K-91 (Rear-Mounted Turret)

Soviet Union (1949) Heavy Tank – Blueprints Only After the Councils of Ministers of the USSR had terminated all heavy tank projects of 50 tonnes and more in 1949, many Soviet design bureaus and factories saw their opportunities to design new vehicles. One of these was OKB IC SV (Design Bureau of the Engineering Committee …

K-91 (Front-Mounted Turret)

Soviet Union (1949) Heavy Tank – Blueprints Only With the end of the Second World War (Great Patriotic War in Russia) and the uncertainties of a new war, many nations sought to design weapons as revolutionary and powerful as possible. This often involved thinking outside the box, resulting in some odd and interesting designs. One …

E 100 Ausf.B (Henschelturm or Rinaldi’s Turret) (Fake Tank)

German Reich (1944) Superheavy Tank – Fake The engineering prowess and military might of Nazi Germany still fascinate many, from young amateurs to veteran historians, almost a century later. The nearly legendary stories of super-heavy tanks, laser weapons, and flying saucers leave many to wonder what could have happened if the war lasted longer. The …

Jagdpanzer E 100 (Fake Tank)

German Reich (1944) Tank Destroyer – Fake The E 100 super heavy tank is one of the most fascinating tanks of Nazi Germany. While it does not have near-mythical combat legends of the Tigers or the sheer weight of the Maus, its partially built hull was impressive enough to cement it into tank history for …

Gremyakin’s Medium Tank (STG)

Soviet Union (1953) Medium Tank – Blueprints Only The STG was a tank designed by Soviet engineer Gremyakin around 1952 to 1953. It came as a proposal to the Ministry of Defence of the USSR, which wanted a new medium tank, but with the armor and firepower of a heavy tank, and with the dimensions …

Char de Forteresse ARL

France (1939) Superheavy Tank – None Built In 1937, the French military requested the design of heavy breakthrough tanks to be able to take on the German Westwall Line being built alongside the French border, vis-à-vis the Maginot Line. This was the Char Lourd (Eng: Heavy tank) program. Three companies presented designs, ARL, AMX and FCM, …

PT-76

Soviet Union (1952-1967) Amphibious Light Tank – Approximately 12,000 Built The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious light tank designed in 1948 which saw service from 1952 up until its gradual retirement from 1967 onwards, partly replaced by the more versatile BMP-1 APC. Characterized by a wide hull and water jet propulsion, the PT-76 offered excellent …

BTR-50

Soviet Union (1954-1970) Amphibious Armored Personnel Carrier – 6,500+ Built Introduction The BTR-50 was the first mass-produced tracked and amphibious Soviet-built armored personnel carrier (APC). It was developed from the desperate need of a more mobile APC, capable of keeping up with tanks in rough terrain and be able to operate in the difficult terrain …

GAZ-68 / KSP-76

Soviet Union (1943-1944) Wheeled Infantry Support Gun – 1 Built The SU-76 remains, to this day, one of the most well-known Soviet self-propelled guns of the Second World War. Yet, at the start of its production, it was plagued by unreliability and mechanical issues caused by its drivetrain. Thus, production was halted at only 560 …

Object 704

Soviet Union (1945) Heavy Self-Propelled Gun – 1 Prototype Built The SU-152 and ISU-152 were, and still are, well known for their massive guns and impressive claimed capabilities against German tanks such as the Tiger and Panther. That is how they got their nickname “Zveroboy”, meaning beast killer. However, that was more related to propaganda …

Object 257

Soviet Union (1945) Heavy Tank – None Built The IS-7 (Object 260) is one of the most well-known tanks developed by the USSR, in part due to its massive size and weight, placing it with the likes of Tiger II. However, few know about its lengthy and intricate development process, consisting of many years of …

ARL 37 ‘Char de Rupture’

France (1937) Heavy Tank – None Built The 1930s was a period of rapid re-armament and tank development. Many European nations were focusing on developing and improving their own tank forces, leading to more and more specialized and advanced fighting vehicles. France was not to be left behind, reorganizing part of its defense industry and …

Object 252 Improved, ‘Object 252U’

Soviet Union (1944) Heavy Tank – None Built The Last breath of the IS-6 In the later years of the Second World War (‘The Great Patriotic War’ to the Soviets), there was a quest to develop a replacement for the IS-2 heavy tank. The development process resulted in the IS-6 (Object 252/Object 253) and IS-4 …

Tracteur FCM F4

France (1937) Heavy Tank – None Built Back in the 1930s, the tank was still a relatively new weapon. The masterminds of the world’s most powerful tank forces were still debating about its role on the battlefield. Fits of paper fantasy showed engineers and designers putting on as much armor and as big of a …

AMX 37 ‘Char de Rupture’

France (1937) Heavy Tank – None Built During the mid-1930s, Germany started construction of the Westwall, otherwise known as the Siegfried Line. This fortification spanned across the German border with France up until their border with Denmark and was equipped with numerous bunkers and cannons. The French authorities were alarmed by this and figured that …