Leonardo da Vinci designed an armored tank with sloped protection and cannon openings.
In the late fifteenth century, Leonardo drew a conical, covered fighting vehicle in the Codex Atlanticus. Its sloping armor was intended to deflect incoming projectiles, while a ring of light cannons could fire in several directions. The vehicle was meant to move with internal crews turning cranks connected to wheels.
The machine was a concept for battlefield use, not a completed Renaissance tank. Its reconstructed mechanism has a famous technical problem: some interpretations show gears that would make the wheels turn in opposing directions. Historians debate whether this was an error, a deliberate concealment, or a copying issue in the surviving drawing.
Modern tanks use engines, tracks, and rotating turrets, so Leonardo’s vehicle was not a direct working predecessor. It is nevertheless a notable early proposal for an armored fighting vehicle.