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48-601: T69 may refer to: T69 (tank) , an American tank AnsaldoBreda T-69 , a tram of the West Midlands Metro Arizona State Route T-69 Hunter T 69 , a British-built trainer aircraft INS  Car Nicobar  (T69) , a patrol vessel of the Indian Navy Type 69 Chinese tank [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

96-508: A King Tiger in Dessau as well as a Panzer IV and a Panther. However, the Tiger II claim is disputed by historians on the grounds that the nearest unit known to be equipped with Tiger IIs was 70 miles from Dessau on the date when the kill was claimed. Near the end of World War II, more experimental versions of the 90 mm gun were tested including the higher-velocity T18 and T19 main guns. The T19

144-431: A chute to an ejection port in the turret bustle that automatically opened upon recoil of the gun. Once the shell was clear, the port automatically closed when the gun returns to battery (recovers from recoil ). The rate of fire could be as fast as 33 rounds per minute . This was when firing just one ammunition type: when interchanging between various types, the rate of fire was reduced to 18 rounds per minute. As well as

192-399: A control panel in his position When engaged, the cylinder was lifted into line with the breach, the hydraulic rammer then pushed the round forward into the breach. Upon withdrawal of the rammer, the cylinder indexed (rotated) forwards one chamber. The cylinder assembly then dropped back down to its stationary ready position low in the turret. Once fired, the empty shell was then passed along

240-509: A length of 15 ft (4.6 m). It was capable of firing a 3.5 in × 23.6 in (90 mm × 600 mm) shell 62,474 ft (19,042 m) horizontally, or a maximum altitude of 43,500 ft (13,300 m). The 90 mm gun was the US Army's primary heavy anti-aircraft gun from just prior to the opening of World War II into 1946, complemented by small numbers of the much larger 120 mm M1 gun . Both were widely deployed in

288-486: A new mount to allow it to be used in this role, which resulted in the 90 mm M2 , introducing yet another new mount, one that could be depressed to 10 degrees below the horizontal and featured a new electrically-assisted rammer. It became the standard weapon from 13 May 1943. In anti-aircraft use, the guns were normally operated in groups of four, controlled by the M7 or M9 gun director or Kerrison predictors . Radar direction

336-684: A slightly shorter and fatter propellent casing than that of the T15E1. The T54 served as the main gun on the M26E1 Pershing. In 1948 an improved version of the M3A1, designated as the T119, was designed to be used on the T42 (and later M47 Patton ) and had a higher muzzle velocity using new ammunition loaded to produce higher chamber pressures. The new ammunition had a slightly longer shoulder to prevent accidental chambering in

384-568: The 90 mm M1A1 , which entered production in late 1940, and was accepted as the standard on 22 May 1941. Since national arsenals had limited capacity, production of first 300 gun mounts was contracted to Allis-Chalmers in November 1940, with the first unit shipped in September 1941. The M1A1 included an improved mount and spring-rammer on the breech, with the result that firing rates went up to 20 rounds per minute. Several thousand were available when

432-588: The 120mm armed T57 and the 155 mm armed T58 Heavy Tank projects, both of which also featured autoloading systems and oscillating turrets. These two were based on the hull of the M103 Heavy Tank . The T42 medium tank was originally designed to replace the M46 Patton . The T42 was based on the T37 light tank prototype, but had increased armor protection and carried a T139 90mm gun (which would later be serialized as

480-503: The 90 mm HVAP (high-velocity, armor-piercing) tungsten penetrator sub-caliber projectile with a muzzle velocity of 3,350 ft/s (1,020 m/s), or the T33 AP with a re-heat-treated projectile with ballistic windshield and a muzzle velocity of 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s). The HVAP could compete with the KwK 43's penetration performance when firing standard APCBC, but tungsten ammunition

528-497: The 90 mm guns were on T3/M3 fixed mounts and two were on towed M1A1 or M2 mounts, with the 37 mm or 40 mm weapons on single towed mounts. The T3/M3 mount was designed for anti-surface or anti-aircraft fire. Emplacements for at least 90 batteries of two fixed guns each, plus mobile weapons, were constructed in CONUS, Panama, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere in 1943. Towed anti-aircraft gun. Production began in 1940. It featured

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576-604: The 90mm Tank Gun M41) in a brand new turret . It did, however, retain the same basic dimensions and the five road-wheel running gear. However, the T42 was still halfway through development when the Korean War started in June 1950. This gave rise to the infamous "Korean Tank Panic". As a quick solution to this problem, it was decided to take the turret of the T42 and mount it on the M46 hull. This spawned

