T28 (tank)
| T28 | |
|---|---|
| General properties | |
| crew | 6 men |
| length | 11.1 m |
| width | 4.39 m |
| height | 2.84 m |
| Dimensions | 86.2 tons |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | up to 300 mm |
| Main armament | 105 mm cannon |
| Secondary armament | 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 1 × 12.7 mm MG |
| agility | |
| drive | Ford gasoline engine GAF V-8 410 hp |
| suspension | Torsion bar suspension with central bar, as a double chain |
| Top speed | 13 km / h |
| Power / weight | 4.31 hp / t |
| Range | about 100 km |
The Super Heavy Tank T28 , sometimes also known as 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95 (105-mm self-propelled gun called), is a superheavy tower-less tanks , which for the United States Army during World War II was built. The two prototypes of the T28 were the heaviest armored vehicles ever built in the United States .
technology
As a towerless construction, it had a relatively flat profile. If fully equipped, it would have weighed 86.2 tons. The armor sometimes reached a thickness of 300 millimeters. This was supposed to give protection from the 8.8 cm cannon of the German heavy tanks. The Ford gasoline engine GAF V-8 with 410 hp enabled a top speed of just 13 km / h. Underpowered in this way, the tank's cross-country capabilities were limited. In addition, there were no pioneer bridges that would have been able to carry the weight of the T28; a combat mission was hardly possible for these reasons.
Due to its heavy weight, the T28 had two parallel crawler tracks on each side . The outer two could be detached for transportation by train or on paved roads and joined together for transportation separately. The double chain construction was very prone to failure. The outer chain tended to break away and unroll, especially in difficult terrain. When repairing the inner chain only, all chain parts on one side had to be unrolled.
The front of the 105-mm T5E1 gun was protected by a spherical shield. It could be directed 10 ° to both sides and from −5 ° to + 19.5 ° down and up. A 12.7 mm machine gun was mounted above the commander's hatch.
history
At the end of the war, work was in progress in Great Britain, Germany and the United States on super-heavy tanks weighing over 100 tons.
The main field of application of the T28 should be the fight against fortified positions, whereby it should be largely invulnerable to enemy tanks. It was also feared that they would not be able to oppose an equivalent vehicle against heavy German tanks. Above all the Siegfried Line with its fortified positions should be overcome with the T28. In the later course of the war one thought of a use in the invasion of the Japanese main islands.
The decision to build the super-heavy tank was made in 1943, and work on the T28 began in the spring of 1945 at Pacific Car and Foundry .
Built as the T28, it was renamed the 105mm Gun Motor Carriage T95 in 1945 and renamed the T28 again in 1946. Trials ended in 1947.
The original plan was to build five prototypes, which were to be followed by 20 series vehicles. In the end, there were two prototypes that were never used in combat. One of these was badly damaged in an engine fire during testing and then scrapped. The second prototype is on display today at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor in Kentucky.
In all of its properties, the T28 was an immature development that was no longer needed in its actual application profile. The development was consequently stopped, especially since the future of the main battle tank was already looming with the M26 Pershing and the M47 Patton .
literature
- Roger Ford: tanks from 1916 to the present day. 1st edition, Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1997, ISBN 3-86070-676-4 (German translation) p. 90 ff.
Web links
- Article at Battletanks.com (Engl.)
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