T92
Contents
Description
Despite the M41 Walker Bulldog's acceptance in 1951, it did not meet all of the US Army's requirements. As such, research and development of the M41's successor started nearly immediately. Among the designs trialed was one by Aircraft Armaments, Incorporated (AAI), whose design gets approval to continue in March 1954 as the 76 mm Gun Tank T92. By January 1956, the T92 had beaten its competitors and proceeded as the potential light tank replacement of the M41. However, the T92's future as the new light tank was halted in 1957 when the US Congress asked if the T92 could be made to be amphibious, in response to the discovery that the Soviets were issuing their own amphibious light tank. When it is revealed that the T92 could not be made amphibious, the design was ordered to be cancelled to focus on development of an amphibious light tank.
The 76 mm Gun Tank T92, introduced in Update 1.53 "Firestorm", is much smaller than the preceding M41A1 tank. This presents a much smaller target for the enemy to find and hit. Though the T92 shares the same calibre as the M41A1, the T92 benefits with the M496 HEATFS round, which while it does not allow the T92 to penetrate as much as the shared M331A2 APDS round, it does give the T92 a better multi-purpose shell to use against both heavy and light armoured vehicles. There's nothing much to write home about the armour as a light tank, though the placement of crew and ammunition towards the rear of the tank could mean better survivability as any incoming shells from the front would have to pass through other components first before directly hitting the critical spots. The T92 can give light tank players a better edge in the fight over the M41A1.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Gun breech, Commander's cupola, Loader's cupola)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 12.7 mm (17-76°) Front glacis 12.7 mm (3-48°) Lower glacis |
19 mm (0-45°) Top 19 mm Bottom front & rear 25.4 mm Bottom center |
25.4 mm (1°) | 12.7 mm |
| Turret | 31.75 mm (26-77°) Turret front 31.75 mm (1-31°) Gun breech |
19 mm (0-60°) | 19 mm (27-50°) | 12.7 mm |
| Cupolas | 28.58 mm | 28.58 mm | 28.58 mm | 28.58 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
- The rear of the gun breech has a layer of 15 mm tracks on it.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 63 | 9 | 16.9 | 527 | 649 | 31.18 | 38.4 |
| Realistic | 57 | 9 | 301 | 340 | 17.81 | 20.12 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 76 mm T185E1 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 59 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 22.85 | 31.63 | 38.40 | 42.47 | 45.18 | 6.50 | 5.75 | 5.30 | 5.00 |
| Realistic | 14.28 | 16.80 | 20.40 | 22.56 | 24.00 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| M319 shot | APCR | 206 | 200 | 174 | 146 | 122 | 103 |
| M352 shell | HE | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| M331A2 shot | APDS | 300 | 296 | 278 | 256 | 237 | 219 |
| M496 shell | HEATFS | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M319 shot | APCR | 1,234 | 3.2 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | |||
| M352 shell | HE | 732 | 6.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 867.22 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| M331A2 shot | APDS | 1,257 | 2.81 | - | - | - | 75° | 78° | 80° | |||
| M496 shell | HEATFS | 1,082 | 3.2 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 653.69 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 | 36 (+23) | 22 (+37) | 8 (+51) | 1 (+58) | No |
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Commander's cupola | 800 (200) | 577 | -5°/+60° | -10°/+160° |
| 7.62 mm M37 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Loader's cupola | 5,000 (250) | 500 | -5°/+60° | -160°/+10° |
| Coaxial | 5,000 (250) | 500 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
The T92, as a light tank, can perform as an adequate reconnaissance tank in the battlefield, using the low profile the weave through small cover that most larger tanks cannot exploit. The 76 mm cannon also allowed for a great ambush weapon with its great gun depression, with the 76 mm having access to a HEATFS and APDS rounds. Like most light tanks, however, with only around 40 mm of effective frontal armour, the T92 cannot take any abuse larger than a 12.7 mm machine gun round so any possible return fire should be avoided.
Enemies worth noting:
- Tiger IIs: try to shoot the back of turret/hull sides as it is a 100% sure ammunition explosion (especially with HEATFS)
- Maus and E-100: don't engage from the front at all! Try to have a side shot or approach from the rear. Both the 128 mm and 75 mm guns can destroy you with ease! Around 2 shots are needed for ammunition explosion with HEATFS.
