US$83,273 (1945), US$1,411,518.99 (2023 equivalent cost with inflation adjustment)
Produced
November 1944 – October 1945
No. built
2,202
Specifications
Mass
92,355 lb (41.9 t) fighting weight
Length
20 ft 9.5 in (6.337 m) turret facing aft
28 ft 4.5 in (8.649 m) turret forward
Width
11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Height
9 ft 1.5 in (2.781 m)
Crew
5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)
Armor
Upper hull: 102 mm (4.0 in)
Lower hull, turret sides: 76 mm (3.0 in)
Hull sides: 50–75 mm (2.0–3.0 in)
Main armament
90 mm Gun M3 70 rounds
Secondary armament
2× .30-06 M1919 Browning (5,000 rounds)
1× .50 cal. M2 Browning (550 rounds)
Engine
Ford GAF; 8-cylinder, gasoline 450–500 hp (340–370 kW)
Power/weight
11.9 hp (8.9 kW)/tonne
Suspension
Torsion bar
Operational range
100 mi (160 km)
Maximum speed
30 mph (48 km/h) road
5.25 mph (8.45 km/h) off-road
v
t
e
Tanks of the United States
World War I
Mark VIII tank
Ford 3-Ton M1918
Holt gas electric tank
M1917 light tank
Renault FT
Interwar
Medium Tank M1921
Medium Tank M1922
T1 Light Tank
T2 Medium
M1 combat car
M2 light tank
Christie M1931
World War II
M2 medium tank
M3/M5 Light Tank
M3 Lee
M4 Sherman
M22 Locust
M24 Chaffee
Marmon-Herrington CTLS
M26 Pershing
Cold War
M41 Walker Bulldog
M46 Patton
M103
T57
T110
M47 Patton
M48 Patton
T95 medium tank
M60 tank
T92 Light Tank
M551 Sheridan
MBT-70
XM803
Expeditionary tank
M1 Abrams
M8 Armored Gun System
Block III tank
Post–Cold War
M10 Booker
The M26 Pershing is a heavy tank/medium tank[nb 1] formerly used by the United States Army. It was used in the last months of World War II during the Invasion of Germany and extensively during the Korean War. The tank was named after General of the Armies John J. Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War I.
The M26 was intended as a replacement of the M4 Sherman,[2] but a prolonged development period meant that only a small number saw combat in Europe. Based on the criteria of firepower, mobility, and protection, US historian R. P. Hunnicutt ranked the Pershing behind the German Tiger II heavy tank, but ahead of the Tiger I heavy and Panther medium tanks.[3] It was withdrawn in 1951 in favor of its improved derivative, the M46 Patton, which had a more powerful and reliable engine and advanced suspension.[4] The lineage of the M26 continued with the M47 Patton, and was reflected in the new designs of the later M48 Patton and M60 tank.[citation needed]
^Hunnicutt 1996, p. 238.
^"Evening star 16 May 1945, page 4". Newspapers.com.
^Hunnicutt 1996, p. 200.
^Zaloga 2000, p. 36-42.
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
The M26Pershing is a heavy tank/medium tank formerly used by the United States Army. It was used in the last months of World War II during the Invasion...
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be effective. The M26Pershing Heavy Tank came into service in 1945 under the designation of M26 Heavy Tank with the name "Pershing" named after General...
Shermans, 309 M26Pershings, and 138 M24 Chaffee light tanks. Subsequent shipments of M46 and M46A1 Pattons allowed all remaining M26Pershings to be withdrawn...
The M46 Patton is an American medium tank designed to replace the M26Pershing and M4 Sherman. It was one of the U.S Army's principal medium tanks of the...
U.S. Army's and Marine Corps' primary tank, intended to replace the M26Pershing and M46 Patton medium tanks. The M47 was widely used by U.S. Cold War...
The closest counterpart to the Tiger from the United States was the M26Pershing (around 200 deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during...
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as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M26Pershing, M4 Sherman, M46 and M47 Patton tanks, and was the main battle tank of...
Battalion, 5th Marines, led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Taplett and nine M26Pershing tanks from the USMC 1st Tank Battalion.[citation needed] One tank was...
had weaker anti-tank combat capability compared to the larger caliber M26Pershing and the M46 Patton that were operated at the same time. However, the...
damage. For example, the initial turret design of the Panther, Tiger II, M26Pershing and KV-1 tanks had shot traps. The lower edge of the curved mantlet acted...
sturdy enough to be able to mount a 100 mm (3.9 in) cannon. The American M26Pershing, a medium tank of 40 short tons (36 t; 36 long tons) to replace the M4...
"Armor" branch collar insignia, which consists of the front view of a U.S. M26Pershing tank superimposed over two crossed sabers, replaces the WWII collar insignia...
testing in 1944. However, a heavy tank design, the T26 (known later as the M26Pershing) was instead put into production, also wielding the 90 mm gun M3. The...
Patton, to favor the smaller M4 Sherman medium tank over the heavier M26Pershing, which Cooper describes as being "in every way far superior".: 26 Cooper...
Ground Force. Successive evolution of the basic design culminated in the M26Pershing. Almost immediately after the M4 Sherman was standardized, the US Ordnance...
was getting obsolete and was in the process of being replaced by the M26Pershing and the upgraded M46 Patton. These tanks, however, were still very similar...
artillery and bombs and allowed it to carry heavier loads like the heavy M26Pershing tanks, making it worth repairing. By 14 March, the Americans had 16 gun...
were few in number. Near the end of World War II, a few early model M26Pershings were sent to Europe to gain combat experience. Aside from these the...
the M26Pershing were also rushed into combat in late February 1945. A dramatic newsreel film was recorded by a U.S. Signal Corps cameraman of an M26 stalking...
the M4, M26, and M46. The heavier M26Pershing was deemed unsatisfactory due to its inferior mobility, and in November, 1949, the upgraded M26 received...
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