of 23 hp ton and this make it good to fight in rough plains and deserts of Israel but this can create a problem if it had to cross non reinforced bridges in urban atmosphere which decreases its mobility. The Merkava Mark 4 is also very complicated and expensive tank to mass produce therefore only 360 were produced so far. Moreover for producing The Merkava Mark 4 several critical parts like main gun, engine and other equipment are imported from other countries which make the logistics of production more complicated.

Conclusion

These five tanks of the third generation in active duty with five different nations are considered to be most lethal tanks present on the globe, which sets the benchmark for the other tanks to follow. And these tanks prove themselves to be the impregnable part of the today’s war scenario. Being in constant development to stay one step ahead of anti-tank munitions, Tanks are proving themselves as a mainstay of the any army of the world and will remain as an important asset of infantry warfare in future too.