M26 Pershing

M26 Pershing. . By late 1943 it had become apparent to some within the U.S. Army that the Sherman tank was not up to dealing with some of the newer Panzers nor the Tiger tanks the Germans were producing. Development on a new, more powerful medium tank had to start, with an eye towards replacing the M4. This lead to the production of the T26E3. This model became the M26 Pershing in March 1945. The name for this legendary tank was borrowed from General John "Black Jack" Pershing. He attained the rank General of the Armies and was the leader of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during world war one. Shermans had faced huge attrition rates against German armor during the "Battle of the Bulge," (12/16/1944-1/25/1945). This convinced the Army to deploy the new T26E3/M26 Pershing to the European theatre. , The first Pershings arrived on the continent on December 25, 1944. Development was delayed, so very few actually saw combat in world war two. Most of those that did see action in Europe were with the 9th Armored Division. German forces capitulated on May 7, 1945. M26's, being a brand new piece of armor and technology, took part in VE day parades in eastern locations, such as Czechoslovakia. This was done in an effort to show off to the Soviets. , It wasn't long before communist forces met the Pershing in combat. The Korean War started June 25, 1950. North Korean forces supported by the Soviet Union and China, moved into the south. On June 27th the United Nations approved military action. The US supplied more than 80% of the military response. The U.S. Military was able to gather over 300 Pershings to bring to bear in 1950. Here, the tank performed extremely well. It was an overmatch for the communist T34's it encountered. While the Soviet made tanks had trouble penetrating the M26's armor, the same could not be said the other way around. The M26's 90mm gun with HVAP rounds could penetrate through the glacis and out the back at close ranges. After 1950, tank to tank engagements became a rarity. Due to this, reliability is sues of the Pershing became more prominent. As a result all M26's were removed from the theater in 1951. They were replaced with M4A3 Sherman and the M46 Patton. , Technical Data , M26 Pershing , Height - 9 feet, 1.5 inches , Width - 11 feet, 6 inches , Length - 20 feet, 9.5 inches , Weight - 92,000 lbs. , Speed - 30 mph on road , Range - 100 miles , Armament - M3 90 mm gun, 1 M2.50 BMG , Hull - Rolled and Cast Homogenous Steel , Engine - Ford GAF, 4-500 hp 8 cylinder, Did you know? , From the beginning of production in November 1944 until the end of 1945, over 2,000 tanks had already been produced., Captions , Upper Right: Seen here an 8th Armored Division M26 participates in a parade celebrating VE Day in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. Note "Bags" on the barrel and hull art. , Source: United States Army . This historical marker was erected by USS Alabama Memorial Park. It is in Mobile in Mobile County Alabama