One of the main challenges was developing a powerpack for such a heavy vehicle. The Wright G-200 air-cooled radial gasoline engine was selected by a committee formed by the Society of Automotive Engineers, but no suitable transmission was available. The committee recommended developing a hydramatic transmission, while a possibility of using a torque converter or an electric transmission was also to be checked.
The project was first publicly disclosed in August 1940 when the Army awarded Baldwin Locomotive Works in Pennsylvania a $5.7 million contract for the production of 50 tanks. The Army envisioned building 500 of this type.
The first T1E1 was delivered to the Army in December 1941.[ From 1941 to 1942, three prototypes were built: one with electric transmission and two with torque converter transmission. Variants with hydramatic transmission were never completed. The prototypes also differed in hull assembly method: one had a welded hull and two had cast hulls.
On 26 May 1942, two variants with torque converter transmission were standardized as M6 (cast hull) and M6A1 (welded hull). Standardization of the electric transmission equipped T1E1 as the M6A2 was never approved, but the manufacturing of the vehicle was nevertheless recommended. It was proposed by the Ordnance Corps that 115 T1E1s would be built for the US Army for "extended service tests", between that and Services of Supply instruction to increase production with the balance going to aid US allies, this would mean 50 M6s and 65 M6A1s built for the British.Production started in December 1942.
Some minor changes were introduced in the production vehicles: the cupola was replaced by a double-door hatch with a ring mount, while the machine gun in a rotor mount and the left front machine gun were removed.
However, by the time the M6 was ready for production, the Armored Corps had lost interest in the project. The advantages the M6 offered over medium tanks - its much thicker armor and slightly more powerful gun - were offset partly by the shortcomings of the design - such as very high silhouette, awkward internal layout and reliability problems - and partly by logistical concerns due to its weight.
In early 1942, the Ordnance Department set a production target of 250 a month, with Fisher as a second contractor to meet a planned expansion in the size of the army. However, by September, the focus had changed, with tank production scaled back and more aircraft for the USAAF. Under this new "Army Supply Program", the M6 production was cut from 5,000 to a little over 100.
Негізгі бет AMERICAN TANK THAT HAS NOT SEEN WAR IS THE MOST POWERFUL TANK IS WORLD OF TANKS
Пікірлер: 1