Heavy tank T26E1 Super Pershing. T26E4 SuperPershing: crooked American dream Is a super pershing tank good?

In the game...

Lately I’ve been hearing more and more often that this tank doesn’t farm, is sad and can’t live without gold. For this reason I would like to say a few words subjective opinion in favor of the T26E4 as the premium tier 8 tank in our game. I would like to consider him from two aspects - firstly, a farmer of credits, and secondly, a tank for fun, a tank capable of miracles in battle, even in random conditions today. In addition, upgrading the crew for US medium tanks has never been superfluous to me personally.

Although this specimen is a representative of medium tanks in the game, it can rather be classified as heavy. A kind of transitional option. Therefore, for myself personally, the only main competitors of Super Persha would be the premium TT lvl 8 – IS-6 and Lowe. And then, Lowe does not have a preferential level of battles, accordingly it balances it even for 10s. This means that his good penetration of the BB will give a full advantage only in the top, but if he gets to the bottom of the list there is no, and he will have to fork out for gold or sweat with the penetration. Which of course does not detract from its other charms.

What about T26E4... Super Pershing balances out at level 8-9 battles. This means that with its modest penetration of 171 mm armor-piercing, we will not be lucky enough to meet Mouse in battle. But even without this, we have enough adventures. This gun makes you think about every shot, which is certainly useful. Such a modest penetration will bring a lot of “joy” when targeting hatches and weak spots, but the accuracy and speed of the gun allow you to independently pull out battles from the deepest places. Yes, the T26E4 does not have good dynamics, and it is not as fast as the researchable Pershing... but it has good screens, this is especially felt by the turret and airborne. It is strictly forbidden to tank with sides and expose rollers. But through the tower on maps with hilly terrain and through rubble on urban maps, it shows very good tanking, in particular against dangerous Soviet anti-tank missiles, accustomed to firing HE shells. He is able to work wonders by holding back projectiles with the gun's mantlet. At least lately after many people got their hands on it by doing combat missions, and the players in the random game are more accustomed to its features, they know where it breaks through (the rocket launcher on the turret, the turret control hatch, and the virtually completely defenseless hull and turret at the back and side). Still, it can severely disappoint the enemy by hiding weak points - for example, the rocket launcher when leaving to the left of the shelter, the body when taking a position on the hill. With the right playstyle and control over the situation, he is capable of holding the entire flank, including level nine tanks. Of course, if you don’t make mistakes and FBR will be on your side. And in such battles (even without a premium account), you can use it to earn from 25 to 60 thousand credits of net earnings per battle! With a bonus, with a beautiful fight, the amount of net earnings sometimes exceeds 100 thousand!

If farming is not important to you, you can load sub-caliber shells with a penetration of 259 mm! In this case, your DPM (1757 if without a rammer) will not be exchanged for non-penetration - the same Lowe can be sewn not only in the NLD as armor-piercing, but also with complete peace of mind in the VLD, the cheeks of the turret, especially without aiming. And according to the results of a normal battle, you will go to zero. Personally, I prefer to load mostly AP, leaving only up to 10 sub-calibers for especially critical situations where there is no room for non-penetration.

Its 1450 HP will also help you live longer, being reinforced by actually nice armored screens, which, however, are responsible for the weight, which has such a negative effect on the dynamics. True, while the armor in the front of the hull is 177 mm, the side and rear seem like cardboard in comparison - only 76 and 50 mm, respectively.

The main enemies of Super Persha, it’s not hard to guess - tanks with strong armor, in fact, the majority of heavy tanks of levels 9 and 8, and of course everyone’s favorite artillery, the shells of which hit us very well. Moreover, if the Soviet heavy weights with their accuracy and weak points You can still endure and win both at a distance and in the clinch, but the Germans are more unpleasant in this regard. Their NLD and turret cheeks are often at unfavorable angles and your duel turns into “beaters” without causing damage to each other, you have to charge gold shells.

The equipment that a tank needs to improve the comfort of the game is undoubtedly the Rammer, Aiming Drives, and the third I chose was the Horizontal Aiming Stabilizer. This is the most rational solution, since ventilation will not give you the same advantage as a more accurate weapon.

As for the skills for the crew, there is a classic arrangement. The first is the Sixth Sense bulb for the commander and Repair for the crew. Next - everything is on cross-country ability and stabilization. Example of the second perks: Repair, Smooth turret rotation, Off-Road King, Radio interception, Non-contact ammunition rack.

In history...

The tank is one of the experimental T20 series tanks that were created during World War II. The main goal The design was to create a vehicle with sufficient firepower to withstand German armor. The 90mm Pershing M3 gun was similar to the German KwK 36 88mm that was used on the Tiger I.

In an effort to match the firepower of the Royal Tiger with its more powerful 88mm KwK43 gun, the T15E1 90mm gun was developed and installed in January 1945 on the T26E1 tank. This tank was named T26E1-1. The T15E1 gun had separate loading and characteristics allowing it to develop a muzzle velocity of 1140 m/s, which made it possible to penetrate the frontal armor of the Panther from an impressive distance of up to 2400 m.

The second prototype was converted from the T26E3 and used a modified T15E2 gun. The frontal armor of the hull and turret was raised to 178 mm with armor plates. Improvements in design have eliminated the need for stabilizer springs. The T26E3 test tank was standardized as the M26 Pershing, equipped with a standard 90mm gun. The T26E4 version was a later experiment and was developed in early 1945, also replacing the T26E3 gun with a more powerful and faster 90 mm gun.

