105 mm gun T5

Last updated
105mm L/65 T5
T29.Fort Knox.0007x8yr.jpg
The T5E1 as mounted on the T29E3 heavy tank
Type Tank gun
Place of origin United States
Service history
Used byUnited States
Production history
Produced1940s
VariantsT5E1, T5E2
Specifications
Mass2,383.63 kg (5,255.0 lb)
Length7.53 m (24 ft 8 in)
Barrel  length6.83 m (22 ft 5 in) (L/65)

Caliber 105 mm (4.1 in)
Rate of fire 6 rpm
Muzzle velocity 914 m/s (3,000 ft/s)
Maximum firing range1,829 m (2,000 yd) estimated
The T5E1 was mounted on the M6A2E1 heavy tank for testing purposes M6a2e1.jpg
The T5E1 was mounted on the M6A2E1 heavy tank for testing purposes
The T5E1 as mounted on the T28 super-heavy tank T28 Front Quarter.jpg
The T5E1 as mounted on the T28 super-heavy tank

The 105mm L/65 T5 was an American rifled anti-tank gun developed in 1945. The T5E1 was the main armament for several American WWII heavy tanks designs, including the double-tracked T28 Super Heavy Tank and T29 Heavy Tank.

Contents

Development

The project to develop a tank gun of 105 mm (4.1  in) in caliber was first started during WWII in order to compete with increasing heavily armored German tanks. After the invasion of Europe, the Ordnance Department believed there would be a need for heavily armored tanks equipped with powerful armament to break through fortified areas. [1] They proposed that existing M6 heavy tank prototypes be up-armored and mount the new 105mm T5E1. These modified T1E1s with the T5E1 gun in enlarged turrets (taken from the proposed T29 project) were designated M6A2E1. The M6A2E1 project did not proceed when Eisenhower rejected its use in Europe on August 18, 1944, but two M6A2E1s – without the increased armor – were used to test the armament and gun for the upcoming T29 Heavy Tank.

The first models of the T29 Heavy Tank delivered mounted the T5E1. It was mounted in a large cast turret featuring a thick mantlet. With the passage of OCM 28848, the program changed to a postwar developmental study consisting of only eight tanks. The T29E1 and T29E3 series maintained the T5E1 during testing. Models T29 and T29E2 were equipped with the T5E2 gun. This was due to the smaller space available in the turret after the addition of a hydraulic power traverse and elevation mechanism developed from MIT that was tested on these models. [2]

The 105mm T5E1 was also used in the T28 Super Heavy Tank (later renamed 105  mm Gun Motor Carriage T95). In 1943 it was determined that there would soon be a need for a heavily armored and armed breakthrough tank. The turretless T28 was developed to meet these specifications. The T5E1 in the T28 was mounted in the hull of the tank with traverse limited to 10 degrees to the left and right of center, 15 degrees of elevation, and 5 degrees of depression. Two T28s were built, and both were armed with T5E1 guns. The T28 project was canceled in late 1947, bringing the end of the T5E1 being mounted in that tank. [3]

With the cancellation of the T28 Super Heavy Tank and T29 Heavy Tank projects in the late 1940s, work on the 105mm T5E1 and 105mm T5E2 was stopped before the gun ever fully completed trials.

Performance

The T5E1 used two-part separated ammunition like the 155 mm T7 gun used on the T30 Heavy Tank. It had a high velocity of 914 m/s (3,000 ft/s), comparable to the 120 mm T53 on the T34 Heavy Tank, which had a muzzle velocity of 945 m/s (3,100 ft/s). [4] The T5E1 had significantly better armor penetration characteristics than the 155 mm T7 mounted on the T30 Heavy Tank, which had a muzzle velocity of only 701 m/s (2,300 ft/s). [5]

The T5E1 had a variety of shells available, including the AP-T T32 (APBC-T), HVAP-T T29E3 (APCR-T), and HE T30E1 (HE). At 914 m (1,000yd) the AP-T T32 shot could penetrate 177 mm (7.0 in) of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) at a 30-degree angle, and 84 mm (3.3 in) of RHA at a 60-degree angle. [6] [4]

