M60 Patten in Action

When World War II ended, the United States possessed one ot the largest armored forces in the world. The main battle tank of this force, the M4 Sherman was a robust and mechanically reliable vehi­cle, which had been introduced into service during the middle of 1942. Unfortunately by 1945, des­pite some upgrading of both its armor and armament, the M4 was at a decided disadvantage when it met German Tigers and Panthers. Belatedly, Army officials tried to maka up for lost time, pushing development of a number of tank designs which could hold their own against the heavier German tanks. By early 1945, one of these new designs, the M2G Pershing Heavy Tank «as juOywO teaUy kn Md use, and a number wore rushed lo Europe to help shore up hard pressed American tankers. The M26 Pershing did much to redress the balance between American and German armor, and performed extremely well in the few encounters with German tanks which occurred before the war ended. With Germany's surrender Army officials were able to examine the latest German tanks and designs under development. At the same time rrost of the latest Soviet tanks, many of which totally outgunned anything in the US or allied inventory, were examined. These examinations had a very sobering affect on American armored officers. As a result, attempts were made to upgrade the M26 Pershing, and to develop a successor to it, so as not to fall behind the Russians.

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