T32 Heavy Tank (Family)
Contents
Description
The Heavy Tank T32 and Heavy Tank T32E1 were a series of heavy tank prototypes built after World War 2 and using as many M26 Pershing components as possible, especially in the hull.
Vehicles
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IV Rank
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 T32  T32E1  |
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle family in more detail than in the introduction. 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 family's dev blog entries (if applicable).
Genesis
The Army saw the success of the M4A3E2 up-armored Sherman tank which was deployed to Europe in 1944. As such, on 7 December 1944, the Army Ground Forces requested that a new heavy tank project be created by the Ordnance Department to create a version of the M26 Pershing with heavier armor.
Two projects resulted from this, the first of which was simply an M26 with heavier armor, designated as the Heavy Tank T26E5 (later redesignated as a medium tank). The second project was of a new tank type that used components of the M26 Pershing - as many components of it as possible.
Development
As of 8 February 1945, OCM 26606 called for the construction of four prototypes for the second project, which was to be designated Heavy Tank T32. Approval of the project was granted two months later in March 1945. A mock-up of the T32 was nearly ready by 10 April 1945, with eighty percent of the blueprints released by that point.
T32 Pilot 1 was completed on 15 January 1946 and Pilot 2 was completed on 19 April 1946. They were shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing immediately after completion. Pilot 3 was completed on 14 May 1946 and Pilot 4 was completed on 19 June 1946. Pilot 3 was sent to Fort Knox for testing while Pilot 4 was kept at the Detroit Arsenal. The third and fourth pilots would be designated as Heavy Tank T32E1 on 9 August 1946 in accordance with OCM 28680.
The T32 was the first tank to be fitted with the EX-120 cross-drive transmission and tested at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Fort Knox. The transmission proved to have reliability issues leading to excessive maintenance requirements, but it gave useful insight that later resulted in the CD-850 series of cross-drive transmissions that would see production.
Heavy Tank T32
Heavy Tank T32E1
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
