America's Tiger, the M6 Heavy | Cursed by Design

Throughout the second world war America built  and operated an array of light and medium tanks   in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. The most  famous of these include the Sherman, Stuart,   and Chaffee among many others. One thing they  distinctly lacked was a vehicle to act as a   heavy tank. Although technically it can be argued  that the Pershing was still considered by many as   a heavy tank until after the war and an up-armored  variant of that vehicle called the Super Pershing   also saw limited combat in Europe, American  forces did not operate heavy tanks in any   significant number unlike virtually every other  nation during the war. Despite this being the case   that does not mean there was no effort put into  designing and producing a heavy tank for the US.   Today we’ll be looking at the first of  these vehicles built after the start   of the second world war, the M6 Heavy Tank. This episode of Cursed by Design is brought   to you by Skillshare. 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Now let's get into today's video.  Development of the vehicle that would eventually  become the M6 began in september 1939 at Aberdeen.   The initial concept for the project can be found  in the Ordnance Committee Minutes, OCM item 15842   from May of 1940. This describes a vehicle with  a weight of around 50 tons featuring a multi   turreted design. The tank would be equipped  with two primary turrets each housing a low   velocity 76mm T6 cannon with the ability to cover  about 250 degrees. This would be paired with two   secondary turrets, one containing a 37mm and a .30  caliber machine gun and the other holding a 20mm   and another .30 caliber machine gun. As this is  an american tank we’re talking about it also was   fitter with 4 additional .30 caliber machine guns  in ball mounts. All in all quite a bizarre design   which likely would have fared poorly as the multi  turreted designs from other nations already had.   Unsurprisingly when the project was finally  approved on July 11th 1940 under the designation   heavy tank T1 the design was revised. The new  changes were laid out in October of 1940 with them   being approved in late November. This eliminated  the multiple turrets, instead opting for one large   turret armed with a modified version of the  3 inch T9 anti aircraft gun with a 37mm M5E1   mounted alongside it. The turret was originally  planned to have powered traverse and elevation   and a gyro-stabilizer for the cannons but  the power elevation was later dropped.  The T1 heavy would be crewed by 6 tankers with 3  in the hull and 3 in the turret. In the turret the   commander would sit to the left of the 3 inch gun  with the gunner and loader sharing the right side.   Behind the loader was a .50 caliber machine gun  in a specialized mount giving it 60 degrees of   elevation and 5 degrees of depression. The  commander would have the use of a fully   traversable cupola armed with a .30 cal machine  gun. As for the crew in the hull the driver   sat to the left with an assistant driver to the  right who would also act as the bow gunner. The   final crew member did not have a specific role but  would likely have acted as an ammunition passer or   assist with other operations between engagements.  Interestingly a few similarities with the Soviet   IS-7 can be found in the early T1 prototype with  it being fitted with two .30 caliber machine guns   with 15 degrees of elevation in fixed positions  within the hull front operated by the driver. The   bow gunner was given a little more to play with  in the form of two .50 caliber machine guns. These   could be swept 15 degrees left or right with 10  degrees of depression and 60 degrees of elevation.   I think I'm beginning to see why a dedicated  ammunition fetcher would be a must in this tank..  To protect the men operating the machine it was  planned to have 3 inches of effective thickness   on the front of both the hull and turret with  the sides and rear being between 2 and 2 ½ inches   thick. Similar to many of the pre war or early  war heavies the tank was fairly long coming in at   just over 23ft in length. With this immense size  and respectable armor layout it was expected for   the tank to weigh in at around 50 tons. In order  to move it along at an acceptable speed it was   determined that the engine would need to output  approximately 1000hp. A number of engines were   discussed including both diesel and gasoline  power plants and in the end the Wright G-200   was selected as the primary candidate. This  engine produced 960 horsepower which was just   shy of the original requirement but was seemingly  satisfactory to the design team. Now with an   engine to power the tank a transmission  was needed to complete the drivetrain.   Unfortunately unlike most of the earlier elements  of the T1 heavy there were no existing designs   which could be adapted to the increased weight  and therefore an entirely new system was needed.  Once again several different systems were  discussed including a gas-electric drive like that   of the later German Maus but due to the estimated  weight being 5 tons it was turned down in favor   of a hydramatic transmission. I’ll be honest I  had to google what exactly that system was but   this style of transmission was actually the first  mass produced fully automatic gearbox meaning the   T1 would likely have been far easier to drive than  many of its contemporaries. Other tanks which used   this type of transmission included the likes  of the M5 Stuart and Chaffee which led to post   war advertising of the transmissions as battle  tested. Unrelated but I found that interesting.  With a finalized picture of their  new heavy tank a contract was signed   in August of 1940 for a prototype with  the previously chosen designation of T1.   