T110E3 120mm tank hunter; 2nd prototype during US Army trials, 1957

[Dizzyfugu]

I am apparently still on my whiffy tank trip, so here is another one that never made to the hardware stage - even though it was a real project: the T110 tank hunter in its fourth evolutionary stage:


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Some background:
Even while the heavy T43 (M103) tank was still in development during the early Fifties, the U.S.A. was not done with attempts at making better heavy tanks. The primary concern were the Soviet heavy tanks that were expected to roll over Western Germany in the case of a Cold War escalation. Development was split into two schools of thought: One based its work on the T43, leading to the T57 and T58 auto loading tanks, while the other started from scratch, trying to mount a heavy weapon that could engage enemy tanks at long range in a more compact hull than the large and heavy T43.

In June 1954, the Detroit Arsenal held its third Question Mark Conference, the goal of which was brainstorming ideas for new heavy tanks. Conditions these proposals had to meet were that a prototype had to be constructed within two years, and the vehicle had to be able to fit within the confines of the Berne International Clearance Diagram, a code of standardization for rail tunnels established at the international conference at Berne, Switzerland, in 1913.

Various designs were submitted and discussed: The TS-2 and TS-5 were both armed with a 105 mm (4.13 in) T210 smoothbore gun; in a turret on the TS-2, and in a fixed casemate on the TS-5. The TS-6 and TS-31 were armed with the 120 mm (4.72 in) T123E1 gun; again in a turret on the TS-6, and casemate on the TS-31. Power for the tanks would have been supplied by either a 700 hp Continental AOI-1490-1 engine with an XT-500 transmission (TS-2 and TS-5), or an 810 hp Continental AVI-1790-8 with an XT-500 transmission (TS-6 and TS-31).


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In the end, the TS-31, outfitted with a gimbal gun mount and estimated to weigh 45 tons, was chosen for further development, because it promised the most compact outlines. Chrysler was assigned to the development of the TS-31, which was given the project designation "120mm gun tank T110"; at the same time, the T43 was entering pre-production as the M103.

The original TS-31/T110 had a driver in the hull, a gunner to the left of the gun, a commander and his machine gun cupola to the right of the gun, and two loaders. It was rear-engined and had six road wheels on either side. Armor was to be as thick as 9 inches (228.6 mm) on the gun mantlet. Despite the TS-31 concept being chosen as the winner, it still was slightly too big to fit through the Berne Clearance Dimensions. Additional problems were found with the off-center commander's cupola: the field of view was poor and the additional metal to support it added to the tank's weight and increased its size. These flaws led to Chrysler redesigning the tank.

The second draft, the T110E1, was an improvement over the original TS-31. It was slightly smaller, becoming shorter and the front becoming flat. The driver was moved into the casemate, to the left of the gun, with the gunner being moved to the right of the gun. Behind the driver and gunner were two loaders and the commander behind them. The commander was placed directly in the middle of the tank, leaving him to sit almost directly atop the engine and with his feet worryingly close to the gun breech. Despite all this, it was still too big to fit through the Berne Clearance Dimensions. Size, in addition to the Detroit Arsenal's disapproval of the driver's position, led to a second redesign.

The third draft, the T110E2, was sort of a reversion to the original; the driver was moved back to the hull outside of the casemate, and the gunner was moved back to the left of the gun. The commander's turret was moved slightly forward, so he would no longer have to sit on top of the engine, but was now forced to sit in a very awkward and cramped position in order to avoid being crushed by the gun's recoil every time it fired. The casemate reverted to being rounded at the front. Unfortunately, the third draft was no smaller in size than the second.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Detroit Arsenal replied to Chrysler's unsatisfactory proposals with the fourth draft of the T110 on its own (even though this proposal did not receive a dedicated designation): The casemate was moved to the back, hanging over the rear of the tank. The transmission was moved to the rear as well, joining the engine. In its place up front was a massive fuel tank, nearly encompassing the driver. The power plant (which was now a Continental 700 hp AOI-1490) was pushed to the left to afford the commander a more comfortable (but still probably hot) position on the far rear right. The suspension was changed to a more conventional (for the Americans) type, with smaller road wheels; although the original draft was without them, return rollers would have been necessary.

Chrysler rejected the Detroit Arsenal's idea to put the casemate on the very back on the tank and kept it in the middle, leading to the T110E3. The driver was moved back again inside of the casemate, this time to the right of the gun and in an elevated position that offered a very good field of view, and the driver had an M24 infrared periscope. 
Chrysler originally tried to simplify maintenance on this design by allowing the engine to be pulled out, on rails, via a hatch in the rear of the tank. But this novel feature created rigidity issues and the engine was returned to a standard position, now turned lengthwise in the tank. This new engine placement again left the commander stuck between the engine and the gun breech. The gun mantlet, which had been relatively tiny before, was much bigger in this iteration, weighing 2 tons and being 9 inches (228.6 mm) thick. The tank was now short and narrow enough to barely fit into the limits of the Berne Tunnel standard.

