M26 (France)

This page is about the medium tank M26 (France). For other versions, see M26 (Family).

▄M26

M4A4 (SA50)

Lorraine 40t

▄M26

M4A4 (SA50)

Lorraine 40t

France

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:63 000

Purchase:200 000

Show in game

Description

Seeking out a replacement to the ubiquitous M4 Sherman, the US Army produced the T26E3 heavy tank after a long production run fraught with delays. Later re-designated the M26 Pershing, its arrival late in 1945 meant that it had little effect in the course of World War II. Due to their late arrival, and a comparatively large production run of 2212 tanks meant that the US Army soon found itself with a surplus of tanks it had little need for. Thus, most Pershings were used for the Korean war, or lent out to allies such as Belgium and France. While other allies retained on to their M26 fleet for longer, Belgium retaining it till 1969, France quickly swapped them out for M47 Pattons.

The Medium Tank M26 Pershing was made available in the French ground tree in Update "Kings of Battle" . In comparison to the lighter, faster nature of French tanks such as the AMX M4, the Pershing's play style is a considerable departure from previous vehicles. Additionally, its specifications are fairly average, not excelling in any one area but doing well enough in most. The M26 , while not slow, lacks speed to be a quick responder. Armour is similar, and slightly better than the AMX M4's, but many of the higher-velocity cannons employed by other tanks at its rank can penetrate its armour. The 90mm gun present on the Pershing is quite devastating, especially when the M82 APHE is used. The APHE shell contains over 137g of TNT filler, almost always resulting in one shots - a phenomenon not commonly experienced in the French ground tree. However, the Pershing's shells lack the punch needed to go through the front glacis of most enemies it faces, including the Panther and even other American tanks including itself. While HVAP can alleviate this somewhat, its lack of angled penetration forces it to be used only for thick, flat armour. Ultimately, while requiring a great deal of skill from the player, the M26 can prove to be a capable tank in the right hands and situations.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull101 / 76 / 51

Turret101 / 76 / 76

Crew5 people

Visibility105 %

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	101.6 mm (42-46°) Front Glacis 162.5 mm (25-60°) Upper front glacis 76.2 mm (28-53°) Lower Glacis	76.2 mm (0-1°) Front 50.8 mm (0-3°) Rear	50.8 mm (7°) Top 22.2 mm (71°) Bottom	22.2 mm
Turret	101.6 mm (1-55°) Turret front 114.3 mm (1-84°) Gun mantlet	76.2 mm (2-54°)	76.2 mm (0-79°)	25.4 mm
Cupola	76.2 mm	76.2 mm	76.2 mm	25.4 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB54 / 18 km/h

RB and SB49 / 16 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight42.5 t

Engine power

AB954 hp

RB and SB500 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB22.4 hp/t

RB and SB11.8 hp/t

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	54	18	42.5	775	954	18.24	22.45
Realistic	49	16		442	500	10.4	11.76

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 325 → 4 279

RB3 871 → 4 981

SB5 058 → 6 509

Total cost of modifications52 800

90 900

Talisman cost1 700

Crew training57 000

Experts200 000

Aces800

Research Aces520 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 180 / 200 %

172 / 172 / 172 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 2 600 Cost: 4 500 145 Suspension Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 135 Brake System Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 135 Filters Research: 4 400 Cost: 7 600 250 Transmission Research: 4 300 Cost: 7 400 240 Engine Research: 4 300 Cost: 7 400 240	Improved Parts Research: 2 600 Cost: 4 500 145 Improved FPE Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 135 Crew Replenishment Research: 4 400 Cost: 7 600 250	Horizontal Drive Research: 2 600 Cost: 4 500 145 90mm_us_M82_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 2 600 Cost: 4 500 145 Adjustment of Fire Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 135 90mm_us_M304_APCR_ammo_pack Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 135 Elevation Mechanism Research: 4 400 Cost: 7 600 250 Artillery Support Research: 4 300 Cost: 7 400 240 90mm_us_M313_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 4 300 Cost: 7 400 240

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm M3 cannon

Ammunition70 rounds

First-order10 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.7 → 7.5 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

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	70	-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	17.9	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
M82 shot	APCBC	185	182	169	155	142	130
M304 shot	APCR	287	281	259	234	211	191
M71 shell	HE	20	20	18	17	16	16

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°
M82 shot	APCBC	853	10.91	1.2	14	137.2	48°	63°	71°
M304 shot	APCR	1,021	7.62	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
M71 shell	HE	823	10.55	0.2	0.1	1,210	79°	80°	81°

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	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
70	65 (+5)	56 (+14)	48 (+22)	40 (+30)	32 (+38)	24 (+46)	17 (+53)	11 (+59)	1 (+69)	No

Ammo racks of the M26 (France)

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• 1 shell from rack 7 is fired after rack 1 is emptied. For the purpose of clarity, it is counted as belonging to rack 2 in the table above.
• Rack 9 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 10 shells which will be replenished over time when not interrupted by firing.
  • The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun (about 13 seconds). Take this into account when playing.
• If you pack 17 (+53) shells, it will keep most of the hull empty of ammo.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 50°

Horizontal guidance-120° / 120°

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition5 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	600 (200)	575	-10°/+50°	±120°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	5,000 (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

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

Cons:

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

• Skins and camouflages for the M26 (France) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• M26 (Family)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.