The use of “dummy tanks” made of inflatable rubber served many purposes in war time. It is effective in convincing enemy soldiers that you have more tanks than you actually do. It could also be useful as a decoy, so that you move your real tanks without being noticed. When the British and the Americans were preparing for the D-Day invasion, they used the inflatable dummies to replace their real tanks, concealing the fact of their tank movements. The Germans were fooled into thinking that the invasion was taking place from Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy.
Inflatable tanks are still used today. The Russian military still produces blow-up tanks and anti-aircraft weapons. These inflatable tanks are much more sophisticated because they now have to trick both the human eye and thermal imaging. An inflatable T-80 tank costs $6000.
To learn more about inflatable tanks in World War II, click here. Check out this story to learn more about a Russian company that produces inflatable weapons.
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