of World War I, featuring a very "shallow" pike nose. The first tank to feature a pike nose was the German
Sturmpanzerwagen A7V of
World War I. The sloping of its frontal armour plates was, however, subtle and not very "pike like". The first vehicles to feature a traditional pike nose were some of the concepts for the British
Valiant tank of the early 1940s. These concepts were later altered to feature a cast dome on the upper front hull, which was retained on the single prototype produced. IS-3s at the Soviet Victory Parade on Red Square, 24 June 1945. The first production tank to feature a conventional pike nose was the Soviet
IS-3, which entered service in 1945 at the very end of WWII. The Soviet pike nose concept initially started with a revamped version of the
IS-2 heavy tank from late 1944, known as the IS-2U, which eventually evolved into the IS-3. The IS-3 was arguably the most heavily protected tank of its time and came to popularize the concept of the pike nose to the rest of the world. The Soviets used the pike nose on several tank projects, such as the
IS-7 and
IS-8 heavy tank projects, the latter entering service as the
T-10, but also on other projects, such as the
Object 268 heavy assault gun. heavy tank prototype at
Musée des Blindés, featuring a cast pike nose. In the
post-war western world, the pike nose saw use on several tank projects. Most designs featured a welded pike nose like the Soviet IS-3 design, such as the French
Lorraine 40t medium tank project and
AMX-50 heavy tank project, the Swedish
EMIL/KRV heavy tank project and the early British
FV4201 Chieftain project. The Americans, however, favoured cast hull designs and introduced cast pike noses with the advent of the
M48 Patton medium tank and
M103 heavy tank. This design was soon picked up by the French and British, leading to cast noses for their ongoing tank projects, the French producing the
AMX-50 Surbaissé variant with a proper cast pike nose and the British changing the final FV4201 Chieftain design to feature something similar to a cast pike nose, although flattened in the center. Due to improved penetration performance against angular armour from modern
anti-tank ammunition, however, the pike nose solution soon fell into obsolescence for heavy armour. The pike nose remains relevant for lightly armoured vehicle that need protection against small arms. A shallow pike nose was featured on the Swedish
pbv 302 infantry fighting vehicle of the 1960s and a subtle pike nose was featured on the Swedish
ikv 91 light assault gun of the 1970s. == List of armoured fighting vehicles featuring pike nose ==