T28 super-heavy tank
32°22′31.8″N 84°50′45.4″W / 32.375500°N 84.845944°W
Super Heavy Tank T28 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95 | |
---|---|
105 mm T5E1 gun, with 62 rounds | |
Secondary armament | .50 cal (12.7 mm) Browning heavy machine gun, with 660 rounds |
Engine | Ford GAF V-8 gasoline 500 hp (372 kW)[1] |
Power/weight | 5.8 hp/tonne |
Suspension | double tracks, horizontal volute spring |
Operational range | 100 miles (160 km) |
Maximum speed | 8 mph (13 km/h)[2] |
The T28 Super Heavy Tank was an American super-heavy tank/assault gun designed for the United States Army during World War II. It was originally designed to break through German defenses of the Siegfried Line and was later considered as a possible participant in the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.
The near 100-ton vehicle was initially designated a heavy tank. It was re-designated as the 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95 in 1945, and then renamed in 1946 as the Super Heavy Tank T28.
Only two prototypes were built before the project was terminated.[3]
Name
Initially named Heavy Tank T28 when construction was authorized in 1944, the design did not fit in the usual categories of vehicles leading to reclassification.[4] As it did not have its armament in a revolving turret, Ordnance requested a name change to 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95, the change becoming official in March 1945.[5] However, due to its heavy armor and armament—while self-propelled guns in United States service were lightly armored—it was renamed Super Heavy Tank T28 in June 1946 by OCM 37058.<[6]
Development
The T28/T95 was designed to be used for attacking the heavy defenses expected of the
The need for an assault tank was first identified in 1943, Ordnance proposing that 25 vehicles could be ready for operations. A conference in March 1944 between Ordnance Department and Army Ground Forces resulted in agreement to build five. The
As it did not have a turret, but a fixed casemate mount instead for its main armament (as German Jagdpanzers and Soviet Samokhodnaya Ustanovka-designation combat vehicles did), and the 105 mm gun fitted could only elevate from 19.5° to −5° and traverse from 10° right to 11° left of the centerline, the T28 more closely resembled an assault gun, and was redesignated as "T95 Gun Motor Carriage" in 1945, but in June 1946, the vehicle was redesignated again as "Super Heavy Tank T28".[3]
Two prototypes of the T28 were built. They underwent evaluation at the Aberdeen Proving Ground and
Design
The original plan was to build five prototype vehicles, with a production total of 25. Its total weight when fully equipped would have reached 95 tons (86 tonnes).[1] To lower ground pressure, instead of two tracks, it used four tracks that projected forward of the hull, each 20 inches (495 mm) wide.[3] The outer tracks could be detached within two hours for rail transport: After removal, they could be fixed together to make a unit that could be towed behind the tank.[6] Due to its extreme weight and low engine power, the T28 had extremely limited obstacle-crossing ability and could not cross any of the portable bridges available at the time, and so was considered impractical in the field and not suitable for production.
The T28 had no conventional turret, with a casemate style hull instead, giving it a comparatively low profile, as the later examples of the fully enclosed Jagdpanzer-family of German tank destroyers, not entirely dissimilar to the 50 short-ton weight German Jagdpanther. Its main armament was a 105 mm T5E1 gun, in a ball-shaped gun mantlet set into the vertical hull front.[1][2] The traverse was limited to 10° right and 11° left, and elevation from 19.5° to −5°. When traveling, the gun was locked at the maximum elevation.[3] The only other armament was a .50 cal. (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun on a ring mount above the commander's hatch for anti-aircraft use.[1][11] The main gun—65 calibres long—had a muzzle velocity of 3,700 feet per second (1,130 m/s), with a range of up to 12 miles (19 km).[1][12]
The armor was very thick compared to other tanks of the time, up to 12 inches (305 mm) thick on the front. This was considered heavy enough to provide protection from the German 88 mm gun
Surviving vehicle
In 1974, the last prototype was discovered abandoned in a field at
Photos
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Closeup showing the double tracks.
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Gun mantlet.
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Closeup showing the double tracks.
See also
- List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
- Tank classification
- Jagdtiger – a comparable German vehicle for anti-tank use. Entered limited production.
- Tortoise heavy assault tank – a comparable British vehicle for attacking fortifications; only six built.
- SU-100Y Self-Propelled Gun- a comparable Soviet vehicle for attacking fortified bunkers; only one built.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "United States — Heavy Tanks". Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ ]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thomas M. Tencza (2000). "Article 1: Americas's Super Heavy Tank". Battle Tanks. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
- ^ a b Hunnicutt 1988, p. 61.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 62.
- ^ a b Hunnicutt 1988, p. 65.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 63.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 61-62.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 65-66.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 74.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 196.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 69.
- ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 64.
- ^ "Patton Museum List of Exhibits". Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
- ^ "Pattons' Park to display 9 vehicles | Article | The United States Army". www.army.mil.
- ^ "National Armor and Cavalry Museum". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-89141-304-9.
External links
- "This Lumbering Monster Is Newest Antique", January 1946, Popular Science
- Reassembling the Last U.S. T28 Super Heavy Tank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0a5oMl2fX8