No, this is not a biography of General "Black Jack" Pershing, of WWI fame. It is, as the subtitle aptly states, "A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series." It is a large (8 3/4" x 11 1/4"), 240-page, hardbound, thoroughly illustrated volume, with line drawings by D. P. Dyer, color drawings (4 pages) by Uwe Feist, a foreword by Col. Robert J. Icks, and numerous excellent black and white photographs. It is printed on coated (slick)paper to enhance the reproduction of the photos.

In the spring of 1942 the United States initiated a program to develop a new medium tank to replace the M4 "General Sherman." The original concept, known as the T20, was soon expanded to include the investigation of a wide variety of armament, power trains and suspensions by means of a whole series of experimental tanks, all designed around the 500 hp Ford tank engine. Almost three years of development eventually led to the T26E3 "General Pershing," which saw some combat in the closing months of WWII in Europe, including the capture of the Remagen bridge. In late March of 1945 the Pershing was standardized as the M26, and it served as the U.S. Army's main battle tank during the immediate postwar period and the first year of the Korean War. It was the original direct ancestor of today's M60 by way of the intermediate M46, M47 and M48 "Patton."

Part I, "A new Tank for the Troops," tells the story of the arrival of the first Pershing in Europe their baptism of fire. Part II, "The Development History," narrates in considerable detail the development of the various models in the T20 experimental series, each of which is thoroughly illustrated by photos and line drawings. Also covered here is the battle between the Ordnance Department, the Armored Force and the Army Ground Forces over the proper role of the tank in U.S. Army doctrine, and the effect of this argument on the design of the replacement for the Sherman and design of the replacement for the Sherman and the way this controversy hampered and delayed the efforts of Ordnance to provide the troops with a tank equal to the excellent German Tigers and Panthers. Also covered is the development of vehicles based on the M26 chassis, such as self-propelled artillery pieces and tank recovery vehicles. Part III, "Final Service," covers the post-WWII service of the Pershing. Part IV, "Reference Data," contains a very interesting and well-thought-out comparison of the Pershing with the German Panther and Tiger I. The author shows convincingly that the Pershing was superior, on an over-all consideration of firepower, mobility and protection, to the Tiger I, but inferior to the Panther. Also, detailed data sheets are included for 23 vehicles in the T20 and M26 series and 9 weapons that served as armament for all the T20 series tanks and the motor carriages based on the Pershing chassis. This detailed, hard data will be especially appreciated by designers of tactical board games and armor miniatures rules.

Although some of the details of the suspensions and other miscellaneous parts of all these experimental tanks made for some dull passages, I was, on the whole, fascinated by the author's obvious mastery of his subject and his straight-forward, no-nonsense, almost conversational narrative. Over half the book concerns the development of the various experimental models that culminated in the Pershing. This is only fitting for a tank which saw so much development and so little real combat. The photos and drawings are, for the most part, superb - certainly very informative, clear, well reproduced and captioned, and obviously selected with great care. This is by far the most thorough, most professional, most informative book I have yet seen on the history of any armored fighting vehicle. It's a real shame that volumes of similar quality are not available on all the major types of armored fighting vehicles of the Second World War.

This book was first published in 1971, by Feist Publications. It is now available, for $16.50, from Aero publishers, Inc., Dept. C, 329 W. Aviation Road, Fallbrook, CA 92028, or through your local book or hobby store.

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