Hobby Master HG3203 | M26A1 USMC "Battle of Chosin Reservoir" Korea, Dec. 1950

General Background:

The M26 Pershing was developed at the end of WWII as the successor of the M4
Sherman. Weighing in at 46 tons with 127mm of armor, excellent agility and a 90mm M3
gun for its punch, the Pershing was a tank capable of standing up to the Panthers and
Tiger Is. At the start of the Korean War the M26 was sent to combat the Soviet built T-
34/85s. The M26 became the model for designing the M46, M48 and M60 tanks.

The Tank:

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir took place in North Korea from November 27 – December
6, 1950. UN troops had been defeating the North Korean Army and had driven well into
North Korea. With such success the UN Commanders under US General Douglas
MacArthur started to become complacent and gave little thought to the thousands of
soldiers of the People’s Republic of China that were gathering on the border with North
Korea.
As the UN Forces continued further north to the Chosin Reservoir it was perceived as a
threat to their country so thousands of Chinese troops flooded over the Yalu River and
into North Korea and entered the conflict. The UN troops quickly became encircled and
fierce fighting broke and continued for 10 days. The temperature was brutally cold and
several thousand soldiers from both sides suffered severe frostbite. It was because of
this battle and the weather conditions that the UN troops were nicknamed the “Frozen
Chosin” or the “Chosin Few”. Even though the UN troops inflicted heavy casualties on
the Chinese one UN group was virtually eliminate. The UN forces were forced to give up
the Chosin Reservoir and eventually North Korea itself.
After years of fighting from June 1950 – July 1953 and seesaw battles both sides agreed
upon a cease-fire and a dividing line between North and South Korea was chosen. The
almost ironic thing is the dividing line is almost where the previous division was in 1950.
Thousands of people were killed on both sides, great loss of property and suffering for
the civilian populations just to end up at the same place and no winner. Even after more
than 50 years there never has been an official end to the Korean War.

M26 specifications

Crew: 5 (3 in turret – 2 in hull)

Weight: 41.23 tons

Length: 28 ft. 4 in.
Width:  11ft. 6 in.
Height: 9 ft 1 in.

Armament
1 x 90 mm M3 gun
2 X .30 MG (1 co-ax, 1 bow)
1 X  .50 AA

Armor: 12.5 mm – 112.5 mm (on gun shield)

Powerplant: V8 500 hp Ford GAN petrol
Maximum speed: 30 mph
Range: 100