History Main / MilitaryMashupMachine

The corporations which deploy them appreciate that [[CrewOfOne no one person can control them]]. As oppossed to the HumongousMecha such as the one piloted by the protagonist.

* Anticipating UsefulNotes/WW2 would be a replay of UsefulNotes/WW1, Britain comissioned a short run of five truly monstrous 90-foot-long tanks - purely to dig trenches with, in order to spare the infantry. This tank carried a single Matilda II turret with the puny 2-pounder gun for defence, but most of its design was given over to excavating and earth-moving equipment and the power plant to operate it. After the assumption about [=WW2=] being a new trench war was proven horribly wrong, the one surviving excavator tank was used to dig field defences and anti-tank ditches, in what was thought would the final defensive lines around London. No more were built after 1940.

* There was a proposal to make seaplane tender submarines in the 1950s for the P6M SeaMaster, the only American jet seaplane, but they were ultimately scuttled in favor of ballistic missile submarines. The need for such a design was actually political rather than technical, as it was merely an excuse to have a strageic bomber controlled by the US Navy instead of the Air Force.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' gives us Arsenal Gear, a submersible HumongousMecha carrier.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3's'' ''Shagohod'' was a tank/hovercraft/ICBM launcher hybrid. With legs. They were just forelimbs, meaning it couldn't walk upright like the titular Metal Gear, so it compensated with a pair of Archimedes' screws. Have we mentioned it was rocket-boosted?

* ''TabletopGame/DystopianWars'' has Land Battleships large enough to mount [[UpToEleven Saint Paul's Cathedral]] on their backs, while also carrying various weapons that make them more than able to live up to their moniker.

* Turned UpToEleven by the ''[[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Clone Wars]]'' comic books, with ''starships'' that operate underwater, crewed by Mon Calamari, appearing during the battle of Kamino. As their commander said while piloting one of the damn things:

* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', Federation ships appear to mix the functions of warship, science vessel, deep space exploration ship, and diplomatic vessel all into a single hull. This is epitomized in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' with the Galaxy class of starship (including, naturally, the flagship ''Enterprise''), which is all of the above ''[[UpToEleven plus what is functionally a small town]]'', complete with schools, recreation areas, and a bar. The Federation also seems to have an aversion to calling their ships "warships" despite the fact that they have more than sufficient shields and firepower to stand up to the dedicated warship designs used by other spacefaring civilizations. (This policy is reversed during [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine the Dominion War]].)

* The ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' manga features one of these, albeit on land: The land carrier moves on tracks, launches unmanned fighters, and hides itself by burrowing under the desert sand. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is very difficult to cool.

* It doesn't come up in the average game of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', but the Chimera infantry fighting vehicle used by the Imperial Guard is fully amphibious. The Land Raider used by Space Marines is a bit too heavy for that, but is so well-armored (and fully-pressurized) that one battle between the Space Wolves and Tau took place five miles underwater, on the ocean floor.

* ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Warhammer 40,000]]'':

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Some {{Transformers}} have multiple forms, resulting in things like this. Perhaps most well-known is the Decepticon Triple-Changer Blitzwing, whose alternate modes are a [=MiG-25=] and a Type-74 tank. The most over-the-top, though, would have to be Sixshot, a Decepticon with ''six'' alternate modes who can take on entire teams of enemies single-handedly.
** Anything with TransformingMecha really, when you basically have tanks that turn into mechs. Literally when you bring CombiningMecha into the equation.
* The SHIELD Helicarrier shows up in pretty much every Marvel Comics-based animated series. ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' takes it a step further by having it wrecked and rebuilt as the Tri-Carrier, which is able to ''split'' into the spacefaring Astro-Carrier, the submersible Aqua-Carrier, and the flying Dragon-Carrier.
** In WesternAnimation/TaleSpin, Don Carnage had the Iron Vulture, a massive flying carrier with rotors supporting it, able to launch and retrieve planes.

** If any practical real-world aircraft could get away with calling itself a flying tank, the [[RealLife/CoolPlane A-10]] is it. Also, one even successfully shot down an Iraqi fighter with its [[GatlingGood Avenger rotary cannon]] during the UsefulNotes/GulfWar, even though not designed for air-to-air combat.

* Early 90s OVA ''Genesis Survivor Gaiarth'' had a truly immense one of those (coupled with a mobile war factory) as the ultimate BigBad's base of operations.