The Super Pershing was so unlucky with the timing of its creation that the first tank reached Europe only at the end of the war. The war ended before he could meet any German tanks. And at the end of the war, the production batch was reduced from 1000 to only 25 tanks and they were produced under the T26E4 Super Pershing marking. On at the moment Only a few of them have survived.

After the war, two M26 tanks were equipped with the T54 gun, which had the same long barrel, and the ammunition was designed to be shorter and thicker, while maintaining the same muzzle velocity. They also had it installed muzzle brake from the M3A1 cannon mounted on M26A1 and M46 tanks. The vehicles were named M26E1, but due to lack of funds, further production was stopped.

Production and characteristics:

Weight: 48 tons
Produced: 25
Year of manufacture: 1945
Engine: Ford GAF V8 water cooling, 500 hp
Gas tank capacity: 183 gallons
Speed: 30 km/h
Distance: 150 kilometers
Crew: 5 – Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Gunner

Weapons:

1x 90mm main gun
1 x 50 caliber machine gun
2 30 caliber machine guns

– a tank with a difficult fate and a dubious reputation. Some people dote on him, some consider him a machine for suffering, and some at one time even sold him for gold and crossed himself. But what’s surprising is that this tank, although controversial, is very often found in random games. And many players ask the question about the advisability of purchasing this machine. This means that there is a demand for the joint venture, and, despite all its oddities, it somehow attracts players.

The Curve of SuperPershing's Fate

Premium medium tank Level VIII has a difficult fate in our game, in which there were ups and downs. This tank was rolled out for supertest back in update 7.4.1 (summer 2012), in update 7.5 it was finally configured and put on sale, and already in update 8.6. (exactly one year after 7.4.1) the car was removed from sale. The reason for this is simple - the tank caused a lot of discontent among the players who bought it, and the question of the uselessness of such a tank was very often raised.

Moreover, many players demanded that WG return the gold spent on the purchase of the joint venture. And in update 8.8 such an opportunity was provided - those who wanted to get rid of an unsuccessful car did so to their advantage. At the same time, the developers resorted to a trick - they simultaneously improved the tank’s armor (as well as maneuverability, visibility, accuracy and strength), thereby trying to attract attention to it, but the change was insignificant and had no effect. And in the same update it was put back on sale.

Since then, the car has been sold again, but the flow of dissatisfaction with it, if it has decreased, is not by much. And in the latest update 9.8 it was transferred to HD quality while simultaneously reworking the armor protection. Undoubtedly, the tank has become more beautiful, but there has been no dramatic improvement in its gaming characteristics.

So tricky and difficult fate The explanation of the tank is very simple - all you need to do is take a closer look at its parameters and features.

Firepower

The gun is perhaps the main disappointment of the tank. Judge for yourself - its penetration with a basic projectile is only 171 mm, this is the worst result among premium Tier VIII STs! For comparison, the penetration of a gun with a basic projectile is as much as 212 mm.

However, the joint venture’s weapon is also its pride. True, it’s too expensive, and therefore upsetting. The fact is that its sub-caliber shells have a penetration of 259 mm, which is more than enough to confidently inflict damage on the vast majority of enemies encountered. This may not seem like enough, but we need to remember that our patient has a preferential level of fighting, and therefore he does not get into the top ten (although he may feel relatively confident there too).

Yes, we almost forgot: the vehicle is equipped with a 90 mm Gun T15E1 cannon, which in its characteristics is very close to the top gun of a regular upgraded Pershing. The gun has an accuracy of 0.38 m/100 m (for a linear tank - 0.37), an aiming time of 2.3 seconds and a DPM of 1757 points (for a linear tank these characteristics are similar). At the same time, the gun has excellent (and typical for “Americans”) vertical aiming angles within the range of -10 +20 degrees.

In general, this weapon is quite complex and uncomfortable (with the exception of its declination angles); in the BB, it uncertainly penetrates even “classmates”, and in gold it negates all farming opportunities.

Dilemma: farm on BB or bend on BP

Hello tankers! Today we will talk about pharmaceutical combinations, or rather about one of them. In front of you is a level 8 car. A vehicle whose armor is more than excellent. A machine against which landmines are absolutely nothing. A car that only in name refers to ST. And the reservation of which many of the TTs would like. Meet the T26E4 SuperPershing:

Premium car. This means only one thing - you can’t buy it with loans. The price of this miracle is 7,200 units. gold. No need to farm credits, pay and play. Here are some of the most important advantages of premium technology:

The machine is fully equipped (no need to pump anything)
Reduced level of fighting
The crew comes from other vehicles of this class (no need to retrain)
Increased income ratio
For the sake of the latter, most often prem. equipment and buy.

Well, now let's move on to disassembling the car.

Crew

You are a level 8 vehicle, so I advise you to start playing right away with a crew trained to 100%. Here you can also achieve this in two ways, but they will be slightly different from the usual ones. So here they are:

If you haven’t had American STs before or you want your own crew here, then train a new one for gold. It will cost 200*5=1000 units. gold.
If there were or are American STs, then simply transfer from them. There is no need to retrain, this crew is excellent. The car will still work 100% without penalty. You will transfer it to the vehicle in which you will go into battle. In short, there will be one crew for 2 cars.

Some people find the second option convenient, others don’t. In any case, the choice is before you.

Equipment

There is no point in considering the research branch because... there is nothing to explore there. But I will focus on a more detailed examination of each module.

