Medium tank Medium tank Medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II (the Soviet T-34, the American Sherman tank, the Japanese Type 97 and the German Panzer IV) were all medium tank designs, and the success of the concept would later lead to the development of later generations of medium tanks such as the Chieftain. Many of the medium tanks lines became what are called main
Main battle tank (and the corresponding transport and logistical needs). This led to new definitions of heavy and light tank classes, with medium tanks covering the balance of those between. The German Panzer IV tank, designed before the war as a "heavy" tank for assaulting fixed positions, got redesigned during the war with armour and gun upgrades to allow it to take on anti-tank roles as well, was reclassified as a medium tank. The second half of World War II saw an increased reliance on general-purpose medium tanks, which became the bulk of the tank combat forces. Generally, these designs massed about 25-30