Battle Tank

History

The battle tank is an armoured armored all-terrain vehicle. Created 25 years ago by the Humans, it was a major technological advance that became one of the symbols of Homeca's armies. Some dwarf tank prototypes would have been built before, but they were far from being as developed as they are today.
(In order to facilitate the visualization, these tanks will be compared with IRL models and will be named after them because I don't have an imigination.

The first models seen were rather small tanks in height, with a barrel that had no turret. Despite their relatively flat appearance, they are exceptionally manoeuvrable and can quickly reach their maximum speed. Thanks to their 105mm barrel, they have a great fire power. Over time, the need for more armour was felt and war tanks had to be made more resistant.

The engineers then tried to add shielded parts in addition to thickening the existing shielding. This gave rise to prototypes (semlable to super heavy T-28 tanks) which were, of course, resistant but above all ineffective because their heavy weight prevented them from manoeuvring quickly. To solve this problem, it was then decided to increase the mobility of the vehicle like the armour. You don't need shielding if you don't get hit. It was then that also appeared the need to orientate the barrel, hence the addition of a turret. The following prototypes were equipped with turrets that could be turned on an axis centred on the middle of the tank, but the engineers made sure that the tank kept its low height (see model M1 Abrams). Unfortunately, this was problematic because the turret was embarrassed and the tank could not have a good shooting angle without manoeuvres beforehand.

After various proposals, the decision was made to make a tank higher but to refine its structure by eliminating certain parts. These measures allowed the current tanks to have a higher gun with a larger field of vision. The recent models (Comet A34) have medium shielding but very high mobility. A rumour is circulating that a new tank will soon replace the current models and that it will be called "Centurion".

Quick description

A tank possesses:

Undercarriage and tracks or wheels (depending on the model

A main barrel;

Track protectors (optional)

Countermeasures (defences close to the armoured vehicle) ( smoke pots or grenade launchers

A turret (depending on the models

An engine;

A secondary machine-gun or cannon;

A front machine gun (depending on the model).

History

The battle tank is an armoured armored all-terrain vehicle. Created 25 years ago by the Humans, it was a major technological advance that became one of the symbols of Homeca's armies. Some dwarf tank prototypes would have been built before, but they were far from being as developed as they are today.

Design

The three traditional factors that determine the effectiveness of a tank are its firepower, protection and mobility:

The fire power is the ability of a tank to identify and destroy an objective.

The protection is the tank's ability to withstand detection or destruction.

The Mobility includes tactical mobility on all battlefield terrain, but also strategic mobility, i. e. its ability to be transported (by road, train, sea or even airplane) on the battlefield.

The design of a tank is therefore traditionally a compromise between these three factors. For example, strengthening the armour increases protection but also the weight and reduces maneuverability. Higher fire power, obtained by using a larger caliber barrel, reduces maneuverability and protection.
The psychological effect on soldiers (negative for enemies, positive for allies) of the imposing presence of a tank on the battlefield is also an important and highly exploited factor.

Firepower

The barrel is the main weapon of the tank. On the battlefield, the tank crew must be able to quickly identify, engage and destroy many types of targets while maintaining optimal mobility. To this end, it is equipped with sophisticated fire detection and control tools. A large main cannon capable of firing explosive or piercing ammunition and machine gun (s) at infantry, light vehicles or helicopters. The main weapon of any battle tank is a large calibre gun. Apart from a few pieces of artillery, tank guns are the largest calibers used on earth. Moreover, the caliber of tanks, always more and more sophisticated, has evolved a lot. The commonly used gauge is 120 mm. Tanks are capable of firing a wide variety of ammunition, but commonly used ones are Kinetic Energy and High Explosive Ammunition. Modern tank guns are usually equipped with a thermal jacket to reduce the effect of temperature difference on the main tube. When it rains or when it is windy, the part exposed to wind and rain cools down faster than the rest of the gun. This difference in temperature, and therefore in the expansion of the barrel metal, will slightly deform the barrel and have an influence on the accuracy of the long distance shooting. In general, tanks also carry other armaments, which provide them with protection against infantry against which the use of the main gun is ineffective at short distances. Typically it is a machine gun, mounted on the same axis as the main gun. Some tanks are fitted with 20 mm coaxial guns to destroy slightly armoured vehicles. In addition, on their rooftops or at the disposal of the tank commander, many tanks have a machine gun to fire at highly mobile targets, either aerial or ground-based. The commonly mounted 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm machine guns are also capable of destroying lightly armored vehicles at close range. Some tanks have been adapted to more specific roles such as flame throwers, or even anti-aircraft rapid-fire guns. These specialized weapons are often mounted on armoured personnel carriers.

