2006/03 | LEM Working Paper Series | |
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'Chariots of Fire': The Evolution of Tank Technology, 1915-1945 |
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Carolina Castaldi, Roberto Fontana, Alessandro Nuvolari |
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Keywords | ||
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Technological trajectories, Technological paradigms, Tanks.
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Abstract | ||
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We revisit the notion of technological trajectories by means of a detailed
case-study of the evolution of tank technology between 1915 and 1945. We use
principal component analysis to analyze the distribution of technological
characteristics and how they map into specific service characteristics. We find
that, despite the existence of differences in technical leadership, tank designs
of different countries show a high degree of overlap and closeness along a
common technological trajectory. In the conclusions, we speculate on whether
this pattern can be explained by common heuristics that influenced the rate and
direction of design activities or by doctrinal viewpoints influencing the
development and use of tanks on the battlefield.
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