What Leonardo da Vinci invention was an armored fighting vehicle driven by rotating wheels?

Leonardo da Vinci’s fighting vehicle was an armored vehicle driven by rotating wheels.

Leonardo designed the machine in the late fifteenth century as a mobile platform for battlefield weapons. Its conical, turtle-like cover was intended to protect the crew, while openings around the lower edge could accommodate guns. The vehicle was to be moved by people turning cranks connected to gears and wheels.

The surviving design is often called Leonardo’s tank, but “fighting vehicle” is a more historically cautious description. It was a concept drawing, not a completed military vehicle, and there is no evidence that Leonardo’s design entered service. A commonly repeated claim says the gears were deliberately arranged backward as a secret flaw; that interpretation is possible but not firmly established by historical evidence.

The design shows Leonardo thinking about armor, mobility, crew protection, and concentrated firepower together. Its compact shape resembles later tanks, but it lacked an engine, tracks, and the practical engineering needed for modern armored warfare.