The tanks of the Second World War are American. How did the tanks develop and how do they look now?

Despite the fact that the Red Army and the Soviet people took the brunt of the attacks of the Wehrmacht troops, the American allies managed to fight. Of course, for them, that war (so that the latest blockbusters did not speak about it) developed mainly in the Pacific direction.

In many respects, to break the resistance of the Japanese, and the tanks of the Second World War helped them to earn some money on lend-lease. American cars are not so famous, but still some of them were not bad.

Light tanks

Given that the legendary engineer Christy was just an American, do not be surprised at the abundance of light tanks in the United States. In total there were four, not counting a decent number of the most varied modifications.

M3 "Stewart"

These American light tanks were created in 1940, and as a base, the "cavalry" M1 and light tank M2A4 were used. The layout was classical: the MTO was located in the rear of the hull, the combat compartment and controls were in the middle of the car, the driving rollers were located on the nose.

In the running gear, a typical American solution was used for that period: four small twin skating rinks for each side, as well as guide wheels reinforced with powerful springs. The body and the tower were made of ordinary sheet armor by welding and riveting. Armament - five "Browning" 7.62 mm and gun caliber 37 mm.

The last modification, M3A3, was released in 1942. Instead of five machine guns, only three were left. In the manufacture of this model, welding was mainly used, the sheets of armor were located with a rational slope. It is considered to be the most massive light tank in the whole world, since in just a couple of years almost 24 thousand cars were produced. A lot of "Stuarts" were supplied to the USSR in Lend-Lease. In some South American countries, "old men" could be seen in the ranks right up to the 90s of the 20th century.

M5 "Stewart"

It represents a further development of ideas laid down in M3A3. In principle, this American branch of tanks in general is very similar, since engineers tried to use only proven solutions (mass production). The armament was still the same 37 mm cannon and three "Browning" 7.62 mm. This time the gun was equipped with a stabilizer of the aiming line.

The tank differed from its predecessor in a fundamentally new power plant, represented by two V-shaped gasoline engines with liquid cooling, a fundamentally new design of the entire hull and tower, as well as new control devices.

M22 "Locust"

In 1944, in view of the acute need for landing units in its own armored vehicles, M22 Locust was developed and adopted. In principle, these American light tanks were not much different from the M3. The layout remained absolutely identical: the transmission, steering and driving rollers were in the front of the hull, the crew compartment in the middle, and the engines were located at the rear.

Completely rethought was only the design of the power plant, as it used a six-cylinder carburetor engine, the highlight of which was the horizontal arrangement of the cylinders. This made it possible to make the entire tank much more compact, reducing its silhouette and dimensions. The gun remained the same. The arrangement and construction of the rollers were inherited from the M3. Only the steering wheels were made more massive, coupled with better springs.

M24 "Chaffee"

These American tanks of the Second World War began to be produced also in 1944. In view of the rethinking of the role of light tanks used primarily as reconnaissance and landing. They had many parts and assemblies from the M3 and M5 (the hydraulic clutch and gearbox were borrowed completely), but in form and armament the tanks differed sharply from all predecessors. The hull and the tower were exclusively welded. Sheets of armor are located at the lowest possible angles.

In the upper frontal sheet and stern, massive hatches were made to facilitate the life of the repair parts. This time, already used five pairs of rollers and individual suspension torsion type. The main instrument was a powerful 75 mm cannon. With her was 7.62 mm machine gun Browning. Another similar machine gun was installed in the frontal part of the tank. For the first time, a 12.7 mm Browning M2NV antiaircraft gun was mounted on the roof. To shoot the cannon was more accurate, we used a hydraulic stabilizer of the Westinghouse system.

Medium tanks

They were more reliable, better armored tanks of the Second World War. American cars of this category made a name at the expense of "Sherman", which was loved by our soldiers. As the veterans who fought on the allied equipment consider, it was the T-34 in luxury version. However, about everything in order.

M3 "Grant"

It became the first medium tank to enter the arsenal massively. Often M3 Grant is confused with M3 Stuart. Of course, these American tanks (the photo is in the article) belong to completely different classes. The main feature was the three-level (!) Location of weapons. In the sponson, on the lower tier, a 75 mm cannon was installed with a vertical angle of 32 degrees.

On the second level there is a turret with a 37 mm cannon and a course machine gun. The third level is represented by another turret with a machine gun, from which it was possible to effectively suppress both ground and air targets. Thus, the development of American tanks (as well as the Soviet ones in the past) was on the way to increasing the number of towers, but this direction was quickly recognized as erroneous.

To turn the turret with a 37 mm cannon, not only a mechanical but also a hydraulic drive could be used. Vertically, the gun was guided using only a mechanical drive. Sights telescopic, surveillance devices are made in a prismatic scheme. During the manufacturing process, casting, welding and riveting were used. The tower, the sponson and the entire front part were cast.