The turret rotation speed is 24 degrees/s. This is quite enough for comfortable game. Reservation is quite good + there are screens. There is truth vulnerable spot, but more on that later.

Our weapon is typical for ST. We shoot quickly, accurately, but do little damage. Armor penetration for the ST gun is, in principle, normal, but it won’t work to butt heads with the TT. I will only note that armor penetration with gold shells is very high for level 8.

The turning speed of the chassis is more than good. Under our maximum speed quite enough.

The engine is weak, we reach a maximum speed of 30 km/h. But they didn’t give us anything else, so we’ll have to go with what we have.

The radio station is good, even more than good. On level 10 tanks they set 750, but we have 745. We draw conclusions and rejoice. For successful game you need to see what is happening on another part of the map.

Pros and cons:

Excellent frontal armor
Accurate, fast-firing weapon
Projectiles fly very fast

Weak armor on the sides and stern
Low speed

Balance weight:

As can be seen from the table, we find ourselves at levels 8 - 9 of battles. Playing on 8, and even on 9, is comfortable. It’s always comfortable to play on premium equipment, that’s why it’s premium =)

Tactics

Well, this is where things get complicated. We are not TT, although you can play it too. Not ST, not enough speed. We don't know what. You can play in TT supporting other heavyweights, but you can also play in ST. In the case of the ST, we will be much more comfortable because the ST has less gun penetration and, accordingly, it is very difficult to penetrate us. But the TTs, not all of them of course, but some of them will attack us quite steadily, and we with our guns from the ST will only be able to bite them a little. It’s quite difficult to circle us, so in my opinion, it would be more correct to play in ST. So what if we don’t have enough speed? Well, we’ll drive longer... The only thing you need to think about is not to drive too far from the base. Suddenly there will be a need to return.

Additional equipment:

Vertical stabilizer Mk1 (500,000 credits)
Medium caliber gun rammer (200,000 credits)
Optics (500,000 credits), reinforced aiming drives (500,000 credits) or fan (150,000 credits) - at your discretion.

Equipment:

As always everything is standard

Repair kit
First aid kit
Fire extinguisher

Instead of the latter, you can put oil.

Crew Perks:

Commander

Repair
Sixth sense
Combat brotherhood

Gunner

Repair
Smooth rotation of the tower
Combat brotherhood

Driver mechanic

Repair
King of off-road
Combat brotherhood

Charging

Repair
Desperate
Combat brotherhood

Repair
Inventor
Combat brotherhood,

And finally, the most delicious:

Profitability

Here is the profitability table for 20 fights with PA and gasoline. For a tank with a price of 7,200 gold, more than good)))

Vulnerabilities

Orange - commander, gunner, loader
Red - engine, tanks, transmission
Green - easily penetrated areas
White - ammunition rack
Blue - driver mechanic.

T26e4 super pershing. How to play this premium tier 8 tank, where is the best way to go to bring maximum benefit and is it worth buying? Which perks to pump out first, and which ones to leave for later. There is no need to upgrade the modules since it is premium and can only be obtained for gold or through a promotion.

I skated about 700 battles on the Super Pershing (T26E4) and from experience I will say that the tank turned out to be more or less normal, the gun is certainly not imbued, but it has good penetration, reloading average damage is a little over 230, about the same as the caliber is 90 mm, but you need to have 6 with you -7 sub-caliber shells since the vehicle does not have a preferential level of combat and therefore it is often thrown into the nines and tens.

Advantages of the tank:

Good frontal armor.
A good gun with subcaliber penetration.
Preferential level of battles.
Fast crew upgrades and increased silver rewards for battles.

Flaws

The engine does not support such a vehicle and is frankly too weak for a tank.
Quite a small amount of damage caused by projectiles.
Stabilization could have been better.
Although the armor on the forehead is strong, it has many places where one can penetrate if a person knows them.
The dispersion of the gun is quite high.
Among the perks for the crew, first of all, you need to pump in the light bulb for the commander, the gunner and the rest for repairs. You also need to buy a rammer, stabilizer and aiming drives as equipment.

Super Pershing (T26E4) breaks through to the places indicated in the photo below.

I'll be honest that I don't knowledgeable person it will be difficult to cope with this tank

Which perks to pump out first of course? military brotherhood as well as repairing a light bulb for the commando. Leave everything else for later.

See below for a video of how the machine farms and where it hits.

t26e4-super-pershing-obzor

Heavy Tank T26E1-1 (T26E4)
"Super Pershing"

Main Features

Briefly

Details

6.3 / 6.3 / 6.3 BR

5 people Crew

105% Visibility

forehead / side / stern Booking

101 / 76 / 51 cases

101 / 76 / 76 towers

Mobility

49.9 tons Weight

954 l/s 500 l/s Engine power

19 hp/t 10 hp/t specific

42 km/h forward
13 km/h back40 km/h forward
12 km/h back Speed

Armament

42 rounds of ammunition

10 first-stage shells

12.5 / 16.2 sec recharge

10° / 20° UVN

1,000 rounds of ammunition

8.0 / 10.4 sec recharge

200 shells clip size

577 rounds/min rate of fire

10° / 70° UVN

60° / 60° UGN

4,500 rounds of ammunition

8.0 / 10.4 sec recharge

250 shells clip size

500 rounds/min rate of fire

Economy

Description

T26E1-1 "Super Pershing" in the game

The Heavy Tank T26E4 was an American attempt to qualitatively improve the armament of the serial M26, bringing it to the level of the “Royal Tiger”. After installing a new long-barreled 90 mm gun, combat power The tank's capacity actually increased significantly, but numerous problems caused by the overweight of the vehicle and the inconvenience of loading longer cartridges led to the fact that with the end of the war, interest in this project completely died out.