Variants

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Ordnance L7</span> Rifled tank gun

The Royal Ordnance L7, officially designated Gun, 105 mm, Tank, L7, is the basic model of the United Kingdom's most successful tank gun. It is a 105 mm L/52 rifled design by the Royal Ordnance Factories, intended for use in armoured fighting vehicles, replacing the older QF 20-pounder (84 mm) gun mounted on the British Centurion tank. The successful L7 gun has been fitted on many armoured vehicles, including the Centurion, the German Leopard 1 and, in an altered design, as the M68 gun in several variants of the US M48 Patton and M60.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T28 super-heavy tank</span> Super-heavy tank, Assault gun

The T28 Super Heavy Tank was an American super-heavy tank/assault gun designed for the United States Army during World War II. It was originally designed to break through German defenses of the Siegfried Line and was later considered as a possible participant in the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M103 heavy tank</span> American heavy tank

The M103 Heavy Tank was a heavy tank that served in the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps during the Cold War. Introduced in 1957, it served until 1974, by which time evolution of the concept of a main battle tank considered heavy tanks obsolete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">75 mm gun M2–M6</span> Standard American tank guns of the Second World War

The 75 mm gun, models M2 to M6, was the standard American medium caliber gun fitted to mobile platforms during World War II. They were primarily mounted on tanks, such as the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman, but one variant was also used as an air-to-ground gun on the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber aircraft. There were five main variants used during the war: M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T95 medium tank</span> American prototype medium tank developed from 1955 to 1959

The T95 was an American prototype medium tank developed from 1955 to 1959. These tanks used many advanced or unusual features, such as siliceous-cored armor, new transmissions, and OPTAR fire-control systems. The OPTAR incorporated an electro-optical rangefinder and was mounted on the right side of the turret, and was used in conjunction with the APFSDS-firing 90 mm T208 smoothbore gun, which had a rigid mount without a recoil system. In addition, although the tanks were designed with a torsion beam suspension, a hydropneumatic suspension was fitted, and one of the tanks was fitted with a Solar Saturn gas turbine for demonstration purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T54 (American tank)</span> Main battle tank

The T54 was a series of prototype American tanks of the 1950s with three different turrets, all armed with a 105 mm gun, mounted on the M48 Patton chassis. The T54 had a conventional turret with an autoloader with 3 shells, the T54E1 had an oscillating design with an autoloader, and the T54E2 had a conventional turret with a human loader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T30 heavy tank</span> American heavy tank

The Heavy Tank T30 was a World War II American tank project developed to counter new German tanks, such as Tiger I, Tiger II, and tank destroyers, such as the Jagdtiger, or Soviet heavy tanks, such as IS-2 or IS-3. The T30 was designed at the same time as the T29 Heavy Tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M4 Sherman variants</span> Tank variants of World War II

The M4 Sherman tank was produced in several variants, a result of mass production spread across several manufacturers and several years. It was also the basis for a number of related vehicles and Shermans have been modified by several nations, ranging from upgrades to complete hull conversions for another task. Originally designed in 1941, M4 variants were still used by Israel during the 1967 and 1973 wars with its Arab neighbors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M6 heavy tank</span> American heavy tank

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">37 mm gun M3</span> American anti-tank gun

The 37 mm gun M3 is the first dedicated anti-tank gun fielded by United States forces in numbers. Introduced in 1940, it became the standard anti-tank gun of the U.S. infantry with its size enabling it to be pulled by a jeep. However, the continuing improvement of German tanks quickly rendered the 37 mm ineffective and, by 1943, it was being gradually replaced in the European and Mediterranean theaters by the more powerful British-developed 57 mm gun M1. In the Pacific, where the Japanese tank threat was less significant, the M3 remained in service until the end of the war, but some 57mm guns were issued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">76 mm gun M1</span> American tank gun

