Power for the new tank was to be provided a Wright G-200 radial piston aero engine - the same powering the famous Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Baldwin Locomotive Works, a heavy industries firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged for production of the new T1 pilot vehicle and several powertrain arrangements and hull construction practices would be used during development and this led to several distinct prototypes being realized. The vehicle line was formally designated as the "M6" under the US Army direction and this produced the M6 (T1E2), M6A1 (T1E3) and M6A2 (T1E1) prototypes. Both the M6 and M6A1 featured a torque converter transmission system though the M6 was fielded with a cast hull and the M6A1 with a welded hull. The M6A2 had a cast hull and electric transmission system. The original T1 pilot vehicle that was never produced called for a cast hull and hydramatic transmission. Similarly, the unbuilt T1E4 prototype was to be given a hydramatic transmission with a welded hull.
Baldwin produced the pilot vehicles from 1941 into 1942 to which serial production was ordered by the US government to begin in December of 1942 - by this time, the United States was fully committed to war in Europe while containment of the Japanese in the Pacific was on order and a plethora of military programs were ordered and furthered. The primary American medium tank was originally the M3 General Lee/Grant which was then supplanted by the quantitatively-available M4 Sherman.
The quickly advancing war in Europe soon realized the M6 tanks as a luxury program with limited scope. The US Army was receiving large numbers of M4 Shermans, enough to stock even the inventories of its Allies, and the medium tank's capabilities proved adequate for the war ahead - particularly against the weaker Japanese tanks and the expensive and technologically advanced German tanks which, when lost in battle, were difficult to replace. The available M4 Sherman numbers soon turned into the tens of thousands of available vehicles with various subtypes produced in turn. This led to the M6 slowly falling out of favor in the US Army ranks, the completed production vehicles being retained stateside for the duration of the war. Prototype vehicles were used in developmental affairs concerning armor practices and armament. The M6A2E1 was a short-lived proposed uparmored variant of the T1E1 pilot vehicle completed with a new turret fitting a larger 105mm main gun. This influenced some of the T29 Heavy Tank project development.
The sudden and drastic shifts of the war in Europe soon left the M6 to the pages of history. Despite 40 of her type ultimately being completed, non were to see combat service in the global conflict. Production broke down as follows: 8 examples were of the M6 while 12 became M6A1 vehicles and the remaining 20 were of the M6A2 type. American armor was eventually strengthened by the arrival of the M26 "Pershing" heavy tank in Europe which saw service there in the last few weeks of the war. The developmental T29, T30 and T95 heavy tank programs were all limited in their actual reach, particularly amidst the budget slashing that occurred at the end of the war by the US government. Further consideration for the M6 was formally ended on December 14th, 1944 and all but one of the 40 completed M6 heavy tanks were scrapped - the lone survivor falling under the care of the US Army Ordnance Museum in Maryland for posterity as a showpiece of American tank evolution.
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