T29 (Heavy Tank T29)

History of the T29 (heavy tank T29)

As World War II favored the Allies on all fronts, attention began to turn to the final blow needed in Europe, an operation aimed directly at the apex of the Nazi Empire in Berlin. Such a move would require weapons systems on a par with the powerful post-war equipment currently in use by the German Army. In addition to their legendary Panther (considered the best German all-around tank of the war) and Tiger I heavy tank, the Germans also introduced their "Tiger II", an impressive 75.5 ton Heavy tank with solid, thick armor protection and assembly of the famous 8.8 cm KwK 42 L/71 ("88") series of anti-tank guns. The Americans had begun to develop their own heavy tank, which eventually became the M26 "Pershing" by the end of the war. However, the Pershing was a heavy tank in the 46 ton range and was "only" armed with a 90mm main gun.

So some huge proportions were in order, and the Americans started working on several notable creations of heavy and "super-heavy" tanks, which eventually became the T28, T29, and T30 series of tanks - although none entered serial production or served in combat war seen in.

The T28 Super Heavy Tank was built by Pacific Car and Foundry in two pilot vehicle formats, featuring 12" thick armor and a 105mm main gun in a fixed hull structure - essentially a heavily armored SPG designed to Break through the last remnants of German defenses, creating gaps for other forces to exploit. Weighing 75 tons, the T30 was protected by 280mm armor and had a 155mm main gun in a movable turret.

The "T29" is a 70-ton product with up to 279mm of armor protection and a high-speed 105mm main gun in a mobile turret, developed following the same guidelines as the T30. The T29 and T30 tanks were designed and developed at the same time, based on the T26 Pershing chassis.

Using the T26E3 as a starting point, American engineers lengthened the fuselage and added extra wheels to compensate for the expected weight gain. To power the type, a Ford-branded GAC-series gasoline engine was selected and installed in the rear compartment. The main difference between the T29 and T30 heavy tanks is the use of a 105mm main gun instead of the latter's 155mm T7 series.

Work on the T29 began in March 1944.

The design of the T29 is fairly simple and conventional for a tank. The turret was placed on a tracked chassis in the middle of the design. The tracks on either side of the hull are fitted with eight twin tire wheels, the drive sprockets are at the rear and the track idlers are at the front. The upper part of the track is guided by no less than seven track pulleys.

The hull is spearheaded by a sloping forward-leaning plate that accommodates a ball-mounted machine gun position on the right front and a driver's position on the left front. Unlike previous U.S. wartime tank designs, the T29 has no high-profile superstructure on top of the hull. Instead, the fuselage roof was incorporated into the design as a flat structure, providing ample interior workspace for the engine, transmission and crew.

The most notable feature of the T29 is its tall, slender block turret for controlling the protruding main gun. As expected, the armor on all the main fairings is very thick, measuring between 70mm (front lower hull) and 203mm (gun cover).

The car consisted of a crew of six, including the driver, tank commander, full-time gunner, gunner, and two loaders - the gunner and driver sat in the front hull, and the rest of the crew sat in the turret. Overall dimensions include a barrel length of 37 feet 11.5 inches, a width of 12 feet 5.5 inches and a height of 10 feet 6 inches.

The total weight is about 70 tons.

The main armament is centered on a high-speed 105mm T5E2 main gun designed to penetrate thick armor. The function of the main gun is controlled by the layer, while the loading and unloading of the 105mm shells is handled by two dedicated loaders - one on the left side of the breech and the other on the right. Point defense against infantry is provided by a 7.62mm Browning M1919A4 general purpose machine gun located in the front right of the tank.

The tee allows limited traverse and elevation, but it works satisfactorily. The crew member also manages the radio suite at his location. 2 x 12.7mm Browning M2HB heavy machine guns are mounted as coaxial mounts in the turret next to the main gun. A third heavy 12.7mm machine gun was mounted on a trunnion on top of the turret to deal with aerial threats. The tank can carry up to 63 x 105mm shells, as well as 2,420 rounds of 12.7mm heavy machine gun ammunition and 2,500 rounds of 7.62mm machine gun ammunition.

The tank commander manages the gunner's actions, while the loader responds to target calls by delivering the required ammunition, whether HE or AP. Coaxial machine guns can also be used to mark target areas for the guns or engage enemy infantry and light armored vehicles if the 105mm guns are deemed "too lethal."

The T29 is powered by a Ford GAC 4-stroke V12 petrol engine producing 650 hp at 2,800 rpm. This gives the vehicle a reasonable top speed of 20 mph. The Ford engine also works with a General Motors CD-850-1 Series Crossdrive drivetrain with two forward gears and a single reverse gear setup.

The war in Europe ended in May 1945, and the expected stubborn fighting outside Berlin never materialized for the Western Allies, as Soviet troops bore the brunt of Berlin and passed through massive losses of armor and life. Nonetheless, their sacrifices ended the European campaign, and the need for such heavy tanks in the Pacific was never articulated, in part due to the dwindling resources of the Japanese war machine.

Imperial Japan surrendered in August 1945, officially ending World War II in September.

The U.S. Army continued to develop and test its heavy tanks, including the T29, but the strong interest and desire for such projects quickly waned over time. As a result, only six prototypes were completed. After their evaluation, the T29 and all related relatives faded into the pages of history, although the experience and data gathered from this work led to the development and eventual production of other systems, such as the "M103 Heavy Tank" - Cold War A 65-ton behemoth of the era, the armor was 180mm thick and the main gun was 120mm. Only 300 of these were produced and deployed across Europe in response to a major communist ground offensive that never materialized.

Only two T29 prototypes survived the "weapons purge" after World War II, both currently at Fort Knot, Kentucky, USA.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

63 x 105mm bullet

2,420x12.7mm ammo

2,500x7.62mm ammo

Changes