Hello! Nice to meet you all! I have a question though. I'm trying to find documents for the prototype American heavy tank the T34. So far, I have only seen a video where they show the documents they received from a "reliable source" And a few pages, and title of a booklet from Charles A. Wright called "Heavy Tanks and Assault Tanks" I don't wanna beat around the bush for too long—I wanna find any testing documents, or manuals about the T34's cannon. I've seen a document listing it had HEAT, HEP (HESH for you British) APCR, APCBC, APDS, and AP. It listed the penetration values and that's about it. I'm mainly trying to find the source, as the only extensive knowledge I can find about the T34 is Hunnicutt's Firepower. But it had it's information wrong stating it only would fire a solid AP shot and APCR. (This isn't mean I'm just denying the book as it too also got the mantlet of the T29 wrong and never stated it carried the T13 APCBC which it infact did.) Sorry for the Block of text. If you have any information. Thank you!
What phone number would I have to contact? I have seen different phone numbers yet there I really don't know which phobe number to call
They're not mean people. Start with the base number and tell them what you want. They are a research facility, so they get inquires on a regular basis.
The "booklet" is actually one of the development histories prepared by the Ordnance Department and may be found in NARA RG 156, Entry 646A, Box 802A. You could order a copy from NARA if you wish, but depending on the number of pages it could be pricey. Meanwhile, I presume by the "T34's cannon" you mean the 120mm Gun T53? It is unlikely that HEAT, HEP, or APDS were ever developed for it. So where does Hunnicutt in Firepower state that the T53 would only fire AP and APCR? He only states that when adopted for the Heavy Tank T30 (turning it into the two T34) it used a "50 pound solid shot and development was in progress on a lightweight HVAP round" (Firepower, p. 94). And how does he get the "mantlet" (it is actually a gunshield in Ordnance nomenclature) wrong? Or state that the 105mm Gun T5E1 in Mount T123 or 105mm Gun T5E2 in Mount T123E2 in the Heavy Tank T29 never "carried" T13 APCBC?
I don't know if links are allowed, but the T29 had 203-200 mm of armor for it's mantlet. It had a gun shield of around 100mm and the sources for the Heat and Hep is talked about here Go to 8:00 in the video to see the document.
See what? A wargaming video with an undated fragment from an unidentified Ordnance document? Recommending a development series. What is the point? Meanwhile, no, the T29 did not have a mantlet. It had a gunshield, which was 8-11 inches (203-279 mm) thick.
I agree on the video. By War Thunder standards the research in that video amounts to the Royal Library of Alexandria , but the documents aren't sourced or cited in any fashion.
I gave it you. NARA RG 156, Entry 646A, Box 802A. I suspect most of the correspondence on it is in the same box along with Wright's booklet. That is the pattern for the development histories and usually the most relevant documents are simply appended to the development histories, especially the OCM. That snippet page in the video is similar to most OCM recommendations. The modern histories of the heavy tank projects were written by Ken Estes, I can ask him if he knows specifically since I know he looked at the T29-34 projects.
Side question. Anyone have experience with ordering NARA documents from outside the US? Keep bumping into little snippets there. The urge to order something occasionally lurks at the back of my mind, though is still reasonably remote. Finding it quite hard to work out if there are any issues/restriction (Maybe I'm assuming there might be, when there are none...). Possible I may be best to get stuff via a chap I know who offers a copying service there.
I think before I went through all the nonsense to source the information through proper government channels, I might have a look see if it didn't exist elsewhere. I am pretty sure that in this day and age there is very little not in the "public domain", finding it is the trick.
The little bit towards the end showing armor penetration? (also do note thats pen for the higher pressure T123 and at a higher velocity) thats from the source "armament for future tanks or similar combat vehicles" bit from ken estates showing the T122 and T123s ammunition? National archives scan though i dont know the identification number You want another hard source it had apds? NARA RG127/E162/BOX40 its a detroit tank arsenal document detailing the T53,T122, and the then proposed specifications for the T123 and shells specifically shows the T53s ammunation as, APC,HVAP,APDS,HE and their shell weights, APC: 50lbs, HVAP 36lbs (16lbs core), APDS 30.3 (16lbs core), HE 50lbs. Velocitys?: APC: 3100FPS, HVAP: 3550, APDS 3800, HE 2500 i think you can order them outside the us but they get quite costly to order especially if you dont know what box/location the documents in its because me and the a other person failed to provide him the source name (i also messed up and failed to provide the full chart on penetration so where he says 1k yards is actually 2k)
