T32 Heavy Tank

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Heavy tank

T32 Heavy Tank

Type| Heavy tank
Place of origin| United States
Service history
Used by| United States
Wars| none
Production history
Designed| 1945
Produced| 1945–1946
No. built| 4
Variants| T32 (2)
T32E1 (2)
Specifications
Mass| 120,000 lb (54,431 kg; 54 t)
Length| 426.6 in (35.55 ft; 10.84 m) with gun
278.4 in (23.20 ft; 7.07 m) without gun
Width| 148.3 in (12.36 ft; 3.77 m)
Height| 110.7 in (9.23 ft; 2.81 m)
Crew| 5

* * *

Armor| Turret

Front: 298 mm (11.7 in)
Side: 152–197 mm (6.0–7.8 in)
Rear: 152 mm
Gun shield: 298 mm
Hull
Front: 95–127 mm (3.7–5.0 in)
Side: 76 mm (3.0 in)

Rear: 51 mm (2.0 in)

Main
armament

| T15E2 90mm L/73 gun

Secondary
armament

| T32:

1 × Browning .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber heavy machine gun HMG
2 × Browning .30 in (7.62 mm) caliber medium machine gun MMG
T32E1:
1 × Browning .50 caliber HMG

1 × Browning .30 caliber MMG

Engine| Ford GAC V12,
770 hp (570 kW)
Power/weight| 14.36 hp/t (10.71 kW/t)
Transmission| Cross Drive Transmission
Suspension| torsion-bar

Operational
range

| 100 mi (160 km) (road range)
Maximum speed | 22 mph (35 km/h) (roads)

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Tanks of the United States

World War I|

* Mark VIII tank
* Ford 3-Ton M1918
* Holt gas electric tank
* M1917 light tank
* Renault FT

Interwar|

* Medium Tank M1921
* Medium Tank M1922
* T1 Light Tank
* T2 Medium
* M1 Combat Car
* M2 light tank
* Christie M1931

World War II|

* M2 medium tank
* M3/M5 Light Tank
* M3 Lee
* M4 Sherman
* M22 Locust
* M24 Chaffee
* Marmon-Herrington CTLS
* M26 Pershing

Cold War|

* M41 Walker Bulldog
* M46 Patton
* M103
* T57
* T110
* M47 Patton
* M48 Patton
* T95 medium tank
* M60 tank
* T92 Light Tank
* M551 Sheridan
* MBT-70
* XM803
* Expeditionary tank
* M1 Abrams
* M8 Armored Gun System
* Block III tank

Post–Cold War|

* M10 Booker

The T32 Heavy Tank was a heavy tank project started by the United States Army to create an appropriate successor to the M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbo". The US Ordnance board managed the production of four prototypes, the main goal being to have the new tank share many common parts with the M26 Pershing.

## History and development[edit]

Despite its promising performance during the final stages of World War II, the M26 Pershing was thought to be too lightly armored to do battle with most German heavy tanks and tank destroyers, such as the Tiger II. Even though its gun was able to penetrate armor satisfactorily, its own armor was believed to be insufficient at stopping enemy shells. Work began in early 1945 to develop a significantly heavier variant of the M26 Pershing. Using data collected from the T29 Heavy Tank project and incorporating an experimental 90mm main gun firing armor-piercing, composite rigid ammunition as well as a more advanced transmission, the first T32 tank was produced. The T15E2 gun mounted on this tank was much more powerful than the gun mounted on the Pershing, and similar to the T26E4 Super Pershing which utilized a similar experimental 90mm, the counterweight at the back of the turret was enlarged substantially to offset the long gun's weight. The T32E1 variant eliminated weak spots in the frontal armor, including removing the hull mounted machine gun. As a result of all the changes, the M26 chassis had to be expanded, with an extra road wheel added on each side, bringing the total to seven, to reduce the ground pressure due to the tank's increased weight. After the end of World War II, the project was cancelled and the vehicles were scrapped.[1][2]

| T32[3] | T32E1[4]

|
|

Length (gun forward)  | 446.6 in (11.3 m)
Width  | 148.3 in (3.8 m) (over sandshields)
Height  | 110.7 in (2.8 m) (over cupola)
Ground clearance  | 18.3 in (46.5 cm)
Top speed  | 22 mph (35 km/h)
Fording  | 48 in (1.2 m)
Max. grade  | 60%
Max. trench  | 8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Max. wall  | 46 in (1.2 m)
Range  | 100 mi (160 km)
Power  | 770 hp (570 kW) at 2800 rpm
Power-to-weight ratio  | 12.8 hp/ST (10.5 kW/t)
Torque  | 1,560 lb⋅ft (2,120 N⋅m) at 1600 rpm
Weight, combat loaded  | 120,000 lb (54,430 kg)
Ground pressure  | 11.6 psi (80 kPa) (28 in (71 cm) tracks)
14.2 psi (98 kPa) (23 in (58 cm) tracks)
Main armament  | T15E2 90 mm gun
Elevation, main gun  | +20° / −10°
Traverse rate  | 15 seconds/360°
Main gun ammo  | 54 rounds
Firing rate  | 4 rounds/minute

## References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to T32 Heavy Tank.

1. ^ "The US T32 Heavy Tank". TankNutDave.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
2. ^ Rickard, J (24 March 2017). "Heavy Tank T32". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
3. ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 201.
4. ^ Hunnicutt 1988, p. 202.

