It was originally designed to break through German defenses of the Siegfried Line and was later considered as a possible participant in the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.

[3] Initially named Heavy Tank T28 when construction was authorized in 1944, the design did not fit in the usual categories of vehicles, leading to reclassification.

[3] The 105 mm T5E1 gun selected was known to have very good performance against concrete and "expected to be extremely effective at reducing heavy fortifications".

[4] By the time the vehicle passed trials, the German Siegfried Line had already been infiltrated and overwhelmed by the Allied forces.

In 1947, one of the T28s was heavily damaged by an engine fire during trials at Yuma Proving Ground and was broken up and sold for scrap.

Work on it ended before completion as the War Department decided to stop the development of vehicles of that sort of weight[9] and the T28 program terminated in October 1947.

[3] The outer tracks could be detached within two hours for rail transport: After removal, they could be fixed together to make a unit that could be towed behind the tank.

[3] The engine was a gasoline-powered Ford GAF V-8, delivering 500 hp,[1] at 2600 rpm through the Torqmatic transmission; which left the vehicle underpowered, geared down to a top speed of about 8 mph (13 km/h) and greatly limited its obstacle-climbing capability.

[15] The vehicle was damaged in January 2017 during transit to another facility for external refurbishment when it broke loose from the M1070 HET carrying it.

The transporter failed to negotiate a downhill slope and subsequent turn at a safe speed, causing the securing chains to break and allowing the T28 to slide off the trailer.