Leonardo da Vinci’s fighting vehicle was an armored military vehicle propelled by people turning cranks.
Leonardo designed the machine in the 1480s as a mobile platform carrying several light cannons. Its sloped cover was intended to protect the crew and deflect missiles, while the circular arrangement of weapons allowed fire in multiple directions.
The vehicle’s internal mechanism has attracted particular attention. In the surviving drawing, the gears appear arranged so that the wheels would work against one another, making the vehicle unable to move as shown. Some historians interpret this as an error; others have suggested Leonardo may have deliberately altered the gearing to keep the design from being copied.
The machine is often called a tank, but that term belongs to modern armored warfare. Leonardo’s design had wheels rather than tracks and depended on human power. Its significance lies in combining armor, mobility and artillery in one coherent Renaissance concept.