page_title: Tanks in the Cold War
section_title: Development of the main battle tank
hierarchical_section_title: Tanks in the Cold War / Development of the main battle tank
caption_attribution_description: Centurion Tank at Eastbourne
context_page_description: During the Cold War, the two opposing forces in Europe were the Warsaw Pact countries on the one side, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries on the other side. The Warsaw Pact was seen by the West as having an aggressive force outnumbering the NATO forces.
  Soviet domination of the Warsaw Pact led to effective standardization on a few tank designs. In comparison, NATO adopted a defensive posture. The major contributing nations, France, Germany, the USA, and the UK developed their own tank designs, with little in common, while the smaller nations of NATO purchased or adapted these designs.
  After World War II, tank development continued largely as it had been because of the Cold War. Tanks would not only continue to be produced in huge numbers, but the technology advanced dramatically as well. Tanks became larger and their armour became thicker and much more effective. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design and terminal effectiveness. However, most contemporary tanks in service still have manually breech-loaded guns, a trait of the earliest tanks which is shared with most self-propelled and field guns.
context_section_description: Medium tanks gradually evolved into the new concept of the main battle tank. This transition happened gradually in the 1950s, as it was realized that medium tanks could carry guns (such as the US 90 mm gun, Soviet 100mm D-10 tank gun, and especially the British L7 105 mm gun) that could penetrate any practical level of armour at long range. The World War II concept of heavy tanks, armed with the most powerful guns and heaviest armour, became obsolete since they were just as vulnerable as other vehicles to the new medium tanks. Likewise, World War II had shown that lightly armed, lightly armoured tanks were of little value in most roles. Even reconnaissance vehicles shown a trend towards heavier weight and greater firepower during World War II; speed was not a substitute for armor and firepower.
  An increasing variety of anti-tank weapons and the perceived threat of a nuclear war prioritized the need for additional armor. The additional armour prompted the design of even more powerful cannons.  The main battle tank thus took on the role the British had once called the 'Universal tank', filling almost all battlefield roles. Typical main battle tanks were well armed and highly mobile, but cheap enough to be built in large numbers. The classic main battle tanks of the 1950s were the British Centurion, the Soviet T-55 series, and the US M47 and M48 series, which saw continuous updates throughout the Cold war. For example, the Centurion began life with the highly effective 17-pounder (76.2 mm) gun, but was upgraded to 20 pounder (84 mm) and then 105 mm main armament by 1959, with improved fire control and new engines.
  The Russian T-55 started with a 100 mm gun, but has been upgraded with both 115 mm and 125 mm guns, much improved fire control systems, new engines, track, etc. The M47 series evolved through to the M60 series. The first Soviet main battle tank was the T-64 while the first American MBT was the M48 Patton.
  These vehicles and their derivatives formed the bulk of the armoured forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War; many remain in use in the 21st century.
caption: British Centurion Mk 3 main battle tank at Eastbourne Redoubt
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