1/35 Military Miniature Series No.319
U.S. Tank T26E4 "Super Pershing"
Item No：35319
【 A Force To Be Reckoned With 】 The M26 Pershing, the first American tank capable of taking on the German Army's Tiger I and Panther tanks, was introduced during the final stages of WWII. The T26E4 was a development of the M26 and was armed with an even more powerful, long-barreled 90mm main gun. This gun was superior to the one found on the King Tiger heavy tank and could penetrate a Panther's frontal armor from long distances. The first T26E4 was sent to the European front in 1945, with subsequent examples featuring various improvements such as a modified gun mount.
【 About the Model 】 1/35 scale plastic assembly kit of the T26E4 "Super Pershing". Length: 293mm, Width: 101mm ★Turret with long-barreled 90mm gun and bustle counterweight accurately reproduced. ★Parts included for the larger gun travel lock. ★Movable suspension enables many posing possibilities for dioramas. ★Accessory parts such as machine gun ammunition cases included. ★Comes with 3 infantry figures, 2 crew torso figures, and 1 marking option.
【 T26E4 Background 】
■"Tiger-phobia"
The Tiger I and Panther tanks introduced by the German Army caused a shock for U.S. forces. It was clear that the mainstay U.S. tank, the M4 Sherman, was outmatched but nothing else was available to take on the German tanks. It was then decided to mount a 90mm gun onto a prototype for the Sherman's replacement, the T23 experimental tank, resulting in the T25 and its up-armored version, the T26E1.
■M26 Pershing Deployment & Arrival of a New Adversary
After the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, encounters with Panther tanks increased and the call from frontline U.S. units for a more powerfully-armed tank began to grow. In November of that year, production of the T26E3 (later designated M26 Pershing) armed with a 90mm gun began, with European deployment commencing the following January. However, German forces had also introduced the King Tiger, which could knock out U.S. tanks from 2km away, and the need to up-gun the T26E3 became urgent.
■Development of the "Super Pershing"
To increase firepower, the M26's L/50 90mm gun was replaced by the L/70 90mm gun, which had a 1.8m longer barrel. Paired with High Velocity Armor Piercing shells, this gun could penetrate not only the Panther's frontal armor, but also the King Tiger's 150mm thick frontal armor. The first example of this up-gunned T26E4 "Super Pershing" featured two balancer springs mounted on top of the turret as well as a counterweight at the rear of the turret to offset the longer gun barrel. This tank was field-modified with additional armor plating and saw limited action at the end of the war.
■T26E4 Production & Germany's Surrender
The production version of the T26E4 incorporated improvements such as internally-mounted balancer springs, a refined counterweight shape, and longer gun travel lock, and 1,000 examples were ordered in March 1945. However, with Germany's surrender in May of that year, the larger order was cancelled after only 25 were built. Although these tanks were never deployed to fighting units, many of their design features were passed on to subsequent U.S. tanks such as the Patton series.
The information on this page is current as of February 25, 2011.
