M2 & M3 - American light tank

The first American tank known as T2 was born in Rock Island Arsenal in 1934, not long after its trials this prototype has evolved into the M2.

M2A1 light tank production was started in 1935, the initial version was armed with a .50 cal (12.7 mm) MG and a coaxial 7.62 mm MG. This tank could reach a top speed of 56 kmh (36 mph) what gives it an excellent scouting capacity.

During the Spanish Civil War the need for bigger gun become clear and the choice was the M5 AT 37 mm cannon so the US Army in 1938 ordered the M2A4 to be built with increased armor of 25 mm thick, using this 37 mm gun instead of machine guns and a new 250 hp
Continental 7 cylinders radial engine.


World War II has started and Europe is now facing a conflict a lot different from World War I, with the quick fall of France the US Army soon realized the need for a better tank and new doctrines.


The production of the M3 Stuart started in 1941, basically it was an upgraded version of the M2A4 with better suspension, a new and more powerful engine and a new M6 gun with better recoil system.



From the deserts of North Africa to dense jungles of Pacific islands the M3 proved its combat value due to its lightweight (14.7 tons) and good mobility. Many US allies have used the M3 during and after World War II, the list of former operators of this tank is huge (more than 30 countries).

Renault FT - French light tank

Tank warfare has proven its valor in the battlefield of World War I, but these machines were very hard to build, to maintain and deploy. By 1917 the French have visioned another way to use it, with a lighter and faster tank simple enough to be built in large numbers.

The Renault FT was a true revolution in tank design, crewed by only 2 men this small tank weighted 6.7 tons and used a simple 4 cylinders 39 hp engine, the FT could reach up to 7,5 kmh (4.66 mph) of top speed and the protection was provided by steel plates with 22 mm of thickness, the armament was a single Puteaux SA 18 37 mm cannon.

The first operational unit equipped with FT was the 1st BCL (Batallion de Chars Légers), and its baptism of fire was recorded by May, 1918 when a group of tanks managed to reach enemy lines and break through German defenses, despite its small size the FT proved to be capable to cross trenches and deal with incoming fire while the rotating turret could aim 360º around the tank.


An impressive number of 4500 Renault FT were built and used by French army and 20 more countries until late 40s.

A7V - German first tank

The Germany A7V tank was the answer to the Mark I of the British Army.

After the initial shock in the battlefield caused by the Mark I which proved to have a great psychological effect against unprepared infantry and with an easy could pass over trenches and fences spreading mayhem, the German high command ordered the development of its first tank. On April 1917 the first prototype of the A7V Sturmpanzerwagen begins its trials, weighting 30 tons this tank was operated by a crew of  nonetheless than 18 men, the A7V was armed with 6 Maxim MG 7.5 mm and one Maxim Nordenfelt 57 mm cannon, the protection was provided by plates of 30 to 20 mm thick and the pair of 100 hp Daimler petrol engine could reach a speed up to 9 mph (17 kmh).

On April 24, 1918, the first known tank-to-tank duel has taken place in the second battle of Villers-Bretonneux when a A7V leading the attack have encountered a British Mark I tank. after being hit 3 times, the German A7V has been knocked-out, the crew suffered many causalities but some managed to leave the tank.

After the failure of the A7V the German high command has canceled the order for 100 A7V tanks, but the experience learned from its short service in the army lead to the attempt to improve its design into the A7V-U with a full length tracks around the tank, similar looking to the Mark I but never passed the prototype phase until the end of World War I.

Mark I - British first tank

The history of tank began in the
United Kingdom, 1916.

World War I tears apart Europe with a conflict in a scale never seen before. The British army urges for a machine capable of turn the tides of war in its favor.

The Mark.I was based on a urgent need for a machine that could break through enemy lines, moving over trenches while dealing with enemy fire using its machine guns (4x  .303 / 7.62 mm Hotchkiss) to decimate infantry while the cannons (2x Hotchkiss QF 6 pdr / 57 mm) deals with fortified structures and MG nests.

Weighting 28 tons the Mark I was powered by a 105 hp six cylinders petrol engine, the hull used plates of 6 to 15 mm thick in a very distinctive shape with tracks going all around it providing good capacity to cross obstacles, the armament covers the flank of the tank for a good purpose, shot inside the trench while crossing it.

Despite its very low speed of only 3.7 mph (5.95 kmh), high rate of breakdown and cramped space for the crew with a hot engine and pipes in the middle of crew compartment, the Mark I proved to successfully accomplish its purpose having its baptism of fire in September 1916 in the Battle of Flers-Courcelett when they surprised the German troops in the dawn of a new era in war, ever since these heavy armored vehicles called tank changed the way of every conflict.