The winter battles of late 1944 and early 1945 finally demonstrated to the U.S. Army's high command that the M4 Sherman, though providing excellent service in previous years, was wholly inadequate to confront German heavy armor and anti-tank guns.
Furthermore, it fatally undermined the prevailing U.S. tank doctrine, which had prescribed leaving the engagement of enemy tanks to the Tank Destroyer battalions, freeing the tanks to support the infantry and exploit gaps in the enemy lines. A new armored vehicle was needed, better suited to the realities of modern warfare. Fortunately, after a good deal of political debate, the T26E3 heavy tank was put into production in November 1944.
The power plant was the same 500-horsepower Ford GAF V8 petrol engine in the latest versions of Sherman. The running gear had six double-bogies per side on a new torsion bar suspension running on a 23"/58cm wide track. Together, these improvements gave the T26 considerable speed for a tank in its weight class.
The final production model, the T26E3, was given the name Pershing, in honor of General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in the First World War. The Pershing provided U.S. tankers with a vehicle that greatly improved on the M4 and was roughly comparable to the German Panther.
Vehicle designed by Will Jayne
Figures designed by Matt Bickley
Painted by Blake Coster
