64:
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20:
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Warsaw Pact military technology and combat vehicles here. The purpose of it all: Whether tanks, radar systems or missile launchers - the dummies were visibly set up to deceive the enemy about their own strength or to provoke attacks as dummy targets and thus exhaust the enemy's resources. After reunification, the
Bundeswehr took over the site and its capabilities. Since then, however, the troops have set different priorities. Instead of large full dummies, mock-ups of small combat equipment or tank turrets are usually produced for training purposes.
111:
55:. 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. 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. It is possible they were used in training, rather than for military deception.
121:
Inflatable dummies consisted of a fabric covering supported by a network of pressurized rubber tubes that formed a kind of "pneumatic skeleton". These were generally preferred in the field, despite their tendency to rapidly deflate if punctured by accident or shellfire. In one operation in
September
137:
rather than at
Normandy. However, dummy vehicles played only a small part of the overall deception plan as, at that stage of the war, the Germans were unable to fly reconnaissance planes over England and such effort would have been wasted. Dummy landing craft were stationed at ports in eastern and
106:
were used to make the "spoofs" more mobile: a steel frame covered with canvas was placed on them, making a self-propelled dummy tank. The Jeep did not realistically simulate the noise or movement of a tank, but allowed the dummy to be deployed quickly. Meanwhile, the reverse was also done, to make
262:
uses a small number of GRP dummy tanks exclusively for training purposes. In its original form, the
Camouflage and Deception Technology Base is a relic of the Cold War. Specialists from the National People's Army (NVA - Nationale Volksarmee) of the former DDR built amazingly lifelike mock-ups of
133:. During this operation, they were used to confuse German intelligence in two ways: first, by making it seem that the Allies had more tanks than they did; and second, to hide and downplay the importance of the location of their real tanks in order to make it seem that the invasion would occur at
231:
detectors. One of these decoys can take fire from the enemy and still appear to be operational, thus delaying the enemy by as much as an hour, as they are forced to destroy the decoy. These M1 decoys cost only $ 3,300, compared to $ 4.35 million for a real M1. The decoy is also practical: when
38:
in the absence of real tanks. Early designs included wooden shells and inflatable props that could fool enemy intelligence; they were fragile and only believable from a distance. Modern designs are more advanced and can imitate heat signatures, making them more effective illusions.
236:. Its generator—about the size of a 12 inches (30 cm) television—facilitates inflation, so that two people can erect the decoy in a few minutes. Occasionally, real tanks carry a dummy on board, to deploy when needed.
122:
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.
252:
84:
216:, the Serbian army regularly placed dummy tanks in Kosovo, which misled NATO forces into thinking that they were destroying far more tanks than they really were.
138:
southeastern
England where they might be observed by the Germans but the Fortitude deception was largely carried out using double agents and false radio traffic.
63:
248:
856:
170:
102:, and another in November that same year. These were foldable, and thus portable; and the Royal Engineers improved them further.
482:
266:
244:
145:
A dummy
Sherman tank under construction by 6 Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, in the Anzio bridgehead, 29 April 1944.
107:
tanks look like trucks. A further device was put into use that both created simulated tank tracks and erased real ones.
759:
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79:. German forces utilized mock tanks prior to the start of the war for practice and training exercises. Their use in
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stationed there constructed two per day; between April and June 1941, they were able to build three dummy
283:
434:
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67:
Dummy tanks, mounted on trucks, going to the forward areas in the
Western Desert, 13 February 1942
279:
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775:
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72:
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Storm of Steel: The
Development of Armor Doctrine in Germany and the Soviet Union, 1919-1939
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tank not only in appearance, but also in its heat signature, in order to appear real to
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Dummy tanks manufactured by the Czech company
Inflatech are also being employed by the
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disassembled, it weighs only 50 pounds (23 kg), and is roughly the same size as a
220:
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employed dummy tanks to increase their apparent numbers and mask their true movements.
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Wagner, Margaret E.; David M. Kennedy; Linda Barret Osborne; Susan Reyburn (2007).
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397:
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52:
741:
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286:, in order to waste Russian resources by attracting missile and drone attacks.
