Watch 99 Years of American Tanks in One GIF.

From M1917 to M1A2, American tanks have dominated the battlefield.


By Kyle Mizokami
Aug 3, 2017

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps are on the cusp of a centennial—the 100th anniversary of the tank in U.S. service.

This animated GIF, put together by the folks at partcatalog.com, shows the evolution of the American tank—from the clanky M1917 light tank to the M1A2 Abrams—and shows how the U.S. went from a newcomer to the world of tanks to world leader. The M1917 light tank, for example, was merely a copy of the Renault FT-17. That kind of copycat engineering is an idea that would be unthinkable now. Today the U.S. is a leader in tank development, and the M1A2 Abrams is the most successful, battle-tested main battle tank of its era.

Here are the tanks you can see in the GIF above:

World War I:

M1917 Light Tank

Interwar Period:

M1 Combat Car
M2 light tank
M2 Medium Tank

World War II:

M4 Sherman
M5 Stuart light tank
M22 Locust airborne light tank
M24 Chaffee light tank
M26 Pershing medium tank

Cold War/Vietnam/Kuwait/Iraq/Afghanistan

M48 Patton medium tank
M103 heavy tank
M551 Sheridan airborne light tank
M60A2 "Starship"
M1 Abrams main battle tank
M1A2 Abrams

Source: Partcatalog.com