Medium tank was a
classification of tanks, primarily used during
World War II. The medium tank, as the name suggests, represented a compromise in features between the reconnaissance and mobility oriented
light tanks and the armor and armament oriented
heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II (the Soviet
T-34, the American
Sherman tank and the German
Panzer IV) were all medium tank designs, and the success of the concept would later lead to the development of the
main battle tank (which sought to incorporate the best aspects of all three tank types).