- Ferdinand: it isn't a really dangerous one like the Maus, but it has acceptable armour. You can penetrate the frontal armour like other parts as they're not angled.
- Leopard I: This one is easy to deal with, but the Leopard I has a fast-firing 105 mm cannon with powerful HEATFS round. Make sure you approach the target fast enough that they won't have enough time to approach back.
- LeKPz M41 and JPz 4-5: Nothing to talk about armour, but they have fast firing guns and good mobility, make sure you don't meet them in an open area.
- SPz BMP-1: This tank should be avoided, as it is a powerful combination of ATGM and grenade-launcher and can therefore be dangerous. Make sure you're faster than the opponent and in a good spot, so you can destroy them without taking damage.
There are some other opponents to talk about, but most important enemies you may face them are written above. SPAAs are dangerous as well, and Jagdtiger can be penetrated frontally (Turret).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Very low profile
- HEATFS shell that can penetrate 254 mm, effective even against later Rank V vehicles
- A well-placed HEAT-FS shot will easily knock out the enemy tank with a single shot
- The HEAT-FS shell has 650+ g of TNT explosive, which will inflict very high post-penetration damage
- Great mobility even when stock
- -10° gun depression and low profile makes it a great hull-down vehicle
- Machine guns mounted on separate turrets can allow independent aiming at separate targets w/o traversing the main gun
- Front-mounted engine can tank shots that would have otherwise been fatal
- After getting performance upgrades, this tank accelerates a lot easier
Cons:
- Virtually no armour
- Rear contains ammo and fuel, making it a good place to be ammo-racked or set on fire
- Overall stock performance of the vehicle is sluggish
- Maximum inclination is lower than M41A1, so you can't climb to some special locations on a map others can get to
- Lower max speed and acceleration compared to M18 Hellcats and Walker Bulldog
- Stock APCR struggles against sloped armour commonly found on tanks of its battle rating
- Large turret ring forces the T92 to expose a significant portion of the tank when side scraping
- Can be destroyed with 0.50 cal machine gun at close range if not angled
- HEAT-FS round has lower velocity compared to APCR and APDS, so it takes some time to get used to it
- The HEAT-FS shell, like other HEAT-FS shells, will fuse by touching anything like fences
- Very loud engine and tracks
History
Development
Ordnance Committee action called for a replacement of the 76 mm Gun Tank T41E1 in May 1952, giving specifications for a new tank. These specifications were a weight of 20 tons (reduced to 18 tons later) and a 90 mm gun as the main armament (also reduced to 76 mm). Concepts were developed by July 1953 and three were selected for further investigation that same month at a conference at Fort Knox.
The first two proposals were by the Detroit Arsenal and Cadillac Motor Car Division of the General Motors Corporation (GM).
The third concept was submitted by the Aircraft Armaments, Incorporated (AAI). The AAI proposal had a weight of slightly greater than 18 tons but had some interesting design features that made it stand out. The turret was a cleft design that reduced the profile of the vehicle greatly. The main 76 mm gun and coaxial .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun were located between two cupolas of the commander and gunner, with each cupola holding an armament of a .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine gun. The loader sat low in the rear of the turret, feeding ammunition into the semi-automatic loading system. The driver was located in the left of the hull front right across from the AOI-638-1 engine and XT-300 transmission on the right side. The drive sprocket was located on the front end of the transmission and there were four road wheels on each side with the rearmost road wheel acting as the idler wheel. There were no return rollers included on the proposal.
A contract was given to AAI and Cadillac to construct full scale mock-ups of their proposal. Despite not receiving a contract, the Detroit Arsenal built a mockup of their proposal as well. Development of the AAI and Cadillac proposals was authorized in July 1953, and in March 1954 the Ordnance Technical Committee approved both projects. The Cadillac design was designated as the 76 mm Gun Tank T71 while the AAI design was designated as the 76 mm Gun Tank T72. It was requested that two pilot vehicles be produced for each. In January 1956, the T71 was cancelled before a pilot was completed but development of the T92 continued - this was due to a lack of funding and good progress in the T92 project.
