1:35 US Tank T26E4 "Super Pershing" - Pre-Production
Item #35319

DESCRIPTION
About the M26 Pershing

Development of what would become the M26 Pershing began in 1942.
It was to be a replacement for the M4 Sherman, which was the
standard U.S. Army tank at the time, and features such as a lower
profile hull and cast turret were incorporated during the
development process of the various prototypes. This eventually
culminated in the T26E1 prototype armed with the 90mm M3 gun, and
from that stemmed the production version which was called the
T26E3. The first T26E3s were sent to Europe in January 1944, and
as they were deployed to the battlefield, they were re-designated
M26. Although over 300 reached the theater before the end of the
war, only 20 actually saw combat. In these limited actions, the
M26s proved capable of defeating the German Panther and Tiger
tanks they were designed to counter.

About the T26E4 "Super Pershing"

Although the standard M26 Pershing's 90mm M3 gun was powerful, it
was not on par with the German King Tiger heavy tank's gun. Thus
the T15E1 90mm gun, which was larger in caliber and fired a
one-piece shell at a higher muzzle velocity, was developed. This
gun was fitted onto a modified T26E1 prototype, and featured
cylindrical stabilizers mounted on the turret to cope with the
longer length of the gun barrel. This was the first "Super
Pershing" and it was sent to Europe as well, where it was
involved in just a handful of engagements against German tanks.
The second "Super Pershing" was created by modifying a T26E3.
This was designated T26E4 and was armed with a T15E2 90mm gun
that fired a two-piece ammunition and a redesigned gun mount to
eliminate the need for the stabilizers. This pre-production T26E4
"Super Pershing" was not sent to Europe. The modifications that
were tested on this pre-production T26E4 were incorporated into
the actual production-spec T26E4s, of which 25 were built before
production was canceled.