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bombardment: they found it was not real, but merely a sculpture carved out of
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90:
One of the first uses of dummy tanks during the Second World War was in the
47:
During World War I, Allied forces made use of dummy versions of the British
182:
162:
807:"Islamic State uses wooden tanks and bearded mannequins in decoy attempts"
51:. These were constructed from a wooden framework and covered with painted
642:
British Intelligence in the Second World War, Vol. 5: Strategic Deception
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48:
310:
259:
233:
213:
115:
71:
Dummy tanks saw significantly more use during World War II by both the
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superficially resemble real tanks and are often deployed as a means of
24:
747:
Dirty Little Secrets: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know
702:
305:
224:
178:
177:. A "tank" was surrounded by American infantry, which had been under
334:
430:
Military Planning and the Origins of the Second World War in Europe
228:
189:
110:
857:"How Ukraine is using fake tanks and guns to confuse the Russians"
613:
The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War
526:
The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War
558:. Oxford University Press; Book Club ed. edition. p. 196.
502:. Oxford University Press; Book Club ed. edition. p. 195.
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also utilized decoys; one recorded instance was during the
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were deployed when the real tanks were elsewhere. In the
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223:has developed a modern dummy tank. It imitates the
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462:
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698:Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War
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356:"Britannia: The Tank that Ruled the Trenches".
465:The Library of Congress World War II Companion
804:
644:, New York: Cambridge U. Press, p. 120,
114:An inflatable dummy tank, modeled after the
553:
497:
427:McKercher, B. J. C.; Roch Legault (2001).
333:. Australian War Memorial. Archived from
664:Zaloga, Steven J.; Peter Dennis (2005).
265:
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109:
62:
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726:BBC On The Record - Broadcast: 28.10.01
582:World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia
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667:Anzio 1944: The Beleaguered Beachhead
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522:
245:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
13:
805:Stephen Kalin (14 November 2016).
249:wooden mockups of various vehicles
87:forces, who termed them "spoofs."
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131:landings at the Normandy Beaches
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776:"Lima Army Tank Plant (LATP)"
554:Cruickshank, Charles (1979).
498:Cruickshank, Charles (1979).
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167:Pacific Theater of Operations
7:
832:"Panzerattrappen Übersicht"
289:
284:Russian invasion of Ukraine
241:Battle of Mosul (2016–2017)
10:
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579:Zabecki, David T. (1999).
435:Greenwood Publishing Group
695:Glantz, David M. (1989).
556:Deception in World War II
500:Deception in World War II
374:. Australian War Memorial
360:. 1918-03-02. p. 34.
247:constructed and deployed
125:Dummy tanks were used in
640:Howard, Michael (1990),
404:Cornell University Press
204:Inflatable mock-up of a
901:Military use of mimicry
838:(in German). 2024-05-01
610:Holt, Thaddeus (2004),
523:Holt, Thaddeus (2004).
280:Armed Forces of Ukraine
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92:North African Campaign
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28:
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251:in order to distract
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22:
778:. Globalsecurity.org
740:Dunnigan, James F.;
587:Taylor & Francis
531:Simon & Schuster
471:Simon & Schuster
337:on 22 September 2012
100:Royal Tank Regiments
358:The War Illustrated
274:anti-aircraft truck
127:Operation Fortitude
16:Decoy military tank
836:panzerattrappen.de
296:Military deception
276:
221:United States Army
210:
175:Battle of Iwo Jima
147:
119:
81:military deception
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36:military deception
29:
672:Osprey Publishing
484:978-0-7432-5219-5
151:Operation Shingle
83:was pioneered by
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754:. p. 43.
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129:prior to the
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867:. Retrieved
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840:. Retrieved
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339:. Retrieved
335:the original
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183:volcanic ash
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59:World War II
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378:26 November
341:26 November
282:during the
260:German army
239:During the
212:During the
49:heavy tanks
43:World War I
32:Dummy tanks
23:Inflatable
885:Categories
842:2024-08-22
782:2008-05-27
473:. p.
317:References
311:Quaker gun
272:Pantsir-S1
234:duffel bag
214:Kosovo War
196:Modern era
116:M4 Sherman
25:M47 Patton
816:4 October
703:Routledge
306:Paradummy
253:Coalition
225:M1 Abrams
179:artillery
744:(1992).
396:(2003).
372:"H04659"
331:"E04935"
290:See also
229:infrared
190:Red Army
171:Japanese
75:and the
869:23 June
811:Reuters
149:During
85:British
27:mock-up
896:Decoys
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270:Dummy
243:, the
169:, the
94:. The
73:Allies
159:Italy
155:Anzio
104:Jeeps
871:2023
818:2020
756:ISBN
707:ISBN
676:ISBN
646:ISBN
622:ISBN
591:ISBN
560:ISBN
535:ISBN
504:ISBN
479:ISBN
439:ISBN
408:ISBN
380:2010
343:2010
258:The
219:The
208:tank
206:T-72
188:The
77:Axis
618:537
475:355
153:at
887::
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750:.
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701:.
670:.
620:,
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