Top 10 Greatest Military Tanks

The best tank in history when it comes to armor, innovative in crew, safe for its design, putting the engine in the front and having a door in the back, can go in every terrain, extremely high accuracy and fire power, and has the ability to transport infantry troops and bring them to the heart of the battle, carrying them inside and letting them exit through the doors in the back.

Claiming to be the second best in the world for military technology, Israel put its technological knowledge to work. The Merkava (Chariot in English) showed most of its efforts in the 80's and the Gulf War for being a stand alone MBT. With the engine in the front rather than the back, this gave the Merkava an advantage for armor and crew protection.

The rather new model is unbeatable.
It has an anti rocket system, it is fast, well armoured, has superior radar capabilities and can shoot in angles where other tanks cannot shoot, the top is flatter than the ones of other tanks and therefore harder to hit. Also it has outside cams and radar target system.

A true masterpiece.

The original M1 Abrams model from the early 1980's was considered the best tank ever made. Yes, a Leopard or a Challenger could give it one hell of a fight, but this tank has just been proven time and time again to be the legend of all battle tanks.

Unlike it's newer models, such as the M1A1 and M1A2 varients, this one has many features that changed how tank fighting can be done forever. A true relic to all military junkies and historians.

Leopard tank is bettter no war to sugar coat that but 408 awesome tanks vs 8325 Great tanks whos winner now the Abrams. However there is no war to test tanks like these great ones in real combat the only tanks are Cold war junk and Russian and Chinese tanks don't come close to the US Abrams, German Leapord, UK Challenger, South Korean Black Panther, Israel Merkava, Japan's New TKX, and the French Leclerc are all better tanks than the 3rd world plus China and Russia. Now it is a battle of High Ultra High Tech vs Mass production. that is it no need to argue

From its startout in the Gulf War to now, America has produced what is perhaps the Best Tank ever made. Though older models showed problems, it didn't stop it from becoming a hellbent fighting machine. Packed with a modern gun, super armor, and a well maintained crew, this MBT shows many promises for a tank that was not made in large numbers during production.

Why 2%? M1A2 Abrams is the best tank in the world. This tank is used in battles for 30 years and it wins with everything.

Hands down most powerful and reliable tank in all environments and situations.

Many claim that it's the best MBT in the world today by stats. Indeed the Germans created a unique tank that could seem unstoppable. But, it's lacking in battle history on the field, that still doesn't mean that it's deadly. Everything about it is superior, the ability to drive in deep waters to even being more fuel efficient than the American Abrams tank.

Leopard versus Griffin looks interesting. Latest tank boosts. Going to need some Leo.

Seriously? 4%? Come on people! Trust the Russian metal a bit! First they said American Lockheed Martin F35 would rule the sky and Russians will lose their advantage in the skies but in the end, Russian Sukhoi Su-57 disappointed the Americans by giving them a run for the money. In my views, Russian metal can be always trusted.

As a M1-A2 SEP Abrams gunner with combat experience, I can tell as a simple matter of fact that the Armata, though untested in combat, is on paper, simply the best operational tank in the world. Let's not forget too, that at a third the cost of my Abrams, the economic impact in a real world scenario gains huge points as well.

First tank in the world with unmanned turret, lighter with 48 ton, fast with 90km/h, maximum of three crews and 125 mm cannon will replace with 152 mm cannon in near future.

What was a strength of the Abrams is now a major drawback, it's power system! Not only for being a fuel waster but because it's engine generates huge amounts of heat that allows it to be targeted that much easier by just one generation of advancements in new anti tank weapons! It's armor is also no longer the standard and it uses a version of the Leopard tanks gun? Which they are updating. If I was being shot at or was using conventional rounds, give me the Challenger still. However, these clams that the Abrams has been destroyed in number are idiotic. Don't think that the US Army has not addressed this problem, for they had a plan to replace this engine with guess what before the funding was killed. Also, the Leopard is being updated to newer standards at a much faster rate and it the preferred tank of most all armies in NATO that did not build its own. The Abrams is a fine tank, is built in much higher quantities, and has an array of ammo that will take anything out so don't worry yet. Still, if I had a choice the Leopard as an overall package is it.

