Type of armoured fighting vehicle designed to engage and destroy enemy tanks
"Gun Motor Carriage" redirects here. For other uses, see Self-propelled artillery.
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Two American M10 tank destroyers in Belgium during World War II
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History of the tank
Era
World War I
Interwar
World War II
Cold War
Post–Cold War
Country
Australia
United Kingdom
Cuba
China
Canada
New Zealand
Czechoslovakia
France
Germany
Iran
Iraq
Italy
Israel
Japan
Poland
North Korea
South Korea
Soviet Union
Spain
Sweden
United States
Ukraine
Type
Light tank
Medium tank
Heavy tank
Super-heavy tank
Cruiser tank
Flame tank
Infantry tank
Main battle tank
Tank destroyer
Tankette
Assault gun
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
Self-propelled artillery
Self-propelled mortar
Multiple rocket launcher
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
While tanks are designed for front-line combat, combining operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities and performing all primary tasks of the armoured troops, the tank destroyer is specifically designed to take on enemy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles.[1] Many are based on a tracked tank chassis, while others are wheeled.
Since World War II, gun-armed powerful tank destroyers have fallen out of favor as armies have favored multirole main battle tanks. However, lightly armoured anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) carriers are commonly used for supplementary long-range anti-tank work. The resurgence of expeditionary warfare in the first two decades of the 21st century has seen the emergence of gun-armed wheeled vehicles, sometimes called "protected gun systems", which may bear a superficial resemblance to tank destroyers, but are employed as direct fire support units typically providing support in low-intensity operations, as was done in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
^von Senger and Etterlin (1960), The World's Armored Fighting Vehicles, p. 9.
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