Protection

The protection of a tank is the combination of its ability to prevent detection to avoid being hit by enemy fire, and the ability of its armor to resist (and/or magic shield) and withstand the effects of enemy fire to protect its crew and accomplish its mission.

Avoid detection

In wooded areas, immobile tanks can be well camouflaged, making airborne detection and attack difficult. On the other hand, in an open area, it is very difficult to hide a tank. In both cases, a moving tank can be detected much more easily, thanks to the heat and noise generated by its engine. Traces of tank tracks can be spotted from an aircraft and, in the desert, their movements can create very large dust clouds, also easily spotted by the enemy. The high power of modern tank engines means that they produce a distinct thermal signature. The exceptionally compact metal mass of the tank shell hull metal concentrates the heat in a very contrasting way compared to other objects in the countryside. This makes it relatively easy to spot a moving tank with good ground or airborne infrared scanning tools. A stationary tank, but recently stopped after a period of activity, retains a considerable thermal signature. Thus, even if the tank itself is hidden (e. g. behind a hill), it is still possible for a skilled operator to detect it by the column of warm air that it generates above it. This risk can be reduced slightly by using thermal blankets that reduce heat radiation while the engine cools down slowly. Some camouflage nets consist of a mixture of materials with different thermal properties. The tanks are propelled by engines or turbines of similar power to a locomotive. So, from the outside, a tank emits the same smell and makes the same noise as a locomotive. The deep roar can be heard at great distances on a quiet day, and the strong smell can be carried far away by the wind. When a stationary tank keeps its engine running, the ground trembles around it, but as it moves, the vibrations are even greater. The acoustic signature of a turbine engine is much greater: its high-pitched whimpering can be more easily distinguished from other background noises, regardless of its distance. In short, it is very difficult to conceal a tank conventionally. We know that Werebeasts use reflective photo panels to camo-slide their ships, but humans cannot reproduce this mechanism. It is however possible to use magic spells in the absence of technological means (glasses of illusion, invisibility) but it remains difficult to completely camouflage the presence of a tank.

Blindage

The battle tank is the most heavily armored vehicle in the armies. Its armour is designed to protect the vehicle and its crew from a wide variety of threats. Generally speaking, protection against projectiles (balls, missiles, shells...) fired by other tanks is considered the most important. Tanks are also vulnerable to large bombs, artillery fire, ground runes, and area spells, which can neutralize or even destroy them. Tanks are particularly vulnerable to aerial threats. But above all, the tank is also protected against direct offensive magic spells such as fireballs or lightning.
The weight due to the amount of shielding required to protect against every conceivable threat from every angle would be too great to be realistic, so designing a tank is always a compromise between shielding and weight. Research on new alloys and materials is closely monitored in this area. Most armoured combat vehicles are made of steel plates, in some cases aluminum, hardened. The relative efficiency of the shielding is expressed by comparison with a homogeneous shielding plate obtained by rolling. Most armoured vehicles are better protected at the front, and the crew always tries to keep the vehicle in the most likely direction of the enemy. The thickest and steepest shielding is at the front of the turret. The sides are less shielded and the rear, belly and roof are the least protected. Several tank designers have tried to incline the armour plates on experimental tanks. When these are inclined, the shielding efficiency increases considerably, increasing their thickness perpendicular to the trajectories of the projectiles, and increasing the chance that these projectiles will ricochet.
Several tank designers have tried to incline the armour plates on experimental tanks. When these are inclined, the shielding efficiency increases considerably, increasing their thickness perpendicular to the trajectories of the projectiles, and increasing the chance that these projectiles will ricochet. Inclination saves steel, allowing more tanks to be produced and lighter weight for greater mobility.
Today, tanks are particularly vulnerable to aerial attacks and specialized mines. Even light anti-tank infantry weapons (such as rocket launchers) can immobilize a tank by damaging its suspension or tracks. Many military vehicles therefore have side skirts to protect the suspension. Weapons such as the bazooka carry a warhead with an explosive charge, which focuses the force of the explosion on a narrow and penetrating flow. Shielding consisting of thin spaced plates or steel meshes, rubber skirts, and reactive shielding tiles (causing an explosion on the tank surface) have been shown to significantly reduce the penetrating power of hollow charges by dispersing their gas streams.

