Leonardo da Vinci sketched an armored vehicle as a covered, armored fighting machine in the 1480s.
The design appears in Leonardo’s codices and consists of a conical, turtle-like cover mounted on a wheeled platform. Several light cannons project through openings around the vehicle, allowing defenders to fire in different directions while remaining protected.
The machine was intended to be powered by people turning cranks connected to gears. Modern reconstructions have noted that the gear arrangement shown in some drawings would make the vehicle difficult or impossible to drive as drawn. This has led to debate over whether Leonardo made a copying error or deliberately concealed part of the mechanism.
The vehicle was not a modern tank: it had no engine, tracked wheels, or evidence of battlefield use. It is better understood as a Renaissance concept for a mobile artillery platform and a famous example of Leonardo combining mechanics with military engineering.