坦克世界曾经被放弃的美帝“E计划”坦克

　　On January 2nd, 1945 the US Army Ground Forces Equipment ReviewBoard outline requirements for a new class of tanks, and on June 20th they reportedthat they suggest that American Armored Forces have a 25 ton light tank, a 45ton medium tank, a 75 ton heavy assault tank, and wanted to research a 150 tonsuper heavy tank. In 1946, the Stilwell Board dropped the plans for the 150 tonvehicle along with tank destroyers and had American tank development looselyfollow the requirements set forth by the AGF up until requirements changed inthe year 1950.

　　1945年1月2日。美国陆军装备部为一个新级别的坦克列出了设计指标，同年6月20日他们提议美军分别装备25吨级的轻坦，45吨级的中坦，75吨级的重型突击坦克，并想研制150吨级的超重型坦克。1946年，史迪威公司放弃了150吨级坦克及坦歼的项目，直到1950年之前都大致围绕着美国陆军(AGF)提出的要求进行坦克的研发。

　　So first off lets discuss the 25tvehicle. The AGF’s 25t tank was to replace the M24 which was inadequate,especially in the firepower department. The proposed gun was to be a 76 mmcannon that was to penetrate 127 mm @ 914 meters against a 30 deg. slopedplate. Mobility was also suppose to be better than the Chaffees. Iactually mentioned this project before in this article, because the AGF’s 25t proposal quickly developed intothe T37 and later into the M41 Walker Bulldog.

　　首先来看看25吨级的坦克。AGF的25吨坦克方案用于替换M24，后者在当时的情况下已不能满足军方的需求，尤其是在火力方面。提议为25吨型坦克装备的是76mm炮，能够在914m(1000码)距离上击穿法线30度倾斜的127mm装甲板。机动从理论上讲也优于霞飞。AGF的25吨坦克随后被发展为T37，再之后就是M41沃克猛犬。

　　The 45t vehicle had some interesting features. First of all thearmor protection was very thick. The frontal hull was to have 203 mm thickarmor. There is some ambiguity whether this is to factor in slope or not. Thegun for this 45t tank is also very interesting. It was to be a high velocity 76mm cannon which could penetrate 203 mm @ 914 m against a 30 deg. sloped plate.I have concluded that this penetration requirement refers to HVAP shells ratherthan AP, but I could be wrong. The gun was also to be stabalized and was tohave a rangefinder. Another interesting piece of info is that this gun was tohave an autoloader, but was to retain all 5 crewmen. The 45t vehicle was tohave a remote controlled bow .30 cal MG as well as .30 cal “blisters” on theside of the turret.

　　45吨级的坦克有一些有趣的特征。首先来看，装甲非常厚重。前装甲厚203mm，但不清楚这究竟是绝对厚度还是等效厚度。计划为45吨型坦克装备的炮也非常有趣：一门高初速的76mm炮，能够在914m距离上击穿203mm法线30度倾斜的装甲板。这个穿深数据是HVAP(也就是APCR)的，不是AP的，不过也有可能是作者记错了。主炮装备了稳定装置与测距仪，还有自动装弹机，乘员仍为5人。该坦克在车首和炮塔侧面均有遥控式的.30口径机枪，侧面的安装在水泡状机枪塔中。

　　Concept Art of the AGF’s 45t tank.

　　AGF 45吨级坦克的概念图

　　The 75 ton vehicle was another oddity. This behemoth was to have5 crew members and was to have a top speed greater than 30 km/h. The main gunwas requested to be a 90 mm gun that could penetrate 267 mm @ 1828 meters againsta 30 deg. sloped plate with HVAP shells. This is ~100 more mm than theT15E1/T15E2 guns in the same conditions with HVAP shells. Accuracy of the 75ttank was to be excellent. Reasonable accuracy was to be maintained up to rangesnear 3.5 km. The armor of the vehicles was to be equal to at least 267 mm atzero slope.

　　75吨级坦克又是另一个一个奇葩玩意。这个巨兽同样采用5人车组，极速超过30。主炮被要求是一门90mm炮，发射HVAP弹时能够在1828m(2000码)距离上击穿267mm法线30度倾斜的装甲板。设计中该坦克的射击精度不错，能够在3.5km距离内保证射击散布在一个合理的范围内。装甲的等效至少为267mm的垂直装甲。

　　Proposed Armor Values.

　　设计中的装甲值

　　I have touched on the 150 ton project before, but I forget whicharticle I mentioned it in. Anyways the 150t vehicle was to be armed withanywhere from a 105 mm gun to a 155 mm gun. Whatever gun was mounted, there wasto be a duel autoloading system(as in the T22 medium tank) for quick changesbetween ammo types. A stabilizing system was also to be used. Armor was to beas heavy as weight and mobility requirements allowed. The conceptual artfeatured in the June 20th report had a semi-trailer layout which was thought tobe necessary for transportation for a 150 ton vehicle.

　　作者之前提到过150吨级的坦克。它是一个装备口径在105-155mm之间的火炮的项目。不管安装什么主炮，该坦克都有一个分配式自动装弹系统(就像T22中坦那样)，可以实现不同弹种的快速切换，还使用了火炮稳定系统。装甲就和坦克自身一样厚重，但也满足了军方对于机动的要求。概念图见于6月20日的报告中，采用了半挂式的设计---这被认为是在150吨级坦克的运输过程中关键的一步。

　　In the title I called these tanks the American “E Series”. Onecan make parallels between the AGF’s proposals and Wa Pruef 6′s proposals fortanks based on weight class. Both projects had some actual vehicles built likethe T37 and parts of the E 10, E 25, and E 100; but a large amount of theseprojects’ attributes remain shrouded and ambiguous. I would also like to saythat the AGF likely never took the E Series into consideration when coming upwith these requirements. It is just a case of two groups coming up withsomewhat similar solutions to somewhat similar problems.

　　在标题中把这些坦克称为美国的“E系列”，因为AGF与陆军武器局6处的方案，至少在以重量划分级别的做法上是一致的，两个方案都有一些造出来的实车，比如说T37和E10,E25和E100，但是方案中的大部分还是停留在纸面，缺乏细节。而且可以肯定的是AGF在提出着一些列方案时没有考虑将E系列作为参考。这只是2个不同的团体在解决相似问题的方法探索上殊途同归。