The Robot Tanks of WWII, Both Real and Imagined

The Robot Tanks of WWII, Both Real and Imagined

In the mid-1930s, sci-fi legend Hugo Gernsback predicted that manned flame tanks would one day become a reality. A decade later, Gernsback would revisit his prediction with one important twist-the flame tanks of tomorrow would drive themselves.

The Horrifying Flame Tank of the 1930s Meant to End All Wars

The Horrifying Flame Tank of the 1930s Meant to End All Wars

In 1936, Hugo Gernsback proposed a terrifying new war machine meant to be more efficient than any that had come before it. He called it the "flame tank." And while the thing looks absolutely horrifying in every way (those appear to be dozens of people being burned alive by the tank's flame guns), the stated goal of Gernsback's machine of death was actually to make war less brutal.