Armoured fighting vehicle

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A M1128 Mobile Gun System firing its 105 mm cannon

An armoured fighting vehicle (or armored fighting vehiclesee spelling differences) AFV is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and generally armed with weapons, which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. It is not uncommon for AFVs to be simply referred to as "armour".


Successful general-purpose armoured fighting vehicles often also serve as the base of a whole family of specialized vehicles, for example, the M113 and MT-LB tracked carriers, and the MOWAG Piranha wheeled AFV.

Evolution of AFVs[edit]



Model of a vehicle sketched by Leonardo da Vinci

Prior to the invention of the internal combustion engine and the advent of armoured warfare in the 20th century, the AFV classification did not exist. However, war machines with rudimentary armour have been used in battle for millennia. These designs historically struggled between the paradox of exposed-mobility, effective-firepower and cumbersome-protection. Siege engines, such as battering rams, would often be armoured in order to protect the crews from the defenders.

The idea of a vehicle with a tortoise like cover has been known since antiquity. Frequently cited is Leonardo da Vinci's 15th century sketch of a mobile, protected gun platform; the drawings show a conical, wooden shelter with apertures for cannons around the circumference. The machine was to be mounted on four wheels which would be turned by the crew through a system of hand cranks and cage (or "lantern") gears. Leonardo quoted "I will build armored wagons which will be safe and invulnerable to enemy attacks. There will be no obstacle which it cannot overcome." However, modern replicas have demonstrated that the human crew would have been able to move it over only short distances.

Hittite chariot (drawing of an Egyptian relief)

The chariot was used as a mobile archery platform and as a "battle taxi". The original chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or more horses hitched side by side. It was used for ancient warfare during the bronze and the iron ages. The war wagon were medieval weapon-platforms development during the Hussite Wars around 1420 by Hussite forces rebelling in Bohemia. These heavy wagon were given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using pikes and flails.

Modern AFVs[edit]

Armoured car[edit]

The first modern AFVs were armoured cars, dating back virtually to the invention of the motor car. The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F.R. Simms in 1898. It was the first armed petrol engine powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar. An iron shield in front of the car protected the driver.[1]

F.R. Simms' 1902 Motor War Car, the first armoured car to be built.

The first armoured car was the Simms' Motor War Car, designed by Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in1899.[2] The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3-litre[3] 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a maximum speed of around 9 miles per hour (14 kilometres per hour). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse.[4][5]

Another early armoured car of the period was the French Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902, presented at the Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle in Brussels, on 8 March 1902.[6] The vehicle was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun, and with 7 mm armour for the gunner.[7][8] Armoured cars were first used in large numbers on both sides during World War I as scouting vehicles which offered armoured protection to the crew.

British World War I Mark V* tank.

The development of the AFV took a great leap forward during World War I, when the tracked tank was developed by Britain and France to break the stalemate on the Western Front. The tank was envisioned as an armoured machine that could cross ground under fire from machine guns and respond with fire from mounted guns. It was to move on caterpillar tracks to enable it to cross ground broken up by shellfire and trenches.

In Great Britain, the Landships Committee was formed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill[9] on 20 February 1915. The Director of Naval Construction for the Royal Navy, Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt, was appointed to head the Committee in view of his experience with the engineering methods it was felt might be required. The first design, Little Willie, ran for the first time in September 1915 and served to develop the form of the track but an improved design, better able to cross trenches, swiftly followed and in January 1916 the prototype, nicknamed "Mother", was adopted as the design for future tanks. Production models of "Male" tanks (armed with naval cannon and machine guns) and "Females" (carrying only machine-guns) would go on to fight in history's first tank action at the Somme in September 1916.[9][10] Great Britain produced about 2,600 tanks of various types during the war.[11]

In 1916, the French pioneered the use of a full 360° rotation turret in a tank for the first time, with the creation of the Renault FT light tank, with the turret containing the tank's main armament. In addition to the traversible turret, another innovative feature of the FT was its engine located at the rear. This pattern, with the gun located in a mounted turret and the engine at the back, became the standard for most succeeding tanks across the world.[12] The FT was the most numerous tank of the War; over 3,000 were made by late 1918.

Other AFVs[edit]
The Mark IX tank, the first armoured personnel carrier.

The tank proved highly successful, and as technology improved it became a weapon that could cross large distances at much higher speeds than supporting infantry and artillery. The need to provide the units that would fight alongside the tank led to the development of a wide range of specialised AFVs, especially during the Second World War.

