99-600: The Lynx is a German armoured fighting vehicle developed by Rheinmetall Landsysteme (part of Rheinmetall's Vehicle Systems division). The Lynx, configured as a KF31 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), was unveiled at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 14 June 2016. The KF41 variant was unveiled at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 12 June 2018. According to Rheinmetall, the Lynx family of tracked armoured vehicles
198-433: A diesel engine ; modern technology, including the use of turbo-charging , helps to overcome the lower power-to-weight ratio of diesel engines compared to petrol. Gas turbine (turboshaft) engines offer a very high power-to-weight ratio and were starting to find favour in the late 20th century – however, they offer very poor fuel consumption and as such some armies are switching from gas turbines back to diesel engines (i.e.
297-447: A main battle tank will normally be designed to take hits from other tank guns and anti-tank missiles , whilst light reconnaissance vehicles are often only armoured "just in case". Whilst heavier armour provides better protection, it makes vehicles less mobile (for a given engine power), limits its air-transportability, increases cost, uses more fuel and may limit the places it can go – for example, many bridges may be unable to support
396-494: A turret or cupola. The greater the recoil of the weapon on an AFV, the larger the turret ring needs to be. A larger turret ring necessitates a larger vehicle. To avoid listing to the side, turrets on amphibious vehicles are usually located at the centre of the vehicle. Grenade launchers provide a versatile launch platform for a plethora of munitions including, smoke , phosphorus, tear gas , illumination, anti-personnel, infrared and radar-jamming rounds. Turret stabilization
495-424: A 2.5 m trench, and an unprepared fording depth of 1.5 m. Operational range on 900-litres of diesel fuel is 500 km. The driver is located to the left front side of the hull and is furnished with three periscopes, one of which can be replaced with a night vision alternative. The rear crew compartment is designed as a mission neutral space with the incorporation of C-rails and a pattern of universal fixing points on
594-744: A British Army engineer. They were very popular with smaller countries. Some saw some combat (with limited success) in World War II. However, the vulnerability of their light armour eventually caused the concept to be abandoned. However, the German Army uses a modern design of air-transportable armoured weapons carriers, the Wiesel AWC , which resembles the concept of a tankette. The term "super-heavy tank" has been used to describe armoured fighting vehicles of extreme size, generally over 75 tonnes. Programs have been initiated on several occasions with
693-589: A SupaShock damper systems , this set-up is proven to be reliable and cost-efficient . The Lynx is fitted with as many mature sub-systems as possible in order to facilitate maintenance. The KF41 transmission is the same as that used in the Puma and Ajax vehicles, the Liebherr engine is widely used in the construction industry, and the driver’s station is taken from the Kodiak armoured engineering vehicle. The NBC system
792-763: A Vickers QF-1 "Pom-Pom" gun of 40 mm. The Germans fielded the Sd.Kfz. 10/4 and 6/2, cargo halftracks mounting single 20 mm or 37 mm AA guns (respectively) by the start of the war. Rocket launchers such as the Soviet Katyusha originated in the late 1930s. The Wehrmacht fielded self-propelled rocket artillery in World War II – the Panzerwerfer and Wurfrahmen 40 equipped half-track armoured fighting vehicles. Many modern multiple rocket launchers are self propelled by either truck or tank chassis. The level of armour protection between AFVs varies greatly –
891-418: A controlled rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute. Mounted coaxial to the right is the latest Rheinmetall Machine Gun (RMG) 7.62 mm , which can fire standard 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition and has a maximum rate of fire of 800 rounds a minute. The turret has manual back-up in case of power failure. The vehicle can also mount an optional anti-tank guided missile launcher . The demonstrator vehicle at Eurosatory 2016
990-458: A gap identified in the market by Rheinmetall. Lynx was designed as a private venture by Rheinmetall to provide customers with a modern fighting vehicle that will be able to counter emerging near peer threats whilst maintaining the ability to conduct asymmetric or peace-keeping operations. It was first shown publicly in June 2016, and in the lighter KF31 configuration. On 4 June 2018 Rheinmetall issued
1089-517: A hatch; however, the absence of leaf, coil or volute springs often left a large expanse of the side of the hull clear to include a side-escape hatch, and it was rare for a tank to be flipped over in such a way that all top-side hatches were unable to open, which is the purpose of ventral hatches. Many contemporary main battle tanks use torsion bar suspension, including the American M1 Abrams, German Leopard 2, and Chinese MBT-3000, though
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#17327796910521188-435: A highly mobile and protected fighting unit has been around for centuries; from Hannibal 's war elephants to Leonardo 's contraptions , military strategists endeavoured to maximize the mobility and survivability of their soldiers. Armoured fighting vehicles were not possible until internal combustion engines of sufficient power became available at the start of the 20th century. Modern armoured fighting vehicles represent