The tank, called "Super Pershing", became the first prototype of the T26E4, and before that was the first prototype of the regular M26, which is why its original designation T26E1-1, which was officially changed to T26E4 shortly after the tank was re-equipped. The same tank, after being re-equipped with a new gun, was sent to Europe to test its combat qualities. It was there that he acquired additional armor and his big name. Unlike all subsequent T26E4s, which were armed with the T15E2 guns with separate loading, the T26E1-1 was armed with an earlier version of the T15E1 gun using unitary ammunition.

Taking into account the first two prototypes, a total of 27 T26E4 tanks were built, most of which were later used as targets for test firing.

Main Features

Armor protection and survivability

Front screens

Frontal reservation scheme

Side and stern reservation scheme

Compared to the regular M26, the T26E1-1 heavy tank has become somewhat more protected.

Structural steel sheets welded on top of the frontal armor plates of the hull actually only slightly increase the overall armor resistance of the tank, but due to their spaced arrangement, they increase the likelihood of an enemy projectile ricocheting. The total thickness of the VLD, together with these sheets, increases from 101 to approximately 139 mm of non-monolithic spaced armor. The NLD on the T26E1-1 also gets the bonus of 38mm spaced armor, bringing its overall thickness to approximately 114mm.
The gun mantlet of the modified tank received a much more interesting “slap”. To the standard 114 mm cast armor, an 80 mm rolled armor plate cut from the frontal part of the German Panther was added, which brought the total protection of this section of the Super Pershing to 194 mm. At the same time, in some places the tank's mantlet overlaps the main armor of the turret, which adds another 101 mm of cast armor in the path of unsuccessfully fired enemy shells. On the sides of the gun mantlet, additional 38-mm sheets of structural steel are welded and added there as counterweights, which also slightly increase the side armor of the turret, and sometimes can even serve as ersatz anti-cumulative shields.

The side armor of the tank, on the contrary, has not undergone any changes. Most of the sides of the Super Pershing hull are covered with standard 76 mm sheets towards the stern, thinning to 50 mm. The turret is covered with 76 mm armor on all sides except the forehead, but the rear part of the aft niche is partially covered by a 100 mm thick turret counterweight made of structural steel.

The thickness of the hull roof reaches 22 mm, and the turret is 25 mm, which provides good protection from most aviation machine guns and guns of caliber up to 20 mm.

In game conditions, additional armor saves the Super Pershing quite often, especially if you expose only the turret’s forehead to enemy attack, avoiding rolling out from behind cover with your entire hull at once. Additional protection for the tank is provided by the enemy's frequent confusion at the sight of such a heavily shielded vehicle. As a result of such confusion, most often the enemy tries to penetrate the T26E1-1 into the most protected place, that is, into the gun mantlet, since upon a quick inspection the mantlet appears to be the least inclined part of its frontal projection.

Despite the advantages described above, in battle it is always important to remember that the Super Pershing is still not a full-fledged heavy tank, and therefore its armor is noticeably inferior to the same T29 and T34, having a considerable number of vulnerable zones. Yes, with a successful combination of circumstances, the “Royal Tiger” will not be able to penetrate the “Super Pershing” on the move, but you cannot count on the invulnerability of this tank, and therefore it is advisable not to expose yourself to attack once again.

The survivability of the T26E1-1, like all other Pershings, is average. Availability of 5 crew members located in different parts The tank gives him a good chance to continue the battle even after repeated penetration of the armor by extremely dangerous chamber shells, but at the same time, a decent amount of ammunition, located mainly in the hull under the turret, makes the likelihood of an explosion when a shell hits the side almost inevitable. To increase the survivability of the vehicle, it is recommended to take into battle only the minimum required supply of shells.

Mobility

Suspension misalignment is noticeable to the naked eye

Compared to the basic version of the Pershing, after all the modifications the Super Pershing became heavier by more than 8 tons, which could not but affect the already poor mobility of the vehicle. The T26E1-1 accelerates and maintains speed like not the fastest heavy tank, and the permanent skew of the suspension towards the nose of the vehicle can be noticed just by looking at the profile of the overweight tank. The Super Pershing also does not feel well on slopes, and therefore the maximum climb angle the vehicle can overcome has decreased.

The highest speed of the T26E1-1 when driving over rough terrain is about 32 km/h and the tank develops this speed very slowly. Despite the serious decrease in overall dynamics, the Super Pershing managed to maintain a good turning speed in place, which, coupled with a quickly rotating turret, allows it to quickly respond to threats arising on the flanks.

The low mobility of the Super Pershing imposes obvious limitations on the possibilities of its use on the battlefield. From the very beginning of the battle it is necessary to choose the direction and preferred combat tactics, otherwise, by the start of the firefight, the T26E1-1 may be in the wrong place at absolutely the wrong time, and such a heavy tank will not be able to quickly change its position.

