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1[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvtropes-tanksbutnotanks_1144.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:325:So which of these vehicles is a tank?[[labelnote:Answer]]''None'' of them. Clockwise from the top left: ZSU 23-4 Shilka self-propelled antiaircraft gun, designed to accompany tank forces as they advance and protect them from anti-tank aircraft; M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, designed to carry troops to accompany tank forces as they advance and protect them from enemy infantry; [=PzH=] 2000 self-propelled howitzer, designed to accompany tank forces as they advance and provide 'fire-support' (i.e. bombard distant targets that the tanks/infantry can't hit or want help attacking); M50 Ontos tank destroyer, designed to be entrenched in defensive positions with infantry and form a 'reserve' force to quickly reinforce threatened defensive positions.[[/labelnote]]]]
3
4->'''Col. Smith:''' ''(looking at the redesign of the Bradley)'' That's one hell of a cannon.\
5'''Jones:''' That's a problem.\
6'''Col. Smith:''' …why?\
7'''Jones:''' You go out in a battlefield with this pecker sticking outta your turret and the enemy's gonna unload on you with all they got. Might as well paint a big red bulls-eye on the side.\
8'''Col. Smith:''' But it's a troop carrier, not a tank.\
9'''Jones:''' Do- do you want me to put a sign on it in fifty languages "I am a troop carrier, not a tank, please don't shoot at me"?
10-->--''Film/ThePentagonWars''
11
12TankGoodness somebody [[{{Pun}} noticed!]]
13
14Writers often play fast and loose when it comes to vehicles. They are usually JustPlaneWrong, and use [[ArtisticLicenseShips artistic license when it comes to ships]]. This applies to armored vehicles as much as anything else, either getting details wrong or using stand-ins.
15
16One of the most common mistakes is to treat all armored vehicles as tanks. Armored cars, self-propelled guns, [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier armored personnel carriers]] and several other types of armored fighting vehicles can be and frequently are misidentified as tanks, just as every warship is a "battleship" to most civilians. In real life all of these vehicle types and more are commonly lumped together under the catch-all term "Armored Fighting Vehicles" which is usually contracted to just "armor" or, if you want to be all snooty about it, [=AFV=] (no [[Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos relation]]). Despite the common logic of "if it looks like a tank, acts like a tank, smells like a tank, it's a tank", many [=AFVs=] that look like tanks don't fit the definition, as tanks are usually characterized by being more of a product of old warfare, therefore ''way'' more heavily armoured and generally built to take the brunt of enemy fire than their [=AFV=] cousins, which usually possess lighter armour and rely more on indirect combat. Of course, this makes tanks rather expensive to make and maintain compared to other armoured vehicles, which is why we're seeing fewer actual tanks portrayed by the media these days.
17
18Not helping matters, of course, is that the lines between "tank" and "not a tank" have become blurred to varying degrees at varying times, even as far back as World War One. The very first tank, for example, did not have a fully rotating turret, but instead a pair of sponson half-turrets, one on each side. Many of the tanks in World War One only had machine guns rather than any cannon-sized weapons. Tank destroyers in the Second World War varied from not having any turret to having a fully rotating turret but no roof, or even a fully rotating turret with an unenclosed roof. In modern times, Infantry Fighting Vehicles are both more heavily armed and heavily armored than any of the tanks in the First World War or interwar era and a good number of tanks (especially light tanks) in World War II, looking similar to tanks but having much smaller cannons and less protection than main battle tanks.
19
20In most war films, particularly those set in the Second World War, historical tanks and armored vehicles will be replaced by either modern or more widely available contemporary vehicles that have either been painted in appropriate (or at least stereotypical) color schemes or given cosmetic makeovers to disguise their foreign or anachronistic features. The amount of effort that goes into this varies rather wildly.
21
22There are many very [[JustifiedTrope good reasons for this]]. Firstly, most survivors are historical artifacts belonging to museums and obviously cannot be used recklessly or destroyed. Moreover, many types of antique armored vehicles are actually quite scarce, and some were quite rare in the first place - the WWII Axis were the worst offenders as they favoured shorter production runs and a far greater number of variants. Just 492 King Tiger panzers were produced, as against 47,000 M4 Sherman tanks (all variants), and many contemporary Italian or Japanese vehicles were produced in even smaller numbers. In many cases surviving examples aren't available (e.g. [[TanksForNothing submerged in a Belarussian swamp]]) or simply don't exist due to the ravages of combat, the temptations of scrapping/salvage, and the passage of time.
23
24Next, as the Sherman production numbers above suggest, Anglo-American filmmakers naturally took advantage of the huge glut of cheap surplus U.S. Army equipment in the immediate postwar period. If a studio has running vehicles in their prop inventory that are available for filming without much hassle, then simple convenience means they'll get used, accurate or not. These days, most armored fighting vehicles that don't meet their end on the battlefield will probably be scrapped before anyone else can get their hands on them. Tanks have never been particularly attractive on the surplus market since they are [[AwesomeButImpractical huge, heavy, fuel-guzzling lumps of steel that can easily cost more to restore and preserve than recycle]].
25
26Even contemporary vehicles in operating condition can be prohibitively hard to find and incredibly expensive to hire, transport and maintain for filming. After all, tanks tend to be just so flipping ''big'' and in part because military vehicle collectors are often understandably leery of renting their rare and often irreplaceable treasures.
27
28Then there's the matter of RealLife politics, where vehicles you'd ideally want for realism simply can't be obtained at all since they're currently being used or held by an unfriendly power. It's easily forgotten today that prior to Soviet collapse, getting realistic Soviet or Eastern Bloc military vehicles for filming many a UsefulNotes/ColdWar thriller was darn near impossible unless you were an Eastern Bloc filmmaker. Whereas today (well, prior to 2022), you can just phone the Russians and ask them nicely (and offer to pay cash up front).
29
30Similar to its sister tropes, this one happens out of practicality more than anything else, especially if you're not BackedByThePentagon and just don't want reality to get in the way of TankGoodness. Just find something vaguely tank-like, add a coat of stereotypical (but historically inaccurate) panzer gray paint and a few crosses and ''voila''! instant Tiger. And--let's be honest here--aside from a few vehicle enthusiasts and history buffs, most viewers wouldn't even notice (or care), anyway. If it has tracks and a gun, it's a tank as far as they are concerned and it doesn't violate their WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief. To those who know what to look for, however, it can quite jarringly break it.
31
32For producers who care, there are a number of ways around it. One is to use surplus or 'backup tanks' from modern armies such as Russia or Spain: Most T-34 and Sherman tanks used in WWII films were not actually from the war but modernized vehicles from the immediate postwar period. Another is to take a more common modern or contemporary vehicle and give it a [[WeaponsUnderstudies cosmetic makeover to give it the appearance of the correct historic vehicle]]; sometimes these conversions can be quite sophisticated with only a few detail differences such as turret location and suspension design that only dedicated military vehicle enthusiasts would likely notice (these folk are often called "rivet counters" in the trade and are usually considered to be very annoying and hard-to-please people). Finally, there are always models of both the real and the Computer Generated variety, which naturally come with [[SpecialEffectsFailure their own]] sorts of problems.
33
34Note on top of all of the above that non-tank [=AFVs=] are usually both significantly more numerous and cheaper than actual tanks. The US Army's inventory as of 2022 for example included 6,000 tanks and nearly 20,000 non-tank armored combat vehicles.[[note]]Among them 5,700 M2/M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 5,000 M113 armored personnel carriers, 4,400 Strykers (usually either [=APCs=] or [=IFVs=] depending on variant), 2,900 M1117 [=APCs=]/armored cars, and 1,000 M109 self-propelled guns. Plus thousands of engineering vehicles that use APC or tank chasses...[[/note]] While the United States Marine Corps had no tanks at all, but 2,200 non-tank armored vehicles.[[note]]~1,000 LAV [=IFVs=] and 1,200 AAV-7 [=APCs=].[[/note]] The Russian Army in the same year had, on active-duty, some 3,000 tanks and 15,000 non-tank armored combat vehicles.[[note]]Including 4,100 BMP [=IFVs=], 3,000 self-propelled guns of various types, 2,500 BTR [=IFVs=]/[=APCs=] (depending on variant), 3,600 MT-LB [=APCs=], 1,000 BRDM-2 [=APCs=], 900 Shturm self-propelled missile launchers, and a smattering of other types.[[/note]] So on and so forth. Thus they're both easier to get and take up a lot of screen time in newsreels.
35
36Feel free to post [[AvertedTrope aversions]] here, as they're rather rare and always a pleasure to see.
37NOTE: This is NOT to be confused with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7kX9-QC5j4 this game right here]].
38
39For information on what qualifies as a tank and other armored vehicles, see UsefulNotes/ArmoredFightingVehicles.
