The world’s only surviving German A7V Sturmpanzerwagen tank from World War I is preserved at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia. To protect this rare vehicle from dust, humidity, and other environmental damage, it is displayed inside a sealed protective enclosure. Known as A7V “Mephisto,” this extraordinary vehicle is the only surviving example of Germany’s only operational tank design from the First World War. Germany built just 20 A7V tanks during the conflict, a tiny production run compared with the thousands of tanks fielded by Britain and France. The A7V entered combat in 1918 and weighed about 33 tons, requiring a crew of up to 18 men. Equipped with a 57 mm cannon and several machine guns, it was designed to smash through enemy defenses, but frequent mechanical problems and poor cross-country performance limited its effectiveness. Mephisto also took part in the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux on April 24, 1918, the first battle in history in which tanks fought directly against other tanks. During the fighting, German A7Vs clashed with British Mark IV tanks, marking the beginning of tank-versus-tank warfare. The tank became stranded in a shell crater near Villers-Bretonneux, France, in July 1918. Under the cover of darkness, Australian troops carried out a carefully planned operation to recover the abandoned vehicle despite the threat of German artillery. After the war, Mephisto was shipped to Australia as a war trophy and eventually became one of the Queensland Museum’s most treasured artifacts. Today, Mephisto is preserved inside a transparent protective enclosure that shields it from dust, humidity changes, and other environmental contaminants while allowing visitors an unobstructed view. As the world’s only surviving A7V, it remains an exceptionally rare link to the earliest days of armored warfare.(Historic Vids)