This version of the T110 was eventually the first deemed worthy enough to be turned into hardware. A wooden mockup was built and engineering diagrams were drawn up. The main weapon was a 120 mm T123E1 rifled anti-tank gun (the same gun that was carried by the M103, later designated M58), combined with an M14 stereoscopic sight. Gun traverse was 15 degrees to each side, with 20 degrees of gun elevation and 10 degrees of gun depression. Frontal armor was 5 inches (127 mm) at a 60 degree slope from vertical. Secondary weaponry comprised as a .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun, paired with the main gun, and the commander had a remote-controlled .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun on the M1 cupola, which could be aimed and fired from the inside.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Interest from the U.S. Army for this tank, which was rather a self-propelled gun carriage than a classic battle tank and rather passé in the U.S. Army's eyes, was high enough to warrant the build of two prototypes – primarily because the Army was not too enthusiastic about the large M103. While the T110E3 featured basically the same armament as the M103 and offered comparable frontal armor, it was considerably lighter (50 vs. 65 tons) and more compact.
In order to save cost and development time, a modified M48 Patton chassis was chosen for the prototypes, which featured three rollers per side and the early track tension wheel between the last road wheel and the sprocket wheel at the rear. All six road wheel pairs were sprung on independent torsion arms, while the two front pairs and rear ones received extra shock absorbers with dampers to block excessive amplitude from the torsion arms. Power came from an uprated Continental Motors, Inc. AV-1790-3 petrol engine, which delivered 875 hp instead of the early M48's 810 hp standard output.

The prototypes were built by Chrysler and ferried to the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground for field tests and comparison with the current standard tanks, namely the T43/M103 and the standard medium M48 MBT.
Potential service vehicles would have received the designation M90 and were supposed to be powered by a more reliable and longer-range Continental AVDS-1790-2 diesel power plant, but no more than the two T110E3 prototypes were built and tested in the course of 1956. However, no series production ensued, since the tank's performance did not meet the U.S. Army's expectations – even though the T110E3 proved to be much more agile than the T43/M103 and the commonality with the M48 made the T110E3 an attractive concept. Alas, the casemate layout was outdated and the ergonomics for the crew were poor and the interior was cramped due to the large cannon and the need for two loaders, because charges and warheads for the 120 mm rounds were separate and weighed 51 lbs (23.1 kg) in total, too much for a single loader and a decent rate of fire. The commander had, despite the cupola, a very limited field of view esp. of the tank's direct surroundings. Furthermore, the development of improved armor-piercing ammunitions for lighter guns, as well as the advent of guided anti-tank missiles, made the heavy tank, including the M103 as well as the T110E3, obsolete. As a final blow to the project, development of the new medium M60 tank with the powerful Royal Ordnance L7 105mm cannon had just started when the T110E3 finished its trials, and an update of the M48 with the L7 cannon was the eventual solution.

A single T110E3, the first prototype, survived and is preserved at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, MI.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Specifications:
    Crew: Five (commander, gunner, 2× loader, driver)
    Weight: 50 tonnes
    Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
                9.29 m (30 ft 5 in) overall
    Width: 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in)
    Height: 3,02 m (9 ft 11 in)
    Suspension: Torsion-bar
    Ground clearance: 15.2 in (387 mm)
    Fuel capacity: 200 US gal (760 l; 170 imp gal)

Armor:
    12.7 – 229 mm (0.5 – 9 in)

Performance:
    Speed:
      - Maximum, road: 30 mph (48 km/h)
      - Sustained, road: 25 mph (40 km/h)
      - Cross country: 9.3 to 15.5 mph (15 to 25 km/h)
    Climbing capability:
    - 40% side slope and 60% max grade
    - Vertical obstacle of 36 inches (91 cm)
    - 102 inches (2.59 m) trench crossing
    Fording depth: Unprepared: 4 ft (1.219 m), prepared: 8 ft (2.438 m)
    Operational range: 160 ml (258 km) on road
    Power/weight: 17.5 hp/t

Engine:
    1× Continental Motors, Inc. AV-1790-3 petrol V12 engine with fuel injection, delivering 875 hp, plus a 1-cylinder auxiliary generator

Transmission:
    General Motors CD-850-4A with 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse

Armament:
    1× 120 mm T123E1 (M58) rifled anti-tank gun with 34 rounds
    1× co-axial 7.62 mm M73 machine gun with 3.000 rounds
    1× 12.7mm M2 Browning anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander's cupola with 900 rounds



The kit and its assembly:
Yes, this is a whiffy tank, but the T110 project as such actually existed as an alternative to the M103. However, there never was any hardware beyond a wooden mock-up, and after many iterations (T110E5 was the last one!) the project was dropped in favor of classic designs with a fully rotating turret, and the availability of the British L7 cannon made the need for the American 120mm cannon obsolete.

