The M26 Pershing was an American heavy tank, which entered service in 1944. It saw combat action in Europe in 1945, at the end of World War II, as well as in the Korean War. It was developed between 1942 and 1944, replacing the weak and ineffectual M4 Sherman.
The M26 Pershing was the first US Army tank fitted with a powerful gun, the 90-mm M3, which could match the German 8.8 cm gun. It had a high muzzle velocity (860 m/s); thus, it was capable of piercing the thick armor of the German Tiger I and Panther tanks. To fight against enemy tanks, it used armor piercing ammunition, and high explosive rounds were used when firing at soft targets.
The M26 was manufactured by the Detroit Tank Plant and the Fisher Tank Arsenal between 1944 and 1945, with a total of 2,205 tanks built. During the development process, the prototypes designations were T20, T23, T25, and T26E1/2/3/4/5, which was officially designated by the US Army as the M26 Pershing, in honor of the American General John J. Pershing. This heavy tank would see intense combat action in the Korean War (1950-1953). The M26 was also employed the US Marine Corps. Although it is considered as a heavy tank, with a combat weight of 44 tons, it is much lighter than today’s main battle tank, with the M1 Abrams weighing 60 tons.
M26 Specifications (26E3 version)
Weight: 42 tons
Length: 6.33 m
Width: 3.51 m
Armor: 102mm-thick (glacis and turret front); 200mm (mantlet)
Armament: 90mm M3/M54, with muzzle brake, with 70 rounds; two .30 (7.62mm) M1919 machine guns, one in turret, the other in front hull; one .50 Browning machine gun on top of turret.
Power plant: Ford GAF, 8 cylinder gasoline engine, delivering 500 hp.
Maximum speed: 25 mph on road.
Below, M26 Pershing right out of the factory
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