Top Tens (Part 1: Tanks)

In any kind of land warfare, tanks are considered the monsters, and 3 factors make it so. It has to have the power to destroy its enemy, it has to be tough to take it on the chin, and it needs to move fast. Ever since the first tanks came onto the battlefield in 1916, they have not just have the power, toughness and speed, but also struck fear in the hearts and minds of the enemy. In this wiki page we will talk about the short documentary series on the Military Channel; Top Ten. This is about the episode where they list the 10 best tanks in history based on capability, product application and its role in history.

## 10. M-4 Sherman

As The United States was getting ready to fight in World War 2, they also wanted a tank that was powerful enough and tough enough to get them through the horrors of war. It was first used by the British during their campaign in North Africa as they were facing the Nazis. The Sherman was a good tank to drive as it can go over the rough terrain of the desert and it had a considerable speed of 30 MPH, but it had a design problem, its engine was gasoline powered which meant that if it were to get hit it would go up in flames, a flaw the Nazis exploited as they used their own tanks as well as anti-tank weapons that the infantry used. Though the Sherman wasn't able to outclass and outgun the Nazi tanks, but the Sherman's true strength was its own design, the design of the tank was so easy to make, that there's as many as 47,000 to 53,000 Shermans. On June 6, 1944 (D-Day) the Allies invaded Normandy and thanks to a specialist designer Percy Hobart, the Sherman was the front running tank during the invasion where it was made to swim and could swim right onto the beachheads. After Normandy, the Sherman was front and center as the Allies swept across Nazi occupied Europe, and with their sheer numbers, were able to take the fight back to Germany. It also seen limited action after World War 2 as it was picked up by other countries43

The Next tank would also have a design which would make it a safe place for it's crew.

## 9. Merkava

During the Cold War, a lot of the middle east armies have learned tank warfare as both sides were received their allies' tanks (either from the United States, Great Britain, or the Soviet Union), Israel decided to make their own tank, and in 1979 they came up with the Merkava. The tank served Israel during the Lebanese wars in 1980 and 2006, the Gaza War, and other operations. The Merkava has a unique design, the engine is in front of the crew compartment so that it increases crew survivability, and to add a bonus, the tank also as an escape hatch for when the crew has to evacuate. That is some pretty good engineering.

The only problem with the Merkava is that its unique design is what also makes it hard to produce on a large scale, the next tank wasn't. In fact there is as many as 100,000 of these tanks were ever produced.

## 8. T54/55

After World War 2, the Soviet Union went ahead and tried to make a tank that can outnumber the opposition since strength in numbers worked in the USSR's fight against Nazi Germany, so if it worked in one war, it could work in another. Thus, they have designed the T54/55, and they liked the design so much they went on to construct around 100,000 of these tanks, more than any allied tank at the time. Good thing the Cold War never got hot, but these tanks would see some action in Proxy Wars around the world, but when it did it began to show its age as it went up against more technologically advanced tanks in the west in places like Israel and even the First Gulf War.

So this tank may only be fearful due to its numbers, but the next tank the episode mentions has seen even more action.

## 7. Challenger

The Challenger tank is one of Great Britain's finest armored vehicles, it can hit targets as small as a football over 4,000 meters, though it has been said during the First Gulf War, it has hit a target at over 5,000 meters. During one engagement, it was hit 15 times by anti-tank weapons which only destroyed the sight, but was brought to maintenance to have another sight put on and was back in service. In a world of anti-tank arsenals, it is important for the tank to have the necessary armor to make them useless, and the Challenger has what is called Chobham Armor where it has materials of different density where it breaks up the explosion of the anti-tank round (which forms what is called a "jet" of flame which penetrates through metal, but with chobham armor, it breaks up the jet of flame and it loses its penetrating properties.

The only problem is that the Challenger is difficult to produce, and as such there's only a few of them. The next tank made the entire world afraid of tanks all over again.

## 6. Mk.4 Panzer

This was the face of the Nazi Blitzkrieg, it may not have spearheaded the Nazi invasion of Poland in September of 1939, but it did Nazi Germany a world of favors with their blitzkrieg in Western Europe as it broke through the Maginot Line and invaded Paris. It was seemingly unstoppable, but this is because it had what other tanks at the time didn't; a radio. With a radio, Nazi tank drivers can communicate with each other easily and safely and it allowed the drivers to coordinate their attacks and they attacked certain weak points in the Maginot Line which allowed these tanks to break through and invade Paris. It also allowed these tank to move at a fast speed and earn their fear factor. Even after World War 2, it was continued to be used in smaller armies around the world (like Syria) during the Proxy Wars of the 1960s and 70s.

The episode goes from a fearful tank in World War 2, to a tank that could've been it's formidable opponent but was too late when it came into production.

