T32

T32

T34

T32E1

T32

T34

T32E1

USA

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.3	7.3	7.3

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:82 000

Purchase:240 000

Description

The Heavy Tank T32 is a rank V American heavy tank with a battle rating of 7.3 (AB/RB/SB). It is one of the first American tanks to be released with the American ground tree in Update 1.45 "Steel Generals". It can be seen as an extremely buffed up version of a M26 Pershing with a high velocity 90 mm gun and extremely tough front turret armour able to exploit hull down positions against its competitors.

The T32 is a post-World War II heavy tank with 7.0 Battle Rating, and it's one of the best tanks for a specific battle tactic known as hull-down. Due to its 298 mm thick frontal turret armour, it will mostly deflect any incoming armour-piercing shells at any range, except incoming High Explosive Anti-Tank-Fin-Stabilized (HEAT-FS), aimed at the turret hole beneath the mantlet. It's crucial to conceal the T32's weak spots, especially the lower plate tips and lower mantlet since both spots can cause catastrophic damage to the T32.

Even if a T32 is hulling-down, doesn't mean it's invulnerable. If an armour-piercing shot deflects at the lower mantlet and penetrates through top hull armour, It will instantly knock out the tank, since the deflected shot goes right through the main ammo load and blows it off. Also, a very powerful HE shot from guns with over 120 mm calibre can cause severe damage to the T32's armour.

It's armed with the 90 mm T15E2 gun, and very effective against most enemies appearing in its Battle Rating range, mainly with late-World War II German and Soviet tanks. The stock ammunition T43 Armoured Piercing shell has good penetration but lack of explosive warhead is not enough to knock out most tanks in a single shot. A concentrated shot has to be very well aimed to seriously damage any enemy. Like most of U.S. tanks, the T32 performs better when armed with newly researched shell, the M82 Armour-Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap. Thus, the ammunition upgrades are very advisable to research first. The M82 shell has the roughly equal penetrating power with the T43 shell but contains 140 grams of explosive warhead inside, deadly enough to destroy any kind of tank in a single successful penetrating shot. Other shell includes T44 Armour-Piercing Composite Rigid, with impressively better penetration but unarmed with explosives. Despite having no explosive at all, APCR is good enough to cook off enemy tank's ammo load or take out critical module parts with an accurate shot. There's also T42 High Explosive shell, which is useful for destroying Self-Propelled Anti-Air vehicles, but rather ineffective against armoured vehicles.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Front, Turret, Cupola)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Side, Rear, Roof)

Tank Armour Table
Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	127 mm (54-70°) Front Glacis 95.25 mm (26-46°) Lower Glacis	76.2 mm	50.8 mm (0-56°)	38.1 mm
Turret	298.4 mm (8-21°) Turret front 298.4 mm (0-80°) Gun mantlet	152.4-196 mm (3-42°)	152.4 mm (0-72°)	25.4 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	152.4 mm (50°)	25.4 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm and tracks are 30 mm thick.
• Machine gun port weak point is 127 mm + 25.4 mm of armour.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
54.0	N/A	37 (AB)
		35 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	994	1,228
Realistic/Simulator	681	770
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	18.41	22.74
Realistic/Simulator	12.61	14.26

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm T15E2
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
54			-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	19.42	26.88	32.64	36.09	38.40
Realistic	14.28	16.80	20.4	22.60	24.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
18.85	16.68	15.37	14.50

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
T43 shot	AP	210	208	193	177	162	148
T42 shell	HE	13	13	13	13	13	13
T41	APCBC	224	221	206	188	172	157
T44 shot	APCR	270	266	250	231	214	195

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
T43 shot	AP	975	10.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	47°	60°	65°
T42 shell	HE	975	10.94	0.4	0.5	925	+0°	79°	80°	81°
T41	APCBC	975	11	1.2	20	137.2	+4°	48°	63°	71°
T44 shot	APCR	1143	7.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	66°	70°	72°

