Leonardo da Vinci’s fighting vehicle was a battle vehicle covered by a conical shell and armed with guns.
Leonardo designed the vehicle around 1487 while working for Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Its sloping cover was intended to deflect enemy fire, while a circular platform inside allowed several guns to fire in different directions.
The design was powered by men turning cranks connected to wheels. It was not a practical tank in the modern sense: the vehicle would have been heavy, difficult to steer, and hard for its crew to move over rough ground. Some drawings also show a mechanical problem in the gear arrangement that would have made the vehicle move backward unless corrected.
The machine is often called Leonardo’s tank, but “fighting vehicle” is the more precise historical name. It remained a design rather than a documented working weapon.