Difference between revisions of "M4/T26"
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{{Specs-Tank-Armour}} | {{Specs-Tank-Armour}} | ||
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Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3, at it's BR little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75mm and 76mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at it's BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered. | Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3, at it's BR little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75mm and 76mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at it's BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered. | ||
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{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}} | {{Specs-Tank-Mobility}} | ||
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The stated max speed is achievable over level ground albeit with reasonable acceleration, while the reverse gear is not particularly fast but not extremely slow either. Braking is sharp and stops the vehicle in a short enough distance from top speed to allow for fast reactions to enemies. The use of differential braking means the tank will crawl forward when turning in place, and the turn rate is not especially fast with significant speed losses from steering. | The stated max speed is achievable over level ground albeit with reasonable acceleration, while the reverse gear is not particularly fast but not extremely slow either. Braking is sharp and stops the vehicle in a short enough distance from top speed to allow for fast reactions to enemies. The use of differential braking means the tank will crawl forward when turning in place, and the turn rate is not especially fast with significant speed losses from steering. | ||
Revision as of 14:37, 7 September 2023
| This page is about the American medium tank M4/T26. For other versions, see M4 Sherman (Family). |
Contents
Description
When the US Army came to the realization that the new German tanks, Panthers and Tigers, were not only getting progressively tougher and deadlier, but were also becoming more numerous on the battlefield, they began to search for solutions to adequately deal with the threat. The 76 mm M1 gun was available and implemented onto their standard M4 Sherman tank, but the 76 mm firepower proved to be disappointing against the German tank armour. The search for a bigger gun was needed for the US tanks, and one solution was to simply add the turret of the developing M26 Pershing (then still known as T26) onto the M4A3 Sherman hull. The single prototype test in 1944 proved that the conversion could be done, however the overall project was cancelled once it was determined that the research and development time to test out the viability of the design in combat would not make the design come any faster than the newer M26 tank.
Introduced in Update "La Royale", the M4/T26 is a strange amalgamation of components from two tanks. On one hand, the T26 turret introduces the mighty 90 mm gun into the Sherman chassis, allowing better chances against more heavily armoured foes. On the other hand, all this is being performed on top of a M4 hull and components. Aside from the additional weight of the T26 affecting the tank body, the Sherman armour is no longer competitive against its opponents. In addition, the relatively tall Sherman hull raises the T26 turret higher than from the original M26 Pershing, so players need to be aware of accidentally exposing the M4 hull that would allow enemies with any sort of high-velocity cannon to quickly pierce through the Sherman's armour and knock out the tank. That said, players would benefit from their familiarity with the Sherman handling to continue playing as though they were the 76 mm armed version, with the 90 mm gun making even heavy tanks easy picking for the player.
General info
Survivability and armour
Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3, at it's BR little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75mm and 76mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at it's BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered.
On the other hand, as with most Shermans the transmission will provide some defence against AP shots to the transmission housing, and the much larger 90mm cannon breech can soak up damage from certain angles, especially shots to the mantlet, preventing crew knockouts and ammo detonations to provide a chance at getting to cover and repairing. From the rear, the large radial engine will absorb a lot of shell fragments which would otherwise enter the crew compartment, while the radio station can provide some protection to the driver and machine gunner from shots to the rear of the turret.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, turret roof)
- Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, mantlet, transmission housing, MG port)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 63.5 mm (47°) Upper Glacis
63.5-107.9mm (2-57°) Transmission Housing 25.4mm MG Port |
38.1 mm (0°) | 38.1 mm (5°) Top
38.1 mm (11-89°) Bottom |
19.5 mm (0-21°) |
| Turret | 101.6 mm (1-55°) Turret front
130-255 mm (1-79°) Gun mantlet |
76.2 mm (2-54°) | 76.2 mm (0-79°) | 25.4 mm |
| Cupola | 76.2 mm (64°) | 76.2 mm (54°) | 76.2 mm (58°) | 25.4 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension members and wheels are 15mm of structural steel
- Track covers are 4mm thick, though shots to the right hand side front overhang track cover from 88mm+ HE shells at certain impact angles can potentially knock out crew members from overpressure.
Mobility
The stated max speed is achievable over level ground albeit with reasonable acceleration, while the reverse gear is not particularly fast but not extremely slow either. Braking is sharp and stops the vehicle in a short enough distance from top speed to allow for fast reactions to enemies. The use of differential braking means the tank will crawl forward when turning in place, and the turn rate is not especially fast with significant speed losses from steering.
Notes:
- All observations taken with no modifications to the vehicle.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 44 | 6 | 33 | 713 | 878 | 21.61 | 26.61 |
| Realistic | 40 | 6 | 407 | 460 | 12.33 | 13.94 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 90 mm M3 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 76 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | - | 20.0 | 27.7 | 33.6 | 37.2 | 39.5 | 9.75 | 8.62 | 7.95 | 7.50 |
| Realistic | 12.5 | 14.7 | 17.8 | 19.7 | 21.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| T33 shot | APBC | 175 | 172 | 160 | 146 | 134 | 122 |
| M71 shell | HE | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| M82 shot | APCBC | 185 | 182 | 169 | 155 | 142 | 130 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| T33 shot | APBC | 853 | 10.91 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| M71 shell | HE | 823 | 10.55 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1,210 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| M82 shot | APCBC | 853 | 10.91 | 1.2 | 14 | 137.2 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| Smoke shell characteristics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Screen radius (m) |
Screen deploy time (s) |
Screen hold time (s) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
| M313 | 821 | 10.7 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 54 (+22) | 42 (+34) | 33 (+43) | 11 (+65) | 1 (+75) | No |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Rack 5 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 10 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
- This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 5 - 1 - 2 - etc. until 4.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-4 into rack 5. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 600 (200) | 575 | -10°/+30° | ±60° |
| 7.62 mm M1919A4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 3,000 (250) | 500 | - | - |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
- Top-mounted .50 cal machine gun is useful against aircraft and open-topped or lightly-armoured vehicles
- The M82 shot has a high chance of knocking out most tanks in one shot
- Very fast turret traverse
- Turret armour can resist some shots, excels at a hull down position
Cons:
- Hull armour is very weak against most cannons at its battle rating
- Its tall profile makes it a big target
- Slow top speed for a medium tank at its BR
- Lacks a vertical gun stabilizer compared to other Shermans, making it harder to take out targets on the move
- 90 mm gun has a long reload time
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| USA medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M2 | M2 |
| M3 | M3 Lee · ▃Grant I |
| M4 | M4 · Calliope · M4A1 · M4A1 (76) W · M4A2 · M4A2 (76) W · M4A3 (105) · M4A3 (76) W · M4/T26 |
| M26 Pershing | T20 · T25 · M26 · M26 T99 · M26E1 |
| M46/47/48 Patton | M46 · M46 "Tiger" · M47 · M48A1 · T54E1 · T54E2 |
| M60 | M60 · M60A1 (AOS) · M60A1 RISE (P) · M60A2 · M60A3 TTS · M728 CEV · 120S |
| MBT-70 | MBT-70 · XM803 |
| M1 Abrams | XM1 (Chrysler) · XM1 (GM) |
| M1 Abrams · M1 KVT · IPM1 | |
| M1A1 · M1A1 HC · M1A1 Click-Bait | |
| M1A2 Abrams · M1A2 SEP · M1A2 SEP V2 | |
| Other | T95E1 |
| Australia | M1A1 AIM |
| Canada | M4A5 |
| Israel | ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Merkava Mk.1 · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.3D |
| Turkey | M60 AMBT |