1287-425: A maximum permissible gross vehicle weight of 35 to 38 tonnes, is 7.22 meters long and can carry a crew of three plus six passengers. Powered by a 563 kW (755 hp) engine, the vehicle can reach a top speed of 65 km/h. This model, as displayed for the first time at Eurosatory 2018, has a maximum permissible gross vehicle weight of up to 50 tonnes. The KF41 can carry a crew of three plus eight passengers. It
1386-829: A mortar carrier with 120 mm mortar, an ambulance, a C2/C3 vehicle, and an air defence variant with cannon. Other variants will require development if contracts are won and these will include logistics and ammunition transporters. Armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle ( British English ) or armored fighting vehicle ( American English ) ( AFV ) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour , generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked . Examples of AFVs are tanks , armoured cars , assault guns , self-propelled artilleries , infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC). Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their characteristics and intended role on
1485-462: A pivot. Deflection of the suspension arm caused both halves of the double torsion bar to twist. A disadvantage of the torsion bar suspension used in Tiger and Panther tanks (and many other WWII-era tanks and other AFVs ) was the inability to incorporate an escape hatch through the bottom of the hull, a common feature of WWII-era tanks, as the torsion bar arrangement would have blocked crew access to such
1584-552: A press release informing that the larger Lynx KF41 would debut in two different configurations at the upcoming Eurosatory defence exhibition later that month. Following the unveiling in IFV configuration on 12 June the vehicle was reconfigured as a command variant, which was unveiled on 13 June. The first configuration would be as an infantry fighting vehicle with the new Lance 2.0 turret, and then after refitting on site, configured as command variant. As of May 2020 Rheinmetall had confirmed
1683-488: A rapid obscuration system (ROSY), laser warning system and acoustic shot locator system. These are integrated in the Lance turret when it is fitted along with automatic target recognition and automatic target tracking. The heating, cooling and nuclear, biological and chemical filtration system is combined in an environmental control system stowed in the rear-located left sponson in front of the cooling system. Air ducts lead to
1782-463: A remote weapon station. It is understood that this transformation can be carried out near to, or in the field, within eight hours. Other variants have been developed, or will be developed. Those developed and shown include a Combat Support Vehicle and a 120 mm-armed fire support vehicle. Variants to be developed include a mortar carrier with 120 mm mortar, an ambulance, a C2/C3 vehicle, and an air defence variant. The Lynx's overall design layout
1881-411: A sudden stop. A gun stabilizer must be used to compensate for the rocking motion. Due to the massive weight of a main battle tank, compared to an automobile, there is a much greater risk of breaking a torsion bar on sudden bumps or maneuvers, and if it is not replaced in short order the reduced suspension can affect the maneuverability of the vehicle, and in extreme cases risk immobilizing the vehicle as
1980-467: A tank being first deployed as a medium tank, but in later years relegated to light tank roles. Tanks were also classified by roles that were independent of size, such as cavalry tank , cruiser tank , fast tank , infantry tank , "assault" tank, or "breakthrough" tank. Military theorists initially tended to assign tanks to traditional military infantry, cavalry, and artillery roles, but later developed more specialized roles unique to tanks. In modern use,
2079-414: A tank chassis. During World War II, most major military powers developed self-propelled artillery vehicles. These had guns mounted on a tracked chassis (often that of an obsolete or superseded tank) and provided an armoured superstructure to protect the gun and its crew. The first British design, "Bishop" , carried the 25 pdr gun-howitzer in an extemporised mounting on a tank chassis that severely limited
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#17327796910522178-425: A torsion bar in an American car was by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit who had introduced the innovative front axle flex suspension in 1934 Hudson and Terraplane cars and realized for 1935 that a transverse torsion bar linked to the rear axle was needed as an anti-roll bar to stabilize the cars. The single torsion bar was mounted through the frame sides behind the rear axle and then attached by arms and links to
2277-450: A very large movable siege tower, the helepolis , as early as 340 BC, and Greek forces used such structures in the Siege of Rhodes (305 BC). The idea of a protected fighting vehicle has been known since antiquity. Frequently cited is Leonardo da Vinci 's 15th-century sketch of a mobile, protected gun-platform ; the drawings show a conical, wooden shelter with apertures for cannons around
2376-488: A wide variety of both ground targets and air targets. Despite significant advances in anti-tank warfare , it still remains the most versatile and fearsome land-based weapon-systems of the 21st-century, valued for its shock action and high survivability . A tankette is a tracked armed and armoured vehicle resembling a small "ultra-light tank" or "super-light tank" roughly the size of a car, mainly intended for light infantry support or scouting . Tankettes were introduced in