Shell types

• T43 AP - Stock shell, which means it's free to use, but highly recommended to replace with T41 APCBC once available.
• T41 APCBC - This shell is superior to the above shell in very way, able to penetrate ~10-15mm more armor at all angles and distances as well as an explosive filler to increase post-pen damage. Post-penetration effects are fantastic, only oversized fighting compartments can survive a successful penetration (e.g. Tortoise, Tiger) if the ammo racks have conveniently been emptied prior. 137 gram of TNT equivalent knocks the Soviet 100 mm D-10T out of the park.
• T44 APCR - Plus ~50mm penetration on all ranges, looks good on paper, but a further check reveals a great disadvantage. With greater armour angles the penetration quickly drops, bone breaking as angled plates become very common in era IV and V. Additionally, the post-penetration effects are small, so it's best to focus fire on important crewmen and modules to disable the tank momentarily, with direct hits on ammo racks having a good chance (but not guaranteed) to cause an explosion like the T34 AP shot. Best use one might find for this ammo is against tanks with flat armor like the Tiger II (H) front turret armor at long range, especially over 1000m where the T41 shell will struggle to pen in comparison.
• T42 HE - Penetration power is nothing to boast about, 1 mm more than the long 8,8 of the King Tigers, but 2 mm less than of the 90 mm cannons used by Patton's. Damage against common SPAA is satisfactory, but the long reload and good fuse sensitivity make the T41 APCBC shell the better choice. The roof-mounted M2HB Browning heavy machine gun is the better weapon of choice against light vehicles.

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T32

The cannon takes two-piece ammunition, which explains why it takes so long for the cannon to load despite its 90 mm caliber. The propellant stowage covers the entire floor of the fighting compartment three times over. While the projectiles themselves are kept in four racks, two lining both sides of the hull's fighting compartment, and two smaller ones on the port side of the turret in front of the loader.

Full ammo	1st racks empty	2nd racks empty	3rd racks empty	Visual discrepancy
54	45 (+9)	23 (+31)	1 (+53)	No

Notes:

• Recommended ammo load: 23; Keeps starboard hull projectile rack and forward propellant stowage intact.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,000 (200)				577	-10°/+35°	±120°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
4,000 (250)				500	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

The play style of T32 is vastly different in each game mode, due to the nature of the gameplay available in Ground Forces:

Arcade battles

• Player, ally, and enemy position will be immediately spotted upon detection with their name indicator visible above their vehicle and on the minimap
• Aim assist is present to help accurate aiming at a target
• Player and enemy team tank's nationality are mixed

The T32 shouldn't be exposed to the enemy at a prolonged time at close range engagement since the enemies will use aim assist to take out the T32 from either lower plate tips or lower turret. On the other hand, the T32 can also utilize these features against the enemy, albeit with much harder difficulty due to rather sub-par penetration against other tanks in Rank IV to reliably achieve first penetration in arcade tank combat. Exercise caution

Realistic battles

• No visible name indicator
• Manual range calculation
• Player and enemy team tank's nationality are not mixed

The T32 can safely mobilize itself due to the dissipation of name indicator above the vehicle, especially with its low profile. In Realistic Battle, the T32 can do almost anything on its own, especially with flanking enemies to deliver a striking blow to the enemy formations, since the sub-par penetration of the M82 APCBC is negated by the enemies' side armour weakness (be aware with IS-4M as it has 160 mm of side armour, expect to use both APCBC and APCR). As aforementioned earlier, the T32 excels better at flanking than other roles due to characteristics of its gun performance, mobility, and protection.

Simulator battles

• No visible name indicator
• Manual range calculation
• Player and enemy team tank's nationality are not mixed

The T32 can safely mobilize itself due to the dissipation of name indicator above the vehicle, especially with its low profile. In Simulator Battle, the battle tactic is almost similar to Realistic Mode. T32 can do almost anything on its own, especially with flanking enemies to deliver a striking blow to the enemy formations. Since the sub-par penetration of the M82 APCBC is negated by the enemies' side armour weakness (be aware with IS-4M, as it has 160 mm of side armour, expect to use both APCBC and APCR). As aforementioned earlier, the T32 excels better at flanking than other roles due to characteristics of its gun performance, mobility, and protection.

Other considerations in Simulator mode is the different gun sight placement and 3rd person perspective. The gun sight is tough to control, located on the left side of mantlet. The 3rd person perspective, now in the commander's cupola area, helps the T32 by restricting the enemy's field of vision (although the player is as well) and allow the T32 to move stealthily more easily.

Tactics

The T32 can fulfil major roles in battle due to its flexibility at any kind of operation, known as "Jack-of-all-Trades". Its role is not far different than the well-known M26 Pershing Medium Tank. There are 5 known roles that can be used in battle, which are Assault, Flank, Snipe, Support, and the last but not least, Ambush:

Assault

• Leading an assault directly into the enemy forces is the most frequently used tactic, especially in urban areas. It's quite capable to abuse the enemy shots with angling, but not entirely, since battle will mostly take place at very close range (about 0 - 100 meters). A strike team is needed to carry out an assault since T32 can't cover its side armour and slow reload time alone. In most cases, a T32 will likely to initiate flanking role to the enemy once it comes up-close to increase the chance of incapacitating a vehicle with a single strike in quick succession.

