Leonardo da Vinci’s covered military vehicle with cannon arranged around a circular platform was an armored tank.
Leonardo designed the fighting vehicle in the late fifteenth century, probably while seeking patronage from Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan. The machine had a conical armored shell inspired by a tortoise’s protective shape. Several light cannons projected through openings around its perimeter, allowing the crew to fire in different directions.
The vehicle was meant to be moved by people turning internal cranks connected to wheels. Modern reconstructions have pointed out that the gearing shown in the surviving drawing would make the machine difficult or impossible to drive as drawn. Some historians think the apparent flaw may have been deliberate, preventing others from using the design.
It was not a modern tank: it had no engine, enclosed turret, or tracked propulsion. “Armored tank” is a modern descriptive name for Leonardo’s proposed fighting vehicle.