M26 Pershing Tank - Triangle VA
N 38° 32.666 W 077° 20.579
18S E 295809 N 4268826
A Pershing tank used by the Marine Corps during the Korean War is on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps next to the Quantico MCB in Virginia.
Waymark Code: WMC899
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2011
Views: 6
Because the widely-used
M4 Sherman tank was inferior to the German Panthers and Tigers in World War II, the U.S. developed a heavier tank with thicker armor and bigger guns. It was mounted with a 90mm main gun, one .50 caliber machine gun, and two .30 caliber machine guns. The M26 Pershing entered service in 1945 and was better suited to encountering the German tanks one-on-one instead of attacking them in numbers. Approximately 2350 Pershings were manufactured of which about 200 were sent overseas, but very few saw action, none in the Pacific, before WWII ended.
The M26 Pershing went on to see extensive combat during the Korean War in 1950-1953 and proved to be an effective weapon against the Soviet T-34 tanks used by the Chinese and North Koreans.
The Marine Corps received the M26 on the eve of the Korean War and the tankers had to learn how to operate it quickly before they were fighting at the Pusan Perimeter. They also used it at Seoul and the Chosin Reservoir.
A M26 Pershing tank is on display in the Korean War gallery of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, VA. It is shown as it travels through the streets of Seoul which illustrates how movement was often restricted and danger could come from anywhere including the rooftops.
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