M6

{{BlitzTankData|Tank=M6
|Coming out of the [[T1 Heavy Tank]], you should feel right at home with the M6, as they look and play very similarly. It starts off with 3 rather underpowered 76mm cannons that can make short work of medium and light tanks of its tier but are inadequate for penetrating and damaging other heavy tanks and tank destroyers. The 90mm gun, however, is an excellent gun and is much more suited for the the M6. The M6 has good engine power and speed for a heavy of its tier, which helps to make up for its lack of armor, even frontally, which isn't adequate for bouncing most shots. Its side armor is even worse, and is easy to hit with the tank's large size. This makes the M6 almost always limited to the second line, where it can pick off enemies and take cover behind larger tanks and terrain with its decent mobility. In all, the M6 is very similar to the T1 Heavy in both size and gameplay.  

|Sidebar_Camostop=4.9
|Sidebar_Camomove=2.0
|Sidebar_Camofire=1.4
|Sidebar_Passhard=1.055
|Sidebar_Passmed=1.342
|Sidebar_Passsoft=2.205
|Sidebar_DispTurret=0.115
|Sidebar_DispRecoil=3.356
|Sidebar_DispAccel=0.201
|Sidebar_DispTurning=0.201

|InTheGame_pros=
* Good speed and maneuverability
* Excellent (for tier) 90mm gun
* Fast aim
* Quick rate of fire on the 76 mm Gun M1A1 and 76 mm Gun M1A2
* Great gun elevation and depression
* Small turret allows for decent hull-down tactics


|InTheGame_cons=
* Weak side armor
* Large silhouette
* Terrible reverse speed
* Exposed sponsons
* Frontal armor is not enough, even on turret. Most tier 5 medium can penetrate it even when angled
* Hard stock grind due missing penetration and accuracy before top-gun
* Bulging part of front turret armor does not count as spaced armor

|InTheGame_performance=

While it effectively starts out as a slower T1 HT, it is able to equip an upgraded 76mm gun, the M1A2, and later the 90mm M3. Upgrading the engine will bring it on par with an upgraded T1's speed. The M6 does have the best horsepower-to-weight ratio of any heavy tank in its tier, and you can use the quick acceleration to quickly retreat from a risky firefight with more powerful tanks. It is a good rammer, since many vehicles even at Tier VIII are lighter. However, do not expect KV-5 ramming power, especially at higher levels or against at-tier heavy tanks. 

Like the T1, the M6 has two gunners, this allows you to take more gunner-related skills and perks if you decide to keep the tank and train your crew up. Many strategies that work with the T1 Heavy Tank carry over to the M6. 

It is important to force the enemy tanks to face you, since enemy tanks will have no problem hitting your large side silhouette and penetrating your thin side armor. Angling your tank to the enemy, no more than 20 degrees, will allow you to automatically bounce many large-caliber shots, even the notorious D-2-5T gun found on the KV-1S. Your frontal armor should be able to bounce high-penetration 76mm shot rather easily. However, large-caliber guns on at-tier heavy tanks and some Tier V tank destroyers will still be able to penetrate your front. 

Overall, the performance and the subsequent role of the M6 in battle is largely dependent on which battle tier you land in.  If you're at the top, you can largely rely on the M6's fairly strong frontal armor to try and lead a push.  

If however you find yourself in the middle or at the bottom of the list, the M6 should be used in a secondary supporting role.  On the bottom of the list, most tanks can penetrate your front armor, and do even worse damage if they manage to flank you, or catch you from behind. But if you're equipped with the 90mm cannon, you may be able to lend your fire support and damage tier 8's. Gold shells can easily destroy opponents that standard shells could not. 

|InTheGame_research=
* The SCR 538 radio, the Wright G200 Engine, and the 76 mm Gun M1A1 gun carry over from the T1 HT, so those should be equipped immediately upon purchasing this tank.
* Start out by researching either the suspension or the M1A2 gun.
* Then research the other followed by the 90mm M3 which is required for the T29 otherwise the 76 will cause the T29 to be a liability to the team.


|InTheGame_equipment=
Vents, Tank Gun Rammer, GLD, Binocular Telescope, Toolbox

|Gallery=
image:M6_001.jpg{{!}}M6_001
image:M6_003.jpg{{!}}M6_003
image:M6_004.jpg{{!}}M6_004

|History=
The Heavy Tank M6 was an American heavy tank designed during World War II. The tank was produced in small numbers and never saw combat.

Because of limited budgets for tank development in the interwar years, at the outbreak of World War II, the US Army possessed few tanks, though it had been keeping track of armor use in Europe and Asia. Successful employment of armored units in 1939 - 1940, mostly by the Germans, gave momentum to a number of US tank programs, including a heavy tank program. The United States possessed a massive industrial infrastructure and large numbers of engineers that would allow for mass production of tanks.