I came across this obscure American tank project when I browsed the online shop of the German tank model/conversion kit manufacturer ModellTrans/Silesian Models, who offer a T110E3 resin conversion kit for an unspecified M48 chassis. I found the concept odd and the kit looked good, so I bought one, together with an ESCI M48A2 kit as chassis donor.

The rest was simple kitbashing. The M48 chassis was built OOB, just the upper hull replaced by the T110 resin parts, which also include the gun barrel and the mantlet, the commander's cupola and several other small parts. Fit was/is surprisingly good! The T110 hull also went very smoothly onto the ESCI chassis: not plastic or resin had to be cut, just a 2mm gap at the lower rear had to be filled with a styrene strip, and only minor PSR had to be done on the front and the rear.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some personal improvements include a scratched wall inside of the muzzle brake (made from a simple piece of 0.5 mm styrene sheet) and rails along the sidewalls, made from thin brass wire. Furthermore, some small parts from the ESCI M48 were transferred to the T110, including the barrel support, the housings for the stereoscopic rangefinder and a jerry can. Since this was supposed to become a prototype, I did not want to change too much.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Painting and markings:
The whole vehicle became Olive Drab, a conservative choice. I could not imagine that this outdated tank concept could have seriously entered service, so I decided to represent a prototype. But even if I had wanted a U.S. Army in-service vehicle, it would most probably have been painted all-over Olive Drab, anyway, since more complex paints schemes were only introduced in the late Seventies.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


AFAIK there was no clearly defined standard for "Olive Drab" in practice, even though there was a contemporary Federal Standard tone, 24087 (very different from the later, much lighter FS tone with this code), also known as "OD '50". In order to keep things simple, I chose Humbrol 66 (HM3), since it is supposed to represent the typical US Army tone. At first this looked rather dark and murky, but with some dry-brushing (with a mix of 66 and 111) after a washing with a mix of black and red brown, things started to look really good – esp. after the decals had been applied. The latter primarily came from the OOB ESCI sheet, complemented with the markings "TEST" and "T110E3", created with single white 3mm letters from TL Modellbau and seen on contemporary American test vehicles in a similar fashion.


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Further weathering was done through more dry-brushing with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill), then the model received a coat of matt acrylic varnish. Once the tracks (painted with a mix of acrylic black, brown and iron beforehand) had been mounted and finishing touches had been made, the lower areas were dusted with a reddish-brown mix of mineral pigments, reflecting the red-brownish washing all over the hull.




1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 T110E3 tank hunter, 2nd prototype during U.S. Army trials; Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1957 (ModellTrans/Silesian Models conversion kit on ESCI M48A2 hull) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Not a very complex project, the most tedious aspect of this build was the M48 running gear. However, the latter went together well with little resistance, and the T110 hull from ModellTrans/Silesian Models was easy to integrate, too. I am actually very impressed by the good fit, the details and the molding quality of the resin parts. Even thin and delicate parts and areas like the mudguards have been crisply molded and they are not distinguishable from the IP counterparts from the ESCI kit! And I like the result: the T110E3 looks very retro, a design fallen out of time, and a worthy post-WWII what-if model.

[Old Wombat]

Really nice job, there, Dizzy! Wonderful build!

Mongrel of a place to put the commander, though - directly behind the breech!

[scooter]

Nice work, Diz.  Of course, if you don't mind the grind, you can fight her and siblings in the US tech tree at Tier X in WoT

[chrisonord]

That's very nice Dizzy, you  are certainly on a roll wirh the armour builds 
Chris.

[PR19_Kit]

Jeepers, that's a hefty looking thing! 

Very impressive modelling though, it almost LOOKS heavy! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. Yes, it's quite a massive piece - but I guess it's still a lightweight alternative to the US T28 tank. This thing was (would have been) actually not heavier than a late M48A5, but the boxy casemate makes it look very heavy and ponderous.

[nighthunter]

Is this 1/72, Thomas? If so, does anyone make the M103, in 1/72?

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes, it's 1:72. There is an 1:72 M103 available from Dragon, but it's hard to track down and comes pricey:

https://www.scalemates.com/de/kits/dragon-7519-m103a1-heavy-tank--947858

[nighthunter]

$25 USD isn't too bad

[NARSES2]

Very impressive modelling though, it almost LOOKS heavy! 

It really does, doesn't it ?

terrific build Thomas 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you, another tank is already in the pipeline... 

[Mike Wren]

a bit late to this but just wanted to say what a great job you've done, looks spot on 

[The Chaos]

Great work i Love It.