Leonardo da Vinci designed an armored vehicle with a wooden shell and internal drive mechanisms.
The design, usually called Leonardo’s fighting vehicle, appears in drawings from about 1487–1489. It resembles a low, conical armored platform fitted with numerous cannons. Inside, operators would turn cranks connected to wheels, allowing the vehicle to move while its protective covering shielded them from attack.
The machine is often called Leonardo’s tank, but that label can cause confusion. It was not a modern tank: it had no engine, tracks, turret, or proven battlefield performance. The surviving design also contains a famous mechanical inconsistency. The crank arrangement would tend to make the wheels turn in conflicting directions unless corrected.
Some historians think the error may have been deliberate, either to conceal the design or because the drawing was incomplete. Whether practical or not, the vehicle demonstrates Leonardo’s interest in combining armor, mobility, and artillery into one machine. Modern reconstructions have shown that a modified version can move.