## 5. Centurion

First produced in 1945, the British Centurion Tank has made itself formidable as a Cold War era tank. Its main gun, armor, speed, and other features made this a really good tank to use. Though, first intended to be used in World War 2, but Nazi Germany fell before this tank was put into service, so instead it was a Cold War era tank as it saw action in the middle east during the Proxy Wars taken place in the region, especially in the beginning of the Yom Kippur War only 2 Centurions went up against an entire armored division from Syria and in just a 30 hour battle, the entire Syrian division was wiped out. This would impress the Israeli forces so much that they adopted the tank which ultimately led to having their own tank; the Merkava.

The episode now goes to the oldest tank in the history of Warfare, the tank that would contribute to the Western Alliance's victory in World War 1.

## 4. Mk.4 Tank

With Trench Warfare slowing everything down with the deep dug in trenches, machine guns, and barbed wire making it very difficult to move across the battlefield, Western Alliance command wanted to get troops moving again. They came up with what they called at the time was a Land Battleship where have the firepower and protection of a battleship on the land and the infantry can get behind it and try to move again. The Mk.4 Tank was seen as a solution, first introduced at the Battle of the Somme and it was late of having its impression felt. This is because it was too slow and had a hard time crossing trenches (which the tank was designed for), it also had thin armor and the soft metal on the inside was brittle and prone to splintering if anything substantial hits the armor, it was also powered by a huge engine which vented the exhaust into the crew compartment, creating a very hot and suffocating environment inside the tank. Nevertheless, it was a fearsome opponent to the Central powers as (as far as machines go) was the biggest machine that have seen thus far, and with guns, it made it even more fearful, and this point was made clear at the Battle of Cambrai when a force of 50 tanks took on a battalion of German troops, these tanks overran their positions and penetrated 5 miles into enemy territory.

The episode then goes from the originator of "fearsome beast" to one that became a beast in its own right.

## 3. Tiger

This episode has put this high on the list for reasons I really don't understand. Though, it was a fearsome beast in its own right as it had an anti-aircraft cannon as a main gun which has a very long range and can destroy anything it targets, and armor that was seemingly invincible to anything fielded by the Allies and the Soviets. But there's a lot of things is what kept the Tiger Tank from being a world beater. I have made a wiki page about how the Tiger tank failed, click here if you want to know more.

Because it used a lot of huge equipment such as a complex engine an anti-aircraft gun and thick armor made it a very difficult tank to build as well as fix, so it spent more time in the production factory and the maintenance department than it did on the battlefield, and thus there wasn't a lot of these tanks present. Despite that it can outgun the Sherman and Russian Tanks, but it was outnumbered by the aforementioned tanks which took the fight back to Germany.

The episode now goes from a fearsome World War 2 tank to a modern tank that still stalks the battlefield.

## 2. M1 Abrams

First produced in 1972, the M1 Abrams tank became the pride of the United States' armored division. During the first Gulf War, it spearheaded the attack during Operation Desert Storm against Saddam Hussein's own tank division who believed it would be the biggest tank battle in history, but his divisions got crushed by a division of M1 Abrams. A sophisticated machine, it was made to be fully digital as it can hit long range targets, but also an equally sophisticated communication system as these tanks communicate with each other wirelessly, so if one tank sees a target, another tank shoots at it. But, the tank does have an Achilles' heel, the Textron AGT 1500 Gas Turbine engine (an engine that powers a helicopter) which needs to generate large quantities of air as well as gas to fuel the thrust it pumps.

But perhaps it's biggest problem that it hasn't seen action against a worthy opponent, which the last tank the episode mentions did.

## 1. T-34

Made by an American Tank Designer J. Walter Christie, the T-34 tank's design was a very unique one. Not only did the tank have the suspension system which would bear Christie's name, but it also had slopped armor which would slightly increase the thickness of the armor by using some complex geometry. Christie knew that he wasn't going to persuade the American military into buying into his tanks, so he brought them to the Russians who did buy into the tanks and they started to make their own tanks, and the T-34 was then made. Though late in making its impression, it soon would stop the Nazi Panzers in their tracks and brought Operation Barbarossa to a halt. They also made an impression in the Battle of Stalingrad where it would go into action immediately as soon as the tank was finished. The T-34 also made its mark in the Battle of Kursk where it was one of the biggest tank battles of the war, the T-34 was at the forefront, despite the Soviets losing dozens of tanks in that battle, the Soviets were able to win that battle and gain a foothold on the tide on the Eastern Front, as with the Sherman Tank the T-34's main strength was it's own design as it was an easy tank to make and mass produce, and that proved to be the deciding factor in the war.

Now, I will make up my own list of Top 10 Tanks.

#### Johnny's Top 10 Tanks

 **1.** T-34

My list doesn't differ from the episodes, though I would rank the Sherman higher than the Merkava because it has seen more action, I even put the Modern German Tank; the Leopard because of its technological capabilities and its ease of maintenance as it can be more digital than the Abrams, I also ranked the Challenger higher than the Abrams because it's not powered by a turbine engine which requires a lot of attention and maintenance, of course because of its historical significance, the T-34 is #1.

That is it for this episode. In our next episode, we will talk about the docuseries' list on fighter planes. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.