Leonardo da Vinci designed an armored tank with a conical shell and multiple cannons.
The vehicle appears in a drawing from Leonardo’s work on military engineering. Its sloping, turtle-like cover was intended to deflect projectiles, while cannons would fire through openings around the lower edge. The design was powered by four large wheels connected to internal gears.
Leonardo’s vehicle was never built in his lifetime, and it was not a practical modern tank. A commonly repeated story says that its gears were deliberately drawn incorrectly to prevent others from using the design, but historians treat that claim cautiously. The machine is better understood as a conceptual armored fighting vehicle rather than a working prototype.
Its broad shape resembles later tanks, but it had no engine, enclosed crew compartment, or modern tracked propulsion. The design illustrates Leonardo’s interest in combining mechanical power, armor, and artillery.