Editing Tank classification (section)

==Role classifications==
Many types are also described by their tactical role, which depends on contemporary military doctrine. For instance, 'infantry' and 'cruiser' tanks are British classifications of the 1930s and '40s; 'infantry', 'fast', and 'breakthrough' are [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] types of the same time period.

British and Soviet tacticians up to the time of the Second World War classified tanks into three major roles: infantry, light, and cavalry. [[Infantry tanks]] supported infantry units, to integrally support dismounted infantry actions. [[Light tanks]] performed the traditional cavalry role of [[Reconnaissance|scouting]] and [[Screening (tactical)|screening]]. [[cavalry tanks|Cavalry]] or "cruiser" tank units were meant to exploit breakthroughs and fight other armoured formations.

As role based classifications evolved, the role of light tanks was overtaken by other vehicles, such as carriers and scout cars.  The infantry and cruiser tank roles were combined in British use late in the war to form the Universal tank concept. This was made possible as increased engine power provided the capability to sufficiently armour a cruiser tank, the Centurion, to undertake both roles.  Centurion entered service just as the war came to an end.

Post-war, tanks were similarly made capable of fulfilling multiple roles on the battlefield, resulting in the designation [[Main Battle Tank]].

===World War I===
Initially on the very first tanks, two types with two roles were provided: the 'males', armed with two naval [[QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss|6-pounder (57&nbsp;mm) guns]] and machine guns, and 'females', armed with only machine guns that supported the 'males'.

Later tanks armed with a single gun in one side sponson and machine guns on the other were named "hermaphrodites".

=== World War II ===
Tank models were developed before and during World War II according to different philosophies, with different combinations of armour, mobility, and armament. Each major nation developed its own doctrine of tank use, and therefore different tank models to suit. New doctrines explored the role of the tank as a fast-striking unit.

Tank doctrine in the UK declared that one group of tanks would accompany infantry in a similar role to World War I, while another group of 'cruiser' tanks would then exploit a breakthrough, in a role similar to light cavalry. In the USSR, 1930s tank doctrine specified three groups of tanks: one 'breakthrough' tank in the infantry support role, one tactical breakthrough tank to clear the combat area, and a 'fast tank' for operational maneuver. In Germany, the ideas of [[Heinz Guderian]] established the need for unified tank formations, but with a mixture of armaments for differing roles.

In the United States, doctrine evolved so that the main purpose of the tank was to provide infantry support and exploitation of breakthroughs. The antitank role was given to [[tank destroyer]]s. There was no analog to the cruiser tank in pre-war US doctrine. There were those within the US Army which advocated a more modern force with tanks in the cavalry role, but their suggestions were not put into place by the time of the US's entry into World War II.

====Infantry tank====
[[File:MatildaII.jpg|thumb|A British [[Matilda II|Matilda tank]] displaying a captured Italian flag]]
{{Main|Infantry tank}}
The idea for this tank was developed during World War I by the British and French. The [[infantry]] tank was designed to work in concert with infantry in the assault, moving mostly at a walking pace, which allowed it to carry heavy armour to survive defensive fire. Its main purposes were to clear the battlefield of obstacles, suppress or destroy defenders, and protect the infantry on their advance into and through enemy lines by giving mobile [[overwatch (military tactic)|overwatch]] and cover. The British came back to the concept in the pre-Second World War era, and one of the best-known infantry tanks was the [[Matilda II]] of World War II.

====Cruiser tank====
[[File:Cromwell-latrun-2.jpg|thumb|[[Cromwell tank]].]]
{{Main|Cruiser tank}}
A cruiser tank, or cavalry tank, was designed to move fast and exploit penetrations of the enemy front. The idea originated in "[[Plan 1919]]", a British plan to break the trench deadlock of [[World War I]] in part via the use of high-speed tanks. This concept was later implemented in the "fast tanks" pioneered by [[J. Walter Christie]].

They were used by the United Kingdom during [[World War II]]. Cruiser tanks were designed to complement [[infantry tank]]s, exploiting gains made by the latter to attack and disrupt the enemy rear areas. In order to give them the required speed, cruiser designs sacrificed armour compared to the infantry tanks.

The Soviet fast tank (''bistrokhodniy tank'', or [[BT tank]]) classification also came out of the infantry/cavalry concept of armoured warfare and formed the basis for the British cruisers after 1936. The T-34 was a development of this line of tanks as well, though their armament, armour, and all-round capability places them firmly in the medium tank category.

==== Flame tank ====
[[File:Churchill Crocodile 01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Churchill Crocodile]] flame tank]]

{{Main|Flame tank}}
A flame tank is a tank equipped with a [[flamethrower]], most commonly used to supplement [[combined arms]] attacks against [[fortifications]], confined spaces, or other obstacles. The type only reached significant use in the [[Second World War]], during which the United States, [[Soviet Union]], [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], [[Italy]], Japan and the United Kingdom (including members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]]) all produced flamethrower-equipped tanks.

A number of production methods were used. The flamethrowers used were either modified versions of existing infantry flame weapons (Flammpanzer I and II) or specially designed (Flammpanzer III). They were mounted externally (Flammpanzer II), replaced existing machine gun mounts, or replaced the tank's main armament (Flammpanzer III). Fuel for the flame weapon was either carried inside the tank, in armoured external storage, or in some cases in a special trailer behind the tank ([[Churchill Crocodile]]).

Flame tanks have been superseded by [[thermobaric weapons]] such as the Russian [[TOS-1]].

===Modern===

====Main battle tank====
{{Main|Main battle tank}}
Advances in tank design, armour, and engine technology allowed tank designers to significantly increase and combine the capabilities of tanks, combining speed, defensive armour, and attacking power, allowing one tank to undertake multiple battlefield roles. Although these advances could sometimes be made without resorting to heavier designs, weights did gradually increase.

[[High-explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT) ammunition was a threat to tanks and could penetrate steel armour thicker than was practical to put on a tank. Advances such as the British-designed [[Chobham armour]] limit the effectiveness of weaker HEAT rounds, but the vulnerability still remained.

On 7 November 1950, the US Ordnance Committee Minutes (OCM), order #33476, ceased utilizing the terms heavy, medium, and light tanks and redesignated tanks by the gun system, e.g. ''90&nbsp;mm Gun Tank [[M48 Patton]]'', etc.<ref name="hunnicutt">Hunnicutt {{Page needed|date=April 2011}}</ref> with heavy gun tanks ({{convert|120|mm|in|3|abbr=on|disp=or}}), medium gun tanks ({{convert|90|mm|in|3|abbr=on|disp=or}}), and light gun tanks ({{convert|76|mm|in|3|abbr=on|disp=or}}), although these gun terms were often still shortened 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 tank|M60]]).<ref name="hunnicutt"/> The MBT would form the backbone of modern ground forces.

[[File:Abrams-transparent.png|thumb|right|[[United States Army]] [[M1 Abrams|M1A2 Abrams]] main battle tank, fitted with [[reactive armor]], as per the recent TUSK refit.]]
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 wartime templates (the Chieftain, for example), weighing as much as a World War II heavy tank and possessing far greater firepower and armour, while retaining the mobility of the previous Centurion design. Similarly, the US [[M1 Abrams]] series, the German [[Leopard 2]], the British [[Challenger 1]], French [[Leclerc tank|Leclerc]] and Russian [[T-90]] tanks are all main battle tanks. The defining feature of the main battle tank type is neither its weight, mobility, nor firepower, but instead the idea that only one type of tracked armoured vehicle is required to carry out the roles of breakthrough, exploitation and infantry support.