40
41----
42!!Examples
43
44[[foldercontrol]]
45
46[[folder:Anime]]
47* An odd example occurs in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' when the Mecha pilots battle alien-possessed WWII German Tiger tanks from an abandoned tank factory in Kursk, Russia.
48* Another example occurs in ''Manga/ZeroZeroNineOne'': Tigers again, this time in an unspecified "eastern block" country.
49* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', despite the fact that the writers have obviously [[ShownTheirWork done their homework]] on tank combat, a few oddities slipped through:
50** All tracked vehicles are called "sensha", in keeping with the real-life German practice of calling all armored vehicles "panzer". The rough equivalent term in English is "Armored Fighting Vehicle" (AFV), but the show's dub never uses it, just calling them "tanks", possibly because AFV can refer to wheeled vehicles as well.
51** One of the "tanks" in Miho's squadron is actually a [=StuG=] III tank destroyer. The crew of which lampshade it by pointing out that they don't have a turret. It is also lampshaded by Miho's loader Yukari who - correctly - calls it "self-propelled artillery", while announcer dialogue in the Japanese version refers to the [=StuG=] III as the "Type 3 Assault Gun".
52** TheMovie has a team fielding a [[spoiler:Morser-Karl self-propelled siege mortar]], which is ''definitely'' not a tank and its status as an [=AFV=] at all is highly questionable. [[LampshadeHanging The officiator of the match is called out on this when it appears.]]
53* The armored vehicle that the Kingdom of Science builds in ''Manga/DrStone'' is called a tank, even though it clearly has wheels rather than treads and has a [[BreakableWeapons single-use cannon]]. Semi-justified, since the terminology may be different in Japanese, and none of the villagers have ever even seen a wheel before, let alone a tank (and none of the people from TheBeforeTimes (Senku, Gen, Taiju, and Yuzuriha) who are involved in making it were involved in or interested in the military, so they probably don't care about the distinction).
54[[/folder]]
55
56[[folder:Film]]
57* ''Film/SevenManArmy'' has a Japanese army that primarily uses American Sherman tanks, instead of the classic Chi-ha tanks the Japanese used during the Second World War.
58* ''Film/SeventyOneIntoTheFire'', a Korean war film, curiously have the North Korean forces using an American [=M4AE8=] Sherman tank against the ROK troops and the student soldiers. It's somewhat plausible that they could be using captured enemy equipment against their former owners, but it is more likely that on a meta level, they were standing-in for the more commonly used Russian T-34/85 medium tanks.
59* Many movies where a variant of an M1 Abrams tank makes an appearance are likely using convincingly mocked up [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chieftain_(tank) Chieftain]] tanks. Especially if said movies are not BackedByThePentagon.
60* The "German" tanks featured in ''Film/{{Patton}}'' were quite obviously postwar, American-made Spanish-owned tanks, which amusingly were M48 Pattons. The American tanks were postwar M41 Walker-Bulldogs.
61* In ''Film/TheBigRedOne'', Italian and German armored fighting vehicles are portrayed by Israeli "Super Shermans" (much of the movie was filmed in Israel).
62* In ''Film/TheBeastOfWar'' the eponymous beast is in fact a Ti-67; a T-54/55 captured by Israel from Egypt or Syria, refitted with new armament, seats, optics et al., and pressed into Israeli service.
63* The German ''Königstiger'' tanks in ''Film/BattleOfTheBulge'' (1965) were actually American M47 Pattons ([[ColorCodedForYourConvenience colour-coded grey]], when German tanks of this period were in dark yellow-dark brown-dark green camouflage), and the American M4 Shermans were actually M24 Chaffee light tanks (in camouflage, when American tanks of this period were olive drab). On the bright side, this did make the US tanks look appropriately smaller than the German ones, as well as using UsefulNotes/WorldWarII era Chaffees. In reality only two Chaffees saw battle there in December 1944.
64* The remake of the World War II film ''Film/{{The Bridge|1959}}'' used Swiss Panzer 68s as stand-ins for the M4 Shermans. While the tanks look suitably "old", they do not look like Shermans, and Shermans also didn't have multiple countermeasure pods and other, "modern" stuff attached to them. What's even more ridiculous: later in the movie, an M4 Sherman can be seen. Why the heck didn't they use it in the first place?
65* In ''Film/IsParisBurning'', an American [=M24=] Chaffee was mocked up as a German ''Panther''.
66* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' had 2/3 scale mock-ups of Tiger tanks based on the chassis of Soviet T-34s and almost genuine (see below) Marder III tank destroyers (confusingly referred to as "panzers" by the Americans, but then, see RealLife below to see why they're not wrong). A 20mm flak gun deserves mention as well; often encountered during the war, seldom seen in movies. The half-tracks were mostly Czechoslovakian copies of the German [=Sdkf 250=] built after the war and the assault guns were based on post-war British [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier FV432]] chassis. The vehicles representing Marder [=IIIs=] were modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t)s (one of them a Swedish licence-built model). This was in fact the vehicle that the Marder III was based on in the first place, for bonus recursive accuracy points. While the Marders may seem tactically out-of-place (poorly-armoured tank destroyers have no business taking on infantry units in urban settings, after all), tank destroyers and artillery vehicles were occasionally deployed in the infantry support role when more conventional tanks or dedicated ''Sturmgeschutz'' armoured vehicles were not available. All said, it is reasonably justifiable, especially considering that the ''Heer'' units just behind the beaches had an absolute parking lot of old armoured vehicles and a Marder (of any type) would be one of the BETTER ones available.
67* ''Film/RedDawn1984'' had the mistake in-movie where one of the cast called a ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" Self-Propelled-Anti-Aircraft-Gun a tank. Granted these were typical high school kids with no formal military knowledge. The film ''did'' have rather accurate T-72 mock-ups, to the extent that (allegedly) the CIA demanded to know where the film-makers got them.
68* ''Film/KellysHeroes'', filmed in Yugoslavia, used Russian T-34s that had been modified to look like German Tigers (there are only 6 Tigers in existence and only one is in serviceable condition). The Tiger replicas were already available since they'd been made for an earlier government sponsored historical film ''Film/TheBattleOfNeretva''. The most obvious giveaway is the location of the turret, which is much too far forward for a real Tiger, and the suspension, which lacks the Tiger's characteristic overlapping roadwheels. The scale is also off. Considering this movie was made in the same era when it was standard practice to call M47 Pattons "Panzers" though, it was a commendable effort in at least attempting to replicate the real thing. The movie also used Yugoslav army Shermans since they still had them in reserve in 1970.
69* ''Film/ABridgeTooFar'' used mock-up Panzers based on modern German Leopard tanks with what appears to be plates of cardboard painted grey with Iron Crosses on the side attached to the vehicles. Possibly also due in part to the scene being filmed on location, and anyone over the age of 40 would probably be less than pleased at seeing accurately mocked-up German tanks rolling through the streets. Allied vehicles, on the other hand, were reasonably accurate. BackedByThePentagon, in this case the Dutch Army.
70* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcekvQeHS6o&list=PL4dWJMOQ_a1S4rx_eBO4kjNehEg1Jjuee Liberation,]]'' a Soviet six-part war epic, is forced to invoke this trope due to, obviously, lack of CGI, and abundance of OnrushingArmy of TankGoodness scenes. It's more or less acceptable when [=T-34-85=] MidSeasonUpgrade variants stand in for the earlier [=T-34-76s=], of which very few are left. Things fly off the handle when they are supported by IS-3s, which hadn't arrived until May 1945. The German armour is a semi-decent re-dress for close-ups, but for general shots they are supplemented by the same IS-3s or post-war main battle tanks, painted grey. No amount of [[BackedByThePentagon Backing by the Ministry of Defence]] can create ''armies'' of authentic vehicles that haven't survived the war.
71* Averted in ''Film/LordOfWar''. Not only were the tanks in one scene all real, but they were all sold right after filming completed. The scene actually had to be rushed because the arms dealer they were borrowing the tanks from had an unexpected buyer.
72* ''Film/MagnificentWarriors'', yet another film featuring Japanese invaders set in the Second World War, have them using modern-day American Abrams Tank instead.
73* The tanks used in ''Film/MarsAttacks'', M41 Walker Bulldogs, were all long obsolete by the time the film was made. The Pentagon, it is claimed, refused to lend more modern equipment because of its unhappiness with the military's ineffectiveness in the film. If so, then the fact that these tanks, the M151 Mutt jeeps and the uniforms and M14 rifles used by the soldiers, evoke the feel of a 1950's B-movie was a happy accident.
74* Ironically despite being BackedByThePentagon, ''Film/{{Transformers|2007}}'' has a tank filled with M60 Pattons which were phased out in the '90s instead of more appropriate M1 Abrams tanks. Brawl is also a fictional mock-up of an Abrams [[PropRecycling the same one]] used in ''Film/{{xXx State Of The Union}}'' with the addition of the two missile pods and the mine pushers.
75** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' also runs into this in the final battle with footage being shown of [=M1A2=] Abrams being transported on Marine hovercraft only for the NEST team being seen supported by [=M1A1=] Abrams and M2 Bradley [=IFVs=] (the latter of which are only used by the Army, the Marines use the lighter LAV-25).
76** ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' sees the [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British Army]] attack the Decepticons at Stonehenge with American Abrams tanks as opposed to the proper British Challenger 2. (Note that once again the film was BackedByThePentagon but not the British government.)
77* Famously averted in the Steven Spielberg comedy ''Film/NineteenFortyOne1979'' which used an accurate full-scale replica of an M3 medium tank built on the chassis of another one of the huge family of M3/M4 based vehicles. Just another reason why this movie went so spectacularly over budget.
78* ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'''s famous cityfighting scene features an obsolete Chieftain tank, presumably because the film-makers couldn't get their hands on a state-of-the-art Challenger II. Though given the state of the UK, and the world in general, it's not inconceivable that a few Chieftains would be reactivated, supported by Government troops using mix of weapons and equipment, including both the L85 and the G36 rifles (the latter not actually in use by the present-day British Armed Forces).
79* Averted in Finnish war film [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378848/ Tali-Ihantala 1944.]] The tanks used on filming the movie were ''the actual individual tanks which had participated in the real life battle of 1944'' and been stored in Parola Tank Museum, Finland, and restored back to working condition by volunteer enthusiasts.
80* ''Film/ThePentagonWars'', which is a [[ArmedFarces humorous retrospective]] on the development of the Bradley [=AFV=] (as well as all [[ExecutiveMeddling the waste, corruption and sillyness that went on]] in the Pentagon during it) was not BackedByThePentagon. The actual Bradleys and their scale models and blueprints appear in numerous scenes throughout the film. The opening scenes of the film also show heat-seeking missiles and bombs being tested on a different APC entirely. It looks like a retired Soviet [=BTR=] 8-wheeler APC. While it's never really explained [[InUniverse in-film]] why they're using that particular vehicle (or a mockup of it, if it is one) for target practice, we might assume it's because it is supposed to represent an enemy vehicle. Given that the "present day" scenes of the film are set in the early 90s, this would make sense. This trope is also discussed in one scene, when the designers point out that putting a turret on the Bradley would make it look more like a tank, which means it becomes a priority target for the enemy. And that, of course, is the ''last'' thing you'd want to happen to an infantry transport.[[note]]The film takes ArtisticLicenseHistory by depicting the Bradley starting as a scout vehicle or infantry transport and progressively falling victim to feature creep; in reality was conceived from the start as an infantry fighting vehicle to equal and counter the Soviet BMP. Unlike an APC, which withdraws to safety after dropping its troops into the combat zone, an IFV goes into battle together with the dismounted troops and supports them with its firepower. Especially because the enemy infantry might be accompanied by their own supporting light armor (particularly the aforementioned BMP), it made sense for the Bradley to have a turret mounting the 25 mm chain gun and TOW missiles to take out these threats to itself and its dismounted soldiers. Indeed, thanks to their missiles the Bradleys that fought in the Gulf War destroyed more enemy [=AFVs=] than the M1 Abrams tanks did. Curiously, when it was used in Iraq and Afghanistan around 2005, the feature that made the Bradley stick out most to the enemy was not its ''cannon'' but its ''size;'' apparently, many insurgents operated on the mindset of "the biggest vehicle in the convoy is the most important, therefore we must destroy the biggest vehicle!" and as such tended to target the large, high-profile Bradley [=IFVs=] more often than, say, the smaller Humvees or low-profile Abrams tanks, much to the misfortune of Bradley crew members and passengers. The good news is that the Bradley had been well-upgraded for protection and survivability over the years, and its sturdiness allowed it to shrug off all but the toughest attacks.[[/note]]
81* In the "real close, but not quite" we have the classic "starring Bogart" ''Film/Sahara1943''. "Lulubelle" is an actual M3 tank, which is appropriate to the period (the Gazala battles), and several of the American training crews did end up getting into battle (on the "wrong" side of Africa). The problem is, it's a Lee (the US Army version), not a Grant (British version, the turret design's the give away). The Brits did get Lee's by Lend-Lease later, but not during those battles. And Lees in British service were all vectored to India and Burma where the Japanese had nothing to match them, and their armament and firepower made them ideal vehicles for jungle fighting.
82* ''Film/TankGirl'': Tank Girl's tank is very much fictional, but the tank used in the film is basically an M3 or M5 Stuart light tank, with lots of greebles and a (fake) bigger gun tube.
83* ''Film/ToHellAndBack1955''--a film depiction of Creator/AudieMurphy's [=WW2=] service which actually had to ''downplay'' his feats in order to [[RealityIsUnrealistic be more believable]]--has him jump into a burning M4 Sherman to fire its [[{{BFG}} 50-caliber machine gun]] at German troops, in the action that earned him the Medal of Honor. In real life he jumped into an M10 Tank Destroyer; the M4 provided the chassis on which the M10 was based, so the lower hull and running gear look similar, but the upper hull geometry and the larger, open-topped turret look very different. Presumably it was easier to procure a surplus M4 tank than to get an actual M10, and you couldn't convincingly disguise an M4 to look like an M10, so they simply took the artistic license of changing the vehicle in question to an M4 in the movie.
84* The movie ''Film/{{Stripes}}'' presents us with a scene set behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, in which a "Russian" tank menaces some of the heroes. It is clearly an [=M48/M60=] series tank with a few visual mods tacked on.
85* Averted in Sam Peckinpah's ''Film/CrossOfIron'', which used real, Yugoslav-made, T-34s in several scenes. Although the models used would be slightly anachronistic for the 1943 the film is set in. The Yugoslav SU-85 assault guns, however, were completely correct in all contexts.
86* Averted in the Russian film ''Film/NinthCompany''. Despite it's historical inaccuracies made in the name of drama, it correctly distinguishes between tanks (primarily early and mid-model T-72s that were less common than later variants when the film was made) and infantry fighting vehicles (exclusively early BMP-2s, probably due to reasons of availability).
87* ''Film/{{Valkyrie}}'' has some fairly good Panzer IV mock-ups during the opening Africa scenes, with the caveat that a few elements (notably the tracks and turret) are grossly disproportionate when compared to the real thing. The camera angles try their best to hide this, but in some shots it's very noticeable.
88* Averted in 1975 USA-Czechoslovakian film ''Film/OperationDaybreak'' also known as ''The Price of Freedom''. Czechoslovakia built 3 Tigers specifically for this movie.
89* The 2012 Russian film ''Film/TheWhiteTiger'' was going to use a purpose-built 1:1 model of a Tiger, but it was not finished on time, so they had to use a redressed IS-2. The resemblance is pretty good at a distance save for the fact that the gun turret is a bit too close to the front of the chassis, and the film spends quite a while talking up the possibility that it's some kind of [[SuperPrototype experimental variant]] to explain away [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane its seemingly supernatural ability to avoid or withstand return fire or pop up in places a conventional tank shouldn't be able to get]], which makes for an easy HandWave. [[spoiler: At least until the end of the film.]] Averted with the T-34-85's, which are all real.
90* A 1993 German film ''Film/{{Stalingrad 1993}}'' featured a scene of a battle against Soviet T-34 tanks - employing the late-war T-34/85 variant, about [[ArtisticLicenseHistory twelve to eighteen months too early]] as far as real life is concerned. Perhaps somewhat [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality acceptable]], as period-appropriate T-34/76s in running condition are rather hard to come by, and the T-34/85 had completely different - and larger - turret, so the cosmetic makeover would be impossible.
91* ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' is a minor offender - during combat in Hue City, the tanks employed are actually light tanks M41 Walker Bulldog[[note]]This type was used in combat only by the ARVN during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.[[/note]], not M48 Patton medium tanks used by the USMC tank battalions in the {{Real Life}} battle. On the other hand, M41 is visually quite similar to M48, and both camera angles used and editing made very difficult to actually notice the difference when casually watching the film.
92* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' Universe has a rather vague definition of what is a tank. On one hand vehicles like the [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Trade Federation Armored Assault Tank]], [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Corporate Alliance NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcer]], [[VideoGame/StarWarsTheCloneWars Republic Saber-class TX-130 Fighter Tank]] and the [[ComicBook/DarkEmpire Imperial Century Tank]] all would fit the bill for tanks in terms of their role even when only the [=AAT=] matches the traditional configuration of a tank.
