T32E1
Contents
Description
The Heavy Tank T32E1 is a rank V American heavy tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea".
Being the next stage of it's development cycle, the T32E1 is essentially the same as the T32 except the designers replaced the cast homogeneous plates of the front hull in favour of simpler rolled homogeneous ones, deleting the hull machine gun port in the process. This not only removes an obvious weakness from the design, but it also strengthened the front hull plate from penetrations.
General info
Survivability and armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 127 mm (58°) Upper glacis 127mm (18°) + 95.3 (58°) mm Seam 95.3 mm (40-59°) Lower glacis |
76.2 mm | 50.8 mm | 66.6 mm Crew compartment 25.4 mm Engine compartment |
| Turret | 298.4 mm (8-21°) Turret front 298.4 mm (0-80°) Gun mantlet |
152.4 - 196 mm (3-42°) | 152.4 mm (0-72°) | 25.4 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 152 mm | 25 mm |
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 38 | 15 | 54 | 994 | 1,469 | 18.41 | 27.2 |
| Realistic | 36 | 14 | 681 | 770 | 12.61 | 14.26 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 90 mm T15E2 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 54 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 19.4 | 26.9 | 32.6 | 36.1 | 38.4 | 18.85 | 16.68 | 15.37 | 14.50 |
| Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| T43 shot | APBC | 211 | 208 | 193 | 177 | 162 | 148 |
| T42 shell | HE | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| T41 | APCBC | 224 | 221 | 206 | 188 | 172 | 157 |
| T44 shot | APCR | 336 | 330 | 304 | 274 | 248 | 223 |
| 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% | |||||||
| T43 shot | APBC | 975 | 10.9 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| T42 shell | HE | 975 | 10.6 | 0 | 0.1 | 925 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| T41 | APCBC | 975 | 10.94 | 1.2 | 14 | 137.2 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| T44 shot | APCR | 1,143 | 7.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 66° | 70° | 72° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
Ammo part |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Projectiles Propellants |
50 (+4) 28 (+26) |
45 (+9) 1 (+53) |
23 (+31) N/A |
1 (+53) N/A |
No |
Notes:
- The T32E1 uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant bags (orange). Both have separate racks.
- Packs 23 (+31) shells to have the turret and left flank racks empty.
The cannon takes two-piece ammunition, which explains why it takes so long for the cannon to load despite its 90 mm caliber. The propellant stowage covers the entire floor of the fighting compartment three times over. The projectiles themselves are kept in four racks, two lining both sides of the hull's fighting compartment, and two smaller ones on the port side of the turret in front of the loader.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 1,000 (200) | 577 | -10°/+35° | ±120° |
| 7.62 mm M1919A4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 4,000 (250) | 500 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
The play style of T32E1 is vastly different in each game mode, due to the nature of the gameplay available in Ground Forces:
Arcade battles
- Player, ally, and enemy position will be immediately spotted upon detection with their name indicator visible above their vehicle and on the minimap
- Aim assist is present to help accurate aiming at a target
- Player and enemy team tank's nationality are mixed
The T32E1 shouldn't be exposed to the enemy at a prolonged time at close range engagement since the enemies will use aim assist to take out the T32E1 from either lower plate tips or lower turret. On the other hand, the T32 can also utilize these features against the enemy, albeit with much harder difficulty due to rather sub-par penetration against other tanks in Rank IV to reliably achieve first penetration in arcade tank combat. Exercise caution
Realistic battles
- No visible name indicator
- Manual range calculation
- Player and enemy team tank's nationality are not mixed
The T32E1 can safely mobilize itself due to the dissipation of name indicator above the vehicle, especially with its low profile. In Realistic Battle, the T32E1 can do almost anything on its own, especially with flanking enemies to deliver a striking blow to the enemy formations, since the sub-par penetration of the M82 APCBC is negated by the enemies' side armour weakness (be aware with IS-4M as it has 160 mm of side armour, expect to use both APCBC and APCR). As aforementioned earlier, the T32E1 excels better at flanking than other roles due to characteristics of its gun performance, mobility, and protection.
Simulator battles
- No visible name indicator
- Manual range calculation
- Player and enemy team tank's nationality are not mixed
The T32E1 can safely mobilize itself due to the dissipation of name indicator above the vehicle, especially with its low profile. In Simulator Battle, the battle tactic is almost similar to Realistic Mode. T32E1 can do almost anything on its own, especially with flanking enemies to deliver a striking blow to the enemy formations. Since the sub-par penetration of the M82 APCBC is negated by the enemies' side armour weakness (be aware with IS-4M, as it has 160 mm of side armour, expect to use both APCBC and APCR). As aforementioned earlier, the T32E1 excels better at flanking than other roles due to characteristics of its gun performance, mobility, and protection.
Other considerations in Simulator mode is the different gun sight placement and 3rd person perspective. The gun sight is tough to control, located on the left side of mantlet. The 3rd person perspective, now in the commander's cupola area, helps the T32E1 by restricting the enemy's field of vision (although the player is as well) and allow the T32E1 to move stealthily more easily.
Tactics
The T32E1 can fulfil major roles in battle due to its flexibility at any kind of operation, known as "Jack-of-all-Trades". Its role is not far different than the well-known M26 Pershing Medium Tank. There are 5 known roles that can be used in battle, which are Assault, Flank, Snipe, Support, and the last but not least, Ambush:
- Assault
- Leading an assault directly into the enemy forces is the most frequently used tactic, especially in urban areas. It's quite capable to abuse the enemy shots with angling, but not entirely, since battle will mostly take place at very close range (about 0 - 100 meters). A strike team is needed to carry out an assault since T32E1 can't cover its side armour and slow reload time alone. In most cases, a T32E1 will likely to initiate flanking role to the enemy once it comes up-close to increase the chance of incapacitating a vehicle with a single strike in quick succession.
