Early in 2023, around the one-year anniversary of Russia’s most recent attack on Ukraine, the United States pledged 31 M1 Abrams tanks to assist in the country’s attempt to defend its territory from the attack. These particular tanks were first introduced in 1980 and entered combat for the first time during the Gulf War. The White House has been quoted as saying, “It is the most capable tank in the world, but it’s also the most sophisticated.”
Tanks have evolved significantly since the creation of the first armored vehicle, developed by the British in 1915. Known as Little Willie, it had a multitude of issues but laid the groundwork for the more successful tanks that followed, starting with Mark I. This tank, known as Big Willie, debuted during World War I in the Battle of the Somme.
As they had no tanks of their own, the United States military first used the two-man light tank, the French-made Renault FT-17, until it began developing its own tanks during the First World War. Three models were developed – the M1917 Light Tank based on the French Renault FT-17, the Model 1917 Holt, which was ultimately a failure, and the Ford Model 1918 3-ton Light Tank Combat Vehicle (M1918).
To identify the US military tanks throughout the years, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a list of tanks used by the US military from Military Factory, an online database of vehicles, aircraft, arms, and more used by militaries across the world. Tanks are listed according to when they entered the service. Data on the type of tank, country of origin, crew size, wars served, and the number produced also came from the Military Factory.
During World War II, the United States developed different tanks with many differing qualities, including the Pershing with its unreliable transmission, but it was the British-made M4 Sherman “that would become a legend on the battlefield,” according to Popular Mechanics. The Sherman, an all-round medium tank, came with a 75mm gun as standard and had a five-man crew.
The Sherman was still used in Korea and the Vietnam War, but it was the M48 Patton and later the M551 Sheridan light tank that became the workhorses of these conflicts. Meanwhile, the concept of the Main Battle Tank – to combine the firepower and protection of a heavy tank with the mobility of a medium tank by using composite armor and improvements in engine, suspension, and more – continued to develop. The M60 Patton, which entered service in 1960, packed a 105mm gun, had armor up to 10 inches thick, and could travel up to 30 mph with a crew of four.
What was once the best is still in need of improvement, and the Patton is no different. By the 1970s, the development of the M1 Abrams began. It is named after US Army General Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr. The Abrams weighs about ten times more than tanks used in WWI and is still being constantly upgraded.
Incorporating new electronics and GPS systems, a new type of armor that is up to a foot thick in some places, and packing a 120mm M256A1 smoothbore gun that can pour armor-piercing rounds with depleted uranium penetrators and M830 high-explosive anti-tank rounds, it proved itself in the Gulf War, destroying multitudes of Iraqi tanks.
Why Is This Important?
Tanks are important to the military because they add firepower and mobility and can be deployed anywhere in the world. In the ever-evolving world of technology, some tanks are even able to communicate with other vehicles. As of 2024, the United States has more tanks than any other NATO member, with approximately 4,657.
Here is every tank in the history of the US military.