93* Averted in the 1946 British film ''Theirs is the Glory'' about the actions of the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden only 2 years earlier. Shot on the real war-ravaged Dutch locations, using many of the actual participants, it included re-enactments of the fighting that employed genuine German equipment, including a fully-functional Tiger tank, the Tiger 131, which was captured in Tunisia in 1943, and later preserved at the Tank Museum in Bovington, England. It is the ''only'' fully operational Tiger I left in the world. The film also uses several Panthers, one of which is convincingly destroyed by a paratrooper with a PIAT.
94* ''Film/{{Fury|2014}}'' averted this. While the Sherman tanks seen are, well, Shermans ([=M4A3E8=] "Easy Eight" models to be exact, thoroughly appropriate for the last days of the war), the film crew managed to get their hands on the above-mentioned Tiger 131, making its second appearance in a movie 68 years after ''Theirs is the Glory''.
95* ''Film/SnowAndFire'' is a major aversion too. The film used a real Königstiger for late 1944 winter battle scenes. It belongs to the Saumur tank museum and is the only one in the world that's still in running condition.
96* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'', despite showing very accurate historical levels in uniforms and equipment, there's a very poor mock-up of a Tiger I tank in one scene (the one where Schenck heads towards the abandoned hospital), which is otherwise jarring for a film that [[ShownTheirWork shows its work]]. However, the film ''does'' show accurate T-34-85s used by the Soviets.
97* ''Film/WarHorse'' falls on both sides of this. The Mk IV tank seen in the film is actually a modern-built replica, so perfectly made on the outside that it's ''on display at Bovington'' as a working representative of the machine. It's good enough that they drive it around on special occasions. On the inside, however, it's got modern safety systems, a modern engine, and an exhaust pipe for the engine so the crew inside doesn't choke on the fumes, which were not present in the original tanks. Mini documentary [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFbYTYt6Ok8 here]] if you have a few minutes.
98* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the tanks that the Giant battles during the climax are M41 Bulldogs, and for the most part they're portrayed accurately. The artistic license comes in when the Giant destroys them. The animators take care to show the crews of each tank escaping before they are blown up (presumably so as not to contradict the movie's anti-violence {{Aesop}}), but only two people are shown coming out of each tank. The M41 had a crew of four in real life.
99* {{Aversion}}: in the camper trip in ''[[Film/{{Fantozzi}} Fantozzi Subisce Ancora]]'', Filini shows up with what the narrator correctly describes as an "El Alamein-style armored car, World War II residuate", complete with fully functional turreted cannon. The description is correct, as it is [[TechnicallyATransport a civilian vehicle modified as armored car]] of the kind the undersupplied Italian troops in Africa could have assembled.
100* ''Film/BatmanBegins'': PlayedForLaughs. This version of the Batmobile is the Tumbler, a prototype bridge-deploying vehicle for use in combat zones; they never could get the bridge to work, but the Tumbler itself remains a fast, armored vehicle that excels in any terrain. When Batman first deploys it, some police are asked for the make and model of the vehicle. They can't come up with any description besides "a black... ''tank''."
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105* Another category of error regarding the depiction of tanks can be seen in the cover art of Major John Foley's ''Literature/MailedFist'', his account of leading a British tank squadron across Europe from D-Day to war's end. Despite the tanks used by Foley and his men being very clearly identified in the text as Churchill heavies, successive cover artists depicted Shermans, Kangaroo troop carriers, M7 Priest SPG's... in fact, anything but Churchills. It is only in the most recent imprints that this error has been fixed and Churchills feature on the cover. Even then, they seem to be in a suspiciously desert setting.
106* ''Literature/CiaphasCain: Duty Calls'' gives an InUniverse example when a news report claims Cain used a tank to prevent a dirigible loaded with promethium (basically the ''Hindenburg'' [-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]-]) from being crashed into a city. In reality Cain used a Chimera, a type of infantry fighting vehicle.
107* In ''[[Literature/BlackTideRising Strands of Sorrow]]'', Faith initially mistakes anything with armor and a gun as a tank, until two [=NCOs=] that are with her set her straight on what qualifies as "tank", which the assault vehicles they were initially considering at the Blount Island facility certainly do not.
108* In Harry Turtledove's [[Literature/Timeline191 The Great War]] series, this trope would be [[CallARabbitASmeerp Barrels, but No Barrels]], which loses some of its flavor.
109* In ''Turbo Cowboys'' (think a LighterAndSofter version of ''Film/MadMax'' set in America and aimed at kids), there is a gang of raiders called "the Takers," who use half-tracks and guntrucks. The text still calls them tanks.
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113* Series/AlloAllo: In this [=WW2=]- set comedy series, Lieutenant Gruber's Little Tank is in reality an Sd Kfz 222 armoured car, and an absolutely genuine period vehicle dating from TheThirties that would have been built between 1937-1942, and seen service with German forces in [=WW2=]. It is possible the vehicle used in the series was captured by British forces in North Africa, and the museum where it resides loaned it to the Creator/{{BBC}} for filming.
114* ''Series/HogansHeroes''. The episode "One Army at a Time" used an American M7 Priest self-propelled artillery vehicle painted up in German colors to represent a generic German AFV. It was a decent choice because the Priest is an obscure enough vehicle that most of the viewing public (particularly back when the show first came out) wouldn't know what it really was. However, the same Priest had also been used to stand in for a Tiger tank in an earlier episode called "Hold That Tiger", which was a poor substitution because the two look nothing alike.[[labelnote:However...]]One ''could'' argue that the titular "Tiger" was actually supposed to be a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdtiger Jadgtiger,]] a heavy tank destroyer which, like the Priest, lacks a moving turret and therefore is itself not a true tank. With this in mind, though, it still doesn't change the fact that the Priest and the Jadgtiger look ''nothing'' alike themselves, but one can imagine the show was doing what they could with their budget.[[/labelnote]]
115* Played with in ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond''. In the episode "Pearly", the protagonists are in danger of being overrun by enemy forces when they take shelter inside an AwesomePersonnelCarrier. The driver of the vehicle insists that [[InvertedTrope it is in fact a tank, not an APC]]. By all appearances, ''Pearly'' probably ''should'' be considered an [=APC=], since it's relatively roomy inside with space for a squad of Marines to ride around in it. On the other hand, at the climax, it goes toe-to-toe with a Chig HoverTank and wins, which most [=APCs=] aren't capable of (which probably makes it an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantry_fighting_vehicle IFV]] instead). This is even funnier because in this show's setting, "Tank" is a [[FantasticSlurs highly derogatory term]] used to describe [=InVitro=] humans, genetically engineered and grown in factories to be cheap labor and soldiers for an earlier war the humans fought. Two of the Wildcards, including their commander, [=Lieutenant Colonel T.C. McQueen=], are [=InVitros=], which results in the driver being briefly MistakenForRacist.
116* One ''Series/Adam12'' episode had a scene where the boys pulled over an M8 armored car only to discover that it was duly registered and thus perfectly legal to drive on the street. However, both the boys and the owner, who presumably should have known better, kept referring it as a "tank" throughout the entire scene.
117* The "German" halftracks in ''Series/TheRatPatrol'' were all American halftracks in German markings.
118* A Challenger I showed up in ''Series/DoctorWho'' as part of the forces who shoot down the Racnoss mothership. While such modern vehicles are rare to see in fictional media - ''especially'' science-fiction - Challengers, as main battle tanks, are not exactly optimised for anti-aircraft duties.
119** Somewhat justified as this was basically the equivalent of a first responder tank that got rolled out to deal with the sudden and entirely unexpected appearance of an Alien Spacecraft over downtown London. Though someone who knew their DW Lore might wonder what UNIT and Torchwood were doing while this took place...
120* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' features a (surprisingly clean, all things considered; shouldn't it be covered in bits of zombie?) British Chieftain standing in for an abandoned M1 Abrams. Rick gets into the tank via a belly hatch after he crawls under it, thinking all is lost, and a real M1 doesn't HAVE a belly hatch.
121* Averted in the miniseries ''Series/BandOfBrothers''. The Allied tanks were genuine [=M4A1=] Shermans and A27 Cromwells, the armored cars were genuine M8 Greyhounds, the halftracks were genuine M5s. On the German side, they used the Czech-built, German-designed halftracks and the replica Marders and Tigers from ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan,'' along with very convincing replica Jadgpanthers and Sturmgeschutz [=IIIs=] built on British [=FV432=] APC chassis.
122** The [=M4A1=]s were actually Canadian Grizzlies, a license built [=M4A1=] - the Canadian Dry Pin (CDP) tracks give it away. American built [=M4A1=] Shermans had rubber block tracks.
123* Likewise averted in the follow-on miniseries ''Series/ThePacific'', using a mix of CGI and four specially built replicas to represent the Japanese Type 95 Ha Go tank, real working versions of which are in short supply. One of the replicas is now on display at the National Museum of Singapore.
124* On ''Series/AlloAllo'', Lieutenant Gruber is very proud of what he calls his "little tank". It's actually an [=SdKfz=] 222, a small four-wheeled armoured car used by the Germans for recon and runabout duties.
