M26 Pershing
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Categories: Cold War tanks of the United States | Heavy tanks | Korean War tanks | World War II tanks of the United States
The Heavy Tank M26 Pershing was an American heavy tank used during World War II and the Korean War. It was named after General John Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I.
HistoryMuch like other armies at the time, the U.S. Army envisioned two main roles for tanks: infantry support and breakthrough exploitation. From 1942 until the end of World War II, both roles were covered in the main by the M4 Sherman, which was better suited for the latter, "cavalry" role. The infantry would have preferred a better protected and better armed vehicle, even at a price of less mobility. In the fall (autumn) of 1942, U.S. Army Ordnance started to work on an "infantry oriented" design which was supposed to be more versatile than the British infantry tanks. During the next two years, various prototypes were built under the designations T20, T22, T23, T25 and T26. These covered a variety of combinations of weapons, transmissions, and suspensions. However, the initial success of the M4 led the Army Ground Forces command to believe that there was no urgent need for a new tank. Even with the appearance of the heavy Tiger and medium Panther tanks, the AGF did not alter its position, believing both tanks would be fielded in relatively small numbers. AGF was correct about the Tiger, a specialized heavy tank that was never encountered in large numbers. The Panther, first encountered in small numbers at Anzio, however, was built in very large numbers and formed half the German tank strength in Normandy. Also, according to the Army doctrine of the time, tanks were not supposed to engage other tanks; this was the remit of tank destroyers, more mobile armored vehicles with powerful guns, such as the M10 Wolverine. As a result, the development of the new tank was slow. When the Allies invaded western Europe during Operation Overlord in June 1944, the M4 still formed the bulk of their tank units. It quickly became clear that the tank destroyer doctrine failed in the field and that the upgunned Sherman was unable to engage the Panther on equal terms. Efforts were made to speed up development but the tank, by now called the T26 and dubbed Pershing, only reached the battlefield in February 1945 and saw very little action in WWII. In May 1946, due to changing conceptions of the US Army's tank needs, the M26 was reclassified as medium. Designed as a heavy tank, the Pershing was a significant upgrade from the M4 Sherman in terms of firepower and protection. On the other hand, its mobility was unsatisfactory for a medium tank (it used the same engine that powered the M4A3, which was some ten tons lighter) and its transmission was somewhat unreliable. In 1948, the M26E2 version was developed with a new powerpack. Eventually the new version was redesignated as the M46 General Patton. Thus the M26 became a base of the Patton tank series, which replaced it in early 1950s. The M47 Patton was an M46 Patton with a new turret, while the later M48 Patton and M60 Patton were completely new tank designs. Combat historyWorld War IIImage:8th M26.jpg
US 8th Armored Division M26
The M26 was a long time in development and only just reached combat status during WW2. A small number were brought across to Europe under the Zebra Technical Mission which included tanks, spares and military and civilian observers. They were assigned to General Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group and split between the 3rd and 9th Armored Division. They first saw combat in February 1945. The first Pershing loss was on 28 February to a Tiger but it was recovered and put back into operation. Ten Pershing tanks were assigned to the 9th Armored Division, which was among the first to reach the Rhine River as American forces surged toward Germany. With American armor fast approaching, Nazi war planners sought to thwart - or at least delay - the advance by dynamiting major bridges spanning the river. When word reached the 9th Armored Division that the bridge at Remagen near the village of Ludendorf was still passable, they knew they'd need to act quickly and decisively. On March 7, 1945, the 9th Armored arrived at the bridge, securing it as a strategic foothold across the Rhine. Of the ten Pershing tanks attached to the 9th armored, only three made it to the bridge; of thse three tanks, only one survives and is on permanent exhibition at the Wright Museum of WWII History in Wolfeboro, N.H.
Image:KoreanWar NK capture3.JPG
Captured Pershing on display at a North Korean museum in Pyongyang.
Two M26A1E2 tanks were built during the Second World War. One of these made it to the ETO, assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. This experimental version of the Pershing, sometimes referred to as "Super Pershing" (as are other upgunned Pershing variants), had the 90 mm/70 caliber T15E1 high-velocity gun that threw a projectile at 3,850 ft/s (1,173 m/s). This gun could penetrate 216mm of rolled homogeneous armor at a range of 1000yd/914m against armor angled at 30 degrees [2]. At a range of 100yd/91.4m, it can penetrate 330mm vs RHA angled at 30 degrees[3]. *On April 4, 1945 near Dessau, the "Super Pershing" destroyed one King Tiger by striking its underbelly and knocked out another tank, probably a Panther, with a shot to its flank [4]. However, that was its only known combat engagement. Thus, the full capabilities of the T15E1 90 mm main gun were never demonstrated. The 3AD Super Pershing was actually the T26E1 pilot tank. This tank while assigned to Task Force Wellborn destroyed at least 3 tanks, including the King Tiger at Dassau. This is according to John Irwin, gunner of the Super Pershing in his book, Another River, Another Town. KoreaImage:US-tanks-korea.jpg
Pershing tanks of the 73rd Heavy Tank Battalion at the Pusan Docks, Korea.
The M26 also saw service in the Korean War, although few armored units were sent because the initial response from battlefield commanders was "Korea isn't good tank country." The official US Army history states a number of M26s were pulled from pedestals at Fort Knox, where they had been WWII memorials. The Pershing and its derivative M46 were credited with almost half of the North Korean T-34s destroyed by the US Armored Corps. The M4A3E8, whose anti-tank performance was improved thanks to availability of the HVAP shells, is responsible for most of the remainder. Variants
Former OperatorsSee also
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