The Armoured personnel carrier, designed to transport infantry troops to the frontline, emerged towards the end of WWI. During the first actions with tanks it had become clear that often infantry could not keep up with the tanks; they could not be transported in the tank, due to the poor atmosphere quality. In 1917, Lieutenant G.R. Rackham was ordered to design an armoured vehicle specifically for troop transport. The Mark IX tank was built by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., although just three vehicles were finished at the time of the Armistice and only 34 were built in total.

An Italian L3/33 tankette.

Different tank classifications emerged in the interwar period. The tankette was conceived as a mobile, two-man model, mainly intended for reconnaissance. In 1925 Sir John Carden and Vivian Loyd produced the first such design – the Carden Loyd tankette. Tankettes saw use in the Italian Royal Army during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, and almost every place Italian soldiers fought during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Army also used them for jungle warfare.[13][14]

British Gun Carrier Mark I (60 pdr).

The British Gun Carrier Mark I was the first Self-propelled artillery and was fielded in 1917. It was based on the first tank, the British Mark I and carried a heavy field gun. The next major advance was the Birch gun developed for the motorised warfare experimental brigade (the Experimental Mechanized Force). This mounted a field gun, capable of the usual artillery trajectories, on a tank style chassis.

During WWII, most nations developed self-propelled artillery vehicles. These had mounted guns on a tracked chassis (often that of an obsolete or superseded tank) and provide an armoured superstructure to protect the gun and its crew. The first British design, "Bishop", carried the 25 pdr gun-howitzer, but in a mounting that severely limited the gun's performance. It was replaced by the more effective Sexton. The Germans created many examples of lightly armored self-propelled anti-tank guns using captured French equipment (example Marder I), their own obsolete light tank chassis (Marder II), or ex-Czech chassis (Marder III). These led to better protected tank destroyers, built on medium tank chassis such as the Jagdpanzer IV and Jagdpanther.


By the end of World War II, most modern armies had vehicles to carry infantry, artillery and anti-aircraft weaponry . Most modern AFVs are superficially similar in design to their World War II counterparts, but with significantly better armour, weapons, engines and suspension. The increase in the capacity of transport aircraft has allowed AFVs to be practically transported by air. Many armies are replacing some or all of their traditional heavy vehicles with lighter airmobile versions, often with wheels instead of tracks.






Weaponry varies by a very wide degree between AFVs – lighter vehicles for infantry carrying, reconnaissance or specialist roles may have only a machine gun for self-defence (or no armament at all), whereas heavy self propelled artillery will carry large guns, mortars or rocket launchers. These weapons may be mounted on a pintle, affixed directly to the vehicle or placed in a turret or cupola.

The greater the recoil a weapon on an AFV is, the larger the turret ring needs to be. A larger turret ring necessitates a larger vehicle. To avoid listing to the side, turrets are usually located at the centre of the vehicle on vehicles that are capable of amphibious operations.[15]




Modern AFVs have primarily used either petrol (gasoline) or diesel piston engines. More recently gas turbines have been used. Most early AFVs used petrol engines, as they offer a good power-to-weight ratio. However, they fell out of favour during World War Two due to the flammability of the fuel.

Most current AFVs are powered by a diesel engine; modern technology including the use of turbo-charging help to overcome the lower power-to-weight ratio of diesel engines compared to petrol.


Modern classification by type and role[edit]



Main article: Tank classification

The tank is an all terrain AFV designed primarily to engage enemy forces by the use of direct fire in the frontal assault role. Though several configurations have been tried, particularly in the early experimental days of tank development, a standard, mature design configuration has since emerged to a generally accepted pattern. This features a main artillery gun, mounted in a fully rotating turret atop a tracked automotive hull, with various additional machine guns throughout.


Historically, tanks are divided into three categories:

  • Light tanks – small, thinly armoured, weakly gunned; superior tactical/strategic mobility tanks intended for the airborne divisions and the armoured reconnaissance role.
  • Medium tanks – mid-sized, adequately armoured, respectably gunned, fairly mobile tanks; intended to provide an optimum balance of characteristics for manoeuvre combat; primarily used against hostile tanks and other AFV's.
  • Heavy tanks – large, thickly armoured, powerfully gunned, but barely mobile "Siegeworks" tanks; intended for the assault-breakthrough role against fortified lines, particularly in support of infantry formations.

