![]() ĭummy tanks were used in Operation Fortitude prior to the landings at the Normandy Beaches. In one operation in September 1944, the British deployed 148 inflatable tanks close to the front line and around half were "destroyed" by fragments from German mortar and artillery fire, and by Allied bombs falling short. These were generally preferred in the field, despite their tendency to rapidly deflate if punctured by accident or shellfire. Inflatable dummies consisted of a fabric covering supported by a network of pressurized rubber tubes that formed a kind of "pneumatic skeleton". An inflatable dummy tank, modeled after the M4 Sherman A further device was put into use that both created simulated tank tracks and erased real ones. Meanwhile, the reverse was also done, to make tanks look like trucks. The Jeep did not realistically simulate the noise or movement of a tank, but allowed the dummy to be deployed quickly. Jeeps were used to make the "spoofs" more mobile: a steel frame covered with canvas was placed on them, making a self-propelled dummy tank. These were foldable, and thus portable and the Royal Engineers improved them further. The Royal Engineers stationed there constructed two per day between April and June 1941, they were able to build three dummy Royal Tank Regiments, and another in November that same year. One of the first uses of dummy tanks during the Second World War was in the North African Campaign. Their use in military deception was pioneered by British forces, who termed them "spoofs." German forces utilized mock tanks prior to the start of the war for practice and training exercises. World War II Dummy tanks, mounted on trucks, going to the forward areas in the Western Desert, 13 February 1942ĭummy tanks saw significantly more use during World War II by both the Allies and the Axis. It is possible they were used in training, rather than for military deception. Dummy tanks, representing Allied models, were also found to have been constructed by the Germans, even though they deployed only a small number of real tanks. ![]() The tracks were non-functional so some were fitted with concealed wheels underneath and were towed from place to place by a pair of horses. ![]() These were constructed from a wooden framework and covered with painted Hessian cloth. Modern designs are more advanced and can imitate heat signatures, making them more effective illusions.ĭuring World War I, Allied forces made use of dummy versions of the British heavy tanks. Early designs included wooden shells and inflatable props that could fool enemy intelligence they were fragile and only believable from a distance. Decoy military tank Inflatable M47 Patton mock-upĭummy tanks superficially resemble real tanks and are often deployed as a means of military deception in the absence of real tanks.
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