Development on the gas electric system had not  stopped however and following further development   it was discovered that the system would not  increase the weight as much as previously thought,   only adding around 2 tons. Taking into account  the advantages this design offered it was decided   in February of 1941 to install the General Motors  electric transmission into the T1 Heavy prototype   redesignating it as the T1E1. When the prototype  was finally assembled for testing on August 19th   1941 however the hydramatic transmission  was nowhere to be found. Due to this delay   the tank was assembled in a third configuration  which had been approved several months earlier.   Designated T1E2 this version was assembled with a  twin disc torque converter and mechanical gearbox.  With the tank now operational testing began with  reasonable success. Overall the test drivers   reportedly found the tank easy to control although  several issues were identified. By September 10th   the previous issues were resolved and it was off  to the races for the T1E2 with it reaching 38kph   before overheating its steering brakes. This issue  caused rapid wear to the brakes meaning another   pause to testing as a completely new lining was  developed. Despite this the tank had shown promise   and discussions regarding production began in  October. Britain had shown interest in the design   with Michael Dewar who was the head of the british  mission to the US for the lend lease program   saying Britain was prepared to order 500 if the  program was successful. The tank came with a hefty   price tag though and by the end of October the  program had cost the taxpayers 750,000 dollars   or nearly 14 million dollars today. With a value  like that it's surprising Jay Leno doesn't have   one of those in his garage. Obviously this wasn’t  technically the cost of producing each individual   tank but the development to this point  had been expensive and with development   still being funded for the gas-electric drive  something needed to come out of this money pit.  Following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor  the T1E2 pilot was officially presented to the   Ordnance Department on December 8th 1941  alongside the M3 Lee. The tank put on a   good show for the crowd but unfortunately there  were still many problems to be resolved with   the tank losing its power steering during the  demonstration causing it to drive the last 3   miles with mechanical steering. If any of you  have driven even something as small as a car   without power steering you might get some idea  of how much that royally sucked for the driver.   Another test of the turret resulted in a pinion  shaft being twisted off. Clearly more work was   needed on the design and the prototype was torn  down following the demonstration for improvements.  It's interesting to note that this tank was  being developed alongside the M3 Lee hence them   being demonstrated together. Many people nowadays  would likely not consider this fact when throwing   criticism at the design for being outdated but all  things considered it wasn’t a terrible design for   its day. Adding onto this the unveiling of this  tank immediately following the attack by the   Japanese caused it to become a subject of media  attention as is often the case with large weapons   of war. This was just the beginning of its foray  into the propaganda machine of the American press.  Following various improvements and further  testing which took place in February of 1942,   the tank was finally accepted into service on  April 13th 1942. It would be easy to assume   that with it being originally designated as Heavy  Tank T1 it would logically be accepted with the   designation of Heavy Tank M1 but as there were  already previous tanks with the M1 designation   it was instead given the M6 designation. In the attempts to meet the expected production   prior to this acceptance two further variations of  the tank were proposed designated T1E3 and T1E4.   These both featured welded hulls rather  than cast hulls with the E3 sharing the   same drivetrain as the cast hull E2 and the  E4 planned to use 4 diesel engines and a dual   hydramatic transmission setup. With the hope to  streamline production it should be no surprise   that the T1E3 was the one selected with it  being accepted for production as the M6A1.   Both the original T1 and T1E4 were never actually  built with the hydramatic transmission never being   installed into a hull although it was delivered  to Aberdeen. The gas electric driven T1E1 did see   further testing and was proposed for production  as the M6A2 but this was never approved.   Despite this the allure of the T1E1 was strong  and eventually it was suggested that the T1E1 be   built for use by US forces with an initial figure  of 115 vehicles which was later raised to 230.   M6 and M6A1 on the other hand would be provided as  lend lease vehicles to allied armies. A report in   September of 1942 showed 50 M6s and 65 M6A1s being  supplied to the Brits with 115 T1E1s for the US.   With production expected to start as soon  as October or November of the same year   things finally seemed to be looking up for  the heavy tank. Sadly, this was not to be.  One year after the surprise attack by the  Japanese on the 7th of December it was   decided that due to the increased weight of the  tank it was deemed to be of little tactical use.   With reports from the troops in North Africa  showing that many times two medium tanks were   better than a single heavy and the fact that  the US Armored Force had no requirement for   a heavy tank pounded the last nail into the  coffin of this incredibly expensive project.   With only 40 units produced, the production of  America's first truly domestic heavy tank ground   to a halt. Combined with the preproduction tanks  they numbered 43 vehicles in total. Although this   meant no new vehicles being added to the ranks,  what was done with the already completed machines?  