In the early days of nuclear development in the United States, nuclear technology was quickly becoming a part of the military. The creation of nuclear weapons had already changed how wars were fought, and the government was searching for new ways to use nuclear power in combat. At the same time, defense companies were encouraged to come up with bold ideas, even if those ideas seemed odd today.

This way of thinking led to many bold projects during the early Cold War. Military planners explored nuclear missiles capable of intercepting enemy aircraft, small nuclear weapons that soldiers could carry, and even plans to spread deadly nuclear clouds through the air. Some ideas also involved Special Forces troops parachuting in with nuclear devices.

Others went so far as to imagine nuclear-powered bases on the Moon to defend against enemy spacecraft. In that kind of atmosphere, the idea of a nuclear-powered tank did not seem impossible or crazy at the time.

Chrysler’s Military Work and the Nuclear-Powered Tank

Among the many future-focused ideas being explored at the time was the Chrysler TV-8, a nuclear-powered tank concept from the 1950s. Because of its unusual shape and bold technology, it looked far closer to science fiction than to the armored vehicles soldiers were used to seeing on the battlefield.

Although Chrysler is usually thought of as a car company, by the 1950s it had become deeply tied to U.S. military work, building not only several tanks that saw wide service with the Army, but also developing the Redstone missile, the Army’s first ballistic missile, which later went on to support some of America’s earliest attempts to reach orbit.

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By the middle of the 1950s, as military planners became increasingly aware that existing tanks might not be enough for future battles, the U.S. Army began looking for new designs that could point the way forward in armored warfare.

As part of that search, it launched a program called Project ASTRON, asking several major companies to share their ideas, one of which was Chrysler, whose response was the TV-8, a tank concept that moved far from traditional designs.

The Unusual Pod-Shaped Design of the Chrysler TV-8

Although only a limited amount of information about the TV-8 is still available today, what has been recorded is enough to show that it was one of the strangest tank designs ever seriously considered. It kept the familiar tracked base seen on other tanks. Nearly everything above those tracks was radically different. The crew, ammunition, and main gun were all packed together inside a single large, curved pod mounted on top.

Because of its long, rounded shape, the main body of the vehicle looked far more like the fuselage of an aircraft than the hull of a tank. It has often been compared to the smooth body of a B-2 Spirit bomber rather than to anything like a World War II Sherman or a modern M1 Abrams. This design choice was made for some practical reasons: to better absorb the force of nearby explosions, including nuclear blasts, and to help the tank stay afloat while operating in water during amphibious missions.

To let it work on water, the TV-8 was built with a water jet in its lower section. This enabled it to move while floating. Even then, its sealed turret was intended to keep firing 90 mm shells. The crew remained inside and, instead of using normal view slots, relied on closed-circuit cameras that displayed live images of what was happening around them.

The Nuclear Power Proposal and Battlefield Safety Concerns

The boldest part of the TV-8 concept involved its proposed power source. Chrysler suggested that a nuclear reactor might power it. This idea promised a tank with an almost endless range. It would no longer require long fuel supply lines, although ammunition would still need to be delivered.

At the time, this was an idea the Army was willing to consider. In the early 1950s, the idea of mounting a reactor directly on a battlefield vehicle did not seem as far-fetched as it does today.

Although the dangers were obvious, the idea was not dismissed outright. Regardless of how well the crew might be protected from radiation, damage from enemy fire could still release radiation and put nearby troops at serious risk.

Testing Results and the Cancellation of the TV-8 Project

Although a prototype of the TV-8 was eventually built and tested, it never received the nuclear reactor that had made the idea so bold. Instead, it was powered by a gasoline engine. Once trials began, it became clear that the vehicle was still highly vulnerable to enemy fire. Its unusual and complex design failed to provide sufficient additional protection to justify those risks.

As a result, after only a short evaluation period, the U.S. Army decided that the concept was not practical. By 1956, the TV-8 project was officially canceled.

In the end, the nuclear-powered tank was never built or deployed. While that decision spared tank crews from danger, it also brought to a close one of the most unusual chapters in military design history.

Read next:

• B61 Nuclear Bomb Helps America's Enemies Think Twice
• Oppenheimer: Who Was the Father of the Atomic Bomb?
• Netflix's House of Dynamite Stirs Up Concern Over Real Nuclear Threats

Sources:

• Chrysler TV-8
• Chrysler TV-8 | Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki