Even after the arrival of the T26E3 Pershing onto European Battlefields, US tankers were still suffering casualties at the hands of German Tigers. Though the German heavies were much rarer in early 1945, a true Tiger Killer was sought after and one such endeavor was an up-gunned Pershing.
Testing began on the 1st pilot vehicle with the longer barreled 90mm gun and results were promising. Shock absorbers were attached to the mantlet and a counter balance added to the rear of the turret.
Once in Germany, 3rd AD field repair crews wanted to toughen it up a bit and added 7 tons of frontal armor to the hull and turret. Side skirts were trimmed front and back to save weight and extra stowage was added to the rear. Of note, as it was built from the Pershing pilot vehicle, it retained the split loader’s hatch rather than the newer 24 inch oval hatch. The large steel plate added to the mantlet was cut from a wrecked Panther glacis.
The efforts paid off as this tank faced a King Tiger head to head, and won.
Donor Vehicle
I received this super pershing mod in a trade and liked where the original owner was going with it..... But DAK never stops there.On the bench.... First order, tear down and overhaul...I removed the loose parts and applique armor.The Super Pershing was modified with Shorter fenders and mudguards to reduce weight.the large steel plate on the mantlet was cut from a Panther Glacis and features openings for the gun sight and Coax.the rear turret featured a counterweight to balance the longer gun tube.To get it more accurate I removed the plates from the first attempt and will make a more scale version.the t26E4 had two layers of boiler plate added for spaced armor. The original owner stylized his version and cleverly added magnets so it could be removed for maintenance.This vehicle was in fact converted from the Pilot Production vehicle so changes like the split loaders hatch need to be incorporated.
Conversion
I used a spare hatch to sketch the needed plug on sheet styreneready to cut and shape.glued in place.i found some drawings on Line and it appears the loader hatch is a bit forward of the commanders cupola.Work Begins with the removal of the excess material for the mud skirts. Good old Razor saw does the trick. As this was a Pershing refurb, I had to remember to remover the side skirt brackets and screws.Skirts Removed and sanded.vice versastep one complete.A simple circle cutter was used to cut the new hatch hole.viola, little muss, little fuss.hatch installed. I used and older Nick aguilar resin hatch I already had used on my older firefly Build.I took the turret apart so I could remove the gun tube for detail work.As this was a king tiger barrel, I need to remove the step in the middle to make it work. Off to the metal shop.....More turret mods, the pilot vehicle had a different spare track arrangement so filling the existing rails was necessary.OOOH..... DADDY LIKE! BAck from the metal worker.The tank came with a daryl turner emitter housing, I decided to place it in the muzzle break and added a Tamiya LED.a closer look.Barrel reinstalled and work on the “equiliberator’ begins.
