After World War II, the development of promising heavy tanks continued in the United States, but the first projects of this kind were unsuccessful. Since 1948, work was underway on the T43 project, and a few years later the resulting tank entered service under the designation M103. It ended up being the last US heavy tank.
In the early stages
In 1948, the Detroit Arsenal, using available technology and components, developed the T43 heavy tank project. This vehicle received a thick oblique homogeneous booking and a 120-mm rifled cannon for a separate loading shot. It was assumed that such a combat vehicle would be a worthy response to the heavy tanks of a potential enemy.
The army showed limited interest in this project, which made the work slow. Only at the end of 1950, against the backdrop of the Korean War, the technical project was completed, and at the very beginning of 1951 a contract with Chrysler appeared. The contractor was to build six prototypes from the original design. The first tank was taken out for testing in November of the same year.
During the tests of the T43 tanks, a number of flaws and problems were revealed. It was proposed to fix them when creating an improved project called T43E1. In parallel, the development of the main weapon and ammunition for it was carried out. In October 1953, all design work was completed, and the tank was ready for a new stage.
Already in December, Chrysler launched a full-scale series. Until June 1954, they managed to build 300 tanks of the improved version of the T43E1. After that, the assembly of M51 armored recovery vehicles based on the new tank began. Until 1955, 187 units of such equipment were built.
Separate production tanks went for control tests - and did not cope with them. For a number of parameters, the equipment did not meet the customer's requirements. Tests and refinement continued until mid-1955, and after that it was decided to send the tanks for storage.
Technical features
In the T43E1 project, the formation of the final appearance of a promising heavy tank was completed. In the future, the design was repeatedly refined, the composition of the equipment changed, but the tank did not fundamentally change.
The T43E1 was a traditional heavy armored vehicle with a 120 mm rifled gun. The design widely used ready-made components, incl. borrowed from other tanks. This approach simplified the design, but led to certain problems.
The tank hull is welded, assembled from cast and rolled parts. The frontal armor was up to 127 mm thick with an inclination of 60 °. Boards - up to 51 mm. The cast turret had a 127 mm forehead and a mask up to 254 mm thick. The sides are from 70 to 137 mm. It was assumed that such armor would be able to protect the tank from the main foreign tank guns.
In the rear of the hull there was a power unit based on the Continental AV-1790 gasoline engine with a capacity of 810 hp, borrowed from the M48 tank. The undercarriage had seven road wheels with torsion bar suspension on each side. In the future, the power plant and chassis were revised.
The turret was fitted with a 120 mm T122 / M58 cannon with a 60 klb rifled barrel and a T-shaped muzzle brake. The gun used separate loading shots. The gun could accelerate the M358 armor-piercing projectile to 1067 m / s. At a distance of 1000 yards (914 m), it pierced 220 mm of armor (an angle of 30 °), at 2000 yards - 196 mm. Also, the ammunition included cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation, smoke and training shells. The packs contained 34 shots.
There was a simple fire control system based on optics and other devices. As the project developed, its composition changed - new devices were added, up to a ballistic computer.
Additional armament included two coaxial machine guns M1919A4 and one anti-aircraft M2.
The crew consisted of five people. The driver was housed inside the hull, the rest were in the fighting compartment. The gunner worked to the right of the gun, and two loaders to the left. The commander was in the turret niche behind the gun, above his place there was an M11 turret. He was also responsible for the use of radio equipment.
The T43A1 tank had a combat weight of 58 tons with a length of 11.3 m (with a cannon forward), a width of 3.76 and a height of 2.88 m. The design speed reached 32-34 km / h, the actual speed was less. Estimated cruising range - 130 km. The tank could overcome various obstacles. It was lighter than other heavy tanks of its time, which imposed fewer restrictions on mobility and use.
New modifications
Tests of the serial T43E1 ended unsatisfactorily. One of the main reasons for criticism was the lack of mobility and high fuel consumption associated with the use of a power unit from a medium tank. Outdated fire control devices did not allow the full potential of the gun to be realized. These and other problems led to the temporary abandonment of the tank and the sending of the finished equipment for storage.
