The alternative was to use flotation devices that the tank discarded as soon as it landed–the approach adopted by the Japanese with their Type 2 Ka-Mi and Type 3 Ka-Chi amphibious tanks. Heavier vehicles, such as the experimental, British AT1* had to be so large that the design was impractical. Designs that could float unaided were generally small and light with thin armour, such as the Soviet T-37. Development continued during the interwar period.Īs tanks are heavy for their size, providing them with enough buoyancy was a difficult engineering problem. Patent 2,390,747, issued 1945Īmphibious tanks were devised during the First World War a floating version of the British Mark IX tank was being tested in November 1918, just as the war ended. Diagram of a flotation screen fitted to a Tetrarch tank, taken from Straussler's patent, U.S.
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