2475-622: Is a tank fulfilling the role of a main battle tank, but using only anti-tank surface-to-surface missiles for main armament. Several nations have experimented with prototypes, notably the Soviet Union during the tenure of Nikita Khrushchev (projects Object 167, Object 137Ml, Object 155Ml, Object 287, Object 775), A flame tank is an otherwise-standard 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
2574-430: Is an important capability because it enables firing on the move and prevents crew fatigue. Modern AFVs have primarily used either petrol (gasoline) or diesel piston engines. More recently, gas turbines have been used. Most early AFVs used petrol engines , as they offer a good power-to-weight ratio . However, they fell out of favour during World War II due to the flammability of the fuel. Most current AFVs are powered by
2673-478: Is armed with a derivative of Rheinmetall's 120 mm smoothbore gun family that is capable of firing the DM11 programmable HE round. A light machine gun is mounted co-axially with the main armament, and a RWS armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun is installed on the rear of the turret roof behind the commander's panoramic sight. A row of eight Wegmann 76 mm smoke dischargers is also installed on either side of
2772-408: Is at the forefront of a new trend in IFV design toward armoured vehicles with lower unit and through-life costs and reduced complexity. One of the key principles of the Lynx concept is the integration of proven sub-systems with a high technology readiness level to reduce development time, cost and technical risk. The Lynx family has been designed as a highly protected tracked armoured vehicle to fill
2871-413: Is built around a sponson -shaped hull with a long, shallow glacis and angled belly plate. The driver compartment is at the front left, the engine the front right, fighting compartment in the middle (when fitted with a turret) and there is a dismount compartment at the rear, access to which is via a ramp in the rear of the vehicle. A key feature of the Lynx design concept is the separation and modularity of
2970-465: Is conventional, the front right located powerpack consisting of a Liebherr six-cylinder inline diesel engine coupled to either an Allison X300 series 6F/1R or Renk HSWL 256 automatic transmission. The Liebherr diesel is of the common rail type and fitted with a two-stage turbocharger and two-stage intercooler. Power output when fitted to the Lynx varies from 755 hp (KF31) to 1,140 hp (KF41). The exhaust (right) and engine cooling (left) are routed to
3069-558: Is designated the Complex Urban Environment (CUE) kit and excludes any active protection elements. Lynx is understood to be available with one further armour kit that can be used for air transportation, providing a vehicle that can deploy straight from a transport aircraft. Additional active protection can be provided for shaped charge warhead attack using Rheinmetall's Strike Shield APS. A range of passive protection and defensive aids are also available. They include
Lynx (Rheinmetall armoured fighting vehicle) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-426: Is distinguished by its high level of firepower, mobility and armour protection relative to other vehicles of its era. It can cross comparatively rough terrain at high speeds, but its heavy dependency on fuel, maintenance, and ammunition makes it logistically demanding. It has the heaviest armour of any AFVs on the battlefield, and carries a powerful precision-guided munition weapon systems that may be able to engage
3267-534: Is fitted with a spall liner to protect the crew, while the vehicle also features decoupled seats in addition to mine and IED protection packages that include a double floor. The standard armour configuration is designated the Mounted Combat Operations (MCO) kit and it is intended to offer vehicle protection against similarly armed opponents. It is understood to combine an advanced passive component with active protection systems. The second kit
3366-526: Is maintained by cross-linking front and rear suspension spheres using hydraulic connecting pipes. (The two previous sentences refer to two different oleo-pneumatic suspension systems and are best ignored in the context of torsion bars. The principle of wheel change by suspension height adjustments has already been explained earlier in the paragraph). The first vehicle to use torsion bars was Leyland Eight designed by J. G. Parry-Thomas and produced from 1920 to 1923, however its rear suspension, patented in 1919,
3465-698: Is powered by an 850 kW (1,140 hp) engine and has a top speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). Variants shown as of March 2022 include the Lynx 120 that was first shown in February 2022, the Lynx Combat Support Vehicle that was first shown in October 2021, and the APC/command configuration which was shown as an overnight conversion from a KF41 at Eurosatory 2018. Variants that have been announced as to be developed (for Hungary) are
3564-447: Is the same as that installed on Boxer and the tracks are identical to those used on the PzH 2000 . Mobility parameters will vary by variant and exact configuration but are stated to include a maximum road speed of 70 km/h, a gradeability of at least 60%, a sideslope traverse capability of at least 30%, the ability to climb (forwards) a 1 m vertical obstacle, the ability to cross
3663-412: Is usually an easy task. Longitudinal torsion bars extend under the passenger compartment, cutting into interior space by raising the floor, while in transverse systems, torsion bar length is limited by vehicle width. Some vehicles use torsion bars to provide automatic leveling , using a motor to pre-stress the bars to provide greater resistance to load and, in some cases (depending on the speed with which