## Sources[edit]

* Hunnicutt, R.P (1988). Firepower: A History of the American Heavy Tank. Presidio. ISBN 0891413049.

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American armored fighting vehicles of World War II

Tanks|

| Light|

* M1 Combat Car
* M2 Light Tank
* M3 Stuart
* M22 Locust
* M24 Chaffee
* Marmon-Herrington CTLS

|

Medium|

* M2 Medium Tank
* M3 Lee
* M4 Sherman

Heavy|

* M26 Pershing

Self-propelled
artillery|

* M4 Mortar Carrier
* M21 Mortar Motor Carriage
* T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage
* M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage (Priest)
* M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage (Scott)
* M12 Gun Motor Carriage
* M40 Gun Motor Carriage
* M3 Gun Motor Carriage
* M43 Howitzer Motor Carriage
* T34 Rocket Launcher

Tank destroyers|

* T48 Gun Motor Carriage
* M3 Gun Motor Carriage
* M6 Gun Motor Carriage
* M10 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage
* M18 Gun Motor Carriage (Hellcat)
* M36 Gun Motor Carriage

Armored carriers|

* M2 half-track car
* M3 half-track
* M5 half-track
* M9 half-track
* M39 Armored Utility Vehicle

Amphibious vehicles|

* Landing Vehicle Tracked

Armored cars|

* M3 Scout Car
* M8 Light Armored Car
* M20 Armored Utility Car

Self-propelled
anti-aircraft guns|

* M13/M14 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage
* M15 Combination Gun Motor Carriage
* M16/M17 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage
* M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage

Experimental and
short production
run vehicles|

| Tanks|

* M6 heavy tank
* Light Tank T7/Medium Tank M7
* T14 Heavy Tank
* T20 Medium Tank
* T25 Medium Tank
* T28 Super Heavy Tank
* T29 Heavy Tank
* T30 Heavy Tank
* T32 Heavy Tank
* T34 Heavy Tank

|

Self-propelled
artillery|

* T54/T59 Gun Motor Carriage
* T24/T40/M9 Tank Destroyer
* T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage
* 8-inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T84
* T92/T93 Gun Motor Carriage
* T55E1 Motor Carriage
* T88 Gun Motor Carriage
* T18 Howitzer Motor Carriage

Armoured cars|

* M38 Wolfhound
* T17 Deerhound
* T18 Boarhound
* T27 Armored Car

Lend-Lease|

* T16 Universal Carrier
* T17E1 Staghound

American armored fighting vehicle production during World War II

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Prototype armoured fighting vehicles of World War II

Light tanks|

* Leichttraktor
* Kugelpanzer
* E-5
* "Chassis 160"
* Type 5 Ke-Ho
* Ku-Ro/So-Ra
* 4TP
* 9TP
* 10TP
* Verdeja
* Antonov A-40
* Schofield

Medium tanks|

* E-50 Standardpanzer
* Panther II
* Panther Ausf. F
* Carro Armato M Celere Sahariano
* Type 97 Chi-Ni
* Type 98 Chi-Ho
* Type 3 Ke-Ri
* Type 4 Chi-To
* Type 5 Chi-Ri
* R-3
* T-43
* KV-13
* T7/M7
* T20

Heavy tanks|

* E-75 Standardpanzer
* Neubaufahrzeug
* VK 4501 (P)
* VK 4502 (P)
* P43 tank
* Type 95
* T-100
* IS-6
* IS-7
* KV-4
* TOG1
* TOG2
* A20
* Excelsior (A33)
* M6
* T14
* T29
* T30
* T32

Super-heavy tanks|

* E-100
* Panzer VII Löwe
* Panzer VIII Maus
* Panzer IX and Panzer X
* Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte
* O-I

Infantry tanks|

* Valiant (A38)
* Black Prince (A43)

Self-propelled guns/Tank destroyers|

* E-10
* E-25
* Heuschrecke 10
* Geschützwagen Tiger
* Semovente da 149/40
* ATG Carrier So-To
* Type 5 Na-To
* Type 5 Ho-Ru
* Type 5 Ho-Ri
* Ka-To Sha 105 mm (4.1 in) SP AT Gun
* TKS-D
* Mareșal
* TACAM R-1
* TACAM T-38
* T40/M9
* Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster
* Sturer Emil
* Heuschrecke 10
* Dicker Max
* Ji-Ro Sha 105 mm (4.1 in)
* Hi-Ro Sha 150 mm (5.9 in)
* Type 4 Ho-To
* Type 5 Na-To
* Naval 12 cm SPG
* TACAM T-38
* SU-100Y
* SU-14
* Alecto
* Tortoise (A39)
* T18
* T95/T28
* T92/T93

Anti-aircraft|

* Pz. Sfl. IVc
* Flakpanzer Coelian
* Semovente da 20/70 quadruplo
* Skink
* Type 98 Ta-Se
* Type 98 20 mm (0.79 in) AAG
* Flakpanzer Mareșal

Cruiser/Cavalry tanks|

* 14TP
* AC3 "Thunderbolt"
* AC4
* 10TP

Amphibious tanks|

* Type 5 To-Ku
* PZInż 130

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