The first production M6 was accepted in December  of 1942 with the last tank, a T1E1 not being   completed until February of 1944. Even though  interest was lost in terms of combat use for   these heavy tanks that didnt mean they couldn't  continue testing. The test reports however did not   exactly sing the tanks praises for all to hear and  were quite critical. They noted the tank's awkward   crew layout which made operation of the large and  small arms the tank was equipped with difficult to   manage. The tank also had lost its rear facing .50  cal and the commander's traversable cupola with   the .30 cal meaning it had little to no defense  to the rear of the tank without the commander   needing to risk life and limb by opening his  hatch. Criticism was also thrown at the coaxial   37mm for the same reason with it recommending that  the cannon be replaced with a coaxial machine gun.   Even the main 76mm was panned as inadequate for a  heavy tank, although considering it was now 1943   this is definitely a valid point. Not the type  to be caught off guard the Ordnance department   had seen this coming and had installed  the 90mm T7 already into the pilot T1E1.   This same gun would eventually be installed as  the 90mm M3 into the Pershing tank. The heavy   tank was able to provide a stable platform for  this weapon however it was too little too late   as the tank had been rejected by the time the  report on the weapon was submitted. Fate was   not quite done with the design just yet however  and we’ll discuss the final evolution of this   design after a brief tangent to discuss what the  M6 was used for other than a glorified earthmover.  Though it never saw combat, several of the tanks  were used on American soil to crush outbreaks   of car based resistance. Oh wait my bad they  were used as the 1940s equivalent of monster   trucks to crush cars as well as other performances  to raise war bonds. In a way this makes the M6   very similar to the early world war 1 tanks  which were used for the same purpose. The   tanks were also shown to visiting Soviets albeit  with much less freedom than the British visitors.   By the time the Russians inspected the tanks they  were no longer able to be shown driving as they   were partially disassembled although there was  no mention of the fact that the tank had been   cancelled. Overall the Russians regarded the  tanks as comparable to their own similar tanks.   The British would also go on to use  the suspension system from the T1E2   on their A33 Excelsior program although that would  similarly never see combat. Alright now with that   wrapped up lets take a peek behind the final  door to see what this beast eventually became.  Following D-Day the Ordnance Department once  again assumed that the need for a breakthrough   capable heavy tank would arise. With the  various M6 variants only gathering dust   a proposal was brought forward to eliminate  the bow machine gun and drivers vision port   and welding on enough steel plates to create the  equivalent of 7 ½ inches of armor, that's just   over 190 millimeters for those of you in Europe.  This increased armor would be joined by a new   turret containing the 105mm T5E1 cannon. This new  turret was originally intended for the T29 project   but it was possible to modify the original 69  inch turret ring on the T1E1 to accept the 80   inch ring of the larger turret. Modification of  15 T1E1s was anticipated to only take around 90   days with the remaining 5 T1E1s serving as spare  parts for the M6A2E1 as it would become known.   As before though this design was met with the  cold shoulder from both Army Ground and General   Eisenhower who outright stated the 15 tanks were  not wanted for use in the European campaign. This   was likely a wise decision with the T1E1 showing  issues when put under the increased load of the   proposed 77 ton modification. Although portrayed  with the increased armor in several games the   M6A2E1 was only built as a pair of prototypes  for use as test platforms for the new turret   and armament planned for the T29. Neither was ever  equipped with the planned additional hull armor.   On December 14th 1944 the M6, M6A1, and T1E1 were  all classified as obsolete with all but one being   sent off to the scrapyard. That sole survivor, a  T1E1, remains today at the Army Ordnance Museum at   Aberdeen and sadly, unless it has been restored  recently, appears to be in very poor shape.  So what do you think of the M6 or any of its other  variations? Do you think it was foolish of the US   to not use them in combat operations or was it a  wise decision to leave them as benchwarmers back   home? Let me know in the comments down below. If  you liked this video I highly recommend you check   out my video on a design that closely followed  this one but was by all accounts more absurd   in its design, the T28 Super heavy tank. Don’t  forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any of   my new episodes and check out that link in the  description quickly to be one of the first 1000   to claim that free month of Skillshare. Thanks  for watching and I’ll see you in the next one.

Channel: ConeOfArc

Views: 614,523

Rating: 4.9365902 out of 5

Keywords: ConeOfArc, cursed by design, cursed by design tanks, world war 2, world war ii, ww2 tanks, heavy tank, m6 heavy tank, super pershing, ww2 tanks documentary, ww2 tanks simple history, m6 heavy tank war thunder, m6 heavy tank real life, m6 heavy tank vs tiger, t1 heavy tank, t1 heavy tank real life, t1 heavy real life, t1 heavy vs m6, t1 heavy war thunder, t1 heavy armor, t1e1 heavy tank, t1e1 tank, America's Tiger, the M6 Heavy, tank history ww2, tank history documentary

Id: WY_rbv949Rw

Length: 17min 9sec (1029 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 13 2021