3762-755: The Hussite Wars . These heavy wagons were given protective sides with firing slits; their heavy firepower came from either a cannon or from a force of hand-gunners and crossbowmen , supported by light cavalry and infantry using pikes and flails . Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc . These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces (100 g). By the end of World War II , most modern armies had vehicles to carry infantry, artillery and anti-aircraft weaponry . Most modern AFVs are superficially similar in design to their World War II counterparts, but with significantly better armour, weapons, engines, electronics, and suspension. The increase in
3861-616: The K-car . A reengineered torsion bar suspension, introduced with the 1976 Dodge Aspen , introduced transverse-mounted torsion bars (possibly based on the Volkswagen Type 3 passenger car) until production ended in 1989 (with Chrysler's M platform). Some generations of the Dodge Dakota and Durango used torsion bars on the front suspension. General Motors first used torsion bars on their light-duty pickup trucks in 1960 until it
3960-607: The MOWAG Piranha , originally designed as an APC, has been adapted to fill numerous roles such as a mortar carrier , infantry fighting vehicle, and assault gun. Armoured fighting vehicles began to appear in use in World War I with the armoured car, the tank, the self-propelled gun, and the personnel carrier seeing use. By World War II, armies had large numbers of AFVs, together with other vehicles to carry troops this permitted highly mobile manoeuvre warfare . The concept of
4059-776: The Russian Marines with the PT-76 , the British Army with the Scimitar , and the Chinese Army with the Type 63 . Modern main battle tanks or "universal tanks" incorporate recent advances in automotive, artillery, armour, and electronic technology to combine the best characteristics of the historic medium and heavy tanks into a single, all-around type. They are also the most expensive to mass-produce. A main battle tank
Lynx (Rheinmetall armoured fighting vehicle) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-484: The Second World War (1939–1945). The armoured personnel carrier, designed to transport infantry troops to the frontline, emerged towards the end of World War I. During the first actions with tanks , it had become clear that close contact with infantry was essential in order to secure ground won by the tanks. Troops on foot were vulnerable to enemy fire, but they could not be transported in the tank because of
4257-597: The Second World War , during which the United States, Soviet Union , Germany , Italy , Japan and the United Kingdom (including members of the British Commonwealth ) all produced flamethrower-equipped tanks. Usually, the flame projector replaced one of the tank's machineguns, however, some flame projectors replaced the tank's main gun. Fuel for the flame weapon was generally carried inside
4356-552: The T-72 , Leopard 1 , Leopard 2 , M26 Pershing , M18 Hellcat , M48 Patton , M60 Patton and the M1 Abrams (many tanks from World War II used this suspension), and on modern trucks and SUVs from Ford , Chrysler , GM , Mitsubishi , Mazda , Nissan , Isuzu , LuAZ , and Toyota . Class 8 truck manufacturer Kenworth also offered a torsion bar suspension for its K100C and W900A models, up to about 1981. Manufacturers change
4455-731: The Wolseley -badged upmarket variants of the latter two models. The designer of these cars, Alec Issigonis , was inspired by the Traction Avant's suspension, although the Morris cars were rear-wheel drive and used conventional leaf springs for their rear axles. The Minor used lever arm dampers with its torsion bars while the Oxford and the Six used innovative telescopic dampers . The Minor remained in production largely unchanged until 1972 and
4554-514: The Russian T-80 used a gas turbine engine, whereas the later T-90 does not). The US M1 Abrams is a notable example of a gas turbine powered tank. Notable armoured fighting vehicles extending from post-World War I to today. The tank is an all terrain AFV incorporating artillery which is designed to fill almost all battlefield roles and to engage enemy forces by the use of direct fire in
4653-600: The aim of creating an invincible siegeworks / breakthrough vehicle for penetrating enemy formations and fortifications without fear of being destroyed in combat. Examples were designed in World War I and World War II (such as the Panzer VIII Maus ), along with a few in the Cold War . However, few working prototypes were built and there is no clear evidence any of these vehicles saw combat, as their immense size would have made most designs impractical. A missile tank
4752-499: The axle beam provided wheel location features like a twist beam axle. Also in the 1930s, Porsche's prototypes of the first Volkswagen Beetle incorporated torsion bars—especially their transverse mounting style. Czechoslovakian Tatra's 1948 T600 Tatraplan employed rear torsion bar suspension, the only Tatra to do so. The system first saw military use in the Swedish Stridsvagn L-60 tank of 1934. Its suspension
4851-400: The battlefield. The classifications are not absolute; two countries may classify the same vehicle differently, and the criteria change over time. For example, relatively lightly armed armoured personnel carriers were largely superseded by infantry fighting vehicles with much heavier armament in a similar role. Successful designs are often adapted to a wide variety of applications. For example,
