Armed with a cannon, missiles, and machine
guns, tanks are the ultimate weapon and dominate the battlefield. They remove man from the limitations of his
frail flesh and wrap him in several inches of solid steel and high-tech ceramics, turning
him into a modern Roman god of war, dispensing death and destruction to his enemies. Hello, and welcome to another episode of The
Infographics Show- today we're taking a look at 50 incredible facts about tanks. 50. Tanks first saw duty in September 1916 during
World War I at the Battle of the Somme. Envisioned as a way of breaking the gridlock
of trench warfare, most of these primitive tanks quickly broke down and their ultimate
effect on the enemy was more psychological than kinetic. 49. Tanks got their name from the British- during
their development the Brits took to calling the massive machines 'tanks' to make any German
spies think that they were building massive water tanks to provide water to troops. 48. The very first tank, the Mark 1, weighed 26
tons and was armed with 57mm guns. It had a top speed of 3.7 mph (6 kmh). 47. A modern American Abrams M1A2 tank by comparison
weighs 68.7 tons, is armed with a 120mm cannon, and has a top speed of 41.5 mph (66.8 kmh). 46. Tanks were categorized by gender depending
on their armament during WWI. Male tanks had cannons and female tanks had
machine guns. 45. Despite their terrifying presence on a battlefield,
early tanks were not particularly effective. By the end of the fourth day of the battle
of Amiens in 1918, the British Tank Corps which had consisted of over 500 tanks was
left with only 6. 44. Britain and France manufactured a total of
6,506 tanks during WWI- while Germany built only 20 between 1916 and 1918. 43. The smallest tank ever made was the French
Renault UE Chenillette, just under nine feet (2.7 meters) long and four feet (1.2 meters)
tall. 42. The largest tank battle in history was the
Battle of Kursk in July, 1943. An estimated 23,000 tanks and over four million
men took part, and at the end of the battle the Germans lost 350 tanks versus 800 by the
Russians. 41. The world's most expensive tank is the French
army's AMX-56 Leclerc, with an estimated cost of 12.5 million dollars. 40. With over 22,000 tanks of varying degrees
of modernity, Russia commands the largest battle tank force in the world. 39. The United States, with 9,000 tanks is second
to Russia in tank numbers. 38. The Russian military routinely hosts a 'tank
biathlon' that tests crew’s ability to provide accurate and rapid fire under a variety of
terrain conditions, as well as tests the ruggedness and durability of the vehicles themselves. 37. In 2015 seventeen nations were invited to
take part in Russia's tank biathlon, including Angola, Kuwait, Nicaragua, China, India, Kuwait,
and Venezuela. Russia won all 13 categories of the tournament
and all nations except China competed using the Russian-built T-72 tank. 36. The Battle of the Golan Heights between Israel
and Syria is considered the greatest tank battle ever fought in terms of military success. An Israeli Defense Force of 3,000 troops,
180 tanks, and 60 artillery pieces brought an assault of 28,000 Syrian troops, 800 tanks,
and 600 artillery pieces to a dead standstill. 35. Russia's T-54 and T-55 series of tanks are
the most widely produced tank models in the world. Debuting in 1943, over 100,000 have been built
and their most recent use came during the Libyan Civil War in 2011. 34. The most technologically advanced tank in
the world is widely believed to be the US's M1A2 Abrams, with a host of communications,
surveillance and electronic defense and countermeasures. 33. Russia's T-90 tank is equipped with the largest
cannon in the world at 125 mms. Russia's next generation T-14 Armata however
also has a 125 mm cannon but can be upgraded to a 152 mm cannon in the future for some
serious power. 32. The Battle of 73 Easting during the first
Gulf War in 1991 is considered the “last great tank battle of the 20thcentury”, and
pitted Iraq's elite Republican Guard forces against the US's 1st, 2nd, and 3rdArmored
Divisions. 31. Despite being widely feared for their expertise,
even amongst American commanders, the battle was nearly completely one-sided against Iraq's
Republican Guard forces with Iraq suffering up to 1,000 killed and wounded, 1,300 prisoners
taken, 160 tanks destroyed, 180 personnel carriers destroyed, 12 artillery pieces destroyed,
and 80 wheeled support vehicles destroyed. The US suffered 6 KIA, 19 wounded, and 1 Bradley
Infantry Fighting Vehicle destroyed. 30. The stunning outcome of the Battle of 73 Easting
led to Russian designers re-thinking several elements of the T-72s design, as the T-72
had been the tank most in use by Iraqi forces. Russian military leadership concluded after
the battle that the only way to stop an American armored advance would be the use of tactical
nuclear weapons. 29. Russia's next-generation T-14 tank is possibly
the most advanced main battle tank in the world- unfortunately its ballooning costs
has led to Russia scrapping plans to buy more than 100 of them and instead is turning to
updating older T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks instead. 28. Poland is experimenting with what it calls
the “tank of the future”, called the PL-01. The tank is coated with a chameleon-like skin
that enables it to mimic the infrared signature of its surroundings, making it much harder
to detect with infrared sensors. 27. The US's Abrams M1A2 is considered the best
all-around tank in the world, with Russia's T-14 directly challenging it for the top spot. However the undisputed best protected tank
in the world is Britain's Challenger 2, with its state-of-the-art composite Chobham armor
a classified secret. 26. During NATO's invasion of Iraq, a British
Challenger 2 was struck by 14 RPGs and one anti-tank missile. The crew survived and the tank was back in
operation six hours later. 25. Another Challenger 2 was later hit by 70 RPGs
and also survived. 24. The only Challenger 2 ever destroyed in combat
was a friendly-fire incident in 2003. No Challenger 2 has ever been lost to enemy
action. 23. The fastest tank in the world is the British