The 76 mm gun M1 was an American World War II–era tank gun developed by the U.S United States Ordnance Department in 1942 to supplement the 75 mm gun on the basic Medium tank M4. It was also used to arm the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T29 heavy tank</span> American heavy tank

The Heavy Tank T29 was an American heavy tank project started in March 1944 to counter the appearance of the German Tiger II heavy tank. The T29 was not ready in time for the war in Europe, but it did provide post-war engineers with opportunities for applying engineering concepts to artillery and automotive components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanks of the United States</span> Tanks used or produced by the United States

The United States has produced tanks since their inception in World War I, up until the present day. While there were several American experiments in tank design, the first American tanks to see service were copies of French light tanks and a joint heavy tank design with the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M551 Sheridan replacement process</span> Competition of United States Army

The Armored Gun System (AGS) was a U.S. Army competition in the 1990s to design a light tank to replace the M551 Sheridan and TOW-equipped HMMWVs. It was the ultimate incarnation of several research programs run in the 1970s with the aim of providing air-mobile light infantry forces with the firepower needed to last in the battlefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T1 light tank</span> Light tank

The T1 light tank was a United States Army light tank of the late 1920s and early 1930s that was only built in prototype form. The tank was an Army design built by James Cunningham, Son and Company. Introduced in 1927, it was developed up through 1932 as a series of modified versions. The tank was never mass-produced, nor was it ever used in combat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T32 heavy tank</span> Heavy tank

The T32 Heavy Tank was a heavy tank project started by the United States Army to create an appropriate successor to the M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbo". The US Ordnance board managed the production of four prototypes, the main goal being to have the new tank share many common parts with the M26 Pershing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage</span> Self-propelled gun

The T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) was a 105 mm (4.1 in) howitzer mounted on a M3 Half-track chassis. It saw service during World War II with the U.S. Army. Its secondary armament consisted of an air-cooled .50 in (13 mm) M2 machine gun for local defense. It was produced by Diamond T between January 1942 and April 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T57 heavy tank</span> Heavy tank

The T57 heavy tank was an experimental heavy tank developed by the American military during the Cold War era as a further development of the M103 heavy tank. Featuring heavy armor and a long range 120 mm rifled gun, the T57 was supposed to serve as a replacement to the M103 in service with American heavy tank units in Europe. Armor on the hull front was to range between 5–8 in (130–200 mm) in thickness and the turret was to be 5.98 in (152 mm) at maximum on all sides. Like the French AMX 50 project, it was to feature an oscillating turret and was also to receive a 153 mm gun. Experiments were also conducted to investigate mounting a 203 mm gun, but this was soon found to be infeasible. When multiple problems were discovered in the turret oscillation system on account of the excess weight of the heavily armored turret and the gun, the project was dropped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">155 mm gun T7</span> Tank gun

The 155mm L/40 T7 was an American rifled tank gun developed in 1945. The T7 was to be the main armament for the T30 Heavy Tank, but only a handful were produced due to the T30 project being cancelled after trials in the late 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T34 heavy tank</span> Heavy tank

The T34 Heavy Tank was an American design for a heavy tank. It evolved from the T29 Heavy Tank and T30 Heavy Tank in 1945, using the same chassis, but sporting a 120 mm (4.72 in) modified 120 mm Gun M1 anti-aircraft gun. Extra armor plating was applied to the rear of the turret bustle as a counterweight for the heavier 120mm T53 main gun. No production orders were placed for the T34, which was felt to be too heavy.

References

  1. Hunnicutt 1988, p. 59.
  2. Hunnicutt 1988, p. 81.
  3. Hunnicutt 1988, p. 67.
  4. 1 2 "First Report on Test of Shot. AP, 105 MM, T182 and First Report on Project TA1-1503" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. 30 October 1951. AD390746. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  5. Hunnicutt 1988, p. 224-225.
  6. Hunnicutt 1988, p. 224.

Bibliography

Hunnicutt, Richard Pearce (1988). Firepower: A History of the American Heavy Tank. Novato, California: Presidio Press. ISBN   0-89141-304-9.