Flank

• Flanking is the most effective role for the T32. Its characteristics and performances are highly orientated for flanking purpose. At given destructive penetrating power of the M82 Shell from close range, the T32 can critically damage, if not outright knocking out everything from the side. Be aware when initiating the operation, since someone might be trying to flank the flanker. Flanking is also a part of the assault role, albeit with a more focused objective on manoeuvring on the enemies' side. At this rate, the enemies will likely to scatter around to evade, so eliminating any available threat is required to continue the tactic. The armour will greatly aid in this tactic, as return fire is commonly a hasty act, yet be wary of the tank's weak spots! On open terrain keep manoeuvring during reload to throw of aim, alternatively on distances above 400m drive slightly angled forwards and backwards.

Snipe

• Sniping is frequently used by the T32 when encountering enemies in a large, open map such as Kursk and Mozdok. The T44 APCR is a good option when the target is too far and very fast since the M82 APCBC travels slower than APCR. Locating target is much harder than engaging at close range, since most of the enemies will also be sniping from afar, especially when sharpshooting against German tanks. Fortunately, almost no T32's frontal weak spot will be a viable target when sniping, since the weak spots are much more protected at longer range. It is suggested, if having to play on wide open terrain found on Tunisia, Kursk and Mozdok, to take full ammo load and 50/50 of APCR and APHE.

Support

• Supporting the allies to attack the enemies is a backup plan used to increase the allied forces firepower when attacking the enemies, such as providing covering fire for smaller tank such as T-44 medium tank or to increase the combat effort alongside the other heavy tank like Tiger II Heavy Tank.

Ambush'

• Ambush is preferable when enemies are unaware of the presence of a concealing T32. It should be commenced at a strategic choke point where the enemies will likely to mobilize their armours from there. Be aware that ambush is only used when the enemies are already identified by allies and heading to the choke point. Otherwise, sitting still and waiting for nothing can burden the team. Keep in mind that 90 mm T15E2 is L/73 length gun (aka very long), so make sure the gun barrel is hidden from the enemy if planning to catch them by surprise.

"Hunker down"-Support

• Move up to an distant open spot, visible from the enemy spawn or main route of attack and begin firing machine guns to draw in attention. The idea is caught the enemies attention and with this bind enemy firepower on something they can physically not destroy from the distance. Both the hostile force and the T32 will be pinned down in a stalemate, subtracting from each team's firepower. Therefore keep in mind the enemy's tank value. If it is only an M26, the T32 may be better off in the Support role, but if it is an IS-4 or several other evenly ranked tanks, then pursuing the hunker down tactic is worthwhile to the team's success.

Conclusion

• Overall, the T32 is a versatile heavy tank with an impressive performance in the game, but since it's not invincible with a fair amount of potential weaknesses, it requires specific knowledge with this tank to survive. The T32 will lead to the pinnacle of the U.S. heavy tank branch – the 120 mm Gun Tank M103.

Modules

It takes a long time to research modules because the T32 requires a lot of research points. First of all, research Parts, since the T32 won't be able to continue the battle if any critical parts are knocked out. After researching the Parts, the next priority is the M82 shot, making it easy to penetrate other tanks and the progress will be much faster. The rest can be researched at any priority.

The most recommended research priority can be sorted from the most important and so on:

1. Parts
2. M82 Shot
3. FPE
4. T44 Shot
5. Adjustment of Fire
6. Elevation Mechanism
7. Turret Drive
8. Tracks
9. Suspension
10. Filters
11. Engine
12. Transmission
13. Brake System

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent 298 mm front turret armour
• Sloped front armour has effective ~200 mm thick
• Accurate high-velocity T15E2 cannon
• Splendid destructive power of the M82 APCBC
• Low profile
• Reasonably agile for a heavy tank
• Versatile tank role: Snipe, Assault, Flank, Support, and Ambush, known as "Jack-of-All-Trades"
• Very efficient in hull-down fighting

Cons:

• Long gun easily knocked out and disabled
• "Shot trap" on the lower part of mantlet can blow the main ammo load entirely
• Bow machine gun port and lower glacis armour are vulnerable front weak points
• Weak lower plate tips
• Rather thin side armour of 76 mm, angling could expose the weaker sides
• Lengthy reload time, at roughly 15.7 - 18.8 seconds
• A single shot into the centre main hull can cause the ammo to explode violently

