modern american super-heavy tank us tanks of ww2

Current Russian main tanks such as the T-64, T-72, and T-80 have all evolved out of medium tank designs and have tended to be much lighter and smaller than their American and British counterparts, which evolved out of World War 2's definition of heavy tanks.Īt the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union had two heavy tanks in production, the IS-2M and the IS-3. The Soviet Union maintained the medium tank/heavy tank distinction much later than any other major army, and this had significant impact of the nature of its main battle tank design. In both cases, this was a reaction to the German Panther tank, which set the benchmark for late the Great Patriotic War tank development. Likewise in Britain, the Centurion tank continued in production as the main battle tank, and tanks like the Churchill infantry tank and Cromwell cruiser tank simply disappeared. In the US Army, production of the M-4A3 medium tank was halted, and the M-26 Pershing tank became the forerunner of future main battle tanks. In the immediate post-war years, the evolution of Soviet heavy tanks proceeded in a very different fashion from heavy tank development in NATO. The modern main NATO tanks have exceeded the 55-ton milestone: (M1A1 - 57.1 tons Leopard-2A4 - 55.2 tons Challenger - 62 tons). Thus, according to our classification, such western medium tanks as, for example, M26, M46, M47, M60 (USA) or Centurion and Chieftain (England) should be classified as heavy tanks. In the USSR, tanks were classified by their combat weight, and combat vehicles weighing over 40 tons were considered heavy. What is a heavy tank? In NATO countries, a tank with a heavy gun of 120 mm caliber or more was considered heavy. They were created in an atmosphere of utter secrecy, were not exported abroad, did not participate in local wars, and by the 1990s they had been completely forgotten. Post-war heavy tanks are hardly known to the general reader. We see these tanks on pedestals, in museums and in cinema. On Jthe best heavy tank in the world was the KV-1, and on the IS-3 *.

From the first to the last day of the war, Soviet heavy tanks terrified the enemy.

Modern american super-heavy tank us tanks of ww2