MISSION STATEMENT

This website is to serve as a catalog of historical information for various tanks, across various stages of development, created for use by the United States from Pre-WWII through to the 1970s. However, the primary purpose for this website is to illustrate a proposal for what an "endgame" could look like for the US tech tree in the game, World Of Tanks, and to show that there's still plenty of life left to breathed into this game.

My aim is to see as many tanks in the game about tanks as possible, and I hope to show that in a way that respects both the historicity of the tanks shown and the balance of the game overall. As such, I will not be going into great detail on individual statistics. Rather, I will only be showing the possible modules for each tank, changes that could be made to make it more historically authentic, a historical overview, and how the tank's playstyle may be represented in-game. I will also attempt to future-proof this by including alternate hulls, half-tracks, and wheeled vehicles.

This is certainly not perfect and everything is subject to change. This is still a work in progress, and updates are frequent if not daily. This is a fan project and a labor of love. Do enjoy.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

M41 Gorilla


Trials with the T64 HMC created a recommendation to use the M24 chassis as the basis for a lightweight self-propelled gun, rather than the M5 chassis previously being used. The Armored Board at Fort Knox designated this new design as the T64E1 and sought to see it put into production as soon as possible. A similar version based on the M24 light tank was designed for the T16 HMC, designated as the T16E1. However, the Armored Board rejected the 4.5 Inch gun based on its lackluster performance, so no T16E1 pilot was ever constructed.

 The first T64E1 was completed in December 1944. Tests called for some changes to the stowage and relocating the radio antenna. In June 1945, the tank was reclassified as the 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M41. The M41's gun had an elevation range of -5 to +45. The M41 was first used during the postwar period and saw active service in the Korean War.

Cross-sectional drawing of the M41 HMC "Gorilla".

There really aren't many differences between the new M41 Gorilla and the previous T64 HMC. The platform is the only considerable change. So while gun handling may remain the same between the two tanks, the M41 Gorilla could see much better hull traverse speed and overall agility. This allows the tank to relocate faster than its predecessor. It could also see some marginal reload speed improvements.

 Compared to the old (Tier V) M41 HMC, there really shouldn't be too much of a difference. Before, the tank was arguably too powerful for Tier V. Now, at Tier VI, it should be much happier and better balanced.

 Also, I don't really know where the "Gorilla" nickname comes from. But it's there, so we might as well use it.

 Guns: 4.5 Inch Gun M1; 155 mm Howitzer M1

Engines: Continental W-670 (262 hp); Twin Cadillac, Serires 44T4 (296 hp)

Suspensions/Alternate Hulls, Total Weight (metric tons): T64E1 (18.7); M41 HMC (19.27)

Hull Armor (mm): 13/13/13

Top Speed: 56 km/h

Crew: 5 (Driver; Gunner; Loader; Commander; Radio)




 Parent: T64 HMC
Children: M44
See Also: M24 Chaffee

Sources:
Hunnicutt, R. P. Stuart. 1992. 
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