What protective vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci sketch with a conical, armored shell?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched an armored vehicle with a conical, armored shell.

The design resembles a small, covered wagon or tank with sloping armor and openings for weapons. Leonardo’s drawings show a circular platform surrounded by protective plates, with guns intended to fire outward in several directions. The sloped exterior may have helped deflect incoming projectiles.

The vehicle was powered in the drawing by a system of cranks and gears operated by people inside. It was never built or used in battle during Leonardo’s lifetime, and historians have debated whether the gear arrangement contains an intentional flaw or simply reflects an incomplete design.

Calling it a modern tank can be useful as a comparison, but it was not a tracked vehicle. Modern tanks use engines, continuous tracks, armor systems, and weapons developed for industrial warfare; Leonardo’s machine was a Renaissance concept for a mobile armored platform.