Armament

Main weapon

The main advantage and the primary reason for the appearance of this modification of the T26 is its powerful 90 mm T15E1 gun. The longer barrel length and larger amount of gunpowder in the case allow the same M82 chamber projectile, which is used in the standard 90-mm Pershing cannon, to be accelerated to a speed of 975 m/s versus 807 m/s when fired from the M3 cannon. An increase in speed gives rise to an increase in armor penetration - 204 mm versus 165 mm at point-blank range at a right angle when fired with an M82 chamber projectile. This difference most directly affects the combat effectiveness of the T26E1-1. A shot from the T15E1 cannon can hit the "Royal Tiger" in the forehead of the turret at any real combat distance, with any of the available types of armor-piercing ammunition. Without any problems, the die-hard Panthers are also hit in the front of the hull.

The improvement in the armor-piercing power of the new gun had a serious impact on its ballistic qualities. T26E1-1 is capable of fighting at long distances maintaining the possibility of successfully defeating almost any enemy tank, and even a novice player’s skills are sufficient to accurately hit the target. In case of unforeseen situations, the T26E1-1 ammunition kit contains a sub-caliber projectile with a non-detachable coil tray, but in most cases it is not required to be used in practice (well, except for a duel with the “Mouse”). Things are also very good with the vertical pointing angles of the T15E1 gun. The gun is lowered down by as much as 10°, which makes it possible to successfully use folds in the terrain as cover.

The features described above allow the Super Pershing to be used as a sniper vehicle, because even at a distance of a kilometer from the target it can penetrate up to 143 mm of rolled homogeneous armor at an angle of 60° with an M82 armor-piercing chamber projectile. The lethality of these chamber shells leaves the enemy little chance of surviving the first successful shot.

Machine gun weapons

The Super Pershing's machine gun armament is represented by a twin M1919A4 rifle and an excellent heavy machine gun M2HB:

Coaxial 7.62 mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun on the T26E1-1 (as on most other American tanks) performs a purely auxiliary role and becomes truly useful only after the loss of the tank commander, who can fire from the large-caliber Ma Deuce. Apart from its caliber and its coaxial position with the cannon, this machine gun has virtually no drawbacks and is an excellent fast-firing and lethal weapon.
The Browning M2HB anti-aircraft heavy machine gun 12.7 mm is one of the best heavy machine guns in the game, and due to its location on the roof of the turret, it is capable of firing not only at ground targets, but also at air targets. This machine gun can serve not just as a “marker” for already destroyed enemy tanks, but is also capable of effectively fighting enemy light armored vehicles and attack aircraft. Its main disadvantage is the loss of control in the event of the death or transfer of the tank commander to another place.

Use in combat

Destruction of the "Royal Tiger" with the Sla.16 engine with a shot at the right sponson

Thanks to the combination of its characteristics, the T26E1-1 can be used both as direct offensive support and for organizing unexpected sniper ambushes.

In the first case, the Super Pershing comes to the aid of armor that is not the best, but quite tolerable for its combat rating. An experienced player will be able to choose the right position and impose his own battle conditions on the enemy, exposing only the most armored forehead of the tower to the enemy's sight. At the same time, the T26E1-1 gun has sufficient lethality to destroy most enemy tanks head-on, which makes flanking moves unnecessary. For the latter, by the way, the Super Pershing often lacks speed, so having acceptable armor and an excellent gun comes in handy. An unpleasant moment in aggressive tactics can be the rather long reloading speed of the gun, but with the right choice of targets, this tank will not need to fire an extra shot.
In an attack, the T26E1-1 will feel best in the second row, but at critical moments it can even try on the role of a real heavy tank, speaking at the very forefront of the attack.

Another tactic for the Super Pershing could be the role of a sniper tank. Its powerful 90mm gun is capable of fighting most enemies even at considerable distances, and good elevation angles will only help with this, reliably hiding the tank in the folds of rough terrain. With a good position on the edge or top of the map, the T26E1-1 can cause a lot of trouble for enemies, and its frontal armor can perform much better at a respectable distance.

The Super Pershing cannot be called an excellent tank; for this it lacks either slightly more reliable armor or mobility. However, while having its disadvantages, the tank is also not without significant advantages. For players familiar with the game, the T26E1-1 can be a pleasant addition to combat experience, and for beginners it will serve as an excellent example of a well-balanced car.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

The most powerful weapon with lethal chamber shells
Good elevation angles
Good gun mantlet armor
Good speed of turning the tank and turning the turret
Availability of an excellent anti-aircraft machine gun

Flaws:

Mediocre speed and acceleration dynamics of the car
Slow gun reload
Insufficiently reliable armor on the sides and rear of the tank

Historical background

The main history of the creation of the M26 tank can be found in the corresponding article.

Creation of T26E4

90 mm T15 gun

In terms of its ballistic characteristics, the 90-mm M3 cannon was very similar to the German 88-mm KwK 36 cannon, which was armed with the German Tiger, because both of these cannons were created on the basis of heavy anti-aircraft guns. With the advent of the Germans' more powerful version of the 88-mm KwK 43 tank gun, which was installed on the Royal Tiger, and its anti-tank counterpart, the Pak 43, the need to develop a more powerful gun, this time from the American side, became obvious. It was for this purpose that a new 90-mm T15 gun was hastily developed and installed on a towed carriage for firing tests. The new gun had a length of 73 calibers (6.57 meters) and a much wider and longer breech. To speed up the production of the next two barrels, it was decided to use blanks already available at Watervliet Arsenal. These blanks turned out to be slightly shorter than the length required for the T15 (approximately 70 calibers), so the resulting guns received a separate designation T15E1. To further increase the power of the shot, in addition to lengthening the barrel, the shell casing for this gun was also lengthened, due to which the initial speed of the T30E16 sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile fired from it was 1143 m/sec. The T33 solid armor-piercing projectile fired from the new gun had a muzzle velocity of 975 m/sec and was capable of penetrating the Panther's upper frontal armor plate from a distance of 2,400 meters.

