# Monster/Horror/Sci-Fi movies: When has a Tank been been able to do any good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286 "2015-09-23T11:03:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/21 "2015-09-23T23:01:57Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > But still, it’s got me wondering…are there any examples in film—or any other media—where a conventional tank manages to make a decent showing, or even _prevail_, against an “other than conventional” (i.e. monstrous, superpowered, extraterrestrial, or otherwise weird) adversary Transformers 2, M1 Abrams from an MEU held their own against decepticons, unlike the first Transformers, where they go flying in ways no honest tank should. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/22 "2015-09-23T23:04:13Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I am clearly suffering from massive brain failure this morning because I can’t find the author, book or even Google search terms that help me identify this story… but the plot is a massive alien invasion of Earth. The only people who can defend the Earth are resurrected Nazi tank crews and their super-powered tanks. Your thinking of Bun Bun, in regards to the super tanks. The SS retreads were using a smaller version, over all, a cool add on novel. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/23 "2015-09-23T23:10:44Z")
A sort of Chekhov’s Tank came in quite handy in the recent _Ant Man_, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/24 "2015-09-23T23:33:28Z")
Adding to the list of monsters not bothered by tanks (helicopters were useless as well): The Black Scorpion. Somebody even made a model of the [scorpion/tank duel](https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0KcO50x6yj2d0E4BowQ3i9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/25 "2015-09-23T23:48:08Z")
The tanks in these movies are always firing into Godzilla’s SHINS; the barrel can’t lift any higher. I mean, it worked for Clarence Boddicker against Bob Morton, but the Zil is 4500 feet tall! Then G steps on them. They really need Clint Eastwood and his napalm-bearing jet a la [Tarantula](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048696/?ref_=nv_sr_1). ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/26 "2015-09-24T00:00:52Z")
In Brian Daley’s novel, _The Doomfarers of Coramonde_, an exile from Earth tries to summon a tank from our dimension into the magical world of Coramonde to defeat a rampaging dragon. The demon sent to fetch the tank, however, isn’t very familiar with tanks, and brings back an [M-113 APC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M113_armored_personnel_carrier) from VietNam instead. Said vehicle is then involved in several adventures. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/27 "2015-09-24T00:26:51Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The tanks in these movies are always firing into Godzilla’s SHINS; the barrel can’t lift any higher. I mean, it worked for Clarence Boddicker against Bob Morton, but the Zil is 4500 feet tall! Then G steps on them. For Godzilla you don’t need an Abrams…you need a Mark XXXII Bolo: [![](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9220d93a-7888-4c12-85bc-93d1274bd888/d336pwn-370a0de9-1ab7-4d52-aaa7-3f22db9d0308.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi85MjIwZDkzYS03ODg4LTRjMTItODViYy05M2QxMjc0YmQ4ODgvZDMzNnB3bi0zNzBhMGRlOS0xYWI3LTRkNTItYWFhNy0zZjIyZGI5ZDAzMDguanBnIn1dXX0.z_slw-DPn9uzKeU9m-GUPVLqkz2-DUSUjNy_1zDsqck) ](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9220d93a-7888-4c12-85bc-93d1274bd888/d336pwn-370a0de9-1ab7-4d52-aaa7-3f22db9d0308.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi85MjIwZDkzYS03ODg4LTRjMTItODViYy05M2QxMjc0YmQ4ODgvZDMzNnB3bi0zNzBhMGRlOS0xYWI3LTRkNTItYWFhNy0zZjIyZGI5ZDAzMDguanBnIn1dXX0.z_slw-DPn9uzKeU9m-GUPVLqkz2-DUSUjNy_1zDsqck) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/28 "2015-09-24T00:30:40Z")
^ Yeah, _that’s_ the ticket! Would one of those work against Roland Emmerich? ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/29 "2015-09-24T00:34:03Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Yeah, _that’s_ the ticket! Would one of those work against Roland Emmerich? Nothing else has been able to stop him. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/30 "2015-09-24T01:29:21Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > For Godzilla you don’t need an Abrams…you need a Mark XXXII Bolo: > > [http://orig11.deviantart.net/4b79/f/2010/323/e/4/bolo\_\_\_we\_are\_already\_in\_hell\_by\_shimmering\_sword-d336pwn.jpg](http://orig11.deviantart.net/4b79/f/2010/323/e/4/bolo___we_are_already_in_hell_by_shimmering_sword-d336pwn.jpg) Actually , its been mentioned in the books, that the Abrams is the mark one bolo Declan ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/31 "2015-09-24T17:07:46Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The one book _Watch on the Rhine_ deals with the Nazis. That’s basically a companion book to the series and not in the main story line. That’s the one! ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/32 "2015-09-24T17:18:01Z")
The last batmobile was pretty much a tank. I guess it was trackless, but seems closer to a tank then a batmobile. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/33 "2015-09-24T17:40:41Z")
I recall a [fantasy novel](http://www.amazon.com/The-Doomfarers-Coramonde-Brian-Daley/dp/0595437451) where the crew of an Armored Personnel Carrier (magically transported straight from the bush in the Vietnam War) succeed in slaying a fire-breathing dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/34 "2015-09-24T18:48:17Z")
Not a tank, but there was this torpedo ram by the name of \*Thunder Child \*that acquitted itself quite well in the 1897 invasion of London… ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/35 "2015-09-24T19:26:55Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Granted, he then blowed it up real good, but it helps when it’s your name on the tiny anti-tank rocket. _Can’t… resist…_ “ **Say my name.** …here, I’ll spell it for you.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/36 "2015-09-24T20:20:18Z")
Too bad he didn’t have a second one when he was fighting the Ironmonger, though… ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/37 "2015-09-24T21:38:19Z")
Weirdly enough, it did not occur to me that Tony Stark should have been meat pudding after being hit with a tank round. He had ARMOR on, after all! But when I saw the Captain America: Winter Soldier movie, it struck me as _wrong_ that he could pretty much bounce ANYTHING off that shield, up to and including the impact of\* falling off a building\*. Had to keep thinking about how the shield was made of a magic superalloy that blunts impact… Superhero physics is complicated. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/38 "2015-09-24T22:29:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > \*This was the 1960s. We still had Brontosaurs And now we have them again. _happy sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/39 "2015-09-24T22:35:51Z")
IIRC there were some scenes in Harry Turtledoves _Worldwar_ series where WW2 German Panzer III or IV’s were able to kill Lizard tanks by careful shot placement - rear shots or into the belly of a tank cresting a hill. I think there was also an encounter between lizard infantry and a german tank that resulted in the lizards getting chopped up. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286/40 "2015-09-24T22:48:54Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > IIRC there were some scenes in Harry Turtledoves _Worldwar_ series where WW2 German Panzer III or IV’s were able to kill Lizard tanks by careful shot placement - rear shots or into the belly of a tank cresting a hill. I think there was also an encounter between lizard infantry and a german tank that resulted in the lizards getting chopped up. While part of the point of the novel (and series) was that an interstellar invasion of Earth wouldn’t be anywhere near as easy as anyone thinks, this is an excellent example of an answer to the OP. The Lizards’ tanks were better, but humans were WICKED tacticians, and not prone to stick with methods that didn’t work the first time… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monster-horror-sci-fi-movies-when-has-a-tank-been-been-able-to-do-any-good/732286.md?page=3)