Leonardo da Vinci designed an armored tank with a conical shell and internal cannon platforms.
The design appears in Leonardo’s notebooks from the late 15th century, during an era when Italian city-states competed constantly and military engineering was highly valued. Its sloping cover was intended to deflect incoming fire, while several light cannons projected through openings around the vehicle.
The vehicle was meant to be moved by crews turning internal cranks connected to wheels. It was never built in Leonardo’s lifetime, and the design contains a famous mechanical problem: the gearing as traditionally drawn would make the wheels turn in opposite directions. Some historians believe this may have been deliberate or simply an error in the sketch.
Modern descriptions often call it the world’s first tank, but it was a conceptual Renaissance war machine rather than a tested armored vehicle. It also lacked the engines, steering systems, and track design associated with modern tanks.