T26E4 SuperPershing
- For the non-premium vehicle, see M26 Pershing.
T26E4 SuperPershing
Mouse over "
[Client Values; Actual values in
6,400  Cost |
| 1500300 HP Hit Points |
| 50.55/5323.56/53 t Weight Limit |
- Commander
- Gunner
- Driver
- Radio Operator
- Loader
| 720720 hp Engine Power |
| 40.2/18 km/h Speed Limit |
| 3232 deg/s Traverse |
| 14.2430.56 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| YesYes Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
| 101.6/76.2/76.2101.6/76.2/76.2 mm Turret Armor |
AP/APCR/HE
AP/APCR/HE Shells |
255/4400/255
255/4400/255 Shell Cost |
| 240/240/320240/240/320 HP Damage |
| 202/258/45202/258/45 mm Penetration |
|
7.5 r/m ▲
7.5 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
1800 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
1800 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.38 m ▲
0.38 m With 50% Crew: 0.471 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.471 m |
| 2.3 s 2.3 s Aim time |
| 3030 deg/s Turret Traverse |
| 360° Gun Arc |
| -10°/+20°-10°/+20° Elevation Arc |
| 5454 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 2020 % Chance of Fire |
| 390 m 390 m View Range |
| 745 m 745 m Signal Range |
Additional Statistics
(Top Configuration)
Camouflage
- Stationary: 13.4%
- When Moving: 10%
- When Firing: 3.1%
Terrain Resistance
- On Hard Ground: 1.15
- On Medium Ground: 1.34
- On Soft Ground: 2.59
Dispersion Change Values
- Turret Contribution
- Rotation: 0.12
- Shot Recoil: 3.36
- Suspension Contribution
- Acceleration: 0.17
- Turning: 0.17
With 100% Crew
VIII
6400
The T26E4 SuperPershing is an American tier 8 premium medium tank.
To increase firepower, a new long-barrelled 90-mm gun was mounted on the T26E1 in January 1945. The prototype was designated the T26E4. Development was discontinued in January 1947 due to problems with the gun and the loading mechanism. A total of 25 vehicles had been built by that time, but never entered service.
The T26E4 "Super Pershing" is an M26 Pershing with upgraded protection in the form of spaced armor scrapped off Panther tanks. It is analogous to the M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo in that it is the up-armored variant of a mobile medium. The T26E4 does not however have access to the upgraded engine or the long 90mm of the M26 (although as of 9.17 AP penetration is similar to each other), but does have the similar but historically-accurate long 90mm tested on the tank. The turret face of the T26E4 has very good durability to complement the tough frontal hull. This makes it nearly impervious to HE shells from the front and allows it to hold positions or assault them reasonably well.
The armor, while very tough, is not completely immune to gunfire. The T26E4 has three large weak points: the turret cheeks under the "ears" formed by the additional armor welded on, the commander's hatch, and the machine gun port on the right side of the hull. Shots entering here will penetrate and deal damage. However these weak points are covered up nicely when hull-down on a reverse slope. The T26E4 is very slow for a medium tank and is especially vulnerable while climbing hills or when it has found itself to have been flanked. It may be advisable to use the oil consumable now and then. While it is claimed to be immune to HEAT shells, it is an complete lie as tanks that has about 330mm+ of HEAT pen can reliably penetrate the upper and lower hull armor reliably, such as T-54 and M103 HEAT rounds. This, coupled with the T26E4's sluggish turret traverse, means it will often be easily flanked, where its much thinner side and rear armor can be engaged. Likewise this means the Super Pershing will not be able to flank most opponents, forcing you to fight enemies head-on but at a reasonable range where it will be more difficult for them to aim at the Super Pershing's weak spots. The T15E1 gun has average accuracy but lacks in alpha and DPM to face most heavy tanks. When playing the Super Pershing great care must be taken to aim for the weak points on enemy armor and to keep the three weak spots hidden or constantly moving. Overall the T26E5 is a better choice in everything but camouflage values.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIII | 90 mm Gun T15E1 | 202/258/45 | 240/240/320 | 7.5 | 0.38 | 2.3 | 1551 | 128900 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VI | Ford GAF V8 | 720 | 20 | 641 | 34600 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIII | M26T80E1 | 53 | 32 | 0 | 10000 | 16300 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | SCR 528AM | 745 | 91 | 54000 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Good base and premium penetration
- Frontal arc is covered by spaced armor and is quite resilient, especially the mantlet
- Great gun depression
- Large hit point pool, on par with many Tier VIII heavy tanks
- Preferential matchmaking, won't see Tier 10 battles
Cons:
- Only the front of the tank is well-protected, sides and rear are exposed and vulnerable
- Despite its improved armor the frontal arc is littered with weak spots
- Average engine power and bad ground resistance, sluggish mobility
- Average gun handling for a medium tank
- Play style is very different compared to regular American medium tanks
Performance
In patch 8.8 the Super Pershing was "re-balanced." While on paper its frontal armor was reduced by 1mm, its angling was changed causing the tank to lose over a third of its effective frontal armor. On the other hand view range and camouflage value received a buff. Accuracy on the move and dispersion during turret rotation was significantly improved resulting in improved fire control, even if on paper it remains the same. Terrain resistance was buffed and the SP can reach around 30kph on flat ground, slightly surpassing the IS-6. Hill climbing still remains abysmal.
