What was Leonardo da Vinci’s armored military vehicle commonly called?

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

He designed the vehicle in the late 15th century, probably around 1487, while working for Ludovico Sforza in Milan. The machine had a conical, turtle-like armored shell and was intended to move across a battlefield while its crew operated guns through openings around the structure.

The design is often presented as an early tank because it combined armor, wheels, and onboard weapons. It was not a modern tank, however. Leonardo’s drawings include a famously discussed mechanical problem: the gearing appears arranged so that the wheels would turn in conflicting directions. Some historians think this may have been deliberate concealment or a drawing error; others have proposed ways the design could be corrected.

No evidence shows that Leonardo’s vehicle was built for Renaissance warfare. Its importance lies in the idea of a mobile armored fighting platform, not in battlefield use.