125* The tank under Gary's command in Scottish comedy ''Series/GaryTankCommander'', when it actually appears, is an [=FV433=] Abbot - looks enough like a tank to satisfy a layman, but actually self-propelled artillery.
126* In the first episodes of the Japanese CopShow ''Series/SeibuKeisatsu'', the show's protagonists are charged with apprehending a trio of mercenaries who have hijacked the TU-355 Ladybird, an experimental "monster tank", for [[ManBehindTheMan their boss]], an aged RightWingMilitiaFanatic who plans to launch a national coup with the tank. The Ladybird itself is frequently described as a tank by secondary source materials [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51JzvKtubQL.jpg (such as its official art book)]], it runs on giant rubber wheels instead of tank treads. [[EnforcedTrope It's not clear this is because of the props team assuming that any armed vehicle with a turret was a tank]], a SpecialEffectsFailure, or an attempt to replicate a [[https://i.redd.it/kmbhlre90po21.jpg turreted Cadillac Gage V-150 Commando]] APV, which ''does'' heavily resemble the Ladybird.
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130* The [[http://www.criticalgamers.com/archives/pictures/BattleOfTheBulge1.jpg box art]] for the Axis & Allies game "Battle of the Bulge." The tanks are supposed to be King Tigers, but have elements of the [[http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_40075-Chrysler-M47--Patton--1951.html M47 Pattons]] from the [[Film/BattleoftheBulge 1965 film.]] If one looks close, they have the Patton-type roadwheels and return rollers (the latter of which King Tigers totally lack), the same incorrect grey paint, and have M47's stereoscopic rangefinders. (The domes on the side of the turret.)
131* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': The core rulebook uses the word "tank" for a subclass of vehicles. Taking a closer look at what most of the wide range of "tanks" are, it's clear that "tank" is being used to replace the words "armored fighting vehicle" (because saying "armored fighting vehicle" in casual gameplay is annoying and boring). Indeed, most of the supplementary material is a lot better, correctly applying terms like "infantry fighting vehicle".
132** It doesn't help that the Space Marine tanks known as Razorback and Predator, are based on the Rhino APC hull, possibly inspired by the Fire Support Vehicle variants of the M113A1 APC; this is now a common way to make a tank for a wargame, and multiple manufacturers are guilty of it.
133** Similarly, most Imperial Guard vehicles use maybe three or four chassis with variants equipped with different weapons. The Leman Russ tank has different turrets depending on what they're intended to go after (infantry, PowerArmor-wearing infantry, light vehicles, other tanks, Titans...), but the Chimera chassis has the most variation, being using as IFV (Chimera), artillery (Basilisk), flamethrower (Hellhound), AntiAir (Hydra), scout/C&C (Salamander)... This is because all Imperial tech is based on Standard Template Constructs, digital blueprints that allow for standardized equipment across the galaxy.
134* Mostly averted in ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'', which uses the generic "Combat Vehicle" for equipment that doesn't rely on legs for propulsion. "Tanks" are (generally) restricted to actual tanks equipped with treads, though some wheeled (like the Chevalier 8-wheeled light tank) vehicles and a variety of [[HoverTank hovercraft]] are also called tanks. The Hetzer - an expy of the German Tank destroyer from World War II - is a wheeled combat vehicle in the "tank" category, though the tank's numerous failings such as having almost no armor and often [[TheAllegedCar arriving from the factory only partially assembled]] show the distinction is important. Among all chassis types, treads are the best for tanks due to them being less susceptible to poor terrain like wheels and hovercraft are, and being [[SubsystemDamage harder to disable]].
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138* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' has the M26 Pershing tank available to American forces in Normandy circa June 1944. Historically, it did not see action until February 1945, and then in tiny numbers for field testing. The ExpansionPack ''Opposing Fronts'' features a Bergetiger Recovery Vehicle, of which exactly ''one'' was ever used in real life. This has led to theories that it was used for something completely different.
139* ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'' classifies the T-34, a medium tank, and the M10 Wolverine, a tank destroyer, as the USSR and USA's heavy tanks, respectively.
140** ''VideoGame/BattlefieldVietnam'' has an artillery vehicle which new players tried frequently to use as a tank, giving disappointing results.
141** ''VideoGame/BattlefieldPlay4Free'' has the so-called "light tanks", which are actually LAV-25 & BTR-90 [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier APC]]s.
142** ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'' continues the above, with in-game spotting callouts usually alternating betweeen "light tank" and "light armor".
143* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' is a series that has made tanks out of anything - even vehicles that are not tanks.
144** The first game used upgunned M2 Bradley [=IFVs=] as the Brotherhood of Nod's "Light tank" (although Nod's modifications appear to have removed the infantry-carrying capacity[[note]]the game has the mechanical ability to let combat vehicles carry infantry -- it is used by the APC -- and at least part of the dev team were aware that Bradleys were [=IFVs=] as ''GDI'' is seen using them as exactly that in one cinematic[[/note]], so by some definitions they ''would'' be tanks). ''Renegade'', due to its art-style shift to match the more-futuristic ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'', changed them into proper small (and quite low-profile) tanks.
145** In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'', America's tanks are called "Crusader" and "Paladin", referring to the canceled [=XM2001=] Crusader and [=M109A6=] Paladin, both of which are self-propelled howitzers (artillery) rather than tanks. And then we have the GLA Marauder tanks, which are actually turretless assault guns, microwave "tanks" that are simply mobile [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Denial_System active denial systems,]] Chinese Gatling "tanks" that are simply up-armored [=SPAAGs=], etc.
146** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' provides the Allied Prism Tank (an artillery vehicle) and, in the expansion, Yuri's Gattling (sic) Tank (an anti-personnel and anti-air light vehicle), the latter of which precedes ''Generals'''s mistake with China's Gatling Tanks[[note]]admittedly, the Red Alert timeline diverged after the term tank was introduced but before its definition was nailed down, so it does have a possible excuse[[/note]].
147* The Basilisk the Aldecaldos can get their hands on in ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' is, as several characters note, a floating armored cargo transport with some self-defense weaponry that's also obsolete outside third-rate militaries, but considering the [[NormalFishInATinyPond things it's going against aren't more dangerous than some desert raiders and their vehicles]], everyone treats it as they would a normal tank.
148* ''VideoGame/WorldOfTanks'' tries to avert this, naturally, and includes some tanks that never got off of the drawing board. However many, if not most of the vehicles described as "Tank Destroyers" are actually "Assault Guns" - designed for anti-fortification use and infantry support rather than fighting other [=AFVs=]. This may have to do with how neither types of combat appear in ''World of Tanks'', being exactly what it says on the tin. However, see the TV Tropes Wiki category below; the definition of a "tank destroyer" gets really complicated, and the game reflects the [[OpposingCombatPhilosophies opposing design philosophies]] of various nations.
149** In the Chinese tech tree, it becomes apparent that Wargaming's definition of "never got off the drawing board" really means "an engineer idly doodled it on a napkin while waiting for his coffee to be served and then threw away". Fortunately most of the more egregious examples are premium or collectors vehicles...
150** Inverted in the American tank destroyer line with the Tier IX T30. Despite being classified as a tank destroyer, in real life the T30 was a heavy tank. It got stuffed into being a tank destroyer because of its massive 155mm cannon, which is dramatically more powerful than any other American tank's.
151* In ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'' the ISA have heavy armored vehicles they call tanks, but its basically a glorified [=IFV=].
152* Averted by ''VideoGame/GhostReconAdvancedWarfighter'', which correctly differentiates tanks, [=APCs=], [=IFVs=], and mobile artillery.
153* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'':
154** The original ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty1'' has an early level where you need to take out "Flak Panzers" that are really Möbelwagens. Not an example itself due to details mentioned in the Real Life folder, but what makes it become this trope is they are all armed Flakvierling 38s when in reality only one prototype used one of these before the Germans decided on the [=FlaK=] 43.
155** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' features several destroyed Tiger II tanks in the level set in Stalingrad 1942 [[AnachronismStew a full 2 years before the real Tiger II entered service]]. It was not even on the drawling board in 1942. A later level has the player control what is called in-game a [=T-34-85=] despite A) you are playing a rifleman, and a ''private'' at that; and B) the tank has a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]], meaning it is an [=OT-34-85=].
156** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'' has one in the level Demon Within where [[spoiler:the player is in the DyingDream of Sarah Hall]] and gets transported to the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Battle of the Bulge]] and faces off against a Tiger II. At one point [[spoiler:Hall]] refers to it as if it were a standard Tiger tank but at the same time references its nickname, the King Tiger.
157** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareII''[='=]s version of the Ground War multiplayer mode includes two tracked vehicles, the IAV from [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 the 2019 game]] as the "Light Tank", and a newly-added "Heavy Tank". Despite its name, the Light Tank is not a tank, but rather a Bradley with an autocannon, while the Heavy Tank, while actually visibly being a tank, is a weird mixture of a vaguely T-90-ish turret on the body of a Merkava.
158* ''Flying Tanks'' from Hexage, yeah it's TheFuture but the titular flying tanks aren't {{Hover Tank}}s. They're simply fighter-bomber aircraft with heavy armor alongside a main gun, [[HomingProjectile homing missiles]] or other special weapons, and lots of bombs to drop on someone.
159* In ''VideoGame/{{Vietcong}}'', [[spoiler:the old French armored cars are called "tanks" for some reason.]] Not to mention the [=T-34-76s=] used by the NVA, when they should be using [=T-34-85s=], and M50 Ontos tank destroyers in the second game.
160* In another Vietnam War game, ''VideoGame/MenOfValor'', the NVA "tank" is actually a BMP APC.
161* In ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'', all [[HoverTank non-hover]] combat vehicles are listed under "tanks", be it an actual tank like the ''Demolisher'', an AntiAir vehicle like the ''Partisan'', or the 8-wheel drive ''Chevalier'' light tank. Functionally, all combat vehicles bar the handful of long-ranged MacrossMissileMassacre vehicles and the ''Long Tom'' artillery piece can be used in front line combat as a tank.
162* The Rhino in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' franchise has always been referred to as a tank. However, its earliest designs (the ones that appeared in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'') have wheels rather than tracks presumably because of engine limitations, making it look more like an APC or tank destroyer. Most of the "3D-era" games also use a cartoony and fictional model that, if anything, bears more of a resemblance to the German Fuchs APC than a real tank (the pre-release model was, in fact, just a Fuchs with a turret slapped on, and the resemblance is still there in the front of the release model); ''San Andreas'' would remodel it to more closely resemble the M1 Abrams, but later games would go back to ''[=GTA3=]''[='=]s model until ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars Chinatown Wars]]'' finally gave it a model with actual treads.
163** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has the Rhino being modeled on an actual tank, however it still falls into this trap thanks to the description from an in-game website mistaking which tank was modeled for the game. The website unmistakably describes an [=M1=] Abrams with references to a weight of 60 tons, a 1,500hp turbine engine, a 120mm cannon and the line [[{{Irony}} "One of the few vehicles still manufactured in America"]]. The Rhino is actually modeled on the Leopard [=2A4=], which despite having the 120mm cannon[[note]]which was developed for the Leopard tank first then used on the Abrams[[/note]] is different in every other detail in the description. The Leopard 2 uses a 1,479hp [=V12=] Diesel engine, has a weight of 68 tons, and is made in Germany.
164* In the post-apocalyptic world of ''VideoGame/MetalMax'', a tank just means a vehicle that has some armor slapped on it and at least one gun. In one game of the series, the first "tank" you get is a dune buggy and later in the game you can try to outbid someone for a firetruck to join your tank force.
165* ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'' has an air-droppable BRDM armoured car which players are incessantly referring to as a tank, despite the fact that, unlike the real one, it doesn't even have a weapon turret, and it [[EveryCarIsAPinto goes up in a fireball like any other vehicle in the game]] when you fire enough rifle ammo into it.
166* An example of in-universe misidentification in one of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'' expansions, Spearhead.
167** After you successfully parachuted into France on the 6th of June 1944, you meet up with your British allies and are about to head off on your assigned mission. Suddenly, one of the Brits shouts "TIGER TANK!"...and then you turn around and find out it's not a Tiger Tank but is, in fact, a Panzer IV.
168** This was actually a common occurrence in real life, since most Allied soldiers were ignorant of the different German tank models or how common each type was, and if they saw a Panzer approaching they would be quick to see it as whatever they were most afraid of, which was the Tiger. As Nick Moran points out in "Myths of American Armor", the later Panzer [=IVs=] (specifically the H and J models) had blocky shapes, plus extra turret skirts and long guns with a large muzzle brake which made them look superficially similar to a Tiger at a distance, and if a guy sees that through his telescope he’s going to think "TIGER!" and start frantically reacting instead of sitting there counting the number of road wheels on it to make sure.
169* The BMPT "Terminator" and its variants in ''VideoGame/ArmoredWarfare'' were reclassed from AFV to Tank Destroyer. The developers admitted that this isn't accurate to real life, but it better reflects their capability and role in the game as heavily-armored damage dealers.
170** The AFV class as a whole is a mish-mash of vehicles that don't fit neatly into other classes. While the most prominent members of the class are [=IFVs=], it also includes self-propelled anti-aircraft guns ([=M247 Sergeant York=], ZSU-23-4 Shilka), scout vehicles ([=FV107=] Scimitar, Panhard CRAB, RST-V Shadow), and multiple rocket launch system (SBS Pindad, MT-LB [=S8=]). About the only things that unite all of these vehicles are their stealth, high vision range, and light-to-nonexistent armor.
171* While it being a sci-fi series featuring highly futuristic vehicles blurs the line somewhat, the ''VideoGame/BlasterMaster'' series goes ''hard'' on the "every armored vehicle is a tank" doctrine. The various SOPHIA models piloted over the course of the series are for the most part military-grade [=ATVs=] with a cannon mounted on top; very few have threads, and ''none'' have a proper turret. The ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero'' trilogy gets even worse with the introduction of the Metal Attacker Series, which are all classified as tanks despite including a tractor with a gatling gun, a locomotive-themed DrillTank, a speedy bunny-shaped vehicle that doesn't even have a proper ranged weapon, and ''a space fighter''. It even gets lampshaded upon encountering the EIR (the aforementioned bunny) with Jason completely surprised to discover that a "tank" specialized in high speed melee combat is a thing.
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175* The Army Surplus Special on ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' is a mashup of an army tank and a steam roller.
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179* The 1992 Treaty On Conventional Armed Forces in Europe attempted to formalize the classifications a bit. An APC was said to be a self-propelled armored vehicle with an integrated gun of less than 20 mm, an IFV was one with a gun of 20 mm or more (and usually also missiles), and a "battle tank" was one with an integrated gun of 75 mm or more. Both [=IFVs=] and [=APCs=] were further distinguished from battle tanks by the requirement that they're "designed and equipped primarily to transport a combat infantry squad", and that a battle tank had to be at least 16.5 tons while the APC and IFV classification had no weight limit. Self-propelled guns, weirdly, were not classified, though the battle tank classification did have its own requirements of "360-degree traverse gun" and "high self-protection" to seemingly avoid self-propelled guns being classified as such (as they tend to have non-rotating guns and thin armor comparable or inferior to [=APCs=]/[=IFVs=]).
180* In the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles Israeli Defense Forces]]:
181** The Merkava ''is'' a tank and not an APC, despite its rear door, which is there to allow the tank to be evacuated or resupplied under fire. The tank does have the potential to carry troops in an emergency but the ammunition magazine has to be emptied to make room for them.
182** This is also true of the Merkava IV [[MilitaryMashupMachine Tank]][[CombatMedic bulance]], which is a tank equipped to be an ambulance. Since it still retains its original armament it isn't protected by the Geneva conventions, and can therefore be engaged by the enemy. Admittedly, its thick armour and a 120mm cannon don't exactly mean it's a sitting duck... But given that the type of enemies that the IDF would fight aren't exactly mindful of the Geneva Convention anyway, it is an example of CombatPragmatism at its finest.
183** On a similar note, the Israeli Achzarit ''is'' an APC despite having started life as a T-55 tank. Confused yet?
184** Likewise for the Namer, which is an APC built on a Merkava chassis, making it the best-armored APC in the world yet also one of the fastest. This comes at the price of having a relatively small troop capacity of only nine despite weighing in at a massive 60 tons (five times larger than the M113, which carries eleven troops). While its name translates as "leopard", it's also an [[FunWithAcronyms acronym]] (in Hebrew, of course): "'''Na'''gmash" '''Mer'''kava", or "APC Merkava".
185** Then you get to the Pereh, an ATGM-launching tank destroyer disguised as a Magach, or an American M48 Patton. It was used to great effect in all Israeli conflicts since the 80s thanks to it looking like a regular tank, which lead the attackers to believe that they were safely out of range, and then they'd get blown up by missiles at twenty times the expected range for the tanks that the Perehs look like.
186* The British CVR(T) series of '''reconnaissance vehicles'''. Though if one defines "tank" as "tracked armoured vehicle with a turret-mounted gun and no space for infantry" then the Scorpion and Scimitar fit the bill, designed primarily for the reconnaissance role or not. Reconnaissance has always been the primary role of light tanks anyway.
187* American M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle was also a fully-tracked light armored vehicle with turret-mounted main weapon system, which could easily fit into the light tank category. As it was intended primarily as an airborne and cavalry anti-tank, fire-support and reconnaissance vehicle, it was not officially classified as a tank.