History

Predecessors & necessity

The deployment of the M26 Pershing in the European theatre was very promising to the Allied firepower against Germany's late war tank designs such as the Panthers and the Tiger IIs. However, the M26 Pershing was deemed too unarmoured to the same abuse it could dish out as the German 88 mm cannons could still knock it out relatively easily. In December 1944, the Ordnance Department was requested to build a Pershing tank with more armour and two approaches were made to this goal. The first was to have a standard M26 Pershing with more armour placed on it and a better final-drive gear installed, this method was similar to the construction of the M4A3E2 "Jumbo" from the M4 Shermans. The second approach was a new design using as many Pershing parts as possible for standardization. By February 1945, four prototypes of the latter were constructed and were designated the T32 Heavy Tank. This design took high priority in the tank development and proceeded in April 1945 with further development.

Development

The T32 design took some parts from the experimental T29 Heavy Tank, namely an improved version of its cross-drive transmission. The T32 design used many M26 Pershing parts, but the design had the hull extended and an additional road wheel is attached on each side and its tracks were extended with five-inch extensions to reduce ground pressure. The tank was powered by a Ford GAC V12 engine that was able to crank out 770 hp. The 90 mm T15E2 gun mounted on the tank used a two-piece ammo design and such required a different interior stowage design but gave the tank great penetration capability. The armour on the tank was about 203 mm thick in the front hull, with about 300 mm of armour on the turret front. The first two prototypes retained a bow machine gun on the front hull, but this was removed on the last two prototypes, which increased the front armour integrity. The differences between the two prototype models were the method the armour was made (cast vs rolled) and the periscope designs. The later two prototype models were redesignated on August 1945 as the T32E1 Heavy Tank. These tanks were produced at the Chrysler Automotive Plant in Detroit. The first two prototypes (T32) were shipped to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in early 1946 for evaluation while the last two (T32E1) was completed in mid-1946 and the first was sent to Fort Knox and the other kept at Detroit Arsenal for engineering studies.

Testing and cancellation

The T32, as the first tank design to be tested with the cross-drive transmission, performed poorly in the evaluations as it was plagued with problems. Teething troubles and high maintenance requirements proved difficult for designers. However, this transmission design would eventually become a standard in American tanks once these issues were fixed. Despite its promising future as America's heavy tank, the T32 eventually had its funding cut due to severe budget cutbacks in the military after the end of World War II. No serial production was ordered so the four prototypes were left as test subjects for new technologies, which proved useful in the future.

In-game description

In 1944-1945 the Ordnance Department initiated the T29 program, which was the high priority construction of several tanks based on the M26. The end result was the next version of the M26 Pershing. The US ground forces needed a new, modified version of the mass-produced M26 outfitted with thicker armor, heavier weaponry, and an enlarged turret.

On February 8, 1945, the construction of four prototypes was approved, with the official T32 designation conferred in March. The tank hull was made from plates of homogeneous armor, and protecting the front section was prioritized. As a result, the armor there was 70-127 mm thick, while the side armor was made with 51-76 mm armor plates and the rear was protected by only 19-51 mm. The thickness of the lower section's front part was expanded to 38 mm, identical to the hull roof. The hull enjoyed a traditional design, though two prototypes had a cast front hull section and the other two had welded components.

The turret construction resembled the T29 models, which were larger than the M26 and had a gun mantlet that was expanded to 298 mm. The main weapon was a 90 mm T15E2 cannon with separate tube reloading. The weapon boasted high initial velocity and was good at penetrating armor, outstripping almost every one of its foreign equivalents.

Regardless of the work put into the project, the tank could not be completed by the end of the war, after which the T32 program lost its priority status. The conclusion had already been drawn by 1946 that there was no need to mass produce the model, given that M29s with similar weaponry already existed. There were also more powerful tanks in the pipeline.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the T32 from live.warthunder.com:

• #T32 Keyword

Videos

Review
"T32 Tank Review : Competing at Range"
by CornyBros

Squad Gameplay
"T-32 Tank Gameplay"
by eNtaK

Gameplay
"Nuke Rounds in the T-32! (War Thunder 1.49)"
by BaronVonGamez

Read also

Official War Thunder forum article: [Vehicle Profile] T32 Heavy Tank

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

USA heavy tanks
M4 Jumbo	M4A3E2 · Cobra King · M4A3E2 (76) W
M6	M6A1 · T1E1 · T1E1 (90) · M6A2E1
T26	T26E1-1 · T26E5
T29/30/34	T29 · T30 · T34
T32	T32 · T32E1
M103	M103
Others	T14