Deep wading or deep fording is a technique that semi-amphibious tanks use in order to cross water, several meters deep. The vehicle is fully sunk and uses a tube or snorkel in order for air to be transferred inside the tank.
The fully amphibious vehicles are just floating in the water surface.
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Βγάζει μπροστά τα Leopard! Η Άγκυρα δημιουργεί δύο «νέες» τεθωρακισμένες ταξιαρχίες με εκσυγχρονισμένα άρματα μάχης για δράση προς κάθε κατεύθυνση
NATO and Russia
The snorkel of the NATO vehicles are most of the time wide enough to fit the crew in emergency. The snorkel is located in the turret (in the majority of the vehicles) and it's carrier by a support vehicle. Leopard 2 for example uses a tube that is being assembled from small rings, has a height of 3 meters, and it's located in the commander's hatch.
The modern Soviet and Russian tanks (from the '60s and after) can deeply wade with small snorkels, wide enough only to transfer air to the crew. The fully submerging of the vehicle isn't very popular, as the crew has no escape ext in an emergency. In such occasions, the vehicle must be towed to the nearest land point, before the crew can exit with safety. Such incidents have resulted in a few official deaths! Although, in military exercises, Russia uses snorkels big enough to fit crew members.