FV101 Scorpion, which can reach speeds over 51 mph (82 kph). 22. Syrian rebels have developed their own homemade
tank, the Sham II. It is equipped with several inches of steel
and iron armor and a turret-mounted machine gun. Five video cameras ring the tank and a PlayStation
controller operates the machine gun. 21. During the Korean War, US soldier Eduardo
C Gomez took out an enemy tank single-handedly by crawling across an open rice field, climbing
atop the tank and prying open the hatch before dropping a grenade inside. Remembering to lock the hatch has been an
important element of tank crew training since then. 20. During the Battle of Stalingrad factories
in the wartorn city continued to produce tanks unabated. The tanks were unpainted and lacked gunsights,
and driven straight from the factory floor to the front line. 19. During World War II a single Soviet KV-1 tank
stalled the advance of an entire German division for a full day, facing off against an infantry
assault, several German tanks, and German anti-tank guns. Grenades thrown into the hatches eventually
killed the crew inside, which were buried with full military honors after the battle
by the Germans. 18. An Australian Mk3 Centurion, serial number
169041 was nicknamed the Atomic Tank after surviving a 9.1 kiloton nuclear blast from
460 meters away. The tank was driven off after the test and
served for another 23 years. 17. In 1989 as part of a crackdown against pro-Democracy
protests, Chinese tanks massacred 300 students protesting the Communist government. 16. The most famous image of the 1989 Tiananmen
Square protests, that of a single man stopping a column of tanks with a raised hand- quickly
spread around the world and is today one of the most iconic images ever captured- yet
as it is heavily censored in China most Chinese do not recognize it. 15. A tank designed by the Swiss military once
suffered from a bug where turning on the heater might cause the main gun to fire. This would prove to be particularly tragic
in a country with as chilly winters as Sweden's. 14. The longest tank-to-tank kill in history occurred
when a British Challenger tank destroyed an Iraqi T-62 at a range of 5100 meters- or over
3 miles! 13. In 2006 Hungarian protesters hotwired a 50
year old Soviet T-34 tank that was part of an outdoor memorial and drove it against riot
police. 12. In the 1980s the Soviet Union developed a
'laser tank'. Equipped with artificial-ruby powered lasers,
the 1K17 Szhatie was meant to destroy enemy optical equipment, but proved too expensive
to be practical. 11. During World War II the US developed a prototype
'super tank'- the T28 Super Heavy Tank. Weighing in at nearly 100 tons this monster
was meant to break through the German defenses of the Siegfried line, but was ultimately
abandoned. 10. The Brad Pitt World War II film FURY featured
an authentic and operational Tiger 1 tank from WWII- the first time such a vehicle has
ever appeared on film. 9. Of 1300 of Germany's fearsome Tiger 1 tanks-
widely believed to be some of the best made during World War II- only 7 remain intact
today. 8. As a way to defeat German tanks, the Soviets
trained dogs to carry bombs attached to their backs and crawl under enemy tanks before detonating. However because Soviet tanks were used in
the training, when deployed the dogs targeted Russian tanks instead of German tanks- a slight
oversight. 7. Arnold Schwarzenegger served as a tank crew
member during his mandatory service in the Austrian armed forces in 1965. Later he bought the same tank he served in,
an M47, and now uses it to support charitable causes. 6. Drive A Tank, a business in Kasota, Minnesota,
is the only place in the United States civilians are allowed to drive a military tank. 5. During World War II German tanks were coated
with a putty-like material known as Zimmerit to prevent magnetic mines from sticking to
them. 4. Object 269 was a Soviet tank developed in
1959 that was designed to survive a nuclear explosion. Little did the Soviets know that the Australians
had apparently beaten them to the punch. 3. Along with the British Challenger, no American
Abrams tank has ever been destroyed in combat by enemy fire. 2. Since WWII all British tanks are equipped
with a device that allows for the heating of water called a 'boiling vessel'- rumored
to have been developed because British soldiers used to have to exit their tanks to boil water
and make tea which endangered them and wasted time. 1. The Nazis once planned a truly monstrous tank
named, appropriately enough, the P 1500 “Monster”. Weighing 1500 tons the tank was too big for
road or rail and was designed as a 'land battleship' with a crew of 100+. Despite Hitler eagerly OK' ing the concept,
it was eventually scrapped- probably for being absolutely insane. What other tank facts do you know of? What's truly the best tank of all time? Let us know in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our other video
50 Facts About Cold War. Thanks for watching, and as always, please
don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
It’s honestly why a lot of experts just ‘despise’ documentaries in general because they use shitty buzzwords.
Most American docs always have to reference ‘the bad guys’ instead of just covering the equipment. It’s a shame really that actual good research just gets covered over by stuff that catered to the average joe that doesn’t know the difference between a clip and magazine.
It’s the bleeding infographics show, whaddya expect?
Dude the infographics show has the informational integrity of a year old egg plant. It’s such a damn shame their miseducating people on mass like that.
mentions t28 instead of maus
Can someone give us a rundown cinemasin style of all the things wrong with this video.
"Kursk was the biggest tank battle"
"Ughjjgghh what? Are you retarded?"
Oh, and they said the Tiger one was regarded as one of the best tanks of world war two. Fucking hell.
Infographics Show is pretty bad about this sorta stuff
That channel is just a mass cash grab, he barely knows anything and most of his videos are just him reading off Wikipedia pages on various subjects
It is a pretty common fact that KV-1s could eliminate Panzer divisions singularly.