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M26 Pershing
US Army photo
Type	Medium/heavy tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1945–early 1950s
Wars	World War II, Korean War
Specifications
Weight	41.9 tonnes
Length	6.33/8.65 m
Width	3.51 m
Height	2.78 m
Crew	5 (Commander, Gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)
Armor	25 mm to 110 mm
Primary armament	90 mm 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 500/450 hp (373/336 kW)
Power/weight	11.9/10.6 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	161 (road) km
Speed	40 km/h (road) 8.5 km/h (off-road)

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.

Contents 1 History 2 Combat history 2.1 World War II 2.2 Korea 3 Variants 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Much 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 northern 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.

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.

An ordnance officer at the Combat Command (brigade) level in the 3rd Armored Division during World War II, Belton Y. Cooper, wrote a memoir about his experience. According to Cooper, ten Pershings were sent to the 3rd Armored Division beginning in February 1945. He claims they would have been sent sooner, had General George S. Patton not intervened. Patton favored the Sherman tank, contending it would require less gasoline and had better mobility. At the time Patton expressed his opinion, the inferiority of the Sherman's main gun and armor protection had yet to be demonstrated. Cooper's memoir offers no substantiation for his statement and it may well be apocryphal. The accusation has been disputed by Charles Baily who says, [1]:

While researching the development of the M26, this author examined the records of the Ordnance Department, Army Service Forces, Army Ground Forces, War Department G-4, and European Theater of Operations. There is nothing in those records associating George S. Patton with the development, production, or introduction of the M26.

Overall, the Pershing was considered roughly equal in performance to the Panther. In the first engagement with the M26 by the 3rd Armored Division, Cooper writes that the M26 managed to catch two Tigers and one Panzer IV tank by surprise from a flanking position. The M26 engaged the tanks from a range of about 1000 yards (1 km), and knocked them out.

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.

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 the only American tanks employed in Korea that were better armed than the North Korean T-34/85 (but not the only ones in the UN forces) and were credited with almost half of 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.

• M26 (T26E3). M3 gun with double-baffle muzzle brake. Main production model.
• M26A1. M3A1 gun with bore evacuator and single-baffle muzzle brake.
• M26A1E2. Experimental version armed with a longer T15E1/E2 gun.
• M26E1, T26E4. Longer gun, single-part ammunition.
• M26E2. New engine and transmission and M3A1 gun. Ended up as the M46 Patton.
• T26E2, eventually standardized for use as the Heavy Tank M45 — a close support vehicle with a 105 mm howitzer (74 rounds).
• T26E5. Prototype with thicker armor — a maximum of 279 mm.
• M26A2. Not an actual design, just a drawing of a T26E3 with 150 mm armor, the 105 mm gun and 750hp engine of the M60 Patton and M48 Patton, with the double-baffle muzzle brake retained.

• 240 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T92
• Centurion, the equivalent British tank of the same period.
• List of "M" series military vehicles

• Belton Y. Cooper - Death Traps, Presidio Press, 1998, Novato, California, ISBN 0-89141-670-6.
• Steven J Zaloga, Tony Bryan, Jim Laurier - M26–M46 Pershing Tank 1943–1953, 2000 Osprey Publishing (New Vanguard 35), ISBN 1-84176-202-4.
• A D Coox - Staff Memorandum US armor in the antitank role, Korea, 1950' ORO-S-45.
• R. P. Hunnicutt - Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series, Feist Publications 1996, ISBN 1-112-95450-3.

• AFV Database
• Armour Reference Articles
• OnWar specifications
• WWII Vehicles
• M26 Pershing prototypes and variants at ww2photo.mimerswell.com

v • d • e American armored fighting vehicles of World War II
Light tanks	M2 Light Tank • M3/M5 Stuart • M22 Locust • M24 Chaffee • Marmon-Herrington CTLS
Medium and heavy tanks	M2 Medium Tank • M3 Lee • M4 Sherman • M26 Pershing
Self-propelled artillery	M7 Priest • M8 Scott • M12 Gun Motor Carriage • M40 Gun Motor Carriage • M3 Gun Motor Carriage • M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage • M5 Gun Motor Carriage • T34 Calliope
Tank destroyers	M6 Fargo • M10 Wolverine • M18 Hellcat • M36 Jackson
Armored half-tracks	M2 Half Track Car • M3/M5 Half Track Personnel Carrier • M4 Mortar Carrier • T30 Half Track
Amphibious vehicles	Landing Vehicle Tracked • DUKW
Armored cars	M8 Greyhound • M3 Scout Car 'White' • M20 Armored Utility Car • T17 Deerhound / Staghound • T18 Boarhound
Experimental vehicles	M38 Wolfhound • T1/M6 Heavy Tank • T-28 Tank/T-95 GMC • Assault Tank T14 • Heavy Tank T29 • Heavy Tank T30 • Medium Tank T20 • T7 Combat Car T-16 • T-3 Half Track • T27 • T54 Gun Motor Carriage • T40/M9 Tank Destroyer • T-19 • 8in Howitzer Motor Carriage T84 • T92 Howitzer Motor Carriage • T55E1 Motor Carriage • Light Tank T7/Medium Tank M7 • T88 Gun Motor Carriage
American armored fighting vehicle production during World War II