How does a military tank turn?

Answer 1

The Vietnam War M48 Patton tank had a race car shaped steering wheel, the tank driver simply turned the steering wheel like a car, and it went in that direction. If he turned left, the left tracked slowed and the right track rotated faster, moving the Patton to the left; the harder the wheeled turned the slower the left track went. If the tank driver stopped completely, threw the gear into neutral, kept his left foot on the brake and the right on the gas, turned the wheel left...the tank turned left (rotated left) in one spot, called "a neutral steer."

The M551 Sheridan in Vietnam was the same, except it weighed only 17 tons (instead of the Patton's 52 tons) and used a "T" bar instead of a steering wheel.

Regardless of the "steering wheel" or whatever the driver is using to steer the tank, the mechanism by which a tank turns is the same: the tread on the side that is to be turned towards slows down, while the opposite side tread speeds up. Thus, to make a right-hand turn, the right tread moves slower than the left tread.

If the tank is stationary, and the driver is trying to spin-in-place, the tread on the side being turned towards will often run in reverse. This allows the tank to spin around inside its own length.