188* The Stryker - being an eight-wheeled gun platform - isn't too likely to get confused for a tank, but the same probably couldn't be said for the M2/M3 Bradley and Linebacker [=IFV/CFVs=]. They're armor plated, have a gun turret, tracks, but their primary function is [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier carrying troops into battle]] and giving them fire support in combat. Thanks to their speed and their ability to carry and launch anti-tank missiles, they do make for a respectable threat to enemy tanks on the battlefield. Though originally it was worried that their aluminum armor would make them too vulnerable to enemy fire, even after some steel plating was added on the sides, in practice three only Bradleys have been destroyed by enemy fire and the rest have been [[FriendlyFireIndex at the hands of American M1 Abrams tanks]].
189* The [[RedsWithRockets BMP line of amphibious infantry fighting vehicles]] and their airborne counterparts, the BMD line, often get mistaken for tanks because of the tank-like shape and size of their turrets and main guns. Western [=IFVs=] are noticeably taller and boxier than tanks to accommodate the extra people on-board. Soviet [=IFVs=] [[ClownCar tend to have less passenger capacity (and no concern for passenger comfort)]], [[MoreDakka are sometimes ridiculously over-armed]], and their tank-like profile was designed to make them much better [[AmphibiousAutomobile amphibious vehicles]] than their western counterparts.
190* News sources, and particularly Creator/TheBBC, have a tendency to mistakenly regard any armoured vehicle (especially those with tracks) as 'a tank', which can lead to confusing headlines about the Iraq conflict and so forth.
191* In Germany, every tracked and armored vehicle is actually and correctly refered to as a Panzer, as "Panzer" simply being German for "armour" (in Dutch, it's spelled "Pantser", which somehow manages to look less scary - [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish especially if you're British]]). The Gepard Flakpanzer (Anti-Aircraft-Tank, based on Leopard 1 chassis), Marder 2A5 Schützenpanzer (ICV), Biber Brückenlegepanzer (Brigde-layer, based on Leopard 1 Chassis), Leopard 2A6 Kampfpanzer (MBT), Panzerhaubitze 2000 (Self-Propelled Howitzer). Even nontracked Vehicles like the Spürpanzer Fuchs and Spähpanzer Luchs (6x6 and 8x8 wheeled, lightly armored vehicles) are referred to as such, although not classifying as tanks at all. Correct German term for "tank" specifically would be "Panzerkampfwagen", and "Panzer" is a loose equivalent to English "AFV" (armoured fighting vehicle)[[labelnote:Translation]][[MindScrew which literally translates to Panzerkampfwagen]].[[/labelnote]]. During World War I the Germans ''also'' used the term "tank" (as seen with the [[{{BFG}} Tankgewehr]] anti-tank rifle and its 13.2mm "Tank und Flieger" ammunition[[note]]Meaning "tank and aircraft", since a prototype heavy machine gun using the same ammunition was intended to arm the next generation of fighter planes.[[/note]]) as they were aware that the enemy armored vehicles these weapons were meant to kill were named "tank". But when interwar Germany started to rearm, they found it simpler to just refer to all anti-tank ammunition as "Panzergranate" ("armor-piercing shell").
192* According to documentary evidence some units of the German Wehrmacht preferred to use captured US Sherman tanks as tank recovery vehicles. They may have lacked the gun power and armor protection of Panthers and Tigers but they were a lot more reliable and had a much better power to weight ratio making them better tow vehicles. The Bergepanther and Bergetiger (recovery vehicles built from Panther and Tiger hulls) were also very rare, and increasing their production would've inherently meant reducing production of the desperately-needed standard Panther and Tiger tanks. There was also an instance during the Battle of the Bulge where the Germans used Panthers disguised as US M10 Tank Destroyers, creating a RealLife Tanks, But No Tanks situation. These were modeled in ''World Of Tanks'', and despite being larger than an M10 Wolverine, their outward appearance would likely fool P-47 and Typhoon pilots. They'd be left alone by the planes, only to ambush the American tanks as they passed by. The M10 was chosen because it was the only common American armored vehicle that a Panther could be made to even ''vaguely'' resemble.
193* During the victory years, the Germans selectively amassed examples of all the tank types captured from defeated enemies. The intention was eventually to house them in a Victory Museum depicting the heroic struggle of the German Army. These were temporarily stored at a tank base on the Baltic coast, but, as the war turned, this stock of captured vehicles was plundered for operational requirements. It is likely many of the Shermans put into service, as described above, came from this stock. Captured French and British tanks were rebuilt as assault guns, and vehicles used to deceive American forces in the Bulge fighting came from here.
194* The definition of "tank" was flexible and hadn't been formalized in the early days of armored warfare. The term "tank" itself was a deliberately-obfuscatory term used at the factories to keep their real nature a secret from enemy spies; the assembly-line workers building the new "landships"[[note]] This term gets used a couple of times in the single-player tank campaign of ''VideoGame/Battlefield1''[[/note]] (which was intended to be the proper term) were told that the vehicles would be used to haul drinking water in areas without improved roads. The fake name caught on, and the rest is history. When you get right down to it, none of the early tanks--the British Mark I & IV, the French Schneider & St. Chamond, or the German [=A7V=] Sturmpanzerwagen-- would be considered tanks, as they all lacked turrets and had guns with limited traverse. The first tank, ''recognizable'' as such to a current casual observer, was the French Renault FT-17 light tank, which featured a rotating turret and modern shape, but at the time these features had nothing at all to do with the military definition of a tank. There were other (rarer) "tanks" that wouldn't be accepted as "tanks": for example, the experimental A39 Tortoise heavy tank developed by the British during World War II was really an assault gun with a fixed superstructure similar to the German Jagdtiger. Americans waffled on the designation for the experimental T28, another heavy "assault gun" developed late in World War II. It was originally classified as "T95 Heavy Tank", then redesignated as "105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95" or self-propelled gun, but later redesignated ''again'' as "T28 Super Heavy Tank".[[note]]It was complicated by the fact that it hadn't really fitted into ''any'' category of American armored vehicles of the time - tanks were supposed to be armored vehicles intended to break through enemy lines and wreak havoc behind them, usually with heavier armor and capable (at least in theory) to withstand direct confrontation with substantial enemy firepower and ''usually'' with the main armament mounted in a revolving turret, while self-propelled artillery (GMC/HMC - Gun or Howitzer Motor Carriage) vehicles were supposed to be more lightly armored vehicles providing specialized fire support with either direct or indirect fire from safe distance from the enemy - e.g. M10 tank destroyer (officially "3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10") had powerful 3-inch M7 gun in fully rotating ([[GlassCannon yet very lightly armored and open-topped]]) turret, and was supposed to be employed in a similar way as a towed [[AntiArmor anti-tank gun]], chiefly fighting from ambushes, with the added advantage of greater mobility than towed AT guns.[[/note]]
195** Another example is the "3 Ton Tank" M1918. It was build late in WWI and based on the Renault FT-17 (the American copies of these were known as the M1917 or "6 Ton Tank"), but put on such a strict diet that it lost its turret in favor of a forward gun with limited traverse. This was to be a machine gun in all cases, while part of the FT-17's had a 37mm cannon. 15 of these "tanks" were build before the war ended. As much of what the designers skimped on was space for the crew, tankers of those days may have been pretty glad it never really entered service.
196* It has to be said that the Bovington tank museum in Britain appears to be more sympathetic to the needs of film and TV than most. While, understandably, it will not loan its only Tiger - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eUiRBh0YHE the only running model]] left in the ''world'' - it is less stringent about other exhibits. There was a recent BBC documentary/drama which incorporated a running Cromwell tank from 1944, in ''exactly'' the correct Normandy context, which could only have come from one place. This was accompanied by other running examples of [=WW2=] British hardware, such as Universal Carriers, all in the context of depicting and illustrating the often-overlooked British contribution to the Normandy landings. The documentary makers also had the use of a Mark IV Panzer.
197** As mentioned in the "Film" section, Bovington's Tiger made an appearance in David Ayer's ''Fury''. This marked the first ''ever'' appearance of a genuine Tiger in a Second World War film, German propaganda newsreels notwithstanding.
198* The designation does get confusing with the Swedish Stridsvagn 103, which is also unofficially known as the S-tank even though its configuration (no turret and hull-mounted main gun) was more like an older tank destroyer or self-propelled gun. Officially it is still classified as a main battle tank[[note]]this probably has to do with that in terms of its intended role in Swedish doctrine, its closest equivalent ''was'' a main battle tank, and units with them were organised with that in mind.[[/note]]. As two users from [[http://bbs.stardestroyer.net a certain forum]] put it:
199-->'''Marcus Aurelius:''' ...the Swedish S-tank; the exception is made mostly because the Swedes insisted really hard that it is a tank rather than a tank destroyer or assault gun\
200'''Ilya Muromets:''' And now I have this image of a massive, stern-looking Swede staring down a bunch of military nerds. ''"It's a tank."'' "Uh, yes Sir. Please don't hurt us."
