Source: PERSHING - A history of the Medium tank T20 series. Written by R.P Hunnictt. [No dry goods, please correct if there are errors]
T26E3 tank
The T26E3 tank is a "heavy tank" developed by the US military in late 1944, accumulating many years of design experience in the US military, but surprisingly, according to the description of its designer, General James Barnes, the T26 series of tanks was not born to fight the German Haw Par tank, but only as a continuation of the previous T20 series of medium tanks, which is strange. Rejected by top generals such as Leslie McNair, the new tank was not actually put into battle until a few months before the end of World War II. In the opinion of conservatives, the M4 medium tank has excellent performance and sufficient firepower, and there is no need to engage in so many "moths". Due to the lack of reliable heavily armored vehicles on the front line, General Barnes proposed to send 20 new tanks to Europe for "emergency relief", which was strongly opposed by the army leadership, Barnes threatened to send the plan to General Marshall for mediation, and the other side compromised, and 20 Pershing tanks were integrated into the Zebra Task Force, arriving in Antwerp, Belgium, in January 1945, and Paris on February 9 to head for the heart of Germany. Before understanding the actual combat situation of the Pershing tank, let's familiarize ourselves with the performance data of the Pershing tank. The T26E3 is equipped with a 90mm L50/M3 tank gun with similar performance to the German Kwk36 88mm L56 gun, and its main ammunition is APCBC-T M82, APBC-T T33, HVAP M304 (T30E16) and HE M71. The Pershing tank is made of 46-degree inclined 4in CHA cast steel, which provides fairly effective protection for the crew. Pershing's gun shield is 4.5 in thick, the head is 3 in, and it is tilted 53 degrees, and its frontal protection is better than that of the Tiger and Panther G, especially the heavy head can even be immune to the 88mm FLAK36 hit, even the gun shield can defend against 88 guns at 2000-2500 meters.
The Pershing tank of Company C drove over the front line next to an M11E4 with a T4E4 demining device
The first battle of the Pershing tank took place on February 26, 1945 at Elsdorf, the No. 38 Pershing tank codename "Fire Ball" was destroyed by the Tiger tank hidden in the ruins of the building, the two sides exchanged fire less than 100 meters, the strong fire of the Tiger fired even illuminated the No. 38 Pershing, the first armor-piercing shell hit the Pershing tank shield, the shell successfully penetrated the Pershing defenses of the weak coaxial machine gun muzzle, killing the gunner and loader: "the first 8.8cm shot penetrated through the coaxial maching gun part，spun around inside the tur-ret killing the gunner and the loader。 "The second shell broke the muzzle brake, preventing the tank from firing, and the third shot hit the top of the turret of the Pershing tank, and the shell grazed the top of Pershing's head and pierced the open captain's tower hatch. Fortunately, the other members were not seriously injured, and the Tiger tank was ready to evacuate after the sneak attack, but it was stuck in the ruins of a building and could not move, so the crew had to abandon the car and flee. The loader of the Tiger was captured by the Americans and admitted that the tank he was riding had destroyed Pershing 38. In the days that followed, the 38th Pershing underwent repairs, replacing the spare barrel of an M36 tank destroyer and repairing the perforation, and the Fireball returned on March 7.
U.S. troops inspecting the destroyed Pershing No. 38 and could see a clear perforation on the right side of the turret
Although the Pershing lost the first battle, the day after the Fireball was destroyed, on February 27, 1945, another tank battle took place at Elsdorf, and the No. 40 Pershing tanks of Company E destroyed a Tiger and two fours at a distance of 900yd and 1200yd, respectively. Like the Fireball, Pershing No. 40 was subordinate to the 33rd Tank Regiment of the 3rd Panzer Division, the commander of the vehicle. Pershing No. 40 was commanded by Mashlonik, an experienced commander who had destroyed a total of 12 German tanks in his Sherman in previous battles. Before the battle, Mashlonik commanded No. 40 Pershing to discover the Tiger hidden in the firing pit, and the commander immediately decided to destroy the Tiger.