Passive defense

Most armoured vehicles have smoke grenade launchers that can quickly deploy a smoke screen to hide and retreat when ambushed or directly attacked and the situation requires it. The smoke screen is very rarely used offensively, this would blind the attacker himself and give the enemy a first indication of the origin of the attack. Modern smoke grenades make it possible to conceal optical systems operating in the infrared spectrum as well as in the visible spectrum of light. On many tanks, smoke grenade launchers are also designed to throw tear gas grenades and fragmentation anti-personnel grenades. Many tanks have small mortars that can be actuated from inside the tank, increasing the anti-personnel potential and making it possible to attack targets behind obstacles. Attempts were made to equip tanks with bi-function smoke/fragmentation grenade launchers that could be recharged from the inside. Some tanks also have fixed smoke generators that can produce smoke continuously. Usually these smoke generators operate by injecting fuel oil into the exhaust where it burns only partially creating a dense smoke screen.

Countermeasures

Passive countermeasures, try to disrupt the guidance or aiming of enemy projectiles. Another main type of protection against anti-tank weapons with high explosive potential is reactive explosive armour. The different parts of the shielding explode to absorb the overall explosive force at a controlled point in the tank's overall shielding. Reactive shielding is attached to the outside of the tank with replaceable tiles. Active protection systems go even further than reactive shields. It uses radar (or other detection technologies) to react dynamically to hostile projectiles: when the system detects one, it decides what action to take, such as launching an explosive counter-projectile to stop or disrupt the course of the projectile only a few metres from the tank.

Crew exposure

When the tank moves, the tank commander and the driver ahead, if they pull their head out through their hatch, are relatively exposed to enemy fire. However, this remains the safest provision for the low-hostile tank because it gives the crew the best possible visibility on the ground to judge the dangerousness of the environment. When the tank engages in combat with forces likely to endanger it, the hatches are locked and optical equipment is used.

Mobility

The characteristics of mobility There are three essential aspects to consider regarding the mobility of a combat tank: The basic moving capacities of the tank like its speed through rough terrain; ability to overcome obstacles (slopes, etc. The overall mobility of the tank on a battlefield, for example: What bridges can it cross? (taking into account its mass) Which transport vehicles can move them? Mobility is what tank designers call agility. The mobility of a tank is classified by category: mobility on the battlefield, depending on the capabilities of its engine, transmission, and other technical elements; it is determined by indicators such as acceleration, speed, and the crossing of vertical obstacles; tactical mobility, corresponding to the possibility of moving the tank more or less easily to a theatre of operations; strategic mobility, corresponding to the tank's ability to be transported from one theatre of operations to another, depending on its mass, ease of transport by air, etc.

Types of terrain

A battle tank is designed to be highly mobile and can handle most types of terrain. Its large caterpillars distribute the weight of the machine over a large area, resulting in ground pressure that is sometimes less than that of a human foot. The types of terrain that pose problems are usually extremely soft soil, such as marshes, or soils with large rocks. In "normal" terrain, a tank is designed to travel between 30 and 50 km/h. Its road speed can reach around 70 km/h.

