Medium tank

Medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the protection and armour protection oriented heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II (the Soviet T-34, the American Sherman tank, the Japanese Type 97 and the German Panzer IV) were all medium tank designs, and the success of the concept would later lead to the development of later generations of medium tanks such as the Chieftain. Many of the medium tanks lines became what are called main battle tank in most countries.

The first tanks to carry the name Medium appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A "Whippet". It was smaller and lighter than the British heavy tanks and only carried machine guns.

The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwar period. Its existence outlasted the super-heavy tank and heavy tank and gradually transitioned into the main battle tank.

Medium tanks of the interwar period included the British Vickers Medium Mark II and the Soviet multi-turreted T-28. In the period leading up to World War II, the British stopped using the term Medium for their tanks as the new philosophy of Cruiser tank and Infantry tank which defined tanks by the role rather than size came into use.

There were medium tanks that focused on anti-infantry capabilities (such as in World War II: the Panzer IV short-barrel, and the M4 Sherman), and medium tanks which were more focused on the anti-tank role, mounting high-velocity tank guns. The French cavalry tanks (Chars de Cavalerie) focused on speed in addition to power and protection of the other designs. They were similar to what other countries called medium tanks.

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