De M26 Pershing was een zware tank/medium tank van het Amerikaanse leger. De tank is vernoemd naar generaal van de legers John J. Pershing, die in de Eerste Wereldoorlog de American Expeditionary Force in Europa leidde. Het werd gebruikt in de laatste maanden van de Tweede Wereldoorlog tijdens de invasie van Duitsland en uitgebreid tijdens de Koreaanse oorlog.
De M26 Pershingwas the tank American crews had been begging for since they first encountered German Tigers and Panthers. While the M4 Sherman was reliable, it was severely outgunned. The Pershing changed the game with its massive 90mm cannon and significantly thicker armor. Classified as a “Heavy Tank” during WWII (though later reclassified as a Medium), it was the pinnacle of U.S. armored design in the 1940s. It finally gave Allied tankers a vehicle that could go toe-to-toe with the best the Wehrmacht had to offer and win.
Design Engineering: Torsion Bars and High Velocity
The 90mm M3 Gun:Originally an anti-aircraft gun, the 90mm was America’s answer to the German 88mm. It could punch through the front of a Panther at over 1,000 yards, a feat the Sherman’s 75mm could only dream of.
Torsion Bar Suspension:Moving away from the Sherman’s vertical springs, the Pershing used torsion bars. This provided a much smoother ride and a more stable firing platform, though it was more difficult to repair in the field.
Low Profile:Despite being much heavier than the Sherman, the Pershing sat lower to the ground. This made it a harder target to hit and represented a major shift toward modern tank silhouettes.
Transmission Troubles:The Pershing used the same engine as the much lighter M4A3 Sherman. This meant it was somewhat underpowered for its 41-ton weight, leading to reliability issues in hilly terrain or deep mud.
Operational History: From Elbe to Chosin
The “Zebra Mission”:In early 1945, the first 20 Pershings were rushed to Europe in a secret mission to prove the tank in combat. They famously participated in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen.
The Cologne Duel:The most famous Pershing moment was captured on film in Cologne, where a single M26 knocked out a German Panther in front of the city’s cathedral after the Panther had already destroyed a Sherman.
The “Super Pershing”:One experimental T15E1 Pershing was fitted with an even longer 90mm gun and “up-armored” with boiler plates and scrap armor taken from a captured Panther. It was the only tank capable of truly hunting the German King Tiger.
Korean War:The M26 saw its most extensive use in Korea. It was the only tank in the U.S. inventory that could reliably stop the Soviet-made T-34/85s used by the North Koreans, though its overheating issues in the mountainous terrain eventually led to its replacement by the M46 Patton.
Wanneer en waar zijn deze foto's genomen? Het uitgebreide hekwerk lijkt te wijzen op een militaire installatie - Fort Irwin of Fort Bliss?
George S. Patton Memorial Museum