M48 Patton

History of M48 Patton

The M48 Patton was introduced in 1952 and over 11,000 were produced during its tenure. She formed the backbone of U.S. armor in Vietnam and saw widespread action in that conflict. For the M48, war was never far, as it also fought enemies in the Six Day War in 1967, the Indo-Pakistani Wars in 1965 and 1971, and the brutal Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. During her many years of service, her reliability and adaptability made her a workhorse in Cold War operations, and she still has a place albeit limited in the ranks of today's formidable modern militaries.

Years of modernization have secured her place, and her chassis has evolved into countless useful modifications for any conquering army.

Patton Tank Line

The M48 is part of the "Patton" armor family, named after the legendary WWII American General George S. Patton. The M26 took on the name of World War I hero General John Pershing, while the M46 was the first model to bear the series name "Patton" (or more formally, "General Patton"). Although the M47 was called the "Patton II," it was never officially called that. The M48, like the upcoming M60 main battle tank, was named "Patton". The M46, M47, and M48 are all classified as "medium tanks", with the M48 being the last such tank in service with the US military.

The M60 Patton was the first American tank to receive the "Main Battle Tank" designation.

The M46 was seen as a temporary solution to offset the shortcomings of the WWII-era M26 Pershing series, which was initially classified as a heavy tank and later reclassified as a medium tank. The M26 had limited service in the final months of World War II and had little impact on the shutdown. The M46 sought to improve the engine performance of the M26 (essentially a modified M4 Sherman) and its off-road maneuverability. The M47 became America's first "all-new" tank after World War II, with a new turret on the proven M46 chassis. Despite ramping up production in late 1951, the M47 missed the Korean War entirely, and the conflict stalled in 1953.

Just as the M47 gained power, the M48 has been designed as a transition solution - the M47 itself - in an attempt to bridge the gap between the M47 and the outgoing M60 Patton. In fact, the M48 will enter service alongside the M60 in due course.

Korea is too late

When war broke out on the Korean peninsula in June 1950, the existing US and allied armament systems were handed over to the United Nations. On February 27, 1951, the Ordnance Technical Committee (OTCM) agreement issued new Army requirements for the "90mm Tank Gun, T-48". The requirement calls for a new armor system to complement the stables of America's dwindling arsenal and increase military might.

The design had to have substance, strength and modern status. Compared to the M47, the T-48 had a revised hull, improved suspension, and a new turret design with a 90mm T54 main gun.

It was equipped with a gasoline engine and removed the bow-mounted machine gun and corresponding radio operator's place, reducing the operator to four people - an arrangement that became standard on all subsequent tanks, including models like the M1 Abram A modern tank like this one. Of course, some Russian designs go a step further and forgo the loader altogether, opting instead for a sophisticated but efficient automatic loading mechanism. The new pilot (prototype of tank language) T-48 proved to be a solid design.

Chrysler Delaware Tank Plant began production in 1952. The tank was officially named the M48 Patton 90mm gun tank on April 2, 1953. By the end of 1959, around 11,700 were in circulation at the end of production, with contributions from Fisher Tank Arsenal and the Ford Motor Company. The base production model was simply referred to as the "M48".

Some early M48 production models were found to have poor ballistic protection and were relegated to aircrew and gunnery trainer use under the M48C designation.

M48 Patton Walks

Externally, the M48 largely shares the same design philosophy as the M47 it seeks to replace. In any case, the M48 is a completely new design, just following traditional American design philosophies. The design is characterized by its slender and robust turret, which is curved at the front and sides to better help provide ballistic protection. To the right of the upper turret is a recognizable commander's cupola.

The turret houses the gunner, loader and tank commander, with free access to each other's positions. The gunner retained a 90mm main gun (90mm T54, 90mm M41 or 105mm M68, depending on the production model) and a coaxially mounted M73 7.62mm machine gun. The loader was also armed with a 7.62mm anti-infantry machine gun, as was the commander on the cupola.

The main gun is located in the center of the front of the turret and extends to the front of the hull, covered by a Y-shaped muzzle brake, the barrel is moved slightly through a non-concentric smoke exhaust. The rear of the tower, known as the hustle, holds a storage basket that extends from the rear side of the tower. The top of the hull is a relatively suitable surface for carrying extra equipment or infantry.

There are medium wheels on the track side, a drive sprocket at the rear and a chain idler at the front. Each side of the chain is equipped with five sprockets for easy tread rotation. The trackside is not covered by skirt armor like the later foreign M48s. The sloping plate is well angled to keep the driver's position centered under the main gun and in front of the turret ring. The engine is housed in a compartment at the rear of the vehicle, creating a slightly raised rear quadrant reminiscent of the outgoing M60 Patton.

Their armor protection is 120 mm (4.89 in) at its thickest point.

The M48A1 designation is used to denote the improved driver's hatch and M1 commander's cupola, capable of operating a 12.7mm Browning M2 air-cooled heavy machine gun from the tank turret itself. The M48A2 has improved turret capabilities but retains the gasoline engine.

The M48A2C has a similar scope, but with an improved rangefinder and new main gun evacuation. The auxiliary tensioner was eventually removed.

There is a problem

Once the M48 entered service, it was found that the M48's range was not impressive as it was limited to around 70 miles, mainly due to the Continental AVDS-1790-5B 12-cylinder twin-turbocharged air-cooled petrol engine. It was also found that a direct hit to the engine could easily catch fire - a shortcoming of the WWII M4 Sherman. Hydraulic lines running in the tower are also excellent as they can also catch fire during cutting.

