M4/T26 - Revision history

U37300711: Fixed incorrect name for the hull, it is an M4, not an M4A3

2024-02-27T05:40:37Z

Fixed incorrect name for the hull, it is an M4, not an M4A3

U44629479: Undo revision 179021 by U119517690 (talk)

2023-12-19T05:35:50Z

Undo revision 179021 by U119517690 (talk)

U119517690: /* Usage in battles */

2023-12-19T03:14:31Z

‎Usage in battles

U28580205: /* Usage in battles */

2023-10-07T13:39:54Z

‎Usage in battles

U139560895: /* Usage in battles */

2023-09-16T11:37:55Z

‎Usage in battles

U139560895: /* Usage in battles */

2023-09-16T11:34:19Z

‎Usage in battles

U28580205 at 03:28, 15 September 2023

2023-09-15T03:28:20Z

U62135054: Removed placeholder text in survivability and armour, and mobility sections

2023-09-07T14:37:49Z

Removed placeholder text in survivability and armour, and mobility sections

U62135054: Added detailed descriptions of performance in survivability and armour, and mobility sections

2023-09-07T14:35:47Z

Added detailed descriptions of performance in survivability and armour, and mobility sections

U44629479: Edits

2023-09-02T07:56:24Z

Edits

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 == Description ==
 <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
-When the US Army came to the realization that the new German tanks, Panthers and Tigers, were not only getting progressively tougher and deadlier, but were also becoming more numerous on the battlefield, they began to search for solutions to adequately deal with the threat. The [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm M1 gun]] was available and implemented onto their standard [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tank, but the 76 mm firepower proved to be disappointing against the German tank armour. The search for a bigger gun was needed for the US tanks, and one solution was to simply add the turret of the developing [[M26|M26 Pershing]] (then still known as T26) onto the M4A3 Sherman hull. The single prototype test in 1944 proved that the conversion could be done, however the overall project was cancelled once it was determined that the research and development time to test out the viability of the design in combat would not make the design come any faster than the newer M26 tank.
+When the US Army came to the realization that the new German tanks, Panthers and Tigers, were not only getting progressively tougher and deadlier, but were also becoming more numerous on the battlefield, they began to search for solutions to adequately deal with the threat. The [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm M1 gun]] was available and implemented onto their standard [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tank, but the 76 mm firepower proved to be disappointing against the German tank armour. The search for a bigger gun was needed for the US tanks, and one solution was to simply add the turret of the developing [[M26|M26 Pershing]] (then still known as T26) onto the M4 Sherman hull. The single prototype test in 1944 proved that the conversion could be done, however the overall project was cancelled once it was determined that the research and development time to test out the viability of the design in combat would not make the design come any faster than the newer M26 tank.
 Introduced in [[Update "La Royale"]], the M4/T26 is a strange amalgamation of components from two tanks. On one hand, the T26 turret introduces the mighty 90 mm gun into the Sherman chassis, allowing better chances against more heavily armoured foes. On the other hand, all this is being performed on top of a M4 hull and components. Aside from the additional weight of the T26 affecting the tank body, the Sherman armour is no longer competitive against its opponents. In addition, the relatively tall Sherman hull raises the T26 turret higher than from the original M26 Pershing, so players need to be aware of accidentally exposing the M4 hull that would allow enemies with any sort of high-velocity cannon to quickly pierce through the Sherman's armour and knock out the tank. That said, players would benefit from their familiarity with the Sherman handling to continue playing as though they were the 76 mm armed version, with the 90 mm gun making even heavy tanks easy picking for the player.
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 <!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
-Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3 at its BR, little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90 mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret, making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75 mm and 76 mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at its BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered.
+Sharing a similar hull with the M4A3 at its BR, little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90 mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret, making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75 mm and 76 mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at its BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered.
 On the other hand, as with most Shermans, the transmission will provide some defence against AP shots to the transmission housing. The much larger 90 mm cannon breech can soak up damage from certain angles, especially shots to the mantlet, preventing crew knockouts and ammo detonations to provide a chance at getting to cover and repairing. From the rear, the large engine will absorb a lot of shell fragments which would otherwise enter the crew compartment, while the radio station can provide some protection to the driver and machine gunner from shots to the rear of the turret.

@@ Line 145: / Line 145: @@
 <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->'''Pros:'''
-* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilize hills very well
+* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
 * Top-mounted .50 cal machine gun is useful against aircraft and open-topped or lightly-armoured vehicles
 * The M82 shot has a high chance of knocking out most tanks in one shot

@@ Line 145: / Line 145: @@
 <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->'''Pros:'''
-* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
+* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilize hills very well
 * Top-mounted .50 cal machine gun is useful against aircraft and open-topped or lightly-armoured vehicles
 * The M82 shot has a high chance of knocking out most tanks in one shot

@@ Line 140: / Line 140: @@
 The M4/T26 has a very visible profile, so it should be played carefully, if possible the turret shell should be visible as it has higher armor than the frontal armor.
-This tank has no trouble breaking through the Tiger H1 and Tiger E, for other heavy tanks, play a little more strategically to break through their weak points but with a 90mm gun, they can fight off most enemies in its range. BR.
+This tank has no trouble breaking through the Tiger H1 and Tiger E, for other heavy tanks, play a little more strategically to break through their weak points but with a 90mm gun, they can fight off most enemies in its BR range.
 === Pros and cons ===