Renault FT-17
- Year entered service: 1917
- Wars Served: World War I
- Country of origin: France
- Type: Light tank
- Crew size: 2
- Number produced: 3,694 – #12 most-produced
Tank Mk V
- Year entered service: 1918
- Wars Served: World War I
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Type: Heavy tank / armored fighting vehicle
- Crew size: 8
- Number produced: 1,004 – #17 most-produced
Ford Model 1918 3-ton (M1918)
- Year entered service: 1918
- Wars Served: World War I
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank combat vehicle
- Crew size: 2
- Number produced: 15 – #29 most-produced
M1917 6-ton
- Year entered service: 1918
- Wars Served: World War I
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light two-man combat tank
- Crew size: 2
- Number produced: 950 – #19 most-produced
Tank Mark VIII (International / Liberty
- Year entered service: 1919
- Wars Served: World War I
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Armored fighting vehicle
- Crew size: 11
- Number produced: 125 – #26 most-produced
M1 (Light Tank, M1 / M1 Combat Car)
- Year entered service: 1933
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 113 – #27 most-produced
Marmon-Herrington CTLS (CTL)
- Year entered service: 1935
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank/tankette
- Crew size: 2
- Number produced: 875 – #20 most-produced
M2 (Light tank, M2)
- Year entered service: 1935
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 696 – #22 most-produced
Medium Tank M2
- Year entered service: 1940
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Medium tank
- Crew size: 6
- Number produced: 112 – #28 most-produced
M3 Lee / M3 Grant (Medium Tank, M3)
- Year entered service: 1941
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Medium tank
- Crew size: 6
- Number produced: 6,258 – #8 most-produced
M3 Stuart (Light Tank, M3)
- Year entered service: 1941
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 22,744 – #2 most-produced
M5 Stuart (Light tank, M5) (Stuart VI)
- Year entered service: 1942
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 8,884 – #6 most-produced
Sherman Crab
- Year entered service: 1942
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Type: Special purpose mine flail tank tracked support vehicle
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 1,000 – #18 most-produced
M4 Sherman (Medium Tank, M4)
- Year entered service: 1942
- Wars Served: World War II, Korean War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Medium tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 50,000 – #1 most-produced
M22 Locust (Light tank, Airborne, M22)
- Year entered service: 1943
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Airborne infantry light tank
- Crew size: 3
- Number produced: 830 – #21 most-produced
Sherman Firefly (Medium Tank, M4A4)
- Year entered service: 1944
- Wars Served: World War II, Korean War
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Type: Tank destroyer / medium tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 2,100 – #14 most-produced
M4A3(76)W HVSS Sherman (Easy Eight / M4A3E8)
- Year entered service: 1944
- Wars Served: World War II, Korean War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Upped-gunned medium tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 2,617 – #13 most-produced
Sherman DD (Duplex Drive)
- Year entered service: 1944
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Type: Amphibious combat tank tracked combat vehicle
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 200 – #25 most-produced
Sherman Jumbo (Medium Tank, M4A3E2)
- Year entered service: 1944
- Wars Served: World War II
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Up-armored medium tank/assault tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 254 – #24 most-produced
M24 Chaffee (Light Tank, M24)
- Year entered service: 1944
- Wars Served: World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Reconnaissance light tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 4,731 – #9 most-produced
M26 Pershing
- Year entered service: 1945
- Wars Served: World War II, Korean War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Heavy tank / medium tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 4,550 – #10 most-produced
M46 Patton (General Patton)
- Year entered service: 1950
- Wars Served: Korean War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Medium tank tracked combat vehicle
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 1,160 – #16 most-produced
M47 (Patton II)
- Year entered service: 1951
- Wars Served: N/A
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Medium tank tracked combat vehicle
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 8,676 – #7 most-produced
M41 Walker Bulldog
- Year entered service: 1951
- Wars Served: Korean War, Vietnam War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Light tank-tracked combat vehicle
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 3,728 – #11 most-produced
M48 Patton
- Year entered service: 1952
- Wars Served: Vietnam War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Medium tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 12,000 – #4 most-produced
M103 (Tank, Combat, Full Tracked, 120-mm, M103)
- Year entered service: 1957
- Wars Served: N/A
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Heavy tank
- Crew size: 5
- Number produced: 300 – #23 most-produced
M60 (Patton)
- Year entered service: 1960
- Wars Served: Vietnam War, Gulf War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Main battle tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 15,000 – #3 most-produced
M551 Sheridan
- Year entered service: 1968
- Wars Served: Vietnam War, Gulf War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Armored reconnaissance airborne assault vehicle
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 1,562 – #15 most-produced
M1 Abrams
- Year entered service: 1980
- Wars Served: Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, Iraq War
- Country of origin: United States
- Type: Main battle tank
- Crew size: 4
- Number produced: 10,000 – #5 most-produced
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The post “Most Capable Tank In the World” Sent to Ukraine: We Review a Timeline of US Military Tanks appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..