the.com/tank
a steel argument that wins every debate by simply rolling forward.
means A tank is either a large container for holding liquid or gas, or an armored, tracked combat vehicle bristling with weapons.
from The container sense comes through Portuguese 'tanque' (pond, reservoir), likely borrowed from an Indian language — Gujarati 'tankh' or a related word for a man-made water cistern. The war machine got its name as a deliberate cover story: when Britain built the first ones in WWI, the project was disguised as the manufacture of mobile 'water tanks,' and the codename simply stuck to the steel beast.
- code name
- Called 'tanks' to hide them as water carriers.
- WWI debut
- First rolled into battle in 1916.
- weight class
- Modern ones top 60 tons, still hit 45 mph.
- swims too
- Some tanks ford rivers via underwater snorkels.
- toilet seat
- Early crews suffered fumes, deafness, and brutal heat.
tiger i — german heavy tank used in wwii with 88mm gun, produced 1942-1945
t-34 — soviet medium tank that revolutionized armored warfare, introduced 1940
m4 sherman — american medium tank, most produced tank of wwii with 49,234 built
leopard 2 — german main battle tank adopted 1979, still in use by 15+ nato countries