The project was finalized with the installation of a new transmission and other devices. The armament was also improved: in particular, the design of the muzzle brake was changed and an ejector appeared. A couple of existing T43E1s were rebuilt according to the updated T43E2 project. In the new form, the real characteristics of the tanks turned out to be closer to the calculated ones. In 1956, it was decided to put the tank into service under the designation 120 mm Gun Combat Tank M103.
The existing tanks from storage were planned to be rebuilt according to the updated project and sent to combat units. However, in 1956-57. only 74 cars were altered. Soon, the Marine Corps wished to take 219 (according to other sources, 220) heavy tanks, but initiated a new modernization. It was completed in 1959 and the finished vehicles were designated M103A1.
Project A1 provided for the installation of the T52 stereoscopic gunner's sight and the M14 ballistic computer. The electric turret rotation mechanism and the turret basket have been changed. One of the coaxial machine guns was removed from the gun mount.
The last major modernization was carried out in 1964 in the interests of the ILC. 153 tanks received a power unit from the M60, based on the Continental AVDS-1790-2 diesel engine with 750 hp. Due to this, the maximum speed increased to 37 km / h, and the power reserve - up to 480 km. Also replaced some of the fire control devices. The upgraded tanks were designated M103A2.
Short service
The heavy tank M103 officially entered service in 1956, but the actual deliveries and deployment of equipment stretched out over several years. The first to receive new equipment were units in the most critical areas.
Already in 1956, a couple of experienced T43E2s were sent to Germany. In January 1958, the 899th heavy tank battalion (later the 2nd battalion of the 33rd tank regiment), equipped with M103 vehicles, appeared as part of the "German" 7th US Army. The battalion consisted of four companies of six platoons each. The platoon had three tanks, the battalion 72, i.e. the entire available fleet of new heavy tanks was sent to the FRG.
The ILC brought heavy tanks M103 into companies of tank battalions. Also, a similar technique was available in reserve units. According to known data, M103 marines were taken from the United States to various overseas bases and returned back as needed.
Military operation revealed new design flaws. The diesel engine, despite being economical, did not provide good mobility. The power unit withstood only 500 miles of road, after which it needed repairs or even replacement. The undercarriage was not reliable. The layout of the internal compartments was unsuccessful and made it difficult for the crew.
In addition, by the early sixties, the M103 had ceased to meet the requirements of the time. He did not have protection against weapons of mass destruction and not all technical characteristics met the current requirements. It also turned out that reconnaissance had previously overestimated Soviet heavy tanks, and in a collision with medium T-54/55, the parameters of the M103 turned out to be excessive.
Quick refusal
In terms of its technical, combat and operational characteristics, the M103 heavy tank quickly became obsolete. In addition, the M60 has already appeared - the first full-fledged main battle tank of the United States, combining high mobility and firepower. Thus, the M103 was no longer of interest to the army; the prospects for the entire direction of heavy tanks were questionable.
In the early sixties, ground forces began the massive development of the M60 MBT, and by 1963 this led to the complete abandonment of the heavy M103. KMP was in no hurry to write off its equipment and carried out modernization according to the A2 project. However, later, in the early seventies, the Marines also began rearmament. By 1974, obsolete heavy tanks again gave way to promising main ones.
Thus, for the entire time, from 1951 to 1955, approx. 300 T43 tanks of two modifications, which were later repeatedly upgraded. Operation in the army lasted less than five years, and in the ILC - three times longer. During all this time, tanks have repeatedly participated in maneuvers, but never went into battle.
After being put into service, the decommissioned equipment was sent to storage bases or was disposed of. We also did not forget about museums. According to known data, 25 tanks of all basic modifications that were in service have survived. The technique is in various museums, incl. at military bases in the United States. The tanks have different conditions, some of them are still on the move.
End of an era
The heavy tank T43 / M103 went to military service for a long time and not easy. Several successive upgrades were required to achieve the desired potential. At the same time, the number of equipment remained small - only 300 units, including all prototypes.
Against the background of these processes, preparations for a new breakthrough in tank building were in full swing. At the turn of the fifties and sixties, the US Army received its first main tank, and the concept of a heavy tank was completely and irrevocably outdated. A replacement for the M103 in its class was no longer created. The future was for MBT.