Pershing 40
The No. 40 Pershing slowly approached the Tiger, the commander ordered the loader to load an M304 high-speed armor-piercing shell, when traveling to the distance of the Tiger 900yd, the Tiger seemed to spot the approaching Pershing tank and tried to escape from the firing pit, the Tiger exposed its vulnerable head when moving, the No. 40 Pershing immediately fired, the first M304 (HVAP) flew out of the breech, hit the Tiger tank in the head and destroyed the Tiger's transmission system, just like that, the Tiger has become a live target that cannot move, The loader loaded another T33 sharp-piercing shell, and Pershing fired a second shot, piercing the lower right of the Tiger's shield: "A T33 shot hit the bottom of the gun mantlet next to the hull penetrating the turret cau-sing an explosion." "The T33 detonated the Tiger's ammunition rack, essentially destroying the Tiger, and after the Tiger caught fire, the crew escaped from the vehicle, and the Pershing fired two M71 high-explosive rounds, completely destroying the Tiger and killing the fleeing crew. The destroyed Tiger tank was part of the 501st Heavy Armoured Battalion, number 221. After destroying the Tiger, Pershing No. 40 spotted three more approaching German tanks, which were later determined to be three No. 4 tanks, and Pershing fired T33 armor-piercing shells that hit and destroyed two of the Type IV Js: "The two panzer IVs, were knocked out and burned at a range of 1200 yards with one round each of T33." The third No. 4 tank was not counted because its whereabouts were unknown. Pershing 40 achieved the first and best record among the Zebras. On the way to the clone, Pershing 40 destroyed another tank number four.
Mashlonik (right) poses with war correspondents, behind a destroyed Tiger tank
The second loss of the Pershing tank occurred on the night of March 1, 1945, the Pershing tank belonged to the Grim-ball platoon, the number 22, the Pershing tank No. 22 was hit by a 150mm high-explosive shell fired from a distant ambush from the Wild Bee self-propelled gun, the Wild Bee fired two high-explosive shells, the first shell hit the right rear load wheel of the No. 22 Pershing tank, the explosion damaged Pershing's tracks and load wheels, and the engine was also hit and fired, Commander Sergeant Chester Key led the crew out of the car to extinguish the fire. The second high-explosive shell then hit the rear of the Pershing tank's Commander's Observation Tower, killing Chester Key instantly, and blowing the Commander's Tower 25 feet away. Fortunately, the Pershing tank has strong protection to protect the crew members hidden in the car, and Sergeant Key is in a weak commander's tower, which obviously will not end well under the direct impact of high-explosive shells, but it also indirectly proves that high-explosive shells are not effective against heavy tanks. The loss of the Pershing on the 22nd left Grim ball with only 4 available Pershing tanks. The 22nd Pershing was repaired until March 7.
Damaged Pershing tank No. 22, part of the Grim ball platoon
On March 7, 1945, an extremely important battle on the Western Front was fought along the Rhine, with the Germans holding the fortified Ludendorff Railway Bridge, two bridgeheads with powerful machine-gun positions, making it difficult for infantry to advance. 10 days before the attack on the Ludendorff railway bridge, the 3rd Panzer Division launched an offensive across the Rohr River, and Pershing tanks were transported along the Rhine. Before the attack , the 9th Panzer Division divided the Pershing tanks into one and two batches to equip different companies , but in the 14th Battalion , all five Pershing tanks were delivered to the Grim ball platoon. After the battle for the Ludendorff Railway Bridge, Grim ball's Pershing tank platoon, including the 27th, 28th, 35th, and 39th Pershings, joined the battle. Lieutenant Timmerman's American infantry attack was thwarted, and German machine-gun fire cost the Americans huge casualties, but after the arrival of the Pershing tank, the tide of battle was reversed, and Grim ball's Pershing tank fired M71 90mm high-explosive shells at the German bridgehead, and the huge explosion destroyed the machine gun fire point: "but quickly silenced by 90mm fire from two of lieutenant Grim ball's." tanks。 The Germans tried to blow up the Ludendorff Railway Bridge, but the bridge deck was severely damaged due to the use of type II explosives, but the bridge did not collapse, and the Germans sent jet bombers and failed to blow up the bridge. Due to the severe damage to the bridge, behemoths like Pershing were forbidden to drive on the bridge, and on March 12, Pershing tanks, with the help of sappers, crossed the Rhine by barge, and after 1400 hours of hard fighting, the American army successfully captured the Ludendorff railway bridge and launched an attack on German territory.
Grim ball's Pershing tank is preparing for floating
On March 6, 1945, as the Americans were caught up in the battle for Cologne, Captain Gray followed the Third Armoured Division in search for a missing Pershing tank, the No. 25 Pershing of Company H of the 3rd Panzer Division. Due to the fierce fighting in Cologne, Gray had to temporarily abandon the search until Cologne was captured by American troops, and the search gradually resumed. According to the information provided by the escaped crew, the wreckage of Pershing No. 25 was eventually found in the village of Niehl, not far north of Cologne, according to the investigation, it was a rhinoceros tank destroyer that destroyed Pershing No. 25, the rhinoceros hid at a distance of 300yd and fired, the 88mm armor-piercing shell hit and penetrated the head of Pershing No. 25, and the shell exploded after passing through the driver's legs: "8.8cm gun at under 300 yards range." The crew all escaped from the burning vehicle with no casualties, and the 25th Pershing was subsequently martyred, the turret burned and the hull was badly damaged. Captain Gray believed that although the tank could be repaired, the front line lacked the parts needed for a new tank, and the restoration work would take several months, and of the 20 Pershing tanks of the Zebra contingent, the 25th was the only tank to be completely destroyed, and the restoration work continued until the end of World War II.
