M26 Super Pershing w/ Accurate Armor Kit (Part I - The Build)

The Super Pershing: A Little History

The “Super-Pershing” was an improvised vehicle used by 3rd Armored Division in the closing weeks of WW-II. It was hoped to try and take on the German King Tiger on “equal” terms. The vehicle consisted of the early T26E1.1 prototype fitted with the huge 90mm T15E1 gun, and the vehicle with a limited stock of ammunition was shipped to 3rd Armored Division in Germany.

The 90 mm M3 gun of the Pershing was similar to the German 88 mm KwK 36 used on the Tiger I. In an effort to match the firepower of the King Tiger’s more powerful 88 mm KwK 43, the T15E1 90 mm gun was developed and mounted in a T26E1 in January 1945. This tank was designated T26E1-1. The T15E1 gun was 73 calibers in length and had a much longer high-capacity chamber allowing it to penetrate up to 330mm of armor. This gave it a muzzle velocity of 3,750 ft/s (1,140 m/s) with the T30E16 APCR shot and could penetrate the Tiger’s frontal armor beyond 3,300 yd (3,000 m). The model shown used single-piece 50-inch-long (1,300 mm) ammunition and was the only Super Pershing sent to Europe. Firing trials with the T15E1 revealed that the length and weight of the single-piece ammunition made it difficult to stow inside the tank and load into the gun. The muzzle velocity of 3,750 ft/s (1,140 m/s) with the T30E16 APCR (Armor-Piercing Composite Rigid) shot and could penetrate the Panther’s frontal armor at up to 2,600 yds (2,400 m).

A second pilot tank was converted from a T26E3 and used a modified T15E2 gun that had two-piece ammunition. Twenty-five production models of the tank, designated T26E4, were built. An improved mounting removed the need for stabilizer springs.^[37]

Post-war, two M26 tanks had the T54 gun installed, which had the same long gun barrel, but the ammunition cartridge was designed to be shorter and fatter, while still retaining the propellant force of the original round. The tanks were designated as the M26E1 tank, but lack of funds cut off further production.^[38]

On arrival it was decided that the armor was too thin to go fighting Tigers with! So extra armor from cut-up Panther Tanks was added to the turret and hull front to increase crew protection.

Making the Tamiya Kit Historically Accurate

To make the initial Tamiya model accurate to WW2 (and not post-war) a mode a scale conversion kit was added that included a new turret, metal barrel, additional front armor around hull and a storage area in the tear. This unique and interesting 1/35th scale conversion set by Derek Hansen & Rob Tearle includes all the T26E1.1 hull modifications and turret modifications (as the actual vehicle was not really a ‘Pershing’), opening hatches, armour panels, and etched brass detail set. A huge 5.5” long turned metal gun barrel (available separately as B35004) and decals are also included. The conversion has been designed for the Tamiya Pershing kit and is the only accurate Super-Pershing on the market. This product is a Conversion set and a donor plastic kit is needed to make the vehicle shown in the images.

The Accurate Armor kit update was shipped from the UK and arrived around 2 weeks or so after my initial order. Most of the parts are resin and are very nicely detailed. The metal etchings were easy to bend and attach, and consisted of the holder for the gun equalizer and various storage areas forward and aft of the tank hull.

Moveable Suspension Gives You The Potential For Added Realism With Dioramas

The hull comes with movable suspension for the tracks. Metal wires were attached to the sides with small rubber ‘washers’ that helped to create flexibility in the suspension movement. The suspension did take some finesse, getting the metal wiring in the right position for the correct amount of movement took a few tries, but after some minor effort settled in nicely.

Attaching the Accurate Armor Kit to the Hull

I used Gorilla Super Glue Gel to get the mix of resin and plastic to glue together correctly. It took a few tries but after holding in place for 30-seconds or so the pieces started to set (very slowly). The kit was so detailed that they even included armor fasteners that would have been used to attach the additional armor cuts to the main hull. The resin turret, though seemingly a bit out of place before painting, and a bit heavier than the plastic hull, fit nicely and was detailed to fit in perfectly with the Tamiya hull details.

Merging the upgrade kit with the Tamiya regular hull.

The kit include instructions to make some hull modifications to the standard Tamiya hull. Some minor cutting around the edges of the fenders, following instructions, added a bit of historical accuracy.