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The T92 240mm Howitzer Motor Carriage was one of two attempts to mount very heavy artillery pieces on the chassis of the M26 Pershing tank.
The T92 was part of a Heavy Weight Combat Team, a series of vehicles based on the T26/ M26 Pershing. This included the M26 itself, the T84 8in HMC, the T92 240mm HMC, the T93 8in GMC, the T31 Cargo Carrier and the T25E5 assault tank. The 105mm howitzer armed T26E2/ M45 was later added to the group.
The towed 240mm howitzer M1918 had provided to be unsatisfactory in combat, as it was difficult to tow such a heavy weapon across country. It had already proved possible to mount a 155mm howitzer on the smaller Medium Tank M3/ Medium Tank M4 chassis, and this suggested that the 240mm howitzer might fit on the T26E3 chassis.
The design of the T92 was approved in March 1945, as 'limited procurement'. Chrysler was given a contract for four pilot vehicles, and the first was completed in July 1945. This underwent initial trials at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, and then went to Fort Bragg for Artillery Board tests. The trials suggested that the T92 would have been suitable for bombarding Japanese bunkers and caves, and work was underway to ship the pilots to the Pacific for the invasion of Japan, but the entire project was cancelled at the end of the war.
The T92 needed a longer chassis than the M26, and had seven road wheels on each side, up from six on the M26 (and T84).
Both get longer chassis with extra bogie wheel on each side, and drive taken to front sprocket, recoil spade at rear
(might explain why some sources say backwards pointing gun)
The layout of the T92 was similar to that of the T84. The engine and transmission were at the front, as was the drive wheel (explaining why some sources say that the gun was pointing backwards). The howitzer was carried in an open topped fighting compartment with side armour, in the same general position as the original engine compartment. A recoil spade was added at the rear of the chassis.
Stats
Production: 5
Armament: 240mm howitzer