As such, the M48A3 was developed from the existing M48A1 production model, but instead fitted with an air-cooled Continental AVDS-1790 series V-12 diesel engine. The fire control system has also been further improved, and the main weapon is still the 90mm main gun. It wasn't until February 1963 that the U.S.

Army officially accepted the tank and received approximately 600 prototypes converted to acceptable M48A3 standards. The following year, the U.S. Marine Corps became the second proud owner of some 419 M48 Pattons.

Armed

The M41 90mm eventually replaced the T54 90mm gun. Found in the M48A3 model series, this new system can fire HEAT (High Explosive, Anti-Tank), Smoke and AP (Armor Piercing) projectiles at a range of 2,735 yards. The M41 was eventually replaced by the 105mm M68 and 105mm L7 main guns.

M48 Patton in Vietnam

The Vietnam War officially began in September 1959. American advisors arrived as early as 1950, although the number of U.S. combat troops did not appear until around 1965. The M48 was the mainstay of U.S. armored forces at the time, and the Patton tank became the heaviest tank used by the U.S. military in conflict. Despite its armor protection and ample main guns, the M48 was thrown into a war that wasn't directly destined to fight.

While tank-to-tank duels were expected with North Vietnamese and Viet Cong armor, the M48 was relegated to support infantry operations in dense jungle and subsequent suburban battles. In fact, senior U.S. military officers opposed the use of the M48 in war, arguing that the terrain would eventually prove unsuitable, and encouraged the use of lighter systems such as the M41 Walker Bulldog. This close support proved that the M48 was somewhat vulnerable to enemy man-portable anti-tank units, who were prepared to drop armor-piercing rounds on the vehicle's vulnerable sides and rear. So the M48, in turn, relied on the support of its infantry, usually with a "gunner" riding on the engine bay at the rear of the vehicle, protecting the tank's "six" from sneak attack.

It is worth noting that the M48 armor withstood repeated blows from such enemy anti-tank weapons before being damaged or destroyed - although this does not account for the physical and psychological effects such an explosion might have on the occupants inside.

Six hundred M48 Pattons will be used for subsequent operations. The first such system was part of the 1st and 1st Tank Battalions of the US Marine Corps, which arrived in 1965 (these battalions consisted more or less of about 57 tanks). The 4th Cavalry Tank of the 1st Squadron deployed to Vietnam was also an M48, arriving in 1965. The cavalry squadron eventually replaced their M48s with the lighter, air-droppable M551 Sheridan.

The rest of the troops using the M48 included 1-69. Armor, 1-77. Cupid and 2-34. armor. In addition to the basic M48 armor system, its flamethrower derivative - the M67A1 (nicknamed "Zippo") - also featured heavily in the ensuing battle.

The M67A1 uses the M48A2 body, and the M67A2 is nothing more than a Zippo with an M48A3 body.

When the U.S. military didn't overwhelm the enemy with cannon or machine gun fire, or swept them away with flamethrowers, they shredded them with canister shells. This devastating projectile essentially turns the M48's main gun into a large scatter-fire shotgun, scattering around 1,280 bullets or as many as 10,000 arrows at infantry or slicing through jungle undergrowth.

Ultimately, the M48 proved its worth in conflict by providing adequate crew protection and great direct firepower and maneuverability. The M48 is relatively well armored against landmines, and is often used to detect these deadly weapons ahead of infantry and convoys.

In fact, mines proved to be the tank's greatest enemy, although soft and inaccessible terrain somewhat limited the M48's range as a minesweeper roller. As the U.S. presence in the conflict diminished, the M48A3 model in U.S. service was handed over to the South Vietnamese Army. The SVA also had some success against the NVA tanks T-34 and T-55.

The bigger problem was the new Soviet wire-guided anti-tank missiles, and no tank had much protection. Coupled with the presence of mines, bazookas and artillery, the crew of the M48 tanker was in front of them.

The South Vietnamese Army continued to use their M48s until they were killed in combat, ran out of fuel, or ran out of ammunition (the US enacted a fuel and ammunition ban on South Vietnam before the war ended). NVA used a captured system, albeit briefly.

M48 in the Six Day War

When the United States was involved in the Vietnam conflict, thousands of miles away in the Middle East was brewing the Six Day War of 1967 Israel against a coalition of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel used the M48 (upgraded to a 105mm gun) to good effect against the Soviet-made Egyptian T-54 and T-55 MBTs and maintained their advantage through sound tactics and battlefield doctrine in the Sinai Peninsula (Star Air Support) ) .support). Instead, the M48 deployed to Jordan fell prey to aging Israeli M4 Sherman guns in the West Bank, where tactics once again triumphed over technology.

Captured Jordanian M48 systems (base models M48 and M48A1) were returned to Israeli military service, only now using them against their former owners.

Israel once relied heavily on the M48, hence the designation E-48. There is an AVLB bridge erector using the M48 chassis to connect to the Israeli bridge system, as well as the M48A2 and M48A2C models offered in Germany. The United States also supplied the country with M48A3s.

"Magach" is a term reserved for the improved, heavily armored Israeli versions of the M48 and M60 Patton tanks. The Magach 1, 2, 3 and 5 markers are all based on the M48 Patton, while the Magach 6 and 7 markers are based on the M60 Patton.

M48 in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was actually the first use of the M48 in a tank-to-tank showdown. The M48 was used by the Pakistan Army against the Indian Army's Centurion and M4 Sherman. From the outset, the M48 proved to be a valuable tool through brute force and coordinated attack. They were equally useful in repelling Indian attacks. However, in the Battle of Assar North, Pakistan lost about 100 tanks in a single battle, many of them M48s.

A post-war review concluded that Pakistan's tactics were largely to blame, although other reviews found the M48's armor protection to be flawed, even against the 84mm main gun.