4950-663: The best-known infantry tanks was the Matilda II of World War II. Other examples include the French R-35 , the British Valentine , and the British Churchill . Torsion bar suspension A torsion bar suspension , also known as a torsion spring suspension , is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to
5049-409: The bottom of the hull. Weaponry varies by a very wide degree between AFVs – lighter vehicles for infantry carrying, reconnaissance or specialist roles may have only a autocannon or machine gun (or no armament at all), whereas heavy self-propelled artillery will carry howitzers , mortars or rocket launchers. These weapons may be mounted on a pintle , affixed directly to the vehicle or placed in
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#17327796910525148-484: The capacity of transport aircraft makes possible and practicable the transport of AFVs by air. Many armies are replacing some or all of their traditional heavy vehicles with lighter airmobile versions, often with wheels instead of tracks. The first modern AFVs were armed cars, dating back virtually to the invention of the motor car . The British inventor F. R. Simms designed and built the Motor Scout in 1898. It
5247-468: The centre of the vehicle for cargo manipulation. The remaining internal volume below the loadbed is understood to house additional fuel tanks and storage for specialist equipment. The protection of the Lynx is designed to be scaled according to the threat. The vehicle's ballistic steel armour is designed to protect the Lynx from anti-tank weapons , medium-caliber ammunition, artillery shrapnel and bomblets, although exact details are classified. The interior
5346-627: The circumference. The machine was to be mounted on four wheels which would be turned by the crew through a system of hand cranks and cage (or "lantern") gears . Leonardo claimed: "I will build armoured wagons which will be safe and invulnerable to enemy attacks. There will be no obstacle which it cannot overcome." Modern replicas have demonstrated that the human crew would have been able to move it over only short distances. Hussite forces in Bohemia developed war wagons – medieval horse-drawn wagons that doubled as wagon forts – around 1420 during
5445-644: The company had proposed the Lynx to meet requirements in Australia, the Czech Republic, and the United States, and as of March 2022 these requirements were ongoing. The first user of the Lynx was announced as Hungary on 10 September 2020. The Lynx Combat Support Vehicle (CSV) was unveiled on 18 October 2021. The Lynx CSV was designed to meet the Australian Army's Land 400 Phase 3 requirement for approximately 100 support vehicles capable of fulfilling
5544-649: The first Self-propelled artillery , was fielded in 1917. It was based on the first tank, the British Mark I , and carried a heavy field-gun. The next major advance was the Birch gun (1925), developed for the British motorised warfare experimental brigade (the Experimental Mechanized Force ). This mounted a field gun, capable of the usual artillery trajectories and even anti-aircraft use, on
5643-458: The floor and to an air duct interface on the top end of the hull. The vehicle as shown at Eurosatory 2016 was outfitted with a Lance turret mounting a stabilized, externally powered, autocannon of 30 mm or 35 mm caliber , with airburst munition support. This allows the Lynx to engage targets at ranges of up to 3,000 meters, both when static and when on the move. The vehicle's main armament has an elevation of between +45˚ and −10˚ and has
5742-576: The front and rear systems to improve ride quality. Morris Minor and Oxford from the late 1940s onwards used a front torsion bar system very similar to the Citroën, as did the Riley RM models. The revolutionary Jaguar E-Type introduced in 1961 had a torsion bar front suspension very similar to the Citroën and Morris Minor, and an independent coil spring rear suspension using four shock absorbers with concentric springs ( coilover ). An early application of
5841-419: The front side of the spring U-bolt plates. Axle flex was discontinued for the 1936 model year. Gladeon M. Barnes and Warren E. Preston filed a US patent application for a torsion bar suspension in 1934, which was approved two years later. The original feature of the patent was what is now called tube-over-bar (TOB) design which only saw limited use in the 1960s (for example, on LVTP-7 ). Even though Barnes
5940-438: The frontal assault role. Though several configurations have been tried, particularly in the early experimental "golden days" of tank development, a standard, mature design configuration has since emerged to a generally accepted pattern. This features a main tank gun or artillery gun , mounted in a fully rotating turret atop a tracked automotive hull, with various additional secondary weapon systems throughout. Philosophically,
6039-416: The frontal structure of the car. A disadvantage is that torsion bars, unlike coil springs, usually cannot provide a progressive spring rate. In most torsion bar systems, ride height (and therefore many handling features) may be changed by simply adjusting bolts that connect the torsion bars to the frame cross member. In most cars with this type of suspension, swapping torsion bars for a different spring rate
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#17327796910526138-690: The gun's performance. It was replaced by the more effective Sexton . The Germans built many lightly armoured self-propelled anti-tank guns using captured French equipment (for example Marder I ), their own obsolete light tank chassis ( Marder II ), or ex-Czech chassis ( Marder III ). These led to better-protected tank destroyers, built on a medium-tank chassis such as the Jagdpanzer IV or the Jagdpanther . The Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon debuted in WWI. The German 88 mm anti-aircraft gun