Before completion, several changes to the T92 design were requested. These included the addition of two return rollers to the suspension and the changing of the gunner's .50 cal machine gun to a .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun (but both cupolas were capable of mounting either calibre).
On 2 November 1956, the first T92 pilot (registration 9B1281) was delivered to Aberdeen Proving Ground. The vehicle was delivered without the gunner and commander cupolas due to an error by a subcontractor, so weights had to be added to simulate the cupolas for performance testing until the cupolas were delivered. On 22 July 1957, T92 pilot two (registration 9B1282) was delivered and began testing of the fighting compartment. It was thought that the T92 would be able to enter production by mid 1962 if requested by the Army.
Design
- General Layout
The T92 had a crew of four: a driver in the hull and gunner, commander, and loader in the turret. The engine compartment was at the front, right side of the hull. On the front, left side of the hull were the compartments for the auxiliary power generator and batteries. The crew compartment was located behind those component compartments.
The weight of the T92 was lower than that of the M41 thanks to the use of lighter materials and use of higher angles combined with thinner armour. The combat weight was a total of 37,160 pounds or 16.855 metric tonnes, compared with the M41's weight of 23.224 tonnes. The T92 also had a lower profile. The T92 was only 2.263 m tall, 3.150 m wide, and 6.287 m long (including the gun).
- Hull
The engine compartment was at the front, right side of the hull and there were two separated compartments on the left, front side for the auxiliary generator and batteries respectively. The compartments for the powerplant, batteries, and auxiliary generator were fitted with aluminum alloy doors for ease of access for maintenance. The fenders were constructed of an aluminum alloy and fibreglass-reinforced plastic. The engine compartment was separated from the crew compartment by steel bulkheads. Two armoured doors were provided at the rear of the hull for ingress and egress, each of which had an armoured viewport.
The driver's station was located behind the two compartments for the batteries and auxiliary power generator. He received two control handles for steering and braking the vehicle. An overhead entrance and exit hatch was fitted with four M17 periscopes for external viewing with provisions also for an M19 passive infrared periscope for night driving. He was provided with an escape hatch in the floor as well.
- Powerplant and Suspension
The powerplant on the right side of the hull consisted of an AOI-628-1 engine and an Allison XT-300 transmission with six forward gears and two reverse gears. For ease of maintenance the transmission and engine were extracted from the vehicle or placed in the vehicle as one unit, removing the need for separate installation/removal. The engine combustion air intake was located on the right, front part of the hull roof right in front of the turret; it was a covered mushroom type. The engine cooling intake, on the other hand, was located right over the engine compartment and was a typical grilled type. Engine exhaust came out of a grill at the rear of the right side sponson, passing from the engine compartment at the front through the sponson all the way to the rear. The fuel was stored in two tanks at the rear of the hull, right in front of the 76 mm ammunition stowage; each tank stored 75 gallons (284 litres) for a total of 150 gallons of fuel capacity (568 litres).
The drive sprockets were at the front of the suspension. There were four road wheels on each side, with the rearmost drive sprocket acting as the idler wheel as there was no dedicated idler wheel. There were two return rollers on each side of the tank as well. The tracks were 16 inch T110 band type tracks made of rubber and band reinforced. There were nine track sections on each side of the hull and two spare track sections were stored on the rear of the gun cradle.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| Aircraft Armaments Incorporated (AAI) Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | T92 · HSTV-L |
| USA light tanks | |
|---|---|
| LVT | LVT(A)(1) · ○LVT(A)(1) · LVT(A)(4) |
| M2 | M2A2 · M2A4 · M2A4 (1st Arm.Div.) |
| M3/M5 Stuart | M3 Stuart · M3A1 Stuart · M3A1 (USMC) · M5A1 · M5A1 TD · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD) |
| M22 Locust | M22 |
| M24 Chaffee | M24 · M24 (TL) |
| M18 Hellcat | M18 GMC · M18 "Black Cat" · Super Hellcat |
| M41 Walker Bulldog | M41A1 |
| M551 Sheridan | M551 · M551(76) |
| M3 Bradley | M3 Bradley · M3A3 Bradley |
| Wheeled | M8 LAC · T18E2 · M1128 · M1128 Wolfpack |
| Other | M8A1 GMC · T92 · T114 · HSTV-L · CCVL · XM8 · XM800T · AGS |
