The tank was invented by the British in World War I, with nearly simultaneous development

in France. Tanks of the First World War reflected the novelty of the idea and the primitive state of
the automotive industry. World War I tanks moved at a walking pace, were relatively unreliable, and
the best usage of them was still developing up to the war's end.[1] A breakthrough in tank design was
the Christie suspension: a suspension system developed by American engineer J. Walter
Christie which allowed considerably longer movement of the suspension than conventional leaf-
spring systems then in common use, and allowed the tanks to have considerably greater cross-
country speed.
The doctrine of armored warfare changed radically in the inter-war years as armies sought ways to
avoid the deadlock imposed by modern firepower and looked for the means to restore offensive
power on the battlefield. Initially, tanks had been used for close support of infantry, but as modern
mechanized doctrine was developed by several armies, tanks became an essential part of the
combined-arms team. In addition to infantry support, tanks fulfilled traditional cavalry roles, provided
mobile artillery support, and were adapted to combat engineering roles.
Tank design gradually improved in the inter-war period also. Reflecting the growth of the automotive
industry, tank engines, transmissions, and track systems were improved. By the beginning of the war
in September 1939, tanks were available that could travel hundreds of miles on their tracks with a
limited number of breakdowns.
The war accelerated the pace of change in design. In particular, the gun-vs-armor race of the war
led to rapid improvements in firepower and armor (both in thickness and design).
The United Kingdom, the USA, the Soviet Union, and France produced significant numbers of tanks
before and during World War II. The early tanks of Germany were inferior to many of their
opponents' tanks in the areas of armor and firepower. However, in their tactical employment the
German tanks dominated all rivals early in the war. German doctrine stressed the use of rapid
movement, mission-type tactics and combined-arms where tanks operated with mobile infantry and
air support; this doctrine was popularly called [a] Blitzkrieg. This doctrine required the Germans to
equip their tanks with radios, which provided unmatched command and control for flexible
employment.
In contrast, for example, almost 80 percent of French tanks lacked radios,[5] essentially because their
battle doctrine was based on a more slow-paced, deliberate conformance to planned movements.
This required fewer radios at all levels. French tanks generally outclassed German tanks in firepower
and armor in the 1940 campaign, but their poor command and control doctrine negated these
advantages. By 1943, two-way radio was nearly universal in all armies.

Early war production.

German tank formation

A trend towards heavier tanks was unmistakable as the war proceeded. In 1939, most tanks had
maximum armor of 30 mm (1.2 in) or less, with guns with no larger caliber than 37–47 mm. Medium
tanks of 1939 weighed around 20 tonnes (20 long tons). By 1945, typical medium tanks had
maximum armor over 60 mm thick, with guns in the 75–85 mm (3.0–3.3-inch) range and weights of
30 to 45 t (30 to 44 long tons). Light tanks, which dominated most armies early in the war, gradually
disappeared from front-line service.
Turrets, which had always been considered, but were not previously a universal feature on tanks,
became recognized as essential. It was appreciated that if the tank's gun was to be used to engage
both 'soft' (unarmored) and armored targets, then it needed to be as large and powerful as possible,
making one large gun with an all-round field of fire vital. Also, mounting the gun in a turret ensured
that the tank could fire from hull down cover. Hull-mounted guns required that most of the vehicle be
exposed to enemy fire. Multiple-turreted or multi-gun designs such as the Soviet T-35,
American Medium Tank M3, French Char B1 or British A9 Cruiser Mk I slowly became less common
during World War II. Experience showed that a tank commander could not effectively control the fire
of several weapons; also, the newer dual-purpose guns eliminated the need for multiple weapons.
Most tanks still retained a hull machine gun, and usually one or more machine guns in the turret, to
protect them from infantry at short range.
Tanks were adapted to a wide range of military tasks, including engineering. Specialized models,
such as flame-thrower tanks, armored recovery vehicles for towing disabled tanks from the
battlefield, and command tanks with extra radios were also used. Some of these tank variants live on
as other classes of armored fighting vehicle, no longer called "tanks". All major combatant powers
also developed tank destroyers and assault guns, as armored vehicles carrying large-caliber guns,
but often no turrets. Turreted vehicles are expensive to manufacture compared to non-turreted
vehicles.
One trend seen in World War II was the usage of older, lighter tank chassis to mount larger weapons
in fixed casemates, as self-propelled guns, tank destroyers or assault guns. For example, the Soviet
T-34 could mount an 85 mm gun in the turret, but the same chassis could carry the much more
effective 100 mm gun in a fixed casemate as the SU-100. Likewise, the obsolete German Panzer
II light tank, too vulnerable for a direct fire role, was modified to take a powerful 75 mm PaK 40 gun
in an open-topped, fixed casemate as the Marder II self-propelled artillery piece.
The German tank destroyers Panzerjäger ("tank hunters") were basically made by taking an existing
anti-tank gun and mounting it on a convenient chassis to give mobility, usually with just a three-
sided gun shield for crew protection. For instance, 202 obsolete Panzer I light tanks were modified
by removing the turret emplacing a Czech 4,7cm KPÚV vz. 38 (47 mm) anti-tank gun giving
the Panzerjäger I self-propelled anti-tank gun. German tank destroyers based on the Panzer III and
later German tanks were unique in that they had more armor than their tank counterparts.
Fully enclosed casemates on the Germans' Sturmgeschütz assault guns, from the beginning of the
war, set a pattern used later by the similarly fully enclosed Jagdpanzer casemate-style tank
destroyers, with the Soviets' similar Samokhodnaya ustanovka (SU) assault guns being used for the
same dual-purpose roles. However, the lack of a rotating turret had limited the gun's traverse to a
few degrees. This meant that the entire tank normally had to be turned onto its target by the driver, a
much slower process than simply rotating a powered turret. If the vehicle became immobilized due to
engine failure or track damage, it could not rotate its gun to counter opposing tanks, making it highly
vulnerable to counterfire.[8] This vulnerability was later exploited by opposing tank forces. Even the
largest and most powerful of German tank destroyers were found abandoned on the field after a
battle, having been immobilized by one or more hits by high explosive (HE) or armor-piercing (AP)
shells to the track or front drive sprocket.