Born in the muddy trenches of the First World War, the tank evolved within a century from an infantry support tool into one of the most complex platforms on the battlefield. These are the milestones.

Mark I tank technical blueprint — Mark I (1916) — schematic blueprint

1916 — The Somme: Mark I and the birth of the word "tank"

On 15 September 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, the British Mark I carried out the first tank attack in history. The 28-ton rhomboid came in two flavors: a "male" with 6-pounder guns in side sponsons and a "female" armed only with machine guns. The name itself was a cover story — the project was disguised as a water tank shipment, and the codename stuck.

Only 32 of 49 vehicles started the attack; most bogged down or broke. But one truth was clear: a tank could do what an infantryman charging a machine-gun line could not.

Renault FT tank technical blueprint — Renault FT (1917) — the template for modern tanks

1917-1918 — Renault FT: the template for the modern tank

The French Renault FT defined the three principles still used today: driver in front, rotating turret in the middle, engine at the back. Built on a true production line, over 3,000 were made during the war. The US, Russia, Poland, Italy and Japan all copied it. The skeleton of the 21st-century tank was drawn in Billancourt in 1917.

Tiger I tank technical blueprint — Tiger I (1942) — 88 mm KwK 36

1939-1945 — Blitzkrieg and the golden age of armor

WWII forced a redesign every twelve months. Three schools collided:

German school — quality and engineering. The Panther (1943) brought sloped armor and a long-barreled 75 mm gun. The Tiger I (1942) could kill any Allied tank at 2 km with its 88 mm KwK 36. Both were expensive, maintenance-heavy and produced in small numbers.
Soviet school — mass and simplicity. The T-34 (1940) is arguably the most influential tank in history: sloped armor + 76 mm gun + wide tracks + a design simple enough to build in a tractor factory. Over 80,000 were produced during the war.
American school — industrial scale. The M4 Sherman was technically inferior to the Tiger but 49,000 were built, easy to repair, shipped to every corner of the world. Numerical superiority usually beat qualitative superiority.

This era also crystallized the tank destroyer (Jagdpanther, SU-100), heavy tank (IS-2, Tiger II) and medium tank categories.

1945-1990 — The Cold War and the MBT concept

The Cold War produced the Main Battle Tank (MBT) — a single platform fusing the light, medium and heavy classes. The Soviet T-54/55 (1947) was one of the first; with 100,000+ built it still holds the record.

The Western side built the Leopard 1 (1965) and Chieftain (1966). In the 1970s, Chobham composite armor (UK, RARDE) reshaped tank design: layered steel + ceramic + resin gave 3-5x the HEAT protection of RHA at the same weight. By 1980 it was standard on the M1 Abrams and Leopard 2.

M1 Abrams tank technical blueprint — M1 Abrams — 120 mm smoothbore + composite armor

1991 — Desert Storm: the digital moment

The Gulf War was when the digital revolution in tank doctrine went public. M1A1 Abrams crews could see Iraqi T-72s at 2,500 meters through thermals and kill them on the first round thanks to a ballistic computer. Iraqi tanks were destroyed before they could even spot the Americans. At the Battle of 73 Easting, 9 Abrams killed 28 Iraqi tanks without a single loss.

Lesson learned: tank power was no longer just armor and caliber, but the equation of sensors + fire control computer + crew training.

2000-2020 — Asymmetric threat and active protection

Iraq and Afghanistan forced tanks to deal with new threats: RPG-7, EFPs and remote-detonated IEDs. The answer was active protection. Israel's Trophy (Rafael) system uses radar to detect an incoming anti-tank round and destroys it mid-air with an explosive countercharge. It has been operational on Merkava IVs since 2011 and is now on Abrams and Leopard 2A7.

T-14 Armata tank technical blueprint — T-14 Armata — unmanned turret + Afghanit APS

2015-2026 — T-14 Armata, KF51 Panther and the unmanned turret

Russia's T-14 Armata (2015) was the first MBT to ship with an unmanned turret — the three-man crew sits in an armored capsule up front, and the gun assembly is operated remotely. Germany's KF51 Panther (2022, Rheinmetall) ships with a 130 mm gun, integrated loitering drones and AI-assisted target recognition. The 2022-2024 Ukraine war then showed that an FPV drone with $500 of explosives can disable a T-90M — forcing designers to add a new defensive layer (top-hemisphere protection).

Tomorrow — autonomous, networked, hybrid-electric

Three clear trends for the next decade:

Hybrid-electric drive — lower heat signature, silent watch mode, digital power distribution.
Networked combat — the tank as a node in a shared target-data network with drones, helicopters and infantry.
Optional unmanned operation — driverless reconnaissance or high-risk first-wave missions.

Conclusion — a century-long equation

Tank design has always been a three-variable equation: firepower, armor, mobility. From the Mark I's 6 km/h to the T-14's 80 km/h, from a 6-pounder to a 125 mm smoothbore, the same question keeps recurring: "Will you see first, shoot first, die first?" The trio hasn't changed — only the scale has.

If you want to feel the same equation in a tactical arena, the Hunt and Arena modes in TANK//LOCK are built around solving that trio with different hull configurations.

A Century of Tanks: From the 1916 Mark I to Today