** A quite successful historical amphibious tank was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_Sherman DD Sherman]] of WWII. The DD Sherman was a typical M4 Sherman medium tank with a collapsible skirt allowing it to float, and a drive modification operating a propeller providing it with propulsion while in the water (other tanks were similarly converted, but the Shermans were the most common). The main problem faced by the tanks was they were easily swamped and sunk during rough seas (as happened to the tanks deployed in the assault on Omaha Beach). However if managed properly, the tanks could prove devastatingly effective in support of amphibious operations (as occurred on the other beaches at Normandy). Other modifications for amphibious use, such as snorkels to allow operation while partially or even fully submerged, were also applied to the highly-adaptable Sherman.

** Apparently the Americans also toyed with this idea, but in possibly the most outrageous ways possible: The idea they tossed around was to make use of their fleet of obsolete battleships by ''[[https://naval-encyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pic-Forthefun-WeeklyIllu-TE-NE.png attaching wheels to them and driving them on land]].'' It's not entirely clear if this idea was serious, or meant as a joke or commentary on the terrifying advances made in engines of war, but regardless, the lack of any additional material indicates it wasn't taken seriously by many, if any at all.

** Even better it can ''float'' in water, and goes on to be the party's first global transport. It's not amphibious though; as resident SmartGuy Jade points out it's "just a landship that happens to float on water". It was never really meant to be used as a boat. In fact, by the time you get it, the Tartarus' propulsion systems are so mucked up that it can never travel on land again.

-->-- '''[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Kog da Flymek]]''', pioneer of the Deffkopta

** The Soviet [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-35 T-35]] probably qualifies - a veritable Games Workshop Tank with five turrets, but about as much use as you might expect. This one got into series, though soon canceled as obsolete. It was based on the Earlier British [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_A1E1_Independent A1E1,]] which was about as successful. Nor was the t-35 the only offshoot, for the Russians also built the T-28 and T-100, the British built the Medium Mk I, and Medium Mk III, and even the Germans got in on the act with the Neubaufahrzeug, though having a greater presence of mind, cancelled the idea soon after.
** The Soviet [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-28 T-28,]] nicknamed ''Postivaunu'' (Stagecoach) by Finns in WinterWar. Formidable three-turreted monster, but an abysmal failure in practise.

*** Partly to get around the Montreux Convention and partly because they just did things differently, the Soviet Union built four "aviation cruisers", essentially VTOL aircraft carriers with anti-shipping missiles built in. The VTOL aircraft, the Yak-38 "Forger" was spectacularly poor, and the much better Yak-41 [[WhyWereBummedCommunismFell didn't progress]] [[SuperPrototype beyond the prototype stage]] because of the whole GreatPoliticsMessUp. The current sole Russian carrier, the ''Admiral Kuznetsov'', is also an example, albeit a full-length one with Su-33 fighters on, since it has vertical launchers for heavy anti-ship missiles hidden underneath the flight deck. The Russian Navy currently intends to strip those out and expand the hanger whenever they have the time and money to do a full refit. Its sister ship the ''Liaoning'' is currently the only aircraft carrier in the Chinese Navy, and is classified as a full carrier. Justified as it was not even 70% done by the time of TheGreatPoliticsMessup, and the newly-independent Ukraine sold it to China, who finished the construction minus the anti-ship missiles.

* In 1950's juvenile novels by Ivan Southall starring Australian AcePilot and aviation engineer Simon Black, we have the Firefly 2, a flying boat with rocket propulsion and VTOL helicopter rotors (''Simon Black in Peril'') and the ''Arion'' which is a ground-effect vehicle that's the subject of ''Simon Black at Sea''. The confusion created by this trope is shown when the ''Arion'' is manned by Royal Australian Navy personnel when it's actually an aircraft; it threatens to capsize the moment it leaves the harbor until Simon takes the controls and shows them how it's done.

* Rules for creating environmentally sealed tanks exist in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. There are a few canon tanks that are designed for operating underwater, but it's considered impractical to do so given taht tanks are ''incredibly'' slow underwater. Mostly they're used for duty in contaminated environments.

* In 1950's juvenile novels by Ivan Southall starring Australian AcePilot and aviation engineer Simon Black, we have the Firefly 2, a flying boat with rocket propulsion and VTOL helicopter rotors (''Simon Black in Peril'') and the ''Arion'' which is a ground-effect vehicle that's the subject of ''Simon Black at Sea''. The confusion created by this trope is shown when the ''Arion'' is manned by Royal Australian Navy personnel when it's actually an aircraft; the vessel threatens to capsize the moment it leaves the harbor until Simon Black takes the controls and shows them how it's done.