The Tiger is pretty obviously one of the most legendary tank of WW II. The tiger was a masterpiece of the Germans, combining very thick armour, with very powerful shells from its Flak36 8.8cm anti tank gun, and its intimidating size. This tank, even though legendary had a few not so good points. The speed and mobility of this tank was obviously not the best due to its thick and heavy armour, and it was pretty expensive to produce due to the size and complicated controls and designs. Although some bad points have been just listed, we all know that all the money and hard work paid off for the Germans as quite a decent number for a $100,000 tigers have been produced and feared throughout the war by the Allies and there is no doubt that this is still probably one of the top tanks of WW II.

Germanys great successes can not finished without one of the Greatest Tanks of all time. It's strength in numbers and toughness at the time was so excellent, that it top off the Sherman by a long shot. But, it too, had mechanical failures of its own. Main reason why it's said to fail can go along with many other panzers of its time, it was too expensive compared to its T-34 opponents.

I hate when people say that this is JUST an upgraded T-72. What does the word "upgrade" mean? Improved, better, etc. This (Beautiful looking) tank could easily destroy an Abrams with its 125mm 9M119 Svir cannon which can also fire guided ATGMs that could help destroy a helicopter. It's also a way smaller target than most modern tanks and goes up to 40mph, almost as fast as the Abrams. They also use Kontakt-5 Reactive Armor which makes them immune to depleted uranium.

Originally named after the T-72BU, the T-90 is the most current tank in the Russian Federations services. Similar to most modern MBT's, the T-90's toughness suits its purpose on the field of action. It also has been seen to successfully drive underwater and get hit by 7 RPG's but still remains operational.

The T-90MS has been significantly updated from older T-90 models. It boasts modern fire and control systems, as well as improved defensive and offensive capabilities that can rival even the Abrams. What is not understood is that the T-90 has been upgraded due to the constant effort by the Russian military to improve their weapon systems. The ability of the T-90 to adapt and overcome cannot be understated and is the greatest advantage of the weapon system, which has served the Russian military since 1992 to the present day. It is still a very capable and competitive weapon system in the international community.

Tank does not exist

New British supertank 2miilion lbs a 250 mm cannon and 4 yes 4 30mm mini guns. Also a shark launcher.

In terms of a specific weapon system's influence over the course of a war, T34 stand out supreme in military history. In T34 the soviets had a a bulk tank immensely superior to the German bulk tanks, making up for the German superiority in moral and training during the first stages of the war. This, along with other factors, gave the soviets the breathing space for regrouping and getting even. Later on, equipped with an new turret, a superior gun and well-trained troops, T34 spearheaded the largest offensive the world has ever seen. I am aware of no tank that influenced the course of a conflict (and the design of tanks) so deeply.

If we are choosing the best and most influential tank in history, there is no match to T-34. Modern Abrams and Leopards never fought against an equal or technologically superior opponent. Abrams was tested in the Iraq wars, but USA and coalition would have prevailed even without any tanks on the battlefield whatsoever thanks to superior air power, better trained ground troops, better battlefield intel. The war was won even before Abrams crossed the Iraqi border. T-34, on the other hand, fought against opponents (Tigers and Panthers) that were technologically superior, had better crews and were part of the best military machine of the time. T-34 stroke the right balance of armour, fire power, speed and technological complexity; was easy to manufacture and maintain.
You can't "what if" the history, but I can clearly see a scenario where outcome of the most defining battles of WWII could have been different if T-34 wasn't there. Battle of Moscow and Battle of Stalingrad, no-one can say for sure that Soviets would have won without T-34.
T-34 influenced design of post war models T-54/55 and T-62, many design elements turned out to be revolutionary for the time (eg. sloped armour).

Challenger II and Leopard II Tanks will give a M1A2 Abrams a run for its money however similar to the Challenger none have been lost (complete lost) due to enemy fire. Friendly fire and accidents have brought a handful down but no enemy fire has ever penetrated the Abrams and destroyed it. There have been some incidences where a Abrams is damaged by enemy fire but not much more than that. On top of all this the Abrams has been produced on a mass scale especially in comparison with the Challenger (#2 Tank) and Leopard (#3 Tank). In addition the Abrams has repeatedly proven itself in war, where in contrast the Challenger and Leopard due to limited numbers had a much less of a role (Leopard didn't even fight in desert storm by the way). Also any other tank outside of these three is crushed by anyone of these three, that includes but is not limited to the T-90A T-90 T-80 T-72... Etc.

The challenger mk2 has practically impervious armour which has been able to withstand anti-tank mines/missiles and has a world record for hitting a moving target from around 5.5km away. Along with its AP rounds, it can destroy an enemy tank before it had even seen the challenger coming.

