t-95 TUTEL

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