original template by Ray Lam, Fall 97

revised template by Daniella Priebatsch 4/98

WHERE: Italy

WHEN: 1482

The Tank

The tank is considered to be the backbone of the army. Its durability and strength provide the army with a vehicle that can travel almost anywhere and remain a very powerful destruction unit. Scientist and artist, Leonardo De Vinci, first thought of the tank in 1482. Since De Vinci traveled throughout Europe, we are not sure where it was invented, but know that it was somewhere in Italy.

The earliest version of the tank was a covered chariot with weapons sticking out at every angle. It was not until the 1900Ős that an all metal tank could be made because before then there was not an engine powerful enough to move it. Today there are many different kinds of tanks. Each tank is designed to do something special. For instance, an artillery tank is designed to lob devastating shells into areas from long distances away, but would be shot up in seconds in close combat. The artillery tank would not be effective in close combat because its weapon takes a long time to reload and it is not very accurate. The heavy tank is made to be a close range vehicle that is effective against other tanks because of its short reloading time and its very accurate weapon.

Almost all tanks follow a certain pattern in their design. The tank has a very well armored body and its only weak spot is its bottom. There is always a long cannon that fires shells attached to the front of the tank. The type of cannon depends on the type of tank. Certain tanks might even have two cannons. The cockpit is in the lower front of the tank and can hold 3-4 people. Most tanks have a machine gun attached to the top of the to deal with attacking infantry. The tank has proved to be a very useful and effective weapon and probably will stay that way for a very a long time.