@@ Line 138: / Line 138: @@
 The M4/T26 has a powerful 90mm gun, but very weak frontal armor. Enemies will have no trouble penetrating the armor, this tank should be a support tank and not a pure attack tank. This tank must never fight alone, it must always have a teammate if possible with heavier armor to be used as cover.
-The M4/T26 has a very visible profile, so it should be played carefully, if possible the turret hull should be visible as it has higher armor than the frontal armor.
+The M4/T26 has a very visible profile, so it should be played carefully, if possible the turret shell should be visible as it has higher armor than the frontal armor.
 This tank has no trouble breaking through the Tiger H1 and Tiger E, for other heavy tanks, play a little more strategically to break through their weak points but with a 90mm gun, they can fight off most enemies in its range. BR.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 <!-- Example: * Rolled homogeneous armour (Front, Side, Rear, Hull roof)
 * Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Transmission area) -->
 * Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, turret roof)
 * Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, mantlet, transmission housing, MG port)
@@ Line 44: / Line 45: @@
 '''Notes:''' <!-- Any additional notes which the user needs to be aware of -->
 <!-- Example: * Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick, and torsion bars are 60 mm thick. -->
 * Suspension members and wheels are 15mm of structural steel
 * Track covers are 4mm thick, though shots to the right hand side front overhang track cover from 88mm+ HE shells at certain impact angles can potentially knock out crew members from overpressure.
@@ Line 134: / Line 136: @@
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
-''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''
+The M4/T26 has a powerful 90mm gun, but very weak frontal armor. Enemies will have no trouble penetrating the armor, this tank should be a support tank and not a pure attack tank. This tank must never fight alone, it must always have a teammate if possible with heavier armor to be used as cover.
 === Pros and cons ===

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 <!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
-Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3, at it's BR little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75mm and 76mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at it's BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered.
+Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3 at its BR, little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90 mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret, making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75 mm and 76 mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at its BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered.
-On the other hand, as with most Shermans the transmission will provide some defence against AP shots to the transmission housing, and the much larger 90mm cannon breech can soak up damage from certain angles, especially shots to the mantlet, preventing crew knockouts and ammo detonations to provide a chance at getting to cover and repairing. From the rear, the large radial engine will absorb a lot of shell fragments which would otherwise enter the crew compartment, while the radio station can provide some protection to the driver and machine gunner from shots to the rear of the turret.
+On the other hand, as with most Shermans, the transmission will provide some defence against AP shots to the transmission housing. The much larger 90 mm cannon breech can soak up damage from certain angles, especially shots to the mantlet, preventing crew knockouts and ammo detonations to provide a chance at getting to cover and repairing. From the rear, the large engine will absorb a lot of shell fragments which would otherwise enter the crew compartment, while the radio station can provide some protection to the driver and machine gunner from shots to the rear of the turret.
 '''Armour type:''' <!-- The types of armour present on the vehicle and their general locations -->
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 ! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 |-
-| Hull || 63.5 mm (47°) ''Upper Glacis''
+| Hull || 63.5 mm (47°) ''Upper Glacis'' <br> 63.5-107.9mm (2-57°) ''Transmission Housing'' <br> 25.4mm ''MG Port'' || 38.1 mm (0°)  || 38.1 mm (5°) ''Top'' <br> 38.1 mm (11-89°) ''Bottom'' || 19.5 mm (0-21°)
 |-
-| Turret || 101.6 mm (1-55°) ''Turret front''
+| Turret || 101.6 mm (1-55°) ''Turret front'' <br> 130-255 mm (1-79°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 76.2 mm (2-54°) || 76.2 mm (0-79°) || 25.4 mm
 |-
 | Cupola || 76.2 mm (64°) || 76.2 mm (54°) || 76.2 mm (58°) || 25.4 mm
@@ Line 59: / Line 53: @@
 The stated max speed is achievable over level ground albeit with reasonable acceleration, while the reverse gear is not particularly fast but not extremely slow either. Braking is sharp and stops the vehicle in a short enough distance from top speed to allow for fast reactions to enemies. The use of differential braking means the tank will crawl forward when turning in place, and the turn rate is not especially fast with significant speed losses from steering.
 {{tankMobility|abMinHp=713|rbMinHp=407}}
@@ Line 153: / Line 144: @@
 * Very fast turret traverse
 * Turret armour can resist some shots, excels at a hull down position
 '''Cons:'''
@@ Line 163: / Line 152: @@
 * Lacks a vertical gun stabilizer compared to other Shermans, making it harder to take out targets on the move
 * 90 mm gun has a long reload time
 == History ==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 {{Specs-Tank-Armour}}
 <!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
 Sharing a largely unmodified hull with the M4A3, at it's BR little protection is offered against most guns it will face, even with proper angling. Additionally the lack of interior walls in the crew compartment means a single APHE shell from the front or sides will almost certainly knock out most or all crew members. With the use of the much larger 90mm shells, ammo storage takes up large amounts of space in the hull and turret making ammo hits more likely, further decreasing survivability. The T26 turret itself is better armoured than the 75mm and 76mm Shermans, with the mantlet offering the best chance at protection, however this can still relatively easily be penetrated by most large calibre AP shells at it's BR, and when combined with the elevated profile of the tall Sherman hull, little protection is offered.
@@ Line 57: / Line 56: @@
 {{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
 <!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->
 The stated max speed is achievable over level ground albeit with reasonable acceleration, while the reverse gear is not particularly fast but not extremely slow either. Braking is sharp and stops the vehicle in a short enough distance from top speed to allow for fast reactions to enemies. The use of differential braking means the tank will crawl forward when turning in place, and the turn rate is not especially fast with significant speed losses from steering.