American military technology during World War II US cruisers and battleships had their guns directed using information gathered from the ship's radar. American military technology during World War II American military technologies developed during World War II became more advanced and specialized as the war progressed. The technologies produced ranged in complexity from relatively simple items such as small arms and armored vehicles, including tanks, to more complex items such as the atomic bomb. The latter, produced under the secretive Manhattan Project, proved to be an incredibly powerful weapon that revolutionized warfare and was used to end the war. Other technologies, such as the M4 Sherman tank,
Tank classification to simply heavy, medium, and light tanks. The term "main battle tank" (MBT), in the US, was first generally applied in 1960 to an all-purpose tank, armed and protected as a heavy tank, but with the mobility of the medium tank (the introduction of M60 Patton). The MBT would form the backbone of modern ground forces. Many Cold War MBTs evolved more or less directly from late World War II medium tank designs. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, a generation of purpose-designed main battle tanks appeared, starting with the British Chieftain tank. These vehicles are less obviously influenced by