624-598: The M82 APC (armor-piercing capped) shot, while comparable to the 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 mounted on the Tiger I, were inferior to the Tiger II 's KwK 43 L/71 8.8 cm main gun firing its standard APCBC (armor-piercing capped ballistic cap) shot used by German forces, with the result that the former's penetration fell far short of the standard projectile fired by that German tank. As a result, US ordnance provided some T26/M26 tank crews with

672-515: The M8A1 spring rammer. Its rate of fire was 20 rounds per minute. A complete redesign to make the gun dual role, functioning as an anti-tank gun as well as an anti-aircraft gun. The ammunition feed was upgraded and an automatic fuze setter-rammer, the M20, was added. This enabled the rate of fire to reach up to 24 rounds per minute. Elevation was improved with the gun able to depress to −10 degrees. To protect

720-705: The Medium Tank M47 Patton II . The T42 itself would never make it to full-scale production, having never met all of the Military's needs and expectations. A few of the tanks would be kept for experimentation and further development. This led to its use as the base hull for the T69. Further studies by the Rheem Manufacturing Company found that it would be possible to pair the T139 90mm gun with an autoloader if

768-507: The T54E1, carried the gun in an oscillating turret and used an autoloading system. [REDACTED] Media related to T69 medium tank at Wikimedia Commons 90mm gun The 90 mm gun M1/M2/M3 was an American heavy anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun, playing a role similar to the German 8.8cm Flak 18 . It had a 3.5 in (90 mm) diameter bore, and a 50 caliber barrel, giving it

816-606: The US entered the war, and the M1A1 was their standard anti-aircraft gun for the rest of the conflict. Production rates continued to improve, topping out in a few thousand per month. Like the German 88 and the British QF 3.7 inch AA gun , the M1A1 was used against tanks in combat but, unlike the others, it could not be depressed to fire against them. On 11 September 1942, the Army issued specifications for

864-664: The United States postwar as the Cold War presented a perceived threat from Soviet bombers. The anti-aircraft guns were phased out in the middle 1950s as their role was taken over by surface-to-air missiles such as the MIM-3 Nike Ajax . As a tank gun it was the main weapon of the M36 tank destroyer and M26 Pershing tank, as well as a number of post-war tanks like the M56 Scorpion . It

912-594: The addition of the SCR-584 microwave radar, which was accurate to about 0.06 degrees (1 mil) and also provided automatic tracking. With the SCR-584, direction and range information was sent directly to the Bell Labs M3 gun data computer , and M9 director, which could direct and lay the guns automatically, all the crews had to do was load the guns. The M3 was also adapted as the main gun for various armored vehicles, starting with

960-410: The center. The body of the turret was a single cast piece with the 90mm gun protruding from a long 'nose'. The angles of the casting provided numerous deflective surfaces against incoming rounds. This body was attached to a fully cast collar by trunnions, forming the fulcrum point of elevation and depression. The maximum elevation was 15 degrees and the maximum depression was 9 degrees. This motion

1008-505: The crew, a large metal shield was added. The M2 was the standard weapon by 13 May 1943. From the march it could fire from its wheels in three minutes, and from a fully emplaced position in seven minutes. In 1944 the weapon was enhanced with the addition of proximity fused shells. A tank-mounted anti-tank version of the gun. It was used to equip the M36 tank destroyer and the M26 Pershing tank. It

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1056-574: The development of the Mounting T1 was approved as well. The new design seemed so much better than developments of the older three-inch that work on the three-inch T9 was canceled in 1938, just as it became production-ready. On 21 March 1940, the second development of the 90 mm design, the T2, was standardized as the 90 mm M1 , while its larger cousin became the 120 mm M1 gun . A few hundred M1s were completed when several improvements were added to produce

1104-540: The early 1950s, the United States Military began a design program to develop tanks that would replace those currently in service. The M4 Sherman was becoming obsolete and was in the process of being replaced by the M26 Pershing and the upgraded M46 Patton . These tanks, however, were still very similar to vehicles of World War II era and did not make use of newer technologies that had begun to appear. One of

1152-501: The eight rounds in the cylinder, 32 rounds were held in the bow to the right of the driver. In the T42, this rack held 36 rounds. It was found, however, there was little clearance between the autoloading assembly and the turret ring for the loader to have access to this row of four extra rounds. It was the responsibility of the Loader to replenish the Cylinder when all rounds were spent. The T69

