t-95 TUTEL

Intro The T95 Heavy Tank was an experimental American heavy tank project from the early Cold War era, designed to test advanced armor and firepower concepts rather than to become a production vehicle. Here’s a detailed breakdown: --- General Overview Country: United States Type: Heavy tank (experimental) Years of development: 1955–1959 Purpose: To explore advanced armor technology (particularly siliceous-core armor) and powerful armament for potential future U.S. heavy tanks. --- Design & Development Developed by Chrysler Corporation at the Detroit Arsenal. Intended to replace the M103 heavy tank or be used alongside it. Part of a program testing various turrets and gun configurations on a common chassis. Four different turret/armament configurations were built, all designated T95 but often differentiated by suffixes: T95 – 90mm T208 smoothbore gun T95E1 – 90mm T208 smoothbore, simplified turret T95E2 – M48 Patton turret with 90mm M41 rifled gun T95E3 – M48 Patton turret with 105mm T140 rifled gun T95E4 – Larger turret for the 105mm T210 smoothbore (not completed) --- Armor Used siliceous-core armor, which sandwiched a layer of fused silica (a type of glass) between steel plates. Idea: Fused silica was lighter than steel but could absorb more energy from certain types of rounds. Armor thickness: Comparable to or better than the M103 heavy tank, optimized for protection against Soviet 100–122mm guns. --- Armament Main guns tested: 90mm T208 smoothbore (high-velocity, APFSDS capable) 105mm T140 rifled 105mm T210 smoothbore (planned) Coaxial and hull-mounted 7.62mm machine guns. Early smoothbore gun designs were aimed at firing fin-stabilized rounds at very high velocities, something unusual at the time. --- Mobility Engine: Continental AOI-1195 gasoline engine (later experiments considered a diesel). Transmission: Cross-drive transmission. Speed: About 30 mph (48 km/h). Despite heavy armor, it was not excessively slow