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.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

T57 Heavy

Concept drawing of the T57 turret on a T43 chassis.
Initial investigation showed it would be extremely difficult to develop automatic loading equipment for the 120 mm gun inside the T43 turret. Further studies indicated such a device might be successful with a trunnion (oscillating) turret design. Tests with 75 mm and 76 mm guns indicated such a system could be built for heavier guns. Two pilots for such a turret mounted on a T43 chassis were authorized on October 12, 1951. This design was designated as the T57.

Another concept drawing of the T57 turret on a T43 chassis.

The concept developed used a modified version of the T123E1 to make it compatible with fixed ammunition. The automatic loader used an eight-round rotary drum magazine. This weapon was designated as the 120 mm Gun T179.


Progress was slow on the T57 project mostly because of delays in obtaining some of the required government furnished equipment. This situation reflected changing priorities during the time period with interest in newer, lighter tank chassis armed with even more powerful weapons. One T57 turret was installed on a T43E1 chassis, but the program was terminated in January 1957 before any of the equipment could be installed. Both T57 turrets were scrapped and the two T43E1 chassis were then returned to supply for future use.

Model of the T57 tank.

The T57 Heavy is relatively unchanged from how it was previously. The turret nose would shave about 25 mm in exchange for an additional 10 mm on the sides. This could potentially make the turret front more troll than it already is.

Guns: 120 mm Gun T179 (autoloader)

Engines: Continental AV-1790-5C (810 hp)

Turrets (Turret Armor (mm)): T57 (127/137/51)

Suspensions/Alternate Hulls, Total Weight (metric tons): T43E1 for T57 (54.43)

Hull Armor (mm): 127/51/38

Top Speed: 35 km/h

Crew: 4 (Driver; Gunner; Loader; Commander/Radio)

Parent: T77
See Also: T58 Heavy

Sources:
Hunnicutt, R. P. Firepower, 2017
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