Following the Chief of Infantry's recommendation from 20 May 1940, the US Army Ordnance Corps started to work on a 50-ton heavy tank. Initially, a multi-turreted design was proposed, with two main turrets armed with low-velocity T6 75mm (2.95") guns, one secondary turret with a 37 mm gun, a coaxial .30 caliber (7.62mm) machinegun, another secondary turret with a 20 mm gun, and a coaxial .30 caliber machine gun. Four .30 caliber machine guns were to be installed in ball mounts, two in the glacis plate and two in the rear corners of the hull. The project was approved on 11 June 1940, and the vehicle received the designation Heavy Tank T1. The design was somewhat similar in concept to multi-turreted breakthrough tanks developed in Europe in the 1920s and throughout the 1930s, such as the British Vickers A1E1 Independent or the Soviet T-35. Disadvantages of these "land dreadnoughts", namely their excessive size, difficulty in coordinating actions of the crew, and high production costs, led to abandonment of the concept in Europe.

By October, the US developers reached the same conclusion as their European counterparts. The armament was changed to a single vertically-stabilized 3 inch (76.2 mm) gun and a coaxial 37 mm gun in a single three-man turret with both manual and electric traverse. The turret had a commander's cupola identical to that of the M3 Medium Tank. Additional armament consisted of two .50 caliber machine guns in a bow mount (operated by the assistant driver), two .30 caliber MGs in the front plate (fired electrically by the driver), one .30 caliber in the commander's cupola, and one .50 caliber in a rotor mount in the right rear of the turret roof (operated by the loader). The crew consisted of a commander (turret left), gunner (turret right), loader (turret), driver (hull left front), assistant driver (hull right front), and ammunition passer (hull).
One of the main challenges was developing a powerpack for such a heavy vehicle. The Wright G-200 air-cooled radial gasoline engine was selected by a committee formed by the Society of Automotive Engineers, but no suitable transmission was available. The committee recommended developing a hydramatic transmission, while the possibility of using a torque converter or an electric transmission was also to be checked.

In 1941-1942, three prototypes were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, one with an electric transmission and two with torque converter transmissions. Variants with hydramatic transmission were never completed. The prototypes also differed in hull assembly method; one had a welded hull and the other two cast hulls. On 26 May 1942, two variants with torque converter transmissions were standardized as the M6 and M6A1. Standardization of the electric transmission equipped T1E1 as M6A2 was never approved, but manufacturing of the vehicle was nevertheless recommended. It was proposed by the Ordnance Corps that 115 T1E1s would be built for the US Army and 115 M6s and M6A1s for US allies. The production started in December 1942. Some minor changes were introduced in the production vehicles: the cupola was replaced by a double-door hatch with a ring mount, and the machine gun in a rotor mount and the left front machine gun were also removed.

However, by the time the M6 was ready for production, the Armored Corps had lost interest in the project. The advantages the M6 offered over medium tanks - it's much thicker armor and slightly more powerful gun, were offset partly by the shortcomings of the design; a very high silhouette, awkward internal layout, reliability problems, and partly by logistical concerns. By the end of 1942, the Armored Corps were sure that the new M4 Sherman gave adequate solutions for the present and near future, while being reliable, cheap, and much easier to transport.

Work on M6 didn't stop at once. The T1E1 prototype was tested with a T7 90 mm gun and was found to be a satisfactory gun platform, although poor turret layout was again noted. In August 1944, the Ordnance Corps recommended using the T1E1s produced to build 15 77-ton vehicles designated M6A2E1, with thicker (up to 7.5 inch vertical protection) glacis armor and a turret developed for the T29 Heavy Tank and armed with a T5E1 105 mm gun. The proposal was rejected by General Eisenhower. However, by late 1942, main development efforts shifted to other projects, one of which eventually resulted in the M26 Pershing.