T26E1-1 with T15E1 gun at Aberdeen Proving Ground - note the exposed springs not yet covered and the counterweight on the rear of the turret

Second prototype T26E4 with T15E2 gun - note that on the second prototype the springs were removed into the casings immediately, and the counterweight on the rear side of the turret looks the same as on the T26E1-1

Pre-production T26E4 - this tank looks almost like a full-fledged production model, the new hydropneumatic gun balancer has been removed inside the turret, and the turret counterweight has become much less bulky

Outstanding German bookings Royal Tigers" and "Panther", made the installation of such a weapon on a tank extremely desirable, and the most suitable candidate for this role was the heavy "Pershing", which had just been launched into production. For the purpose of testing, the T15E1 gun was installed on the first T26E1 prototype (registration number 30103292) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground and fired there. The firing results showed that loading such a gun with extended ammunition in a cramped tank turret turned out to be extremely inconvenient. The total length of a solid T33 projectile was 127 centimeters, so taking into account the increased size of the breech, it was not only difficult to push them into the chamber, but also to simply remove them from standard ammunition racks. To eliminate this inconvenience, the gun was converted for separate-case loading with composite shots. Such a system provided for loading the projectile itself into the chamber first, and then the cartridge case was sent after it. The shells and cartridges were stored in separate stacks, and the noses of the cartridges were sealed in advance. After a similar modification for separate-case loading, the gun was renamed T15E2. In March 1945, it was decided to rename all Pershings with new guns T26E4 and order the construction of a limited series of 1000 of these vehicles in return for an equivalent part of the order for standard T26E3.

The first two prototypes of the rearmed Pershings were assembled at the Wellman Engineering Company and featured a pair of counterbalance springs on the turret, which compensated for the weight of the heavier gun barrel. Also, the new tanks differed from conventional Pershings in the installation of heavier drives for vertical aiming, turret rotation, and a redesigned mount for the new gun. To compensate for the overweight of the turret itself, an additional counterweight was welded on its rear side, and the ammunition racks were rearranged to accommodate composite shots.

The first prototype, already mentioned above, was sent to Europe after firing at the Aberdeen Proving Ground on January 12, 1945. Ironically, this tank, originally designated T26E1 number 1 (abbr. T26E1-1), turned out to be not only the first prototype of the original Pershing built, but also the first prototype of its rearmed version. The T26E1-1 did not receive a new gun with separate case loading, and its subsequent adventures in Europe will be discussed below. The second prototype T26E4 was produced on the basis of the already production version of the Pershing, T26E3 number 97, and was armed new version T15E2 guns.

Already production T26E4 undergoing testing at Fort Knox

The project for an in-turret hydropneumatic balancer for the gun was developed and implemented into production of all production T26E4s, so the springs on the turret remained an exclusive feature of the first two prototypes. The rearranged stowage of shells made it possible to carry up to 54 rounds of separate-case loading in the tank. Apart from the changes necessary to handle the heavier gun, the T119's gun mount was identical to the standard Pershing mount. The 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun remained the same, but a new M71E4 sight was installed corresponding to the ballistics of a more powerful gun, and the turret was equipped with a hydraulic amplifier for the rotating mechanism. The vertical aiming angles ranged from -10 to +20 degrees, and it was decided to abandon the introduction of a gun stabilization system. Total weight production tanks with the new gun increased to 44 tons, while the standard T26E3 weighed 41.5 tons.

At the end of the war in Europe, the order for T26E4 was reduced to 25 vehicles, which were built at Fisher Tank Arsenal. Tests carried out at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in January 1947 revealed problems with the speed of the separate-case reloading of the T15E2 gun. The fact is that even with separate loading, the cartridge case still remained too long, and this did not particularly improve the already low rate of fire. With the final end of hostilities and the advent of more successful models of unitary shells, interest in guns with separate loading completely disappeared. Besides this, new tank turned out to be inconvenient to use due to the too long gun, which every now and then tried to catch the ground even on minor slopes, and the reinforced drives and balancers coped with their task with difficulty. Based on the test results, it was concluded that the T26E4 has many disadvantages and is inferior to the T26E3 in a number of important parameters, such as rate of fire, fire maneuverability and the ability to overcome certain obstacles. Nobody accepted a vehicle with such a verdict, so most of the T26E4 were subsequently used as target tanks. Only one T26E4 has survived to this day, which is located at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois.

"Super Pershing" in Europe

Already shielded, but still without additional counterweights on the turret, T26E4 at the end of March 1945

This photo clearly shows the strong overhang of the front of the tank.

On March 15, 1945, the T26E1-1 tank, having already been rearmed and renamed T26E4, ended up in Europe, or more precisely, at the location of the 3rd Armored Division, in the recently captured German city of Cologne. Captain Elmer Gray, from the technical staff, was directly involved in the acceptance of this tank and was forced to face a number of unforeseen problems. The first problem was discovered quite quickly when it turned out that the special telescopic sight, corresponding to the ballistics of the new gun, was replaced with a standard M71C sight, which was installed on regular Pershings. At the same time, an expert on the 90-mm Pershing guns, Slim Price, who was also part of the Zebra mission, personally installed a new telescopic sight on the Super Pershing at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, before leaving for Europe. The required sight was not among the equipment that arrived with the tank, so Captain Gray, upon arrival in Paris, was forced to contact Lieutenant McDougle directly, who was responsible for the new tank until it was delivered to the location of the 3rd Armored. Lieutenant McDougle's answer did not please Captain Gray. It turns out that the sight was replaced with a new one during the preparation of the tank for transportation from the United States, where overly zealous workers at the shipping point could not send the tank to the combat zone with some strange and non-standard sighting device. Due to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary sight for the Super Pershing, Slim Price had to spend some time calculating and scheduling a firing table for the new gun, taking into account the use of a standard sight.

