The M26 Pershing was developed to counter the Panzer scourge in WW2 but arrived too late in the war to be of much tactical use. By Staff Writer
The M-26 was developed near the end of World War II and named after World War One General John J Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force. The M26 Pershing had a slow and arduous beginning, when the need for a heavy tank was not in the priorities of the US Army. Instead, efforts were relegated to production of the M3 Stuart Light Tanks and M4 Sherman Medium Tanks. It was not until the debut of the German Panther and Tiger series of tanks on the battlefields of Europe that the need for a heavily armed - and armored - weapons system came to bear.
Considerable effort was then made to develop a gun system capable of competing with the German counterparts. The result was the M26 Pershing armed with a 90mm main gun (nearly on par with the German '88') and heavily armored overall. It was the closest weapon that the Allies would field that was akin to the German Panther in terms of firepower and crew survivability.
The M26 Pershing arrived too late to be of any effective use (overall) in the European Theater but a few (roughly 200) saw service with the 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions. At least 100 were kept in reserve as well.
The mammoth M26 Pershings would be part of the armored column that would cross the Remagen Bridge over the Rhine River and into Germany with the 9th Armored. About 20 M26's were reported to have seen any action at all. Ten M26's were also shipped out to the Pacific Theater for action in Okinawa, though arriving too late to be of any effective tactial use.
This was not the end of the line for the M26, however. It would go on to see extensive combat in the Korean War and, for the most part, handle the Soviet-Built T34/85, credited with destroying half of all T34's destroyed in that war (modified 76mm M4 Shermans accounted for the other half).
Post-war use saw a great number stationed throughout Europe with NATO through the Cold War. Many alternative variants were devised, though some, like the self-propelled gun platform, not used by the US Army.
The M26 Pershing would later be reclassified as a Medium Tank and become the blueprint for tanks such as the M46, M47, M48 Patton and M60 Main Battle Tanks. The M47 was merely a base M26 Pershing with a new engine, transmission and main gun.
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Armored Vehicle Quick Profile
Image Courtesy of the United States Department of Defense.
1945
Designation:M26 Pershing Classification Type:Heavy Tank Contractor: Country of Origin: United States Number Built: 2,212
Operators: Belgium; Italy; United States
Variants
M26 - Base production model with split muzzle brake.
M26A1 - Upgraded main gun with single muzzle brake.
M26A1E2 - Longer barrel main gun (prototype)
M26E1 - Longer barrel main gun (prototype)
M26E2 - New powerpack and upgraded transmission. Would go on to become the M46 Patton Main Battle Tank.
T26E2 - Close support variant (would become M45 Heavy Tank with 105mm Howitzer).
T26E5 - Heavy armor protoype
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