Pershing No. 25 under the first piercing
The Battle of Cologne was the largest tank battle since the Zebra Task Force landed in Europe, and the Third Panzer Division engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Germans defending Cologne, a Panther tank ambushed in the ruins of the station tunnel opened fire on two advancing M4 tanks, and the Panther hit the shield of one of the M4A1 76W, killing Commander Kellner, loader and driver. At the same time, the 26th Pershing (Eagle 7) of the E Company of the 3rd Panzer Division received the combat mission, and in the previous battle, the 26th Pershing smashed a tank No. 4 with the collapsed building. On the 26th, Pershing drove to the junction in front of Cologne Cathedral, and gunner Clarence Smoyer spotted the Panther tank, at this time the Panther's weak side was exposed to the muzzle of the Pershing tank's black hole hole, and the Panther responded, turning the muzzle to Pershing. In order to prevent the Panther from opening fire first, Pershing rushed all the way to the middle of the intersection. The Panther's commander, Bartellborth, who had never seen "such a large American tank," ordered a ban on firing, giving the 26th Pershing a chance call, another version of which is that the Pershing tank opened fire in the middle of the march and the Panther did not have time to lock onto the target. Pershing's gunner Smoyer opened fire on the march, and the first T33 armor-piercing shell hit the Panther's side, but did not cause damage. Pershing fired another T33 shot, successfully penetrating the Panther's turret, causing the Panther to catch fire and killing the gunner, Pershing fired two more M304 armor-piercing shells, piercing the center of the Panther's shield and the side of the hull, and penetrating from the other side of the Panther, the Panther was completely destroyed, one member died on the spot, one was rescued by the US military and died in a field hospital, one member was missing, and the other two members survived. The battle was recorded by U.S. Army war correspondent Jim Bates, Commander Earley and Bates of Pershing 26 received the Bronze Star after the battle, other members were posthumously recognized the Bronze Star in 2019, and Smoyer, the last member of Pershing 26, died on October 2, 2022.
The remains of the Cologne leopard
At the beginning of 1945, after being deeply aware of the limitations of the M3 tank gun, the US military decided to develop a long-barreled 90mm gun, which was benchmarked against the German 88mm Kwk43 tank gun, and the long-barreled 90 gun was finalized as the T15E1 gun, T15 could fire 90mm M82, T33, M304, and could also fire special types such as T44 high-speed armor-piercing shells and T43 truncated armor-piercing shells, and the modified T26E1 prototype was equipped with T15E1 guns. After the arrival of T26E1 in Paris, Lieutenant MeDougai, who was in charge of directing its operations, in order to protect the only T26E1 modified car, cut off the first armor from a destroyed Panther tank and welded it on the T26E1, on the head, MeDougai also made some strengthening, 2 layers of 38mm boiler steel were welded on the head, although the quality is unknown, but still play a good defensive effect, the modified T26E1/T15 was called "Super Pershing" by front-line soldiers ”。 There is also a good example of a battle with the German 507th Panzer Battalion at "Bad Karlshafen" on the Weser River on March 7, 1945, according to the books of Zarog and Belton Cooper, and the Super Pershing opened fire at a distance of about 1500yd, possibly firing a T33 armor-piercing projectile, which hit and destroyed a German tank, which Zarog specifically mentions, Super Pershing could never have destroyed the No. 4 or assault gun, only the Tiger or Panther, and according to the damage report of the 507th Battalion that day, Super Pershing most likely destroyed a Cheetah.
The last photo of Super Pershing, taken by G.B Jarrett
Pershing tanks are the starting point of modern American tanks, in World War II, more than 300 Pershings were transported to the front, but only 20 Pershing tanks of the "Zebra Task Force" actually participated in the battle, they showed amazing effectiveness in the battle, Pershing tanks successfully contained the tiger and leopard. Pershing, as a "beacon", guided the birth of the Patton series of tanks, even the M1A2 tank widely equipped by the US military can find the shadow of Pershing tank, and the Zebra Task Force soldiers who fought side by side with Pershing were gradually washed away by the times and finally buried in the dust of history.
Pershing tank in Germany, March 14, 1945