Cavalry tank, cruiser tank, infantry tank, and assault-breakthrough tank have been used by various countries to classify tanks by operational role. Tankette is used to describe particularly small one or two-man vehicles, typically armed with a machine gun and/or anti-air weapons.

In modern use, the heavy tank has fallen out of favour, being supplanted by more heavily-armed and armoured descendent of the medium tanks – the main battle tank. The light tank has in many militaries lost favour to cheaper, faster, lighter armoured cars and tank destroyers; however, light tanks (or similar vehicles with other names) are still in service with a number of forces as reconnaissance vehicles, most notably the Russian Marines with the PT-76, the British Army with the Scimitar, and the Chinese Army with the Type 63.

Main battle tank[edit]

Main article: Main battle tank

Modern main battle tanks incorporates recent advances in automotive, artillery, and armour technology to combine the best characteristics of the historic medium and heavy tanks into a single, all around type. They are also the most expensive to mass-produce. It is distinguished by its high level of firepower, mobility and armour protection relative to other vehicles of its era. It can cross comparatively rough terrain at high speeds, but its heavy-dependency on fuel, maintenance, and ammunition makes it logistically demanding. It has the heaviest armour of any IFV on the battlefield, and carries a powerful precision-guided munition weapon systems that may be able to engage a wide variety of both ground targets and air targets. It is among the most versatile and fearsome land-based weapon-systems of the 21st-century, valued for its shock action against other troops and high survivability, although it is still vulnerable to anti-tank warfare.


Wiesel 1A1 MK with 20 mm (0.79 in) autocannon
Main article: Tankette

A tankette is a tracked armed and armoured vehicle[16] resembling a small "ultra-light tank" roughly the size of a car, mainly intended for light infantry support or scouting.[17] They were one or two-man vehicles armed with a machine gun. Colloquially it may also simply mean a "small tank".[18]


Super-heavy tank[edit]

Main articles: Super-heavy tank and Landship


Flame tank[edit]

Main article: Flame tank




Infantry tank[edit]

A British Matilda tank displaying a captured Italian flag
Main article: Infantry tank



Cruiser tank[edit]

Main article: Cruiser tank




Armoured car[edit]

Eland Mk7 armoured car.


Some multi-axled wheeled fighting vehicles can be quite heavy, and superior to older or smaller tanks in terms of armour and armament. They usually do not have attached weaponry. Others are often used in military marches and processions, or for the escorting of important figures. Under peacetime conditions, they form an essential part of most standing armies. Armoured car units can move without the assistance of transporters and cover great distances with fewer logistical problems than tracked vehicles.



Main article: Aerosani



Scout car[edit]

Main article: Scout car


Internal security vehicle[edit]



Improvised fighting vehicle[edit]




Troop carriers[edit]

Troop-carrying AFVs are divided into three main types – armoured personnel carriers (APCs), infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and infantry mobility vehicles (IMV). The main difference between the three is their intended role – the APC is designed purely to transport troops and is armed for self-defence only – whereas the IFV is designed to provide fire support to the infantry it carries. IMV is a wheeled armored personnel carrier serving as a military patrol, reconnaissance or security vehicle.

Armoured personnel carrier[edit]

Slovak APC Tatrapan.

Armoured personnel carriers are intended to carry infantry quickly and relatively safely to point where they are deployed. In 1918, the British Mk V* (Mark Five Star) tank carried a small number of troops as an experiment, but the men were debilitated by the conditions inside the vehicle. The first purpose-built APC was the British Mk IX (Mark Nine). In the US the term "Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV)" is used. In 1944, the Canadian general Guy Simonds ordered the conversion of redundant armoured vehicles to carry troops (generically named "Kangaroos"). This proved highly successful, even without training, and the concept was widely used in the 21st Army Group. Post-war, specialised designs were built, such as the Soviet BTR-60 and US M113.

Infantry fighting vehicle[edit]

An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire support.[24] The first example of an IFV was the West German Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 which served in the Bundeswehr from 1958 until the early 1980s.

The German Puma is one of the best protected infantry fighting vehicles



Infantry mobility vehicle[edit]

Polish AMZ Tur
Main articles: Infantry mobility vehicle and MRAP



Amphibious vehicles[edit]

BTR-70s coming ashore, engine snorkels and waterjet deployed.






