Leonardo da Vinci designed an armored vehicle with a rotating weapons platform and protective armor.
The vehicle is commonly called Leonardo’s tank, but “armored vehicle” more precisely describes the historical concept. Its sloping outer shell was intended to protect the crew, while weapons positioned around the platform could engage targets in several directions. The machine was designed to move using internal gearing and hand-operated cranks.
Leonardo’s military notebooks contain many studies of fortifications, artillery, bridges, and battlefield machines. His armored vehicle was part of that wider program of military engineering, not a documented prototype used in combat.
The design’s drawn gear arrangement appears mechanically flawed because the wheels would oppose one another. Whether this was an intentional concealment or a drafting mistake remains debated. The concept therefore demonstrates inventive thinking, but it should not be described as a functioning Renaissance tank.