Also, it has an excellent operating range unlike the m1 abrams which needs a ridiculous amount of fuel to operate, even over short distances.

Got great accuracy, new mk2 has ERA, good if not superb armor, got ATGM firing capability (LAHAT), great firepower and good mobility. For a new tank, what else do you need. I'm sure with time it will evolve into something much better. DRDO guys need to solve the weight problem though, it's very heavy (mk2 = 69-67 kg).

This is has the best ever turret of any tank able to penitrate 167mm of steel alloy type 3 armour!

Now Arjun tank got superb firepower.

It may have gotten its butt kicked by the tigers, but one thing to remember is that this tank had way more survivors than the tiger. Mainly because of the amount of malfunctions in the tiger tank. This left them trapped and weak in the middle of a battle. Also they ran out of fuel 50 percent of the time also making them vulnerable. Most documentaries forget to include these facts. The tiger only wins if it doesn't have any malfunctions. I'm not saying the Sherman is perfect though. It also has some malfunctions.

It was incredibly easy to produce. It was considered to be incredibly reliable, even the soviets with their T-34 masterpiece loved this tank. The controls are so easy to use even an idiot could figure them out. The Sherman sported a wide range of variants. They were equipped with flamethrowers, AA guns, rocket launchers, smaller cannons, larger cannons, and could become bridging units if need be.

It was known as the heaviest tank in history and weighing at almost 2 million pounds, this beast can't be mistaken. The thought of what it could do on the field would be mind boggling. Sadly, it never saw the field of war and only two were ever made. The first was destroyed in a bombing, while the second was captured by the soviets.

First one is not destroyed by bombing. It didn't had turret and ammo

Version that was designed for combat may have had 7in gun and more armour

Easily up to the standard of most Western and Russian tanks.

Best tank in Africa

Main battle tanks were important for fighting later in the war. Light and medium tanks became more reliable at the moment and the Germans had what they needed. As an overall great Medium sizer tank, the Pz. IV became a popular panzer on most of the European frontlines.

Cost effective yet good.

Still in frontline use (with upgrades) , combat proven and still serving after 70 years !

Medium tanks are the best.

Designed to survive everything and it could very well do so with some modern weapons. And armour.

This is supposed to be on no. 11

Best tank ever

The T72 often gets a bad reputation for it's pitiful performance while serving for the Iraqi army. However the reality is that the T72 was a masterpiece in tank engineering at the time of it's creation. The reason for this, was it's ability to take out any tank that was available during this time, and the extremely cheap, and cost effective design it possessed. It's poor performance in the Iraqi army was due to it being used with poor tactics, practice ammunition (horrible no uranium core), and it being a down graded export version of an already downgraded tank (the T72m).Not to mention it had to face a modern, and fully equipped Abrams.😧

The Pz. Kfw. V Panther was the best operational Main Battle Tanks of WWII. It's primary advantages over other tanks of the time were it's strong angled frontal armor, faster turret traverse, and speed. It's 75mm gun also had excellent range and accuracy. Now remember that the 75mm American short guns and 57mm Soviet AT guns were also accurate, but they could maintain stopping power at long ranges like the German guns could. Building a tank that could hit a target at 1200 Meters wasn't that difficult, but building a tank that could DESTROY targets at that range was an entirely different story. However, like many German Vehicles of the time, the Panther was over-engineered, and thus very expensive to produce. It also carried sufficient side armor, but was still prone to AT Rifle hits.

Panther has everything like tiger (it also includes good armor) but it's much faster!

It was an awesome thing

Centurion is undoubtedly one of the greatest tank designs of all time. It was in service around the world as a universal tank for decades and is still in use as a combat tractor. It saw service in North Korea with the British, where it was very valuable as a force multiplier. Also, with the Australians during the Vietnam War, it showed itself to be the best tank of its time in the 6 Day War and Yom Kippur War, where armored units such as the 7th and Barack brigades faced down T55 and T62 tanks who sometimes outnumbered them 15-1. An awesome tank.

How is the best tank EVER not in the top 10? It served from the end of WW2 to now in some countries and preceded ALL other MBTs, yet I find it 36th. With a powerful gun and thick armour, it could take on any tank of its day and come out victorious. Even now, it is still an effective weapon, so why isn't it no1?

The first real MBT if you do not count the Panzerkampfwagen vi Panther tank. The Centurion was a revolutionary tank. It was finished in 1945 and still serves to this day in certain nations. A balanced, capable, and reliable platform.