A week earlier, Captain Gray had to solve another problem with the delivery of ammunition for the Super Pershing gun to the wrong “address”. Unitary shells 127 centimeters long were mistakenly delivered to the 635th tank destroyer battalion. Previously, 90-mm T8 guns on T5E2 towed carriages (another type of new weapon tested in combat during the Zebra mission) were delivered to the same battalion for testing purposes, as an anti-tank field analogue to the Pershing guns. The T8 guns had not previously been used by the military, which is what caused all the confusion, but in fact they fired the same standard ammunition as the 90mm M3 guns. The erroneous delivery was discovered only thanks to a call from the 635th battalion, where the artillerymen were seriously interested in why the delivered shells protruded as much as 30 centimeters from the breech when trying to drive them into the barrel.

At the location of the 3rd Armored Forces, the Super Pershing was actively preparing for the first battle. Under Slim Price's instructions, the maintenance battalion equipped the tank with additional armor and homemade steel baskets in the rear of the hull. A detailed description of the work done on this vehicle can be read in the memoirs of Belton Cooper, who served as a technician in that same battalion:

The artillery and technical supply department was especially interested in testing the new tank in battles with the Royal Tigers. We have already lost several new Pershings from German anti-tank guns at high initial speed shell and knew that the armor of our vehicles was still inferior to that of the German Tigers. I was tasked with developing and installing additional armor protection on the new tank.

In well-equipped German workshops there were several large sheets 38mm boiler steel. We decided to make the frontal armor multi-layered. We cut V-shaped plates from two sheets of boiler steel to fit the wedge of the frontal armor. The Pershing's frontal armor plates were positioned at an angle of 38° to the horizontal or 52° to the vertical, which was considered a critical angle for ricochet. This gave zero clearance along the top edge of the sheet and about 75 mm at the bend where the frontal armor met the front of the bottom.

38-mm spaced screens on the upper armor plate of the hull

A second sheet of boiler steel, cut in the same way, was installed at an angle of 30° on top of the first, and the gap at the junction with the bottom was already from 180 to 200 mm. Thus, the front of the tank was protected by 102 mm of the original cast frontal armor and two sheets of 38 mm boiler steel with a gap between them. We believed that, despite the relative softness of boiler steel, the multiple layers and reduced bevel angle would allow German shells to ricochet. The enhanced protection added about five tons of weight to the tank, and I had to use a slide rule to calculate how much this would increase the load on the front torsion bar arm and the road wheels.

The gun mantlet after all the modifications made - you can also see homemade feed baskets above the tracks

We then cut an 80mm thick piece from the frontal armor of a knocked out German Panther and trimmed it down to 150cm x 60cm. We cut a hole in the center for the gun barrel and two smaller holes on the sides for the coaxial machine gun and sight. We put this plate on the gun barrel, advanced it to the armored canopy and tightly welded it to the armor. Since it weighed almost 650 kg, the center of gravity of the barrel shifted 35 centimeters forward from the trunnions.

The Super Pershing already had balancing springs installed, attached to the turret and the mantlet that was originally on the tank. It was assumed that they would compensate for the increased length of the barrel, but the springs could not withstand the additional load, and the barrel skewed forward. The mechanical gearbox inside the turret, which was supposed to raise and lower the barrel, could not cope with the increased weight.

For balance, we cut out a pair of counterweights of a strange shape from two sheets of 38-mm boiler steel: a little long more than a meter, during the first 45 centimeters they had a constant width of 30 cm, and then expanded by half. We welded them with their narrow ends to the sides of a canopy made from Panther armor, so that the wide counterweights protruded back and along the sides of the tower. Thus, the heavier part ended up on the other side of the barrel trunnions and compensated for the heaviness of the canopy. This helped, although it was still difficult for the gunner to lift the barrel using the manual lifting mechanism.

It was obvious that these counterweights were not enough and additional weight should be added to them - but how much and where? My limited knowledge of theoretical mechanics suggested that this would require complex calculations, and we did not have enough time or data. This is what Major Arrington was hinting at when he quipped about my slide rule.

We decided to use the “poke method”. Having cut several plates of sheet steel with a thickness of 38 mm and dimensions of 30 x 60 cm, we hung them one by one on the rear edge of the counterweight using clamps. By moving weights back and forth, through trial and error, we found a balance point where the gun could be raised and lowered by hand, and then welded the plates into place.

When the gun was facing forward, the tank resembled a charging mad elephant. The long barrel resembled a trunk, the massive counterweights protruding from the sides resembled ears, and the holes in the gun mask for a machine gun and sight resembled eyes. We hoped that the tank would make the same impression on the Germans!

A counterweight was initially installed on the turret to compensate for the weight of the long barrel. We increased its weight - otherwise, when the tank climbed slopes, even the hydraulic turning mechanism had difficulty coping with aiming. We noted the presence of a similar problem with the German Panthers: on a more or less noticeable slope, if the gun initially looked down, it took the German gunner a lot of time to turn the turret in the direction of the ridge using a manual turning mechanism.

