Leonardo da Vinci’s wheeled armored battlefield vehicle was the armored tank.
Leonardo designed a conical, armored fighting vehicle with sloped protective plates and multiple openings for weapons. Inside, crew members would turn cranks connected to wheels, allowing the machine to advance while shielding its occupants from enemy fire. The concept is commonly described as an early tank because it combined armor, mobility, and offensive weapons.
The drawing dates from the late 15th century, when Leonardo was developing military proposals for the Duke of Milan. A well-known issue is that the crank and gear arrangement shown in the surviving design appears problematic if interpreted literally. Some historians think the apparent flaw may have been deliberate or may reflect an unfinished design.
This machine is different from Leonardo’s mechanical knight, which was a humanoid automaton operated by internal mechanisms. The armored tank was a battlefield vehicle, not a walking robot, and there is no evidence that Leonardo’s full-size vehicle entered combat.