What name is commonly given to Leonardo da Vinci’s armoured military vehicle?

Leonardo da Vinci’s armoured military vehicle is commonly called Leonardo’s tank.

He designed the vehicle around 1487 for military use, imagining a conical, turtle-like cover made from wooden plates reinforced with metal. The vehicle would carry several light cannons and move using wheels turned by people inside.

The machine was not a modern tank: it had no engine, tracks, or armour made from rolled steel. “Tank” is a retrospective description based on its protected fighting-vehicle role and its enclosed shape. A famous drawing also contains a gearing problem that would prevent the wheels from turning as shown, although some historians debate whether this was deliberate or simply an error.

Leonardo’s design was never built for Renaissance warfare. It is remembered as an early armoured-vehicle concept rather than as a direct ancestor that was deployed in battle.