Bison Mobile Pillbox

United Kingdom (1940) Mobile Pillbox – ~200 Built In the years since the Second World War, the Bison has been roundly mocked for being a terrible AFV and a bad idea. This is often held up as part of the ‘Declinist’ view of Britain’s war effort, an attempt to ridicule the entirety of the British …

Kaenbin

Empire of Japan (1939) Anti-tank Weapon – ~1,200 Made There is a saying, Proper Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance (also known as the 7 P’s). In 1939, the Imperial Japanese Army proved this to be true by winning a battle against an overwhelming enemy armored force, without a single tank of their own. …

Morris-Martel Tankettes

United Kingdom (1925) Tankettes – 10 Built Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel was arguably one of the most important men in early British tank development. During the First World War and in the immediate aftermath, he served in the Royal Engineers. During this period, he became heavily involved in the development of tanks and bridging. …

Tank, Medium Gun, FV221 Caernarvon

United Kingdom (1953) Medium Gun Tank – 11 Built In 1949, the British Armed Forces were subjected to a ‘financial blizzard’ that swept through the military procurement. As usual, it was driven by the Treasury in an effort to save money. One of the casualties of this storm of cuts was the Army’s newest tank, …

Guy Light Tank (Wheeled)

United Kingdom (1939) Armored Car – 101 Built In 1937, the British Army had just completed re-equipping its reconnaissance formations with a new armored car, the Morris CS9. However, the CS9 had one critical flaw: it only had two-wheel drive. The War Office was well aware of the superiority of a four-wheel drive armored car, …

Johnson’s Light Tropical Tank

United Kingdom (1922) Light Tank – 1½ Built In 1919, an English man stepped off of a boat onto the soil of India. This was Colonel Philip Johnson, one of Britain’s few tank designers. Although Johnson would never design a tank that was accepted into service and had a habit of designing what he wanted, …

Mitsu-104

Empire of Japan (Mid 1930s) Heavy Tank – Prototype/Paper Design After the First World War, most nations started looking at their armed forces, specifically to how advances in weapons technology affected the way they would and could fight. The Japanese were no exception, especially in armored vehicle development. In many respects, the Japanese Army avoided …

Vickers No.1 & No.2 Tanks

United Kingdom (1921) Tank – 2 Prototypes Built In early 1921, the British government’s Tank Board and its General staff representative Colonel John Frederick Charles Fuller were considering their next tank design. The result of their deliberations resulted in a set of very loose requirements. These requirements stated that this new tank would need to …

Vickers Medium Mk.I & Mk.II

United Kingdom (1924) Medium Tank – 286 Built The early 1920’s were a difficult time for the British Royal Armoured Corps (RAC). Their First World War tanks were becoming worn down and obsolete. Equally, a series of projects designed in house, such as the Medium D, Medium C, and Light Infantry tank, had all failed. …

Projet Tigre (April Fools)

France (1959) Light SPG – Fake This article has been published on Tanks Encyclopedia on the 1st of April 2018, as part of our April’s Fools Day celebrations. The information contained is mostly fictional but with some parts that are actual truth, like the German use of Renault UEs and the Wurframen conversion. A German …