* In 1950's juvenile novels by Ivan Southall starring Australian AcePilot and aviation engineer Simon Black, we have the Firefly 2, a flying boat with rocket propulsion and VTOL helicopter rotors (''Simon Black in Peril'') and the ''Arion'' which is a ground-effect vehicle that's the subject of ''Simon Black at Sea''. The confusion created by this trope is shown when the ''Arion'' is manned by Royal Australian Navy personnel when (as our hero demonstrates) it's actually an aircraft.

* Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'' had amphibious submersibles.

-->-- '''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Kog da Flymek]]''', pioneer of the Deffkopta

* ''Anime/MaiOtome'' has these as well (and normally used as the launch platforms for the ''Otome's'' themselves), considering the planet where the story takes place is a ''Desert Planet''. Heck even a civilian ferry travels on land.

* Scott Westerfeld's Literature/{{Leviathan}} features Land Frigates, which are essentially actually German Battleships with [[SpiderTank legs]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':

* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug''

* See VideoGame/SupremeCommander's Salem-Class, above.

* ''VideoGame/TalesoftheAbyss'' gives us a literal land dreadnought, the Tartarus.

* ''[[Manga/{{Area88}} U.N. Squadron]]'' - Land carriers are used for a few bosses.

* The screen-filling supertank bosses (called "Think Tanks" in the manual) in ''Iron Tank''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}: Broken Steel'' has the Enclave's Mobile Base Crawler, which is based on a space shuttle transport crawler.

* ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' introduces the M510 Siegework/Ultra-Heavy Mobile Anti-Aircraft Weapons Platform, a.k.a. the Mammoth. It's a three-deck wheeled armored vehicle that features a [[MagneticWeapons magnetic accelerator cannon]] (usually the main gun of spacegoing warships) and crewed rocket turrets on the upper deck and a garage that can carry two Warthogs on the lower deck. It'll also carry a couple platoons of Marines.

* Out of desperation, the Federation forces in ''VideoGame/{{Project Wingman}}'' deploy two of these against you late in the game. They're stated as being shelved prototypes, probably supplanted by the abundance of more versatile airships. Given that you can disable these with a well-placed railgun shot, it's not hard to see why.

* [[Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger Ultimate Daizyujin]]/[[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Ultrazord]]. DescriptionPorn warning: Start with an oversized robot brachiosaurus on wheels. Split the tail into two {{BFG}}s, and put one on each front shoulder. Take a skyscraper-sized robot formed from a robot TyrannosaurusRex, a robot mammoth/mastodon, a robot triceratops, a robot smilodon, and a robot pterosaur, and a robot aquatic dragon. Remove the chest armor and tail from the dragon, and retract its missile-launcher hands into the shoulders. Then tilt the feet around, split it at the middle, and put it on the humanoid robot as armor, making sure to tilt the head crest up. Put the brachiosaur's chestplate (which has several firing barrels) on the humanoid robot's chest, and put its front paws on the humanoid robot as gauntlets. Attach the dragon's tail to the and chestplate to the brachiosaurus in the appropriate spots. Then stand the humanoid robot in a bay in the brachiosaurus' back. Voila. The resulting machine can roll along at a good clip, and packs enough firepower to blow up even the devil.

* The "[=SkyDiver=]" from ''Series/{{UFO}}'' is a submarine whose entire front end is a JATO-boosted rocket plane called Sky One. At need, the [=SkyDiver=] floods its rear ballast tanks until its bow points upward, and Sky One can launch... from ''under water''.

-->-- '''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Kog da Flymek]]''', pioneer of the Deffkopta.

** The Allies have two AwesomePersonnelCarriers: A hovercraft with a machine gun and torpedoes, and an IFV that starts equipped with missiles but changes its armament depending on the infantry loaded inside. And since EnemyExcangeProgram is a big part of the game, there's a different gun for ''every'' infantry unit, inculding animals and heroes.

8 ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' features the ''Alicorn'' in its DLC missions, which is a larger successor to the ''Scinfaxi''-class from ''Ace Combat 5''. ''Alicorn'' is essentially a submarine aircraft carrier ''battleship'', with a pair of powerful railguns that can easily tear any other warship afloat apart, a durable hull that can withstand concentrated attack, a CATOBAR flight deck, capacity for up to thirty aircraft, and a whole mess of drones, missiles, and various smaller defensive guns. [[spoiler: It also has an enormous 600mm L/128 railgun hidden under the flight deck with intercontinental range and the ability to deliver weapons of mass destruction]].