1200-493: The equipment was mounted in an oscillating turret . Oscillating turrets, made famous by the French AMX-13 , were a new feature at this time. These turrets have a fixed gun in a two-part turret. The lower half, or 'collar', is connected to the turret ring and provides horizontal rotation. The upper part, or 'body', carries the gun moving up and down on a set of trunnions providing vertical traverse. Turrets of this design allowed

1248-506: The experimental T7 which was accepted as the 90 mm M3 . The test firing of the M3 took place on an M10 tank destroyer in early 1943. The M3 gun was used on the M36 tank destroyer , and the T26 (later, M26) Pershing tank. The M3 fired an M82 APC shot with a muzzle velocity of 2,650 ft/s (810 m/s). However, both the muzzle velocity of the standard M3 gun and the quality of the steel used in

1296-421: The form of a conical 8-tube revolving cylinder, like a scaled-up version of something found on a Smith & Wesson Revolver. The chambers of the cylinder were reloaded manually by the Loader and could be loaded with up to three different types of ammunition : AP (Armor Piercing) , HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) or HE (High-Explosive) shells . The gunner could select which ammunition type he needs to fire via

1344-501: The heaviest frontal armor of the heaviest German tanks such as the Tiger II tank and the rarer Jagdtiger tank destroyer variant, a number of improved versions of the M3 were developed, including the T14 which included a standard muzzle brake and the T15 series. The 90 mm T15E1 L/73, with its 21 ft (6.4 m) long barrel, was designed and developed as an AT gun that could match or surpass

1392-494: The loading mechanism. The mounting lugs were also modified so that the gun's concentric recoil mechanism could be mounted in the forward part of the turret, in the nose. There was a fume extractor towards the muzzle of the gun, just behind the muzzle brake . This was a relatively new feature on tanks at the time. Firing an AP (Armor Piercing) shell , the gun could penetrate 6.2 inches (157.48 mm) of armor at 1,000 yards. A coaxial Browning M1919 .30 Cal. (7.62mm) Machine Gun

1440-602: The older M3 variants. The T119 was backwards compatible with the ammunition used on the M3A1. Upon standardization of the M47 in 1951, the T119E1 version was redesignated as the 90 mm gun M36. The lightweight variant of the T119, designated as the T139 and standardized as the 90 mm gun M41, equipped the M48 Patton tanks used in the Vietnam War. The M41 with a modified recoil system

1488-460: The performance of the 8.8 cm KwK43 L/71 cannon, the famous long 88 on the Tiger II. The T15 90 mm L/73 anti-tank gun utilized many types of armor piercing ammunition. PB (10yards) 1,000 yards 2,000 yards Two versions of the T15 were made: the T15E1 with single-piece ammunition and the T15E2 with two-piece ammunition. By mid-March 1945, a T26E1 pilot was equipped with the 90 mm T15E1 and

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1536-501: The same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T69&oldid=1176399147 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages T69 (tank) In

1584-519: The tanks to spring from the design program was the Medium Tank T42 . This tank would form the basis of the T69 project. The unique feature of the T69 among other medium tanks then in development was its oscillating turret and autoloading system. The T69 project followed on from the T71 Light Tank project, which featured a 76mm autoloading gun in an oscillating turret . It also ran parallel to

1632-451: The turret either by way of the hatch on the left of the turret roof for the loader or another atop the Commander's cupola at the rear right. The traditional hatches in the turret roof were not the only point of entry, however. If needed, the entire turret roof had the ability to raise up via hydraulic systems and could rise to almost a full 90 degrees. This allowed full access to the interior of

1680-406: The turret, easy removal of the gun and loading system, and quick ammunition resupply. In case of emergency, it also allowed for a quick exit of the turret. This was operated by a control in the Loader's position. Other features on the turret consist of an AA mount for a Browning M2HB .50 Cal. (12.7mm) Heavy Machine gun on the commander's cupola and a ventilator in the left rear. On each side of

1728-477: The turret, positioned just above the fulcrum point were the 'Frog's Eyes', the armored housings for the lenses of the stereoscopic rangefinder , as in other tanks of its day. The T69 was armed with the T178 90mm gun . The gun was mostly the same as the T139 but was mounted upside-down. This meant that the vertically sliding breach slid up towards the turret roof instead of down towards the floor, avoiding collision with

1776-417: The use of autoloader mechanisms as the gun was fixed in place, meaning the loader did not have to be re-aligned with the breach after every shot. The hull of the tank was made up of two parts: The front half was a long rounded casting of steel homogeneous armor, it was 4 inches (101.6 mm) thick and angled at 60 degrees, while the rear was welded steel armor plate. The two halves were welded together in

1824-537: The weapon over its history, including the experimental T8 and T9 versions developed in the early 1930s, that were intended to enter service later in that decade. However, the US Army became interested in a much more capable weapon instead, and on 9 June 1938, it issued a development contract calling for two new guns, one of 90 mm, which it felt was the largest possible size that was still capable of being manually loaded at high elevations, and another, using assisted loading, of 120 mm (4.7 in). On 18 August 1938

1872-543: Was a T18 modified in an attempt to reduce barrel wear. Other versions included the T21, which was intended for wheeled vehicles, and the T22, which used the breech from the standard 105 mm M2 howitzer. The T21 and T22 were designed to use larger powder charges. None of these versions entered service. In the post-World War II era, development of the T15 continued redesignated as the T54, which used

1920-477: Was actuated by a hydraulically powered mechanism, though manual operation was possible in a case of mechanical failure. The collar was then attached to the 73-inch turret ring. The turret crew consisted of the Gunner , Loader , and Commander . The Loader sat to the left of the gun, with the gunner on its right. The Commander was situated at the right rear of the turret underneath a rotating vision cupola. Access into

1968-668: Was also briefly deployed from 1943–1946 as a coast defense weapon with the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps . Each gun cost roughly $ 50,000 to make in 1940 and utilized up to 30 separate contractors to manufacture. Prior to World War II , the primary US anti-aircraft guns were the 3-inch M1918 gun (76.2 mm L/40) and 3-inch anti-aircraft gun M3 (76.2 mm L/50), a widely used caliber for this class of weapon. Similar weapons were in British, Soviet and other arsenals. There had been several upgrades to

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2016-594: Was always in short supply. An unsuccessful anti-tank variant was the T8 gun on the T5 carriage. The gun was an M1 with the recoil mechanism from the M2A1 105 mm howitzer . Eventually a version of the T8 with the T20E1 gun and T15 carriage was tested; this led to the 105 mm anti-tank gun T8 . Because the standard fifteen-and-a-half foot long M3 90 mm main tank gun proved incapable of penetrating

2064-458: Was common, starting with the SCR-268 in 1941, which was not accurate enough to directly lay the guns, but provided accurate ranging throughout the engagement. For night-time use, a searchlight was slaved to the radar with a beam width set so that the target would be somewhere in the beam when it was turned on, at which point the engagement continued as in the day. In 1944, the system was upgraded with

2112-591: Was finally officially terminated February 11, 1958. The one prototype produced is now preserved in the U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection , Fort Moore, Georgia . The T69 was not the last experiment with oscillating turrets and autoloaders by the US Military . The project would be followed by the T54 . They were intended as a means to develop a turret for the M48 that could carry the 105mm Tank Gun T140. A variant of this project,

2160-727: Was mounted as the 90 mm gun M54 on the M56 Scorpion anti-tank vehicle. This gun was found to be inadequate and incapable of penetrating modern armor, requiring a stop gap of HEAT-FS shells to be utilized until the 105mm L7 derivative could become more prevalent. During World War II the Coast Artillery Corps adopted the 90 mm M1 to supplement or replace aging three-inch guns in harbor defense commands in CONUS and US territories. The guns were organized in anti-motor torpedo boat (AMTB) batteries, typically with four 90 mm guns and two 37 mm or 40 mm AA guns each. Typically two of

2208-425: Was mounted on the left of the main armament. When not in action, the turret would be traversed almost fully to the rear. The gun would then be placed in a travel lock mounted on the left rear of the engine deck. The T178 gun was fed by an 8-round autoloader mechanism. The system was mounted longitudinally on the centerline of the turret . It consisted of a magazine with an integral ramming system. The magazine took

2256-495: Was sent to Europe in a ''trial by combat''. It was given to the 3rd Armor Division where it was enhanced with additional armor plates. Its gun was fired in anger on only one occasion, on 4 April 1945, where it engaged and destroyed a German armored vehicle, probably a Tiger I or Panther , at a range of 4,500 ft (1,400 m) during the fighting along the Weser River . According to the memoirs of John P. Irwin, it knocked out

2304-424: Was tested at Aberdeen Proving Grounds from June 1955 to April 1956. The tests were dogged by a high rate of component failure which prevented in-depth study of the automatic loading system and operation of the oscillating turret . The tank was deemed unsatisfactory for service, but various tests on the vehicle would continue. Lessons learned would pave the way for future technologies and developments. The T69 Project

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