6237-400: The heavy tank has fallen out of favour, being supplanted by more heavily armed and armoured descendant of the medium tanks – the universal main battle tank . The light tank has, in many armies, lost favour to cheaper, faster, lighter armoured cars ; however, light tanks (or similar vehicles with other names) are still in service with a number of forces as reconnaissance vehicles , most notably
6336-498: The individual vehicle too, depending on the role of the vehicle and the likely direction of attack. For example, a main battle tank will usually have the heaviest armour on the hull front and the turret, lighter armour on the sides of the hull and the thinnest armour on the top and bottom of the tank. Other vehicles – such as the MRAP family – may be primarily armoured against the threat from IEDs and so will have heavy, sloped armour on
6435-515: The intense heat and noxious atmosphere. In 1917, Lieutenant G. J. Rackham was ordered to design an armoured vehicle that could fight and carry troops or supplies. The Mark IX tank was built by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. , although just three vehicles had been finished at the time of the Armistice in November 1918, and only 34 were built in total. Different tank classifications emerged in
6534-792: The interwar period. The tankette was conceived as a mobile, two-man model, mainly intended for reconnaissance. In 1925, Sir John Carden and Vivian Loyd produced the first such design to be adopted – the Carden Loyd tankette . Tankettes saw use in the Royal Italian Army during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935–1936), the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and almost everywhere Italian soldiers fought during World War II . The Imperial Japanese Army used tankettes for jungle warfare . The British Gun Carrier Mark I ,
6633-460: The introduction of the 964. They are also used in the front suspension of the 914 as well as the rear suspension of the 924 , 944 , and 968 . Honda also used front torsion bars on the third generation Civic and other variants built on the same platform including the Ballade and first generation CRX . The German World War II Panther tank had double torsion bars. Needing bars longer than
6732-524: The inventor's death in a car crash in 1927 prevented its further development. Therefore the invention is often credited to the Porsche GmbH , which patented it in 1931 and later used in a lot of designs. The front wheel drive Citroën Traction Avant from 1934 was the first to implement the idea in a serially produced car, featuring independent front torsion bar suspension and a flexible trailing dead axle, also sprung by torsion bars. The flexibility of
6831-617: The manoeuvre support, logistics, repair, and recovery roles. It was expected that the CSV variant will be marketed to other potential export customers, including Hungary and the US. The Lynx 120 was announced by the company in February 2022. The Lynx 120 is a fire support variant of the Lynx KF41 platform. It consists of a Lynx KF41 hull mounting a large-calibre crewed turret armed with a derivative of Rheinmetall's 120 mm smoothbore gun family. The Lynx
6930-483: The mid-1920s as a reconnaissance vehicle and a mobile machine gun position They were one or two-man vehicles armed with a machine gun. Colloquially it may also simply mean a "small tank". Tankettes were designed and built by several nations between the 1920s and 1940s following the British Carden Loyd tankette which was a successful implementation of "one man tank" ideas from Giffard Le Quesne Martel ,
7029-473: The middle of the 20th century at the same time that unitary construction was being adopted. At a time when the mechanics of stress and metal fatigue in unitary body frames was poorly understood, torsion bars were very attractive to vehicle designers as the bars could be mounted to reinforced parts of the central structure, typically the bulkhead . Using MacPherson struts to achieve independent front suspension with coil springs meant providing strong turrets in
7128-480: The motors can act), to respond to changes in road conditions. Height adjustable suspension has been used to implement a wheel-change mode where the vehicle is raised on three wheels so that the remaining wheel is lifted off the ground without the aid of a jack. This example is of a vehicle that uses oleopneumatic suspension where a high pressure pump primes a pressure reservoir that feeds terminating spheres with hydraulic oil (LHM) to achieve suspension. The ride height
7227-515: The muddy, pocked terrain and slit trenches of the Battle of the Somme . The tank eventually proved highly successful and, as technology improved, it became a weapon that could cross large distances at much higher speeds than supporting infantry and artillery . The need to provide the units that would fight alongside the tank led to the development of a wide range of specialised AFVs, especially during
7326-472: The newest generation of tanks such as the Russian T-14 Armata utilize an adjustable hydraulic suspension. Due to their small size, tremendous load capacity, and relative ease of service, torsion bar suspension has been ideal for tanks, though it is not without disadvantage. The large travel and high elasticity of the torsion bars results in a "rocking" motion when the tank is moving or coming to
