The Heavy Tank M26 Pershing was an American heavy tank briefly used in World War II and in the Korean War. It was named after General John Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War I.
Development of the M26 during World War II was prolonged by a number of factors, the most important being opposition to the tank from Army Ground Forces (AGF). As a result, only the initial 20 M26 (T26E3) tanks deployed to Europe in January 1945 saw combat in World War II. The M26 and its improved derivative, the M46 Patton, both saw more combat in Korea. The M26 was underpowered and mechanically unreliable and so was withdrawn from Korea in 1951, in favor of the M46, which had a more powerful engine. The lineage of the M26 continued with the M47 Patton, and was reflected in the new designs of the later M48 Patton and M60 Patton Combat Tank.
| M26 Pershing | |
|---|---|
| Type | Heavy tank |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1945–early 1950s |
| Wars | World War II, Chinese Civil War, Korean War |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 46 short tons (41.7 t) |
| Length | 20 ft 9.5 in (6.337 m) (turret facing aft) 28 ft 4.5 in (8.649 m) (turret facing forward) |
| Width | 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) |
| Height | 9 ft 1.5 in (2.78 m) |
| Crew | 5 (Commander, Gunner, loader, driver, co-driver) |
| | |
| Main armament | 90mm Gun M3 70 rounds |
| Secondary armament | 2 × Browning .30-06 5,000 rounds 1 × Browning .50 cal. 550 rounds |
| Engine | Ford GAF; 8-cylinder, gasoline 450–500 hp (336–373 kW) |
| Power/weight | 11.9/10.6 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Operational range | 100 mi (160 km) |
| Speed | 25 mph (40 km/h) (road) 5.25 mph (8.4 km/h)(off-road) |
Super Pershing
The 90-mm M3 gun of the Pershing was similar to the German 88 KwK 36 used on the Tiger I. In an effort to match the firepower of the Tiger II's more powerful 88 KwK43, the T15E1 90 gun was developed and mounted in a T26E1 in January 1945. This tank was designated T26E1-1. The T15E1 gun was 73 calibers in length and had a much longer high capacity chamber. This gave it a muzzle velocity of 3,750 ft/s (1,140 m/s) with the T30E16 APCR shot and could penetrate the Panther's frontal armor at up to 2,600 yd (2,400 m). This model used a single piece 50 in (1,300 mm) long ammunition and was the only Super Pershing sent to Europe.
A second pilot tank was converted from a T26E3 and used a modified T15E2 gun that used a two piece ammunition. A total of 25 of these tanks were built and designated as the T26E4. An improved mounting removed the need for stabilizer springs.
Post-war, two M26 tanks had the T54 gun installed, which had the same long gun barrel, but the ammunition cartridge was designed to be shorter and fatter, while still retaining the propellant force of the original round. They also had the muzzle brake and bore evacuator from the M3A1 gun of the M26A1 and M46. The tanks were designated as the M26E1 tank, but lack of funds cut off further production.