Armoured engineering vehicle[edit]

Typically based on the platform of a main battle tank, these vehicles go by different names depending upon the country of use or manufacture. In the US the term "combat engineer vehicle (CEV)" is used, in the UK the term "Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE)" is used, while in Canada and other commonwealth nations the term "armoured engineer vehicle (AEV)" is used. There is no set template for what such a vehicle will look like, yet likely features include a large dozer blade or mine ploughs, a large calibre demolition cannon, augers, winches, excavator arms and cranes, or lifting booms.

These vehicles are designed to directly conduct obstacle breaching operations and to conduct other earth-moving and engineering work on the battlefield. Good examples of this type of vehicle include the UK Trojan AVRE, the Russian IMR, and the US M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle.


Assault breacher vehicle[edit]

An assault breacher vehicle (ABV), also known as a explosive ordnance disposal vehicle (EODV), or simply Breacher, is especially designed to clear pathways for troops and other vehicles through minefields and along roadside bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices. These vehicles are based on a tank-chassis with 1,500+ horsepower engines, but fitted with a 50-caliber machine gun and a front-mounted 5-meter-wide plow, supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt and typically equipped with at least 7,000 pounds (3,200 kilograms) of Mine Clearing Line Charges: rockets carrying C-4 explosives up to 100–150 meters forward, detonating hidden bombs at a safe distance, so that troops and vehicles can pass through safely.[25] They were called "the answer" to the deadliest threat facing NATO troops in modern asymmetrical conflict.

Armoured bulldozer[edit]

Main article: Armored bulldozer


Armoured recovery vehicle[edit]



Armoured vehicle-launched bridge[edit]



Combat engineer section carriers[edit]


Air defense vehicles[edit]


Self-propelled artillery[edit]


In the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire "Gun Motor Carriage" vehicles such as assault guns and tank destroyers (also known as self-propelled anti-tank guns). These have been heavily armoured vehicles, the former providing danger-close fire-support for infantry and the latter acting as specialized anti-tank vehicles.


The key advantage of self-propelled over towed artillery is that it can be brought into action much faster. Before the towed artillery can be used, it has to stop, unlimber and set up the guns. To move position, the guns must be limbered up again and brought — usually towed — to the new location. By comparison self-propelled artillery in combination with modern communications can stop at a chosen location and begin firing almost immediately, then quickly move on to a new position. This ability is very useful in a mobile conflict and particularly on the advance.


Assault gun[edit]

The Soviet SU-76 was easily constructed in small factories incapable of producing proper tanks.
Main article: Assault gun



Mortar carrier[edit]

Main article: Mortar carrier



Multiple rocket launcher[edit]

BM-30 Smerch 300 mm rocket launcher in raised position




Tank destroyer[edit]

A Norwegian anti-tank platoon equipped with NM142 TOW missile launchers




Armoured train[edit]

Replica of the 'Hurban' Armoured train located in Zvolen, Slovakia.
Main article: Armoured train


The railroad cars on an armoured train were designed for many tasks such as carrying guns and machine guns, infantry units, anti-aircraft guns. During World War II, the Germans would sometimes put a Fremdgerät (such as a captured French Somua S-35 or Czech PzKpfw 38(t) light tank, or Panzer II light tank) on a flatbed car which could be quickly offloaded by means of a ramp and used away from the range of the main railway line to chase down enemy partisans.



See also[edit]


  7. ^ Early Armoured Cars E. Bartholomew, p.4
  8. ^ Gougaud, pp. 11–12
  9. ^ a b Churchill, p. 316
  10. ^ McMillan, N: Locomotive Apprentice at the North British Locomotive Company Ltd. Glasgow Plateway Press, 1992[page needed]
  11. ^ Glanfield, Devil's Chariots[page needed]
  15. ^ a b c Franklin D. Margiotta, ed. (1996). Brassey's encyclopedia of land forces and warfare. Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-087-X. Retrieved 19 February 2011. 
  16. ^ The Revolution After Next: Making Vertical Envelopment by Operationally Significant Mobile Protected Forces a Reality in the First Decade of the 21st Century, Tedesco, Vincent J. III; Major, School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, United States, 2000, Page 15
  20. ^
  21. ^
  22. ^
  23. ^
  25. ^ "Marines push 'The Breacher' against Taliban lines"
  26. ^ Platoon Training Focus to Meet the Evolving Battlefield

External links[edit]