7425-484: The opposing force who can often hear and even feel their arrival. Tanks were classified either by size or by role. Classification by relative size was common, as this also tended to influence the tanks' role. Over time, tanks tended to be designed with heavier armour and weapons, increasing the weight of all tanks, so these classifications are relative to the average for the nation's tanks for any given period. An older tank design might be reclassified over time, such as
7524-527: The realization of an ancient concept – that of providing troops with mobile protection and firepower. Armies have deployed war machines and cavalries with rudimentary armour in battle for millennia. Use of these animals and engineering designs sought to achieve a balance between the conflicting paradoxical needs of mobility, firepower and protection. Siege engines , such as battering rams and siege towers , would often be armoured in order to protect their crews from enemy action. Polyidus of Thessaly developed
7623-439: The rear of the vehicle to reduce its thermal and acoustic signature. Final drives are mounted in the front and the toothless idler sprockets with track tensioners are mounted at the rear. The running gear has six road wheel stations per side, which guide a lightweight steel or segmented rubber band-type track. The rubber-tyred road wheels are mounted on a suspension system comprising swing arms with conventional torsion bars and
7722-439: The tank is, by its very nature, an offensive weapon. Being a protective encasement with at least one gun position, it is essentially a pillbox or small fortress (though these are static fortifications of a purely defensive nature) that can move toward the enemy – hence its offensive utility. Psychologically, the tank is a force multiplier that has a positive morale effect on the infantry it accompanies. It also instills fear in
7821-613: The tank, although a few designs mounted the fuel externally, such as the armoured trailer used on the Churchill Crocodile . Flame tanks have been superseded by thermobaric weapons such as the Russian TOS-1 . The idea for this tank was developed during World War I by British and French. The infantry tank was designed to work in concert with infantry in the assault, moving mostly at a walking pace, and carrying heavy armour to survive defensive fire. Its main purpose
7920-438: The torsion bar or key to adjust the ride height, usually to compensate for engine weight. The main advantages of a torsion bar suspension are soft ride due to elasticity of the bar, durability, easy adjustability of ride height, and small profile along the width of the vehicle. It takes up less of the vehicle's interior volume than coil springs . Torsion bars reached the height of their popularity on mass-production road cars in
8019-527: The torsion bar, was the Chrysler system used beginning with all Chrysler products starting with the 1957 model year in cars such as the Imperial Crown series, Chrysler Windsor , DeSoto Firedome , Dodge Coronet and Plymouth Belevedere although Chrysler's "Torsion-Air" suspension was only for the front axle; the same basic system (longitudinal mounting) was maintained until the 1981 introduction of
8118-507: The turret behind the two hatches. The Lynx family of tracked armoured vehicles is based around two primary models, the KF31 and a slightly larger but considerably heavier KF41. Both models can be configured for a variety of roles that include command and control, armoured reconnaissance, surveillance, repair, recovery or ambulance operations in addition to infantry fighting vehicle configuration. This model, first displayed at Eurosatory 2016, has
8217-487: The vehicle chassis; the opposite end terminates in a lever, the torsion key, mounted perpendicular to the bar, that is attached to a suspension arm, a spindle, or the axle. Vertical motion of the wheel causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bar's torsion resistance. The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape, material, and manufacturing process. Torsion bar suspensions are used on combat vehicles and tanks like
8316-405: The vehicle into two primary parts: the basic vehicle and specialist mission and role equipment. Lynx variants are designed around a common drive module upon which the mission kits are installed. Available kits include an IFV and APC. For the former, a turret is fitted to the roof of the hull, for the latter the turret is removed and replaced by a roof plate that includes an array of vision devices and
8415-422: The walls and floor. This provides a flexible configuration for all mission specific equipment. A large power-operated rear ramp allows for rapid ingress/egress of dismounts. For the CSV variant the most prominent design change is the removal of the turret and the alteration of the rear of the vehicle to provide a lowered loadbed for cargo to be transported on. In addition a 5 tonne capacity crane has been installed in
8514-475: The weight of a main battle tank. A trend toward composite armour is taking the place of steel – composites are stronger for a given weight, allowing the tank to be lighter for the same protection as steel armour, or better protected for the same weight. Armour is being supplemented with active protection systems on a number of vehicles, allowing the AFV to protect itself from incoming projectiles. The level of protection also usually varies considerably throughout
8613-405: The width of the tank to get the required spring rate and maximum elastic bend angle from available steel alloys, designer Ernst Lehr created a suspension that effectively folded the bars in half. For each wheel, one rod was attached to the suspension arm, while another was mounted to a nearby point on the frame. On the opposite side of the tank, the two rods were attached to each other and fitted into