As a result, the weight of the Super Pershing increased by seven tons. We re-measured the gap under the bottom and found that the road wheels were sagging 5 centimeters deeper than normal. Because of this, the stern of the tank rose, like the tail of a drake during the mating season. But, despite its ridiculous appearance, although the car must have lost ten kilometers per hour of speed, its 550-horsepower engine still had enough power.

This photo clearly shows the final view of the main tower counterweight

We tested the tank on the move and then drove it to the edge of the quarry for test firing. After searching around, we found a suitable target: German self-propelled gun"Jagdpanzer IV", hit by a single shot on the side and not burned out. We hooked it up with a tractor and towed it to the opposite edge of the quarry, to the first ledge about fifteen meters below ground level, placing the self-propelled gun with its frontal part towards us. The distance to the target was about 2400 m.

The T15E1 gun used standard 90-mm shells, but the separate-loading cartridge case was longer(here Cooper obviously simply made a mistake in his memories, because the re-armed T26E1-1 used, although elongated, but still unitary ammunition) to accommodate a larger powder charge. At first, two people were required to load the gun, but with some experience one could handle it, albeit not without difficulty. Well, prototype a new tank simply cannot be flawless.

Major Johnson sent several men from the 33rd Armored Regiment to serve as crew. It turned out that we were simultaneously mentoring them and learning ourselves. The sergeant in charge of the shooting from the artillery workshop had adjusted the sight in advance, so that everything was ready for the shot. I made sure that everyone stood on the sides of the tank or behind it so that no one would be hit by the gases escaping from the muzzle brake.

Standing behind the Sherman, one could watch its projectile fly out of the muzzle and rush towards the target, descending slightly. The shot from the Pershing looked completely different. We barely noticed the first shell. It seemed as if it even lifted itself off the ground a little before hitting its target. It was, of course, an illusion, but the effect of the shot was amazing. When the shell hit the armor, sparks flew into the air in a fountain of about twenty meters, as if the self-propelled gun had been touched by a gigantic grinding wheel. And when we examined the target, I lost my tongue. The 90-mm shell penetrated 100 millimeters of armor, then broke the drive shaft of the last stage of the gearbox, passed through the fighting compartment, pierced the aft bulkhead, passed the 100-mm crankshaft of the Maybach, a self-propelled gun engine, and, having pierced the 25-mm sheet of aft armor, burrowed into the ground so deep that we never found it. Although supply officers from the Aberdeen Proving Ground assured us that the new tank gun was capable of penetrating 330 millimeters of armor from 90 meters, until now we could not believe such crushing power. It became clear that we had in our hands a weapon capable of knocking the spirit out of the most powerful German tank- “Tiger”.

We instructed the new crew on how to fire the gun and allowed each to fire one shot. I had to explain that it is more difficult to load a gun with special ammunition than with regular, shorter ones, and the additional armor makes the vehicle heavier; however, the tankers would soon find out for themselves. Although the tank was now additionally armored, it was not worth risking it out of stupidity. Our task was to bring the vehicle into battle at optimal conditions and see what she is capable of in a clash with German armored vehicles.

The crew was so happy to receive a new car that they were ready to put up with any inconvenience. I suppose the tankers believed that the most powerful in the American, German and Soviet armies the machine will increase their chances of survival.

I asked Major Johnson to ensure that the crew closely monitored the condition of the vehicle, especially the final drive, engine and tracks, since seven tons excess weight could ultimately lead to breakdowns. But, despite this, I was confident that the tank would cope with the combat mission.

At the beginning of April 1945, the Super Pershing finally had the opportunity to take part in a real, albeit very short, battle. Here's how Cooper describes the event:

It was in this armored junkyard that the first prototype of the M26 and T26E4 ended its journey.

The Germans managed to blow up most of the bridges across the Weser. However, Battle Group B, with heavy fighting, managed to seize a bridgehead in the lower reaches of the river, crossing it in several places. The Germans in the bridgehead area were destroyed or captured, and the division moved at a forced pace to Northeim.

It was in these places, between Weser and Northeim, that our Super Pershing finally entered the battle. The German units retreating from the bridgehead left several isolated strong points on our way. One such firing point on the slope of a forested hill one and a half kilometers away from us opened fire on our column. The Super Pershing leading the column turned its turret and fired an armor-piercing bullet at the vehicle on the hillside. A fountain of blinding sparks rose up, debris flew fifteen meters into the sky, and a deafening roar of an explosion reached us.

The unknown vehicle was either a tank or self-propelled gun, the armored personnel carrier would have exploded with less noise. The remaining vehicles in our column opened fire from tank guns and machine guns, and the Germans soon withdrew from the battle. Although we did not know for sure what kind of vehicle our Super Pershing hit, we knew for sure that at such a distance the Sherman’s 76-mm gun would not have been able to hit either the Panther or the Tiger. No one wanted to check what exactly it was. “Super Pershing” took a whiff of gunpowder and, as far as I know, never took part in another battle.

— Belton Youngblood Cooper - "Death Traps: Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II"

On this combat use“Super Pershing” is over, and the rumors about his clash with the “Royal Tiger” are most likely just a myth, since there is no official confirmation of that battle. I finished my long haul the first prototype of the M26 and T26E4 rather ingloriously, in a junkyard near the German city of Kassel, where it was discovered in June 1945 by Colonel George Jarrett, who took a series of memorable photographs of this unusual combat vehicle.