- Flank
- Flanking is the most effective role for the T32E1. Its characteristics and performances are highly orientated for flanking purpose. At given destructive penetrating power of the M82 Shell from close range, the T32E1 can critically damage, if not outright knocking out everything from the side. Be aware when initiating the operation, since someone might be trying to flank the flanker. Flanking is also a part of the assault role, albeit with a more focused objective on manoeuvring on the enemies' side. At this rate, the enemies will likely to scatter around to evade, so eliminating any available threat is required to continue the tactic. The armour will greatly aid in this tactic, as return fire is commonly a hasty act, yet be wary of the tank's weak spots! On open terrain keep manoeuvring during reload to throw of aim, alternatively on distances above 400m drive slightly angled forwards and backwards.
- Snipe
- Sniping is frequently used by the T32E1 when encountering enemies in a large, open map such as Kursk and Mozdok. The T44 APCR is a good option when the target is too far and very fast since the M82 APCBC travels slower than APCR. Locating target is much harder than engaging at close range, since most of the enemies will also be sniping from afar, especially when sharpshooting against German tanks. Fortunately, almost no T32E1's frontal weak spot will be a viable target when sniping, since the weak spots are much more protected at longer range. It is suggested, if having to play on wide open terrain found on Tunisia, Kursk and Mozdok, to take full ammo load and 50/50 of APCR and APHE.
- Support
- Supporting the allies to attack the enemies is a backup plan used to increase the allied forces firepower when attacking the enemies, such as providing covering fire for smaller tank such as T-44 medium tank or to increase the combat effort alongside the other heavy tank like Tiger II Heavy Tank.
- Ambush'
- Ambush is preferable when enemies are unaware of the presence of a concealing T32E1. It should be commenced at a strategic choke point where the enemies will likely to mobilize their armours from there. Be aware that ambush is only used when the enemies are already identified by allies and heading to the choke point. Otherwise, sitting still and waiting for nothing can burden the team. Keep in mind that 90 mm T15E2 is L/73 length gun (aka very long), so make sure the gun barrel is hidden from the enemy if planning to catch them by surprise.
- "Hunker down"-Support
- Move up to an distant open spot, visible from the enemy spawn or main route of attack and begin firing machine guns to draw in attention. The idea is caught the enemies attention and with this bind enemy firepower on something they can physically not destroy from the distance. Both the hostile force and the T32E1 will be pinned down in a stalemate, subtracting from each team's firepower. Therefore keep in mind the enemy's tank value. If it is only an M26, the T32E1 may be better off in the Support role, but if it is an IS-4 or several other evenly ranked tanks, then pursuing the hunker down tactic is worthwhile to the team's success.
- Conclusion
- Overall, the T32E1 is a versatile heavy tank with an impressive performance in the game, but since it's not invincible with a fair amount of potential weaknesses, it requires specific knowledge with this tank to survive. The T32E1 will lead to the pinnacle of the U.S. heavy tank branch – the 120 mm Gun Tank M103.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Removal of the hull MG port = one less weak spot to worry about
- Same hard-hitting 90mm gun as on the original T32
- Great turret armour; all but invincible when hull-down
- Good hull armour; can take a hit or two, especially if angled correctly
- T41 AP shell has outstanding post-penetration damage
- Reasonably mobile for a heavy tank
- Great gun depression; good for hull-down tactics
Cons:
- Ammo rack in the middle of the tank; a shell strike and penetration there can result in instantaneous destruction
- Long reload time of 15-18 seconds
- Small but noticeable shot trap where the mantlet meets the hull; enemies may try to shoot there
- Stock AP round doesn't have explosive filler, making killing enemy tanks somewhat difficult
History
In the latter stages of World War 2 in Europe, the M26 Pershing began to see service. Its gun was seen as efficient enough to destroy enemy tanks, but its armor was seen as insufficient. In 1945, work began on a heavy version of the M26. The prototype was called the T32. It featured an M26 Pershing chassis which had been elongated to add a road wheel (7 total now on each side) to reduce the ground pressure. The frontal armor of the hull was also thicker than the Pershing's and it was angled better. The turret was heavily armored, much more so than the Pershing's, but it was a similar design visually. The turret housed a primary armament of a 90 mm T15E2 gun, similar to the T15E1 gun of the M26E1-1 Super Pershing. This gun was much longer than the gun of the M26 Pershing, and as such had much higher armor penetration characteristics. There was an upgrade of the T32, called the T32E1. The T32E1 featured a reduction in weak points in the frontal armor. For example, the hull machine gun was removed. The design came too late to see combat in World War 2, and when the war ended, the project was cancelled before it got to the production phase.
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
Bibliography
- T32 Heavy Tank. (2019, September 3). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T32_Heavy_Tank&oldid=913784035
| USA heavy tanks | |
|---|---|
| M4 Jumbo | M4A3E2 · Cobra King · M4A3E2 (76) W |
| M6 | M6A1 · T1E1 · T1E1 (90) · M6A2E1 |
| T26 | T26E1-1 · T26E5 |
| T29/30/34 | T29 · T30 · T34 |
| T32 | T32 · T32E1 |
| M103 | M103 |
| Others | T14 |
