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
Tanks in World War II one or more hits by high explosive (HE) or armor-piercing (AP) shells to the track or front drive sprocket. The Soviet Union began and ended the war with more tanks than the rest of the world combined (18,000–22,000). At the start of World War II the most common tank in Soviet service was the T-26 (derived from the Vickers 6-ton), lightly armoured and armed with a 45 mm gun capable of penetrating most German tanks at normal combat ranges. Few had radios. The design was mechanically sound although incapable of further development. The BT tank series, based on the Christie