In patch 9.8 the Super Pershing received further changes to its armor in conjunction with its HD model update. The upper and lower glacis are now protected by two layers of spaced armor covering nearly the entirety of the frontal hull, making the tank very difficult to penetrate from the front once more: the upper glacis adds up to about 285mm while the lower glacis has an effective thickness of approximately 250mm. In addition 102mm of turret face was added behind the gun mantlet, giving most of the frontal turret effective protection in excess of 300mm. The turret cheeks and "forehead" above the mantlet have also become slightly smaller in area, making it more difficult to snapshot the T26E4's turret weak spots. Overall the frontal armor of the Super Pershing is significantly improved and the tank is again capable of leading the charge in a push.
The front of a T26E4 is a serious challenge to inexperienced players and tanks at a distance. The front is virtually immune to high-explosive or most HEAT shells (lower than 330mm+ penetration) due to the mass of the turret armor and the very well-sloped spaced armor on the front. Under no circumstances should smaller HE or HEAT rounds be fired at the front of the Super Pershing, aside from weak spots. The Super Pershing is similar to the M26 Pershing in many ways, such as shape and armament, however the T26E4 suffers a significant decrease in speed and mobility as it uses a very strained 500-horsepower engine that makes it slow while turning, accelerating, and going uphill. Speed is definitely not the T26E4's strong suit. Another downside is the very weak sides and rear of the T26E4 which, when combined with sluggish mobility, make it very vulnerable when flanked. Although very difficult to penetrate at a distance, an up-close T26E4 can be more easily dispatched by enemies that are familiar with the T26E4's numerous weak spots. The most commonly exploited weak spots include the commander's hatch, machine gun port, and turret ring behind the armor. Face-hugging in a T26E4 is not usually advised, it will be easier for opponents to avoid your strong points. Nevertheless at a medium range the Super Pershing's frontal armor is resistant to nearly every gun it can see, and the frontal weak spots become very difficult to hit. A T26E4 must be very aware of its surroundings and keep its weak spots and sides protected to fully utilize the potential of its armor.
Whereas other mediums may be speedy, thinly armored, and rely on flanking maneuvers and wolf-pack tactics, the T26E4 finds itself better suited to playing as a breakthrough tank. Since patch 9.17 its penetration was buffed to 192, and gun handling is usually acceptable given the slow speed. An alternative to targeting weak spots while in a T26E4 are its premium rounds which boast greatly increased penetration. These rounds often exceed the armor-penetration capabilities of non-premium Tier VIII medium tanks. Furthermore, as with most American vehicles the T26E4 has great gun depression which allows it to hull-down and use cover comfortably. Attack in a group with heavies when possible and, if available, exploit terrain features using its excellent gun depression and turret armor. When this is not practical the frontal armor of the Super Pershing is generally superior to that of any same-tier heavy, allowing it to take an aggressive forward position and absorb heavy fire for its teammates. The durability of the armor also affords the T26E4 the luxury of being able to expose itself out in the open for greater periods of time, giving you the opportunity to fully aim and ensure accuracy. However it is weak 1-vs-1 against tanks due to it's slow reload.
In patch 1.2 the T26E4 gained better gun handling (0.02 hull/0.02 turret traverse), 10 more AP penetration (now up to its current 202), a very slight DPM buff, and an additional 110 horsepower. Yet more buffs happened for the tank in Update 1.12, with several quality of life features; also bringing buffs to the T26E4, STG/Guard, T-34-3 and STA-2. The T26E4 received yet another 110 engine power, 0.04/0.04 better gun handling, and six degrees faster turret traverse speed.
The Super Pershing's crew setup -- Commander, Gunner, Driver, Radio Operator, and Loader -- matches a plethora of other American premium mediums: the Eagle 7, Fury, M4 Improved, M4A2E4, M46 KR, Ram II, T23E3, T25 Pilot 1, and the Thunderbolt -- you can more or less use one crew for all these tanks; the only thing to consider is what their crew skills are compared to how you drive them. Non-premiums with the same crew positions are the the M4A1, M4A3E2, M4A3E8, M46 Patton, T6 Medium, T20, and of course the Pershing.
Suggested Equipment
External Reviews and Opinions
Review Romana
Gallery
Historical Info
The 90-mm M3 gun of the Pershing was similar to the German 88mm KwK 36 used on the Tiger I. In an effort to match the firepower of the Tiger II's more powerful 88 mm KwK43, the T15E1 90mm gun was developed and mounted in a T26E1 in January 1945. This tank was designated T26E1-1. The T15E1 gun was 73 calibers in length and had a much longer high capacity chamber. This gave it a muzzle velocity of 3,750 ft/s (1,140 m/s) with the T30E16 APCR shot and could penetrate the Panther's frontal armor at up to 2,600 yd (2,400 m). This model used a single piece 50 in (1,300mm) long ammunition and was the only Super Pershing sent to Europe.
A second pilot tank was converted from a T26E3 and used a modified T15E2 gun that used two-piece ammunition. A total of 25 of these tanks were built and designated as the T26E4. An improved mounting removed the need for stabilizer springs. Since the M26 was designed to fight the heaviest German armour, the weak mantlet proved to be a big problem. It wasn’t able to stop the shells from the 88mm KwK 36 used on the Tiger I, not to mention 88mm KwK43 rounds from the Tiger II. The designers chose a crude but effective method -- they welded an additional 80mm armor plate in front of the mantlet to increase its resilience. The original plate that was welded was salvaged from a destroyed Panther tank.
Post-war, two M26 tanks had the T54 gun installed, which had the same long gun barrel, but the ammunition cartridge was designed to be shorter and fatter while still retaining the propellant force of the original round. They also had the muzzle brake and bore evacuator from the M3A1 gun of the M26A1 and M46. These tanks were designated as the M26E1 but lack of funds cut off further production.
Historical Gallery
