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Watcharit Wade Polsen

Mr. Abel Cadias

English 10/ 10:02

May 19, 2017

How Tanks in WW2 Inspired The Production Of Modern World Tanks

Modern world tanks like T-99, and T-80U had improved their armors, weapons, and

speed based on tanks that were made since World War 2. The purpose of this research report is to

explain how tanks in WW2 inspired the production of modern world tanks based on their

engineering. The importance of this research report is to provide information that can be a

guideline for further developments of tanks in the future. In this report, five pieces of

information had already been provided. First one is an article published in New World

Encyclopedia entitled World War 2: Blitzkrieg and combined arms by Rosie Tanabe, which

explains the design of tanks and their mass production during World War 2. Second, Pike in his

article Type 99 Main Battle Tank discusses on a modified armor that had been added for T-99.

Third, T-80U main battle tank, an article published by a website fprado.com by Padro

describes about the increased speed of T-80U by its new gas turbine engine. The website also

provided details on the new weapon systems that are also added to T-80U as well. Fourth,

Wilkins had published his article entitled Is the main battle tank obsolete? which points out on

disadvantages on the improvements gave to modern day tanks. Lastly, The authors personal

observations on the engineering differences on WW2 tank; T-34, and its successor; T-99.

Tanks in the Old Days

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According to Tanabe (2015), a tank is an armoured, tracked vehicle equipped with long

range caliber gun, and heavy armor to both engage the enemy head-on and provide cover for its

allies. During the war, tanks are fearsome war machines that draws the enemy attention to them.

And because of this, the armies will also have to defend their tanks, as the tanks can be attacked

from the flank, closer range, or longer range than they can fight back. An era of worlds tank

warfare started since the 15th century, when people started to transform their wagons used for

carrying goods to equipped with a long range cannon and metal plates as an armor for wars.

Many improvements for the tanks had been made for centuries until the Mark 1, the first

complete tank was built in the 19th century. BBC history (2011) stated that The Mark 1 was able

to carry eight crew at a time and provide a large cover for soldiers in the open areas, yet they can

be easily targeted by the enemy because of their size and their armors were not strong enough to

withstand the damage from any anti-tank weapons. After the end of World War 1 and the

beginning of World War 2, militaries produced battle tanks at an alarming rate for a quick

advance and conquer on the battle of Europe, which we called this situation a Blitzkrieg. This

was also the time when these tanks were upgraded tanks with newer designs of smaller size,

equipped with one long-range caliber gun, and thicker armor than Mark 1. They also mounted

with light machine gun turrets for self protection in close range and a radio transmitter for

communication (Tanabe, 2015). World War 2 tanks also played a new role as a moving artillery

because of their new designs, which allow them to engage the enemy directly even when they are

alone; unlike tanks in World War 1 which had to stay near the infantry for protection. Below are

diagram images of British Mark 1 and its successor, Soviet T-34.

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Figure 1 Comparison on the size between Mark 1(left) and T-34(right), which shows that T-34
was shorter than Mark 1 on length and width, and had an obvious long-range caliber gun on its
top.

Improvements Given to Modern World Tanks

When World War 2 ended, more than 100,000 tanks were destroyed. Some of the tanks

during that time can still be seen nowadays; some were put in place, and some were still

operational in some countries of the world. However, with the improvements of the worlds

technology, some improvements had been added to the tanks in World War 2, upgrading them

and make them even more powerful and more utility than those in the past. Some sample

upgrades for tanks nowadays are new types of engine, stronger armor, ballistic computer system,

and laser-guided system. Here are some successors from the World War 2. First is the Type-99,

the chinese main battle tank which was the development of World War 2 T-34. According to

Pike (2015), Type-99 had been in service for 16 years since 2001, and was the most advanced

main battle tank during that time. During its production, Type-99 had replaced its 1,200hp diesel

engines into 1,500hp diesel engine, make it runs 80 kilometers per hour on road and 60

kilometers per hour off-road. Type-99 also wear its front hull with Explosive Reactive Armour

(ERA), a modified armor which can prevent the penetrating projectiles from reaching the inner

part of the tank and cause a damage. This modified armor will increases its effectiveness on

every impact from the projectiles for a small amount of time before it weakened and left the tank
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itself vulnerable. Another sample tank that is also a successor from the World War 2 is the

Russian main battle tank T-80U. T-80U shares the same ancestor with Type-99 which is T-34,

but T-80U had stronger armor and weapon armaments than both Type-99 and T-34. Padro (2014)

said in his article that T-80U was the first tank in Soviet Union that used gas turbine engines

which allow them to go as fast as 70 kilometers per hour. It may not go as fast as Type-99, but it

had stronger armaments. T-80U can fires 9M119 Refleks, an anti-tank guided missile which can

target the enemy tank in a range up to 4 kilometers by a pinpointing system within the tank itself.

T-80U also equipped its main gun with the autoloader that stores ammunitions and fire them at

the rate of 6-8 rounds per minute. These are some example of the improvements given to modern

world tanks.

Modern World Tanks Weaknesses

From all improvements that were made for many decades since World War 2, tanks in

modern world are far more greater than those in the past in many ways. Yet, they also have some

disadvantages and their improvements as well. Modern world tanks were equipped with greater

development weapons, sensing system and increased protection. But they were also highly

vulnerable to modern world anti-tank weapons as well. (Wilkins, 2016). This article is best

described that even though tanks in modern world may had equipped with an advanced

technology for offensive and defensive purposes, but they are not always good for all the time.

One reason is that the more advanced modern world tanks are, the more advanced the anti-tank

weapons there are. As modern world tanks continue upgrading their weapons and armors over

time, enemies also upgrade their anti-tank weapons to deal with them. Most of these anti-tank
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weapons are equipped with laser-pinpointed, and other guiding systems that can destroy tanks

even when they try to go fast or attempt to escape. Some of these anti-tank weapons are also

minimized their size to be able to carry in the briefcase, best for hit-and-run purposes. Presently,

these weapons are producing at an alarming rate, making tanks at high risk of being destroyed.

Unlike during World War 2, the anti-tank weapons were not equipped with any kind of guiding

system and didnt have hit-and-run as their main purpose but face-to-face instead, yet the tanks

themselves still had a weak armor that cant withstand the hit.

Conclusion

The purpose of this research report was to explain how tanks in WW2 inspired the

production of modern world tanks based on their engineering. This research report concluded

that tanks in modern world are actually made from those during World War 2 by adding more

armor, advanced weapon systems, as well as the engines, making them become more powerful,

faster, and stronger. However, they are still vulnerable to modern world anti-tank weapons that

are producing at an alarming rate and have more firepower than the tanks themselves, similar to

an era of World War 2. The research report is recommended for further research on the

development of new types of armor and weapon for the production of the future tanks.

References

BBC - History (2011, February 17). World Wars: Weapons of War: Mark 1 Tank - non interactive
version. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/nonflash_tank.shtml

Padro F. (2014, April 13). T-80U Main battle tank. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from
http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/T-80U.htm
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Pike J. (2015, June 7). Type 99 Main Battle Tank. Para 1.

Retrieved March 28, 2017, from:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/type-99.htm

Tanabe R. (2015, November 13). Tank (military), World War 2: Blitzkrieg and combined arms.
Retrieved March 31, 2017 from: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?
title=Tank_(military)&oldid=992008

Wilkins T. (2016, March 18). Is the main battle tank obsolete?.

Retrieved April 20, 2017 from: https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/is-
the-main-battle-tank-obsolete/