8712-419: Was retrospectively named "torsion bar assisted" by Leyland in a 1966 publication because the bars only complemented the leaf springs. Less than two dozen cars (including racing variants) were produced, and the suspension was only ever used again on Marlborough-Thomas racing cars few years later. In 1923 Parry-Thomas patented an updated design featuring a true torsion bar design with no leaf springs, however
8811-467: Was developed by German engineers, including Porsche employee Karl Rabe who also held patents on torsion bar suspensions personally. It was used extensively in European cars like Renault , Citroën and Porsche/Volkswagen, by less known producers like Mathis and Röhr in the 1930s, as well as by American Packard in the 1950s. The Packard used torsion bars at both front and rear, and interconnected
8910-681: Was employed by the US Army Ordnance Department , torsion bars were not used in American armor designs until the T70 GMC in 1943, which suspension was derived from Pz. III by GM engineer Robert Schilling. Post-war the use of torsion bar front suspension was a defining feature of British Morris cars, starting with the Morris Minor of 1948, its larger Morris Oxford MO counterpart and the upmarket Morris Six MS , plus
9009-442: Was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun , and with 7 mm armour for the gunner. Armoured cars were first used in large numbers on both sides during World War I as scouting vehicles. In 1903, H. G. Wells published the short story " The Land Ironclads ," positing indomitable war machines that would bring a new age of land warfare, the way steam-powered ironclad warships had ended the age of sail . Wells's literary vision
9108-506: Was outfitted with a twin-round launcher for the Spike-LR anti-tank guided missile. The IFV variant of the KF41 variant shown at Eurosatory 2018 was fitted with the updated Lance 2.0 turret, this having flexible mission pods fitted on the left and right sides so that a variety of subsystems can be installed to provide the turret with specialist capabilities. The Lynx 120 fire support variant
9207-533: Was phased out in 1963 where traditional coil springs are used up front for their 2WD trucks. Its first use in a passenger car was in 1966, starting with the E-platform vehicles ( Oldsmobile Toronado , Cadillac Eldorado ), 4WD S-10 pickups and Astro vans with optional AWD, and since 1988, full size trucks and SUVs with 4WD (GMT400, GMT800, and GMT900 series). Porsche used four-wheel torsion bar suspension for their 356 and 911 series from 1948 until 1989 with
9306-607: Was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3-litre 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a maximum speed of around 9 miles per hour (14 kilometres per hour). The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. Another early armoured car of the period was the French Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902 , presented at the Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle in Brussels , on 8 March 1902. The vehicle
9405-645: Was realized in 1916, when, amidst the pyrrhic standstill of the Great War , the British Landship Committee deployed revolutionary armoured vehicles to break the stalemate. The tank was envisioned as an armoured machine that could cross ground under fire from machine guns and reply with its own mounted machine guns and naval artillery . These first British tanks of World War I moved on caterpillar tracks that had substantially lower ground pressure than wheeled vehicles, enabling them to pass
9504-595: Was replaced by the Morris Marina which also used the torsion bar-lever arm damper system for its front suspension—one of the last new cars worldwide to be introduced with the system and which remained in production until 1984. The Oxford/Six platform was developed through several revised series which used Issigonis' torsion bar system until 1959 when the new Farina Oxford was introduced using front suspension with coil springs, lower wishbones and lever arm dampers. The most famous American passenger car application of
9603-582: Was the first armed, petrol-engine powered vehicle ever built. It consisted of a De Dion-Bouton quadracycle with a Maxim machine gun mounted on the front bar. An iron shield offered some protection for the driver from the front, but it lacked all-around protective armour. The armoured car was the first modern fully armoured fighting vehicle. The first of these was the Simms's Motor War Car , also designed by Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in 1899. The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and
9702-507: Was to suppress enemy fire, crush obstacles such as barbed-wire entanglements, and protect the infantry on their advance into and through enemy lines by giving mobile overwatch and cover . The French Renault FT was the first iteration of this concept. The British and French retained the concept between the wars and into the Second World War era. Because infantry tanks did not need to be fast, they could carry heavy armour. One of
9801-615: Was truck-mounted and used to great effect against British tanks, and the British QF 3-inch 20 cwt was mounted on trucks for use on the Western Front . Although the Birch gun was a general purpose artillery piece on an armoured tracked chassis, it was capable of elevation for anti-aircraft use. Vickers Armstrong developed one of the first SPAAGs based on the chassis of the Mk.E 6-ton light tank/ Dragon Medium Mark IV tractor , mounting
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