T1 Cunningham

"Prototypes were developed by James Cunningham Son & Company (Rochester, NY) from 1927 through 1928. Various modifications of the vehicle were tested until 1934. However, the tank never saw mass production."

- Description.

The T1 Cunningham is an American tier 1 light tank.

T1
Turret: Tier 1 Cunningham D2

Gun: Tier 1 37 mm Gun M1916

Engine: Tier 2 Cunningham V8

Tracks: Tier 1 Cunningham E2

Radio: Tier 2 SCR 200

T1E1 Cunningham
Turret: Tier 1 Cunningham D2

Gun: Tier 1 37 mm Semiautomatic Gun

Engine: Tier 2 Cunningham V8

Tracks: Tier 1 Cunningham E2

Radio: Tier 2 SCR 200

Performance
This tank is considerably faster than the other tier 1 vehicles, making it a good offensive tank in early battles. Fully upgraded, it is a nimble but fragile tank, so staying mobile and performing hit-and-run attacks is essential. Other than its speed, something unique to this tank at this tier is the semi-automatic gun. This gun has a 5-round magazine and functions the same way as the French autoloaders. They can fire their whole magazine in quick succession, but then have a long reload time to load another five rounds. Remember, every tank the T1 Cunningham encounters will have more armor than it, so try to avoid drawn-out slugging matches.

With its speed, it can get into auto-cannon range more easily than the other Tier 1 tanks, but the problem is often staying alive long enough to kill the target at that range. Also, the reload time for the auto-cannon on this tank is absurdly long (more than twice as long as any other Tier 1 tank), giving it a distinct disadvantage. However, you can nullify this disadvantage by using the terrain to your advantage, setting up traps that result in severely or killing you opponents if done correctly

History
The T1 Cunningham was a US light tank design that never progressed beyond built prototypes. Officially carrying the designations of T1E1 through T1E6, it went through its development stages from 1927 through 1932. The tank was never mass produced, nor was it ever fielded in combat. Ten tanks were produced (including the original T1 model) with the T1E1 series being the only model that had more than one prototype built (4 T1E1s were produced).

Only the T1E2 prototype survives to the present day. The T1E2 has been preserved, though without its guns. Previously it was on outdoor display at the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland. Due to that museum's closure in 2010, it has been moved to the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center at Fort Lee, Virginia, where it is presently in indoor storage and not publicly accessible.