201* During the invasion of Malaya in 1942, Japanese troops reported capturing or destroying numerous British "tanks." These were in fact Bren Gun Carriers, which were small, open topped armored personnel carriers (in fact smaller than a modern-day Humvee, and used in similar roles) as the British had no real tanks on their Malaya colony.
202** Note that even in 1942 (and it actually went downhill from there) the Japanese armor was laughably inadequate by the standards of all other major combatants, as they never deployed any modern medium tank, much less a heavy one, until the very end of the war,[[note]]And even then only at the Home Islands and in minuscule numbers, so these tanks -- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_3_Chi-Nu Type 3 Chi-Nu]], of which only about one hundred were built, had actually never seen combat.[[/note]] so for them the Universal Carrier, derived from the early-30es Carden-Lloyd tankettes, might indeed seem like a full-on tank.
203* To further confuse the casual student of military history, the [=WW2=] [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British army]] fielded both Tank and Armoured Brigades. 'Tank' units were semi independent formations organised to be attached to infantry divisions/corps for support while 'Armoured' units were usually part of an Armoured Division.[[note]]There were also few independent 'Armoured Brigade Groups', basically reinforced 'Armoured Brigades' of the Armoured Division type, capable of (limited) independent operations, where complete Armoured Division was deemed impractical or unnecessary. Main difference from 'Tank Brigades' was that 'Tank Brigades' were just groupements of tank units only, while 'Armoured Brigade Groups' were combined arms formations comprised not only of tanks, but included also motor infantry, artillery and other support units.[[/note]] While the 'tank' units normally had dedicated 'Infantry' tanks like the Churchill, some 'tank' units were equipped with exactly the same Shermans as 'Armoured' regiments leading the untrained observer to wonder what the fuss was about. Add in the confusion in the way what is called a 'Regiment' is really a battalion sized unit that is part of it's parent regiment but commanded as part of a brigade, and it is little wonder many casual military history buffs give up and research Panzer divisions instead.
204* On a similar note, Soviet Union (and modern Russia too) had ''both'' Rifle and Tank divisions equipped with tanks, — because both were actually combined arms units, the difference being that Rifle division has three Rifle and one Tank regiment, and the Tank division vice versa. Also, Tank divisions were usually equipped the cream of the crop, most advanced materiel like T-80 (or earlier in the Cold War the T-64), while Rifle divisions usually received cheaper mass-produced tanks like T-72 (or previously the T-55 and T-62). The USSR actually kept at least three independent MBT lines in production by its end. Note that both types of divisions had their own organic artillery complements (usually also regimental-sized), that nowadays tend to be self-propelled and thus equipped with the very tank-like vehicles, to further confuse the hell out of everyone.
205* The Italian tank destroyer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B1_Centauro B1 Centauro]] is sometimes described as a tank in spite of being a wheeled vehicle. Adding to the confusion, it's often called a "wheeled tank" due its high firepower and armour on par to a light tank. Terms like "wheeled tank" and "tracked armored car" have been used quite often, even in official references. For example, light armored vehicles called AMR (Automitrailleuse de Reconnaissance) were officially classed as armored cars by the French, despite being light tanks in all but designation.
206* Similar to the Japanese example above, the Chinese army report every tracked vehicle kill in the UsefulNotes/KoreanWar as a tank kill. This often led to confusion of the actual model of vehicle being destroyed: Unit 215, a T-34-85, is famous for destroying three Pershings in one day but photographs took by the crew reveal these targets as M39 carriers or turretless Chaffee/Hellcat variants.
207** The "Victory Museum" in North Korea that celebrates the utter destruction of the filthy capitalist hordes by Kim-Il-Sung preserves captured British Universal Carriers and American M3 halftracks - which are all designated as "captured tanks".
208* In UsefulNotes/NewZealand during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Minister for Public Works, Bob Semple, commissioned the construction of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Semple_tank Bob Semple Tank]] (in fact, it was just an [[ClosestThingWeGot armored tractor]]). It had no blueprints, had numerous design flaws, never got beyond the prototype stage, and was laughed at by the public. However, it is remembered most as an example of the New Zealand [[HomeImprovementTropes do-it-yourself]] ethos.
209* Many WWII armies saw assault guns and tank destroyers (both forms of self-propelled gun) being pressed into service to fill the "tank" role when supplies of actual tanks ran low. This was especially true in the Italian Army where vehicles like the Semovente 74/18 assault gun proved, despite their lack of a turret, to be superior to the nation's problematic light tanks.
210* The Russian object 952 "Sprut-SD" is a vehicle the Russians themselves cannot decide what to think of as. Conceived as a way to [[GlassCannon give paratroopers an organic anti-tank capability]], it is a honest to God light tank, [[WordOfGod according to its creator]], and given that it is based on a light tank chassis[[note]]It uses the same Object 934 "Judge" chassis that was also used for the [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier BMD-3 APC]].[[/note]] and mounts a classic tank turret with a full-fledged 125-mm cannon capable of firing standard Russian tank ammo, if not for the Russians diehard insistence that it's a "[[InsistentTerminology self-propelled anti-tank gun]]". This is mainly due to a red tape, as a Main Artillery and Rocket Directorate of the Russian Defence Ministry, which was responsible to its creation, [[JurisdictionFriction isn't authorized to produce tanks]], but the self-propelled guns on the other hand…
211* Canada's light armored vehicles, most notably the [=LAV III=], are ''very'' commonly referred to as tanks due to being the most frequently used armored personnel carrier. They're a hell of a piece of hardware, but a tank they ain't: they're an infantry fighting vehicle. They're also wheeled vehicles (the direct basis for the American Stryker), so even versions fitted with an enlarged turret and full-sized tank gun (so far only for export rather than Canadian Army use) wouldn't fit the standard definition of a tank.
212* In most recountings of the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled UsefulNotes/FerdinandMarcos, the armored vehicles that stood off against the crowds at EDSA Avenue are called "tanks". Based on photo evidence, this doesn't seem to be the case, as they were a mix of the Philippine Army [[https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ZPbjphOwea_VU8dIc2QwYeJ4sNooPqMcDp1UA-oERCT-Mp1QcjtEep9MAMweKPWD0sAgT3KTTx8NjT4xpXjDVEqmGyKIiH2ezylJgzTh8QuXhsicKPqTKKmHhPcn05qiAEEX2rC- turreted]] and [[https://gelsantosrelos.typepad.com/.a/6a0128775b3615970c0148c83b912b970c-pi turretless]] {AFVs}. In any case the Filipino army had no tanks in its inventory at the time - they had phased the lot of them out by the '70s.
213* Many news articles about the increasing militarization of American police forces (such as [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna41912754 this one]]) refer to the surplus armored troop trucks they operate as tanks. This is not the case; while it is true that many forms of military hardware are becoming available to police, tanks are not among them.
214* The French [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMX-10_RC AMX-10 RC]] is, as far as the French are concerned, a tank - despite being a six-wheeled vehicle. It's seen over four decades of active use in armoured reconnaissance and infantry support roles.
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218* ''The Battle of Kutno'' paintings by Jerzy Kossak, for example [[http://gunter-spb.livejournal.com/1450459.html here (1939 version at top, 1943 version below)]]. Both paintings depicts Polish light cavalry attacking Nazi tanks with lances [[RockBeatsLaser and winning]], ''very loosely'' based on a Polish cavalry unit pursuing German infantry and engaging their tank reinforcements.[[note]]The real battle of Kutno was won by the tanks and artillery of the 10th Cavalry Brigade, Poland's only fully mechanized unit among one of Europe's last large traditional cavalry forces. Both sides used the event as propaganda, the Germans claiming their vast technological superiority and the Polish claiming that they had the ''balls'' to [[TheDeterminator fight that way]]. During WWII there actually were cases of cavalrymen attacking tanks, and even succeeding and surviving, but they used grenades, not cold weapons. In fact, Polish horse cavalry (who had long since gotten rid of their lances) had some remarkably effective anti-tank tactics (provided the horsemen could use concealment to get in close, but that's what horse cav was best at by 1939) that not only took out some panzers, but wound up being copied by the Germans (who used quite a bit of horse cavalry on the Eastern Front, they just didn't like to admit it).[[/note]] Tanks in 1943 versions somewhat resemble British Churchills and Matildas, tanks in 1939 version are purely author's imagination -- or, if you squint ''really'' hard, somewhat resemble the [[https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/ТГ__(танк) Grote tank]]: an obscure, early 30es experimental Soviet design created by a visiting German engineer that went nowhere and remained in a single half-finished prototype.
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