On-road performance

On paper, as well as during any test run lasting a few hours, any tank offers superior off-road performance compared to all existing trackless machines. But on the road, the tanks are slow and the top speed displayed on the performance charts cannot be considered as a cruising speed at all, but rather as a maximum speed of movement in combat.
Indeed, with its tracks and high mass, a tank travelling at high speed would destroy the fragile road it takes, which is obviously not designed for this purpose. On the other hand, the risk of engine failure would be far too great if this speed were maintained for one day (for example, to get to a battlefield quickly). The same applies to off-road speed, with the possible exception of plains and sandy deserts. In addition, a tracked vehicle making a turn produces a high torsional force on the ground and, in the event of too dry a turn, the ground is torn off. The same problem can also be observed with excavators mounted on crawler tracks, especially since they are often required to rotate on site. One of the solutions implemented is the use of rubber tracks which dampen the torsional force.

Mobility in combat

Since an immobilized tank is an easy target for mortars, artillery, and anti-tank units, speed is normally kept to a minimum, and all means are used to move tanks on other carriers (trucks, trains, etc.). The tanks inevitably end up on trains all over the country because this means remains the best way to move such masses over a long distance. Properly planning the loading and unloading of trains is a crucial task, and rail and road bridges are the main targets of enemy forces wishing to slow a tank advance. For more punctual manoeuvres, tanker trucks are used.
When they travel in a country or region without railway infrastructure and with few good roads, the average daily rate of progression of a tank unit is comparable to that of a man on horseback or bicycle. Frequent stops should be planned for preventive maintenance and checks to avoid breakdowns during combat. Another facet of mobility is bringing the tank into the theatre of operations. The tanks are extremely heavy, making them very difficult, if not impossible, to transport by air. The use of maritime and land transport is made at the cost of speed, which means that heavy tank is not often used by rapid response forces. Some armoured vehicles use wheels instead of tracks to increase speed on the road and reduce maintenance efforts. Of course, these vehicles suffer from a lack of mobility on uneven terrain, but are considered by strategists to be more suitable for rapid response forces because of their increased strategic mobility.

Mobility in water

For most tanks, crossing a watercourse is limited to crossing a ford. The crossable depth of a ford shall be limited to the height above ground level of the engine air intake and, to a lesser extent, to the position of the driver. The crossing depth of a typical ford for a tank is 90 to 120 centimetres.

Amphibious tanks

Some light tanks are amphibious. They are propelled into the water usually by hydrojets or their caterpillars. Often, a plate facing downwards, the pallet, is placed to divert water that would pass over the tank, thereby reducing the risk of the vehicle being flooded by the driver's hatch.

Motorization

The engine of the tank provides the power needed to move around and for many other uses, such as turning the turret or simply supplying electricity and hydraulic power. The engine of the Human Tanks is a mixture of conventional and magical technology. It is designed in two parts, one that touches all that is mobility (track movement, turret rotation) and another that deals with defensive systems (radar, shield if equipped). The weight and type of the engines, not to mention the transmission and gearbox, largely determine the speed and mobility of the tank. In addition, the terrain severely limits the maximum speed of all tanks by the stresses it exerts on the suspension and crew. As far as mobility is concerned, a tank is currently capable of developing 1,500 horses, or 21.6 horses per tonne; a coefficient of between 20 and 25 means that the tank has a good power-to-weight ratio. An overweight or underpowered tank has a coefficient of less than 20 horsepower/tonne. Initially, the engines ran on fuel oil, which encouraged fires.

Command, control and communications

Leading and coordinating the organization of tanks on the battlefield has always been subject to particular problems. Engine noise, dust, smoke, smoke, shielding, terrain hazards and the need to be operational "open" or "closed" severely complicate communication.

Internal communications

Each action of a tank, movement or firing, is ordered by the tank commander. In some old tanks, the commander had to charge or fire with the main gun, sometimes both, greatly reducing his command capabilities. In many small armoured combat vehicles, the commander would give his orders to the driver by tapping his shoulders or back. Today most of them are equipped with intercom, allowing all crew members to speak audibly. Some tanks are even equipped with an external intercom at the rear, allowing the support infantry to talk to the crew.

