How does a military tank move?

Answer 1

A tank moves on tractor treads (flat steel plates) instead of wheels, making it less likely to slip or lose traction. The treads are much more difficult to damage than tires.

Just like a car, a tank has an engine, usually at the stern (rear). The engine turns an axle, as in a car (automobile) which turns a sprocket (which a car does NOT have), or is direct drive-going directly into the sprocket, which turns the sprocket, again normally mounted at the rear. As the sprocket rotates, it's teeth grab the "end-connectors" of the track and move the "track" forward or backwards. The roadwheels of the tank have no power going to them, they simply keep the track "aligned."

The "end-connectors" are the pieces of steel that hold the track pads together, as in a chain. There are end connectors on both ends: left and right side/or outside and inside of the track system. The teeth on the inside of the track (the teeth are facing up when looking at them on the ground, or are up when looking at the bottom of the top portion of the track) are called "center guides." They also keep the track aligned.

If either the "center-guides" or the "end-connectors" pop off (pop off-center of the road wheels, sometimes the support rollers (little wheels mounted above the roadwheels), or sometimes the sprocket teeth) then the tank has "thrown a track." This is the tank's equivalent of a car's flat tire. Whereas it may take 20 minutes to an hour to fix a flat tire on the highway for an automobile...it takes 8 hours to all day to "break track" and then "replace the track"; During the Vietnam War, the M48 Patton tank crew of 3 to 4 crewmen had to perform that task WITHOUT the help of M88 VTR's while in the field. All work done with a sledge hammer, track jack, steel cables, and pure manpower.

The M88 Vehicle Tracked Retriever (VTR) was the "Tow truck" for tanks during the Viet War.

Answer 2

Similar to a Caterpillar tractor (from whom the idea of a 'tracked vehicle' was taken); a tank moves on treads. Typically powered by a powerful diesel engine (altho America's M1A Abrams is powered by a gas turbine); a tank's treads enable it to navigate through mud, snow, and slop that would cause a wheeled-vehicle to bog down.