As a result, these American tanks of the 2nd world turned out to be extremely inconclusive: too weak armor, too much height, unsuccessful location of weapons, low characteristics of star aviation engines (which were chronically lacking).

Despite the huge amount of weapons, the firepower in practical conditions proved to be very low. By mass, the car was almost identical to the German "Tigers", but the combat effectiveness was at the level of a light tank.

However, the tank was still massively produced from 1939 to 1942, until it was massively replaced by M4 - more successful tanks of the Second World War. American cars of this generation were much better.

M4 "Sherman"

The most massive average American tank, which was armed as Americans, and the British and the Red Army. The latter he massively went on lend-lease. Strongly different layout and system of weapons from the previous machines. The layout and design of the power plant and suspension largely remained the same, as in the war conditions it was required to maintain the high rates of production as much as possible. Perhaps it was the best American tank.

The chassis was completely copied from the M3. However, except for the earliest types, the suspension pods were still heavily modified: thus, the supporting rollers were fixed from the rear. The casings were made using welding and / or casting. The frontal part was assembled from welded and cast parts in welding, and a gun of 75 mm caliber was installed in a tower, performed exclusively by casting.

First of all, these American tanks (photo above) were equipped with Continental engines with air-cooled cooling, but they were consumed by the aviation industry, so the Americans constantly had to look for alternative types of engines. As a result, the number of serial modifications increased dramatically. M4 "Sherman" required a crew of five. Among the domestic tankmen who fought on this "foreign car", the tank earned good reviews.

Tankmen, in particular, liked the quality interior decoration and stock of products (as well as whiskey and good cigarettes), which was packed into the car as a gift. Many lives have also been saved by the viscous armor, which (unlike the T-34) did not crinkle even when it was penetrated, thus protecting the crew from wounds from the scales.

Heavy tanks

Ironically, many military historians believe that American heavy tanks did not exist in principle. The same "Pershing", which was considered a heavy tank, by mass was much inferior to the German "Tiger". However, we had about the same situation. The clue is simple - the Wehrmacht classified armor by caliber, and we with the Americans - by its mass.

M6 Tank

The issue was limited to a small series in 1941 and 1942. At once two guns were in service: 76.2 mm and 37 mm cannons paired with each other. In addition, it was equipped with three large-caliber machine guns. At the chassis, four pairs of double small rollers were used at once.

There were three modifications, in the first of which the body was made by casting, whereas later they switched exclusively to high-quality welding, which distinguished not all tanks of the Second World War. American cars in this respect were much superior to domestic armored vehicles.

Power transmissions of both hydromechanical and electric type were used. The tower was manufactured exclusively by casting. To balance the extremely awkward and unstable dual gun system, the rear of the tower had to be seriously extended. A commander's turret was provided, as well as a mount for mounting an anti-aircraft machine gun.

For the talks, a fairly high quality radio and an internal intercom were used, created on its own basis. In general, the design was clearly unsuccessful: the armament for this type of tank was weak, armor was thin, and the height was too big. That is why only 40 units of new equipment were produced, and M26 were used as "heavy" machines.

Tank M26 "Pershing"

These American tanks of the Second World War were adopted in 1944. Initially belonged to the class of heavy tanks (in all respects losing the German technique of this class), but because of insufficiently powerful weapons were soon "demoted" in the middle. They had a mass of 41.5 tons. The body of the welded, assembled from the finished castings and parts. The bottom is trough-like. The front part of the body is made by casting, has a rational slope of surfaces. The tower has an elongated shape, a commander's turret and a mount for the anti-aircraft "Browning" are provided.

As for the undercarriage, the classic torsion suspension and six support rollers were used. It was the running gear that the tanks respected very much, because it proved to be extremely reliable. Engine - gasoline eight-cylinder "Ford", referred to the type of GAF-V. Cooling liquid, transmission - hydromechanical. It provided the tank with a high acceleration rate and excellent ride smoothness.

The main weapon is a 90 mm M3 gun, from which an armor - piercing sub - caliber projectile took off at a speed of 810 m / s. In addition, it was equipped with a pair of 7.62 mm machine guns, one of which was course, paired with a gun. A 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun was put on the tower. He had a quadrant-goniometer, which allowed to conduct a fairly accurate shooting from the closed positions. M26 had time to participate in the final stage of the Second World War. About one and a half thousand cars were produced.

Current state of affairs

Modern American tanks have little in common with their predecessors. Their development was greatly influenced by German specialists. The current "Abrams" has a high profile, massive armor and a large amount of zabornevogo space. Unlike the tanks of the Second World, it has rather crude forms and powerful armament, the basis of which is a 120 mm rifled cannon. The main difference from the predecessors is the classic suspension and gas turbine engine.

Thus, modern American tanks are only slightly similar to their predecessors.