On 17 September 1986, prime minister Margaret Thatcher posed for one of the most enduring images of her premiership during a visit to British troops in West Germany.

The photo opportunity came as Thatcher attended Nato exercises at Fallingbostel, near Hamburg. Wearing a headscarf, goggles, ear protectors, leather gloves and a white mackintosh, Thatcher rode in the turret of a Challenger main battle tank.

The piece of Cold War political theatre extended to her West German counterpart, Helmut Kohl, who rode alongside Thatcher in a German Leopard tank.

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During her visit to the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), Thatcher observed gunnery demonstrations involving tanks and helicopters. She then climbed aboard Britain’s main battle tank and, according to a contemporary news report, “laid the Challenger’s one hundred and twenty millimetre gun on her target, the blackened hulk of an old burnt-out tank.”

The prime ministerial markswoman scored a 1000-yard direct hit.

The BBC news report stated: “It was a dead shot, a direct hit. Chancellor Kohl scored a hit too at the controls of a German Leopard tank.”

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Asked if she wanted a second go, the prime minister responded: “No, with a 100% record I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”

She added: “I was very relieved when we hit the target. It would have been terrible if we hadn’t in front of all the people.”

Thatcher and Kohl later held a joint press conference to express the solidarity of the Anglo-German alliance within Nato. Kohl said the British military presence in West Germany demonstrated that “freedom and liberty cannot be obtained for nothing”.

Thatcher was asked whether, “after her experience today, she thinks that women would make good frontline soldiers for the British Army in Germany.”

She responded: “Women are part of our Armed Forces – they are a vital part. We are very grateful to them, and I am sure, after today, you would approve of having a woman prime minister who, after all, has to make some very difficult decisions should things ever get problematic.”

One journalist put it to Thatcher and Kohl that the day’s events could be seen as a “sabre-rattling provocation” by the Soviet sphere of influence.

The prime minister responded: “No. That is nonsense, absolute nonsense.”

Kohl added: “I can only agree with the prime minister.”

The visit may well have marked the peak of the Thatcher-Kohl relationship, which was generally marked by mutual aversion.

Christopher Mallaby, Britain’s ambassador to Germany from 1988 to 1992, later described Kohl and Thatcher’s relationship as “very bad”.

He told German publication Der Spiegel: “It was a question of personal chemistry. They didn’t naturally enjoy each other’s company.”

Thatcher took a tough stance on German reunification – to say the least. “We do not want a united Germany”, she once told Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

“This would lead to a change to postwar borders, and we cannot allow that because such a development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security.”

She remarked upon the fall of the Berlin Wall: “We beat the Germans twice, and now they’re back”.

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The images of Thatcher emerging from the tank turret, in command of a piece of heavy military hardware, became a famous expression of her “Iron Lady” persona.

The Daily Telegraph described the image projected by Thatcher as “a cross between Isadora Duncan and Lawrence of Arabia”.

The stunt is considered a landmark moment on the Conservative Party’s journey to victory at the 1987 general election.

Subsequent tank-themed attempts by politicians to appear resolute have shown that Thatcher’s success was no small feat.

Indeed, Thatcher’s militaristic photo opportunity may have inadvertently shot down Michael Dukakis’ 1988 US presidential campaign. Inspired by the success of Thatcher’s stunt, Dukakis appeared atop an M1 Abrams tank during his ill-fated tenure as the Democratic candidate for president.

The Dukakis campaign’s tank ride moment was a spectacular failure.

Thatcher’s choice of headwear, a mere headscarf, had contributed to the iconic image. Dukakis was ridiculed by the American media for donning a protective helmet – as required by protocol.

A subsequent US opinion poll found 25% of respondents said they were less likely to support Dukakis because of the tank ride.

Come the general election, the Democratic presidential candidate carried only 10 states and the District of Columbia. Republican George H. W. Bush was duly elected the 41st president of the United States.

Thatcher’s photograph reinforced the strengths of her political image. For Dukakis, the same stunt (not withstanding headwear regulations) highlighted his vulnerabilities as a presidential candidate.

Dukakis, hoping to park his proverbial and literal tank on Republican lawns, exposed himself to attacks that he was unsuitable for the post of commander-in-chief. Bush and his ruthless campaign operation seized on the image.

Reputation matters immensely in political communication, of course. One premier’s iconic image is another politician’s career-defining gaffe.

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Liz Truss, during her tenure as foreign secretary, sought to channel Thatcher with a tank-themed photo-op in war-torn Ukraine. It formed part of her attempt to cultivate an “iron” media image. Truss performed strongly in surveys of grassroots Tories during this period; she even, briefly, emerged as prime minister.

The tank ride was a signal of Truss’ ambition.

Despite her martial posturing, Truss was ultimately vanquished by a bewigged leaf vegetable. For better or worse, her tank picture did not prove career-defining (or -ending).

Kemi Badenoch, elected Conservative leader in November 2024, has also been captured emerging from a tank turret.