Tactical communications

When the tanks were first used, communications between members of a shielded unit were made by hand signals or light signals. Sometimes, in some situations, the crew members would go out and walk to another tank. Transaction reports are sometimes sent by past pigeons through the vision gaps. Lighting flares, smoke, movement and firing are all means of communication for the most experienced units to coordinate. A tank is usually equipped with radios that allow its crew to communicate on the battalion or company network, but sometimes manage a higher level of communication to suit other branches of the service. The command of the company or battalion is usually equipped with an additional radio. Communications over a busy network are subject to formalized language rules. Most of the tanks were maneuvered by the commander, while other crew members observed the battlefield through the roof hatch to gain a better understanding of the possible danger. When shots sound, or when the climate becomes dangerous, the crew members close the trapdoor considerably reducing their ability to find targets and detect the danger. In a tank, the leader has his own panoramic vision allowing him to designate one or more new targets while the shooter is aiming at another. More advanced systems even allow the commander to take control of the turret and fire with the main gun in an emergency.

Vulnerability

Despite its power and impressive appearance on the battlefield, the tank is vulnerable. Fear of tank effectiveness has even led to the massive development of highly effective anti-tank tactics and weapons. It is also a heavy and capricious machine.

To the infantry

Despite the firepower of a tank and its long-range shock action against inexperienced infantry, unsupported tanks are vulnerable to infantry when fighting defensive positions in unopened or urban environments. The tank's weapons cannot cover the entire environment at short distances, and the suspension and the relatively thin rear and upper armour parts are vulnerable to attacks from near or from the upper floors of a city's buildings. Tanks generally operate with the closely coordinated infantry support to protect them from enemy infantry.
Infantry anti-tank weapons include rustic weapons, such as gasoline bombs (Molotov cocktail and others), anti-tank rifles, anti-tank grenades, sticky bombs and various modern portable weapons, rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles.

At artillery

The tanks are sufficiently armoured to be protected against artillery shell fragments. However, artillery batteries usually have some anti-tank ammunition in reserve to defend against tanks. In the event of direct fire, they can prove to be extremely effective. Several types of artillery munitions have been developed to destroy armoured vehicles. These include projectiles guided by a laser beam directed at the target. There are also cluster bombs, which saturate an area with explosive projectiles that can damage the upper armour or create a minefield, and even automated submunitions that can identify and attack tanks within range.

To the mines

Anti-tank minefields are weapons that are sector-banned, helping to defend a sector, or channeling enemy movements into areas where they will be destroyed. Undefended minefields or roadside mines are also used to delay the movement of armour companies and act as a weapon of discomfort, but are not considered by the military to be a highly effective weapon - although their effect on morale is significant. Because mines on the ground damage a vehicle's relatively fragile suspensions and thinner lower armour, many armoured vehicles are designed to reduce their effects. In most cases, an anti-tank mine immobilizes it only and most tanks can be equipped with anti-mine devices (ploughs, rollers, or anti-mine flails).

To air strikes

It is rare to be able to see aerial vehicles, it is more common to see magical attacks coming from the sky. Although Dwarves and Elves are air ships, Werebeasts are the only ones who can truly claim to have an air strike force, but air strikes are rare. A tank is vulnerable when it receives an aerial attack, because its armor is weaker above it. To resist an attack, engineers use an alloy that absorbs the magic redirected to the engine and batteries.

Environment

Climate

Tanks can also be neutralized by time. Engines may not start in extreme cold. Engines and crew can also be overheated in hot weather (all tanks have been air-conditioned for 15 years), where dust can clog the ducts.

Land

Tanks are also in an unfavourable position in woodlands and urban environments. Cancelling the advantage of long-range firing, limiting the crew's ability to detect potential threats, and even limiting the turret's ability to turn in narrow streets. Some of these problems are now being addressed by special modifications, particularly for urban combat (it should be noted that urban fighting creates additional risks for almost all types of units) with tank survival that has improved considerably (especially against improvised and portable weapons) simply because of their powerful armor.

Research and development

Current research seeks to make tanks more discreet by adapting camouflage technologies originally developed for aviation. Research is also ongoing in shielding systems and new propulsion units. A clear trend is the growing number of electrical and communication systems, such as thermal detectors and more powerful long-range radios. It can also be seen that tanks are becoming increasingly automatic, especially for the loading of ammunition.