Editing Armoured fighting vehicle (section)

==== Tank classifications ====
Tanks were classified either by size or by role.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ripsaw M5.webp|alt=Ripsaw Ground Combat Vehicle|[[Ripsaw (vehicle)|Ripsaw M5]] [[Unmanned ground vehicle|unmanned]] [[light tank]]
File:PanzerIISaumur.jpg|A WWII [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Panzer II]] light tank
File:T-34-76 RB8.JPG|Soviet-made Polish [[T-34]] medium tank Model 1942 in [[Poznań]], Poland. The model 1942's hexagonal turret distinguishes it from earlier models.
File:T29 Heavy Tank.png|[[United States|American]] [[T29 Heavy Tank|T29]] Heavy Tank
</gallery>

Classification by relative size was common, as this also tended to influence the tanks' role.
* [[Light tank]]s are smaller tanks with thinner armour and lower-powered guns, allowing for better tactical mobility and ease of strategic transport. These are intended for [[armoured reconnaissance]], [[skirmishing]], [[artillery observer|artillery observation]], [[expeditionary warfare]] and supplementing [[Landing operation|airborne or naval landings]]. Light tanks are typically cheaper to build and maintain, but fare poorly against heavier tanks. They may be held in reserve for exploiting any breakthroughs in enemy lines, with the goal of disrupting communications and supply lines.
* [[Medium tank]]s are mid-sized tanks with adequate armour and guns, and fair mobility, allowing for a balance of fighting abilities, mobility, cost-effectiveness, and transportability. Medium tanks are effective in groups when used against enemy tanks.
* [[Heavy tank]]s are larger tanks with thick armour and more powerful guns, but less mobile and more difficult to transport. They were intended to be more than a match for typical enemy medium tanks, easily penetrating their armour while being much less susceptible to their attacks. Heavy tanks cost more to both build and maintain, and their heavy armour proved most effective when deployed in support infantry assaulting entrenched fortifications.

Over time, tanks tended to be designed with heavier armour and weapons, increasing the weight of all tanks, so these classifications are relative to the average for the nation's tanks for any given period. An older tank design might be reclassified over time, such as a tank being first deployed as a medium tank, but in later years relegated to light tank roles.

Tanks were also classified by roles that were independent of size, such as [[cavalry tank]], [[cruiser tank]], [[BT tank|fast tank]], [[infantry tank]], "assault" tank, or "breakthrough" tank. Military theorists initially tended to assign tanks to traditional military infantry, cavalry, and artillery roles, but later developed more specialized roles unique to tanks.

In modern use, the heavy tank has fallen out of favour, being supplanted by more heavily armed and armoured descendant of the medium tanks – the universal [[main battle tank]]. The light tank has, in many armies, lost favour to cheaper, faster, lighter [[Armoured car (military)|armoured cars]]; however, light tanks (or similar vehicles with other names) are still in service with a number of forces as [[reconnaissance vehicle]]s, most notably the [[Naval Infantry (Russia)|Russian Marines]] with the [[PT-76]], the [[British Army]] with the [[FV107 Scimitar|Scimitar]], and the [[Chinese Army]] with the [[Type 63 (tank)|Type 63]].
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