On 14 December 1944, the M6 was declared obsolete. Only forty units were produced and they never left US soil. Several toured the United States for propaganda purposes, where they gave performance displays (such as car crushing) at War Bond drives and the like. All were eventually scrapped, except for a single T1E1 on display at the United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland.
<table  style="border: 1px solid;text-align:center;">
<caption>American Heavy tank comparision</caption>
<tr style="vertical-align:top; border-bottom:1px solid #999;">
<th></th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">Mk.VII</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">[[M6]]</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">T28</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">[[T29]]</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">[[T30]]</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">[[T32]]</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">[[T34]]</th>
	<th style="text-align:center;">M103A2</th>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Crew</th>
	<td>8</td>
	<td>6</td>
	<td>4</td>
	<td>6</td>
	<td>6</td>
	<td>5</td>
	<td>6</td>
	<td>5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Length</th>
	<td>10,43m</td>
	<td>8,43m</td>
	<td>11,12m</td>
	<td>11,56m</td>
	<td>10,9m</td>
	<td>10,83m</td>
	<td>11,77m</td>
	<td>11,23m</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Width</th>
	<td>3,66m</td>
	<td>3,12m</td>
	<td>4,54m</td>
	<td>3,8m</td>
	<td>3,8m</td>
	<td>3,76m</td>
	<td>3,8m</td>
	<td>3,63m</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Height</th>
	<td>3,12m</td>
	<td>3,00m</td>
	<td>2,86m</td>
	<td>3,22m</td>
	<td>3,22m</td>
	<td>2,81m</td>
	<td>3,22m</td>
	<td>3,56m</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Weight</th>
	<td>39,5t</td>
	<td>57,4t</td>
	<td>86,3t</td>
	<td>64,25t</td>
	<td>64,74t</td>
	<td>54,5t</td>
	<td>65,2t</td>
	<td>58,1t</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Engine<br />power</th>
	<td>Liberty<br />338hp</td>
	<td>G-200<br />960hp</td>
	<td>GAF<br />500hp</td>
	<td>GAC<br />770hp</td>
	<td>AV1790<br />810hp</td>
	<td>GAC<br />770hp</td>
	<td>AV1790<br />810hp</td>
	<td>AV1790<br />750hp</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Max. speed</th>
	<td>8,8km/h</td>
	<td>35km/h</td>
	<td>12,8km/h</td>
	<td>35km/h</td>
	<td>35km/h</td>
	<td>35km/h</td>
	<td>35km/h</td>
	<td>37km/h</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">hull armour<br />(angle)</th>
	<td>12mm<br />(28)</td>
	<td>83mm<br />(30)</td>
	<td>305mm</td>
	<td>102mm<br />(54)</td>
	<td>102mm<br />(54)</td>
	<td>127mm<br />(54)</td>
	<td>102mm<br />(54)</td>
	<td>127mm<br />(60)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">side armour</th>
	<td>12mm</td>
	<td>70mm</td>
	<td>152mm</td>
	<td>76mm</td>
	<td>76mm</td>
	<td>76mm</td>
	<td>76mm</td>
	<td>51mm</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Turret armour<br />(mantlet)</th>
	<td>16mm</td>
	<td>83mm<br />(102mm)</td>
	<td>-</td>
	<td>178mm<br />(279mm)</td>
	<td>178mm<br />(279mm)</td>
	<td>298mm<br />(298mm)</td>
	<td>178mm<br />(279mm)</td>
	<td>127mm<br />(254mm)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">top armour</th>
	<td>6-10mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">bottom armour</th>
	<td>6-8mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>25mm</td>
	<td>38mm</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Gun</th>
	<td>2x57mm<br />Hotchkiss</td>
	<td>75mm M7<br />37mm MB</td>
	<td>105mm<br />T5E1</td>
	<td>105mm<br />T5E2</td>
	<td>155mm<br />T7</td>
	<td>90mm<br />T15E2</td>
	<td>120mm<br />T53</td>
	<td>120mm<br />M58</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align:top;">
<th style="text-align:left;">Secondary<br />armament</th>
	<td>5x7,62mm<br />Hotchkiss</td>
	<td>2x12,7mm <br />HB M2<br />2x7,62mm<br />M1919A4</td>
	<td>12,7mm<br />HB M2</td>
	<td>3x12,7mm<br />HB M2<br />7.62mm<br />M1919M4</td>
	<td>2x12,7mm<br />HB M2<br />7.62mm<br />M1919M4</td>
	<td>12,7mm<br />HB M2<br />2x7.62mm<br />M1919M4</td>
	<td>3x12,7mm<br />HB M2<br />7.62mm<br />M1919M4</td>
	<td>3x12,7mm<br />HB M2<br />7.62mm<br />M37</td>
</tr>
</table>
== Variants ==

* T1 - Cast hull, hydramatic transmission. Never built.
* T1E1 - Cast hull, electric transmission. Often unofficially referred to as M6A2. 20 units built.
* T1E2 / M6 - Cast hull, torque converter transmission. 8 units built.
* T1E3 / M6A1 - Welded hull, torque converter transmission. 12 units built.
* T1E4 - Welded hull, hydramatic transmission. Never built.
* M6A2E1 - Uparmored T1E1 with a new turret armed with a T5E1 105 mm gun. Never built.

|HistoricalGallery=

image:T1_Heavy_T1E2_prototype.jpg{{!}}T1E2 (M6A2)
image:M6_Heavy-tank.jpg{{!}}Front view of the T1E2 (M6A2), with several early M3 light tanks in the background.
image:M6_Heavy-side.jpg{{!}}T1E2 (M6A2) side view

|Ref_references=


|Ref_sources=

* R.P. Hunnicutt - Firepower: A History of the American Heavy Tank, 1988 Presidio Press, ISBN 0-89141-304-9.

|Ref_links=

* [https://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/tanks-heavy/m6.asp '''T1 to M6 Heavy Tank Series'''] Photos & history.
* [[https://144.99.215.51/Data/tmp/objYAsFmXks3WgmXh9DXXTYBjpHeRrj0haAjKjNNoay0Y1iso5JszHagfShMQKsVJj4XREOI5sQL_qsXStG2CUErY_v1UHPLw.pdf M6 / M6A1 technical manual]]
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M6_heavy_tank Wikipedia]]
* [[https://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/self-propelled-guns/m12.asp WWII vehicles]]
* [[https://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/155mmgmcm12.html AFV database]]
* M6 at ww2photo.mimerswell.com
* Historia del carro de combate

}}