M48A3 Patton
Continuing reliability problems with the M47 Patton led the US Army to begin work on a replacement only a year after the M47 entered service. The new tank would be broadly similar to the M47, using the same 90mm gun, but would have an improved turret and suspension; the forward hull was also redesigned, eliminating the bow machine gun and moving the driver to the center. Besides being a replacement for the M47, it was hoped that the new M48 Patton would replace all other types of tank in Army service, including the remaining M4 Shermans, M26 Pershings, and M46 Pattons. The new Patton entered service in 1952--it was rushed into production, for fear that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union in tank effectiveness.
The Army expected that the M48 would run into issues in the field, and they were not wrong. Most of the problems were easily rectified, but the biggest one was the engine: the M48 used a gasoline engine, and the tank proved to be a gas-guzzler. It lacked range, and since it was a gas engine, it was vulnerable to fire; there was a fear it would "brew up" if hit. The tank commander's .50 caliber machine gun was also completely exposed. The latter would be corrected in the M48A2, which would enclose the cupola, while the engine was addressed with the M48A3, which switched to diesel fuel, adding range and lessening the chance of catastrophic fires.
After the Army got the chance to look over a Soviet T-55 captured during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, it made the decision that the M48 could not survive a hit from the T-55's 100mm gun, while the T-55 could survive a hit from the 90mm. Production would then switch to the M60 Patton, with improved armor and a 105mm gun. Since 11,700 M48s had been built in the 1950s, this left the Army with a lot of redundant tanks. These were passed on to Reserve and National Guard units, or exported; modernization programs were gradually applied to US Army M48s, but most were retired by the early 1970s.
Though being replaced by the M60, the M48 was still the backbone of US Army and Marine tank units during the Vietnam War, and since the tank threat was minimal there, the M48 was deemed adequate for combat. It proved its worth, being effective against infantry, and much less vulnerable to RPG fire and mines. One tactic the Army developed was the "thunder run," when Pattons would be run at full speed up a road. If they hit a mine, the most that would usually happen was the loss of a road wheel or track. Convoys could then followed the tanks without worrying about mines. (The term "thunder run" would be applied to any high-speed tank attack, most famously in the assault on Baghdad in 2003.) In the few tank battles fought during the war, the 90mm was found to be effective against North Vietnamese PT-76s, T-34s, and even T-55s.
The M48 would also see extensive service in the Indo-Pakistani Wars and Arab-Israeli Wars, with mixed results. Pakistani M48s took heavy losses against Indian Centurions, mainly due to poor tactics and the Centurion's 105mm gun. Israeli and Jordanian M48s also suffered losses, for the same reason (the Israelis used upgunned Shermans and Centurions against Jordanian Pattons; Israeli Pattons fought Egyptian T-55s). The gasoline engine on unmodified M48A2s was indeed prone to explosion, and the Israelis had to modify their tactics to take into account the shorter range of the 90mm gun. Following the Six-Day War, the Israelis began upgunning their M48s with 105mm guns, a practice emulated by the West Germans (in the oddly designated M48A5GA2) and many others. Upgunned and uparmored M48s remain in service with eight nations, including Greece, Taiwan, and Turkey; these tanks have been so upgraded, they barely resemble their original forms.
"Mad Harlot," this M48 at the National Museum of Military Vehicles, is a Marine example, on display at the NMMV's Tet Offensive exhibit. The exhibit may not be complete yet, as the rubble is sort of random; a group of three mannequins is behind the Patton (unseen in this picture), using it as cover. The setup resembles a famous picture of Marines advancing under fire at Hue City in February 1968.
M48A3 Patton
Continuing reliability problems with the M47 Patton led the US Army to begin work on a replacement only a year after the M47 entered service. The new tank would be broadly similar to the M47, using the same 90mm gun, but would have an improved turret and suspension; the forward hull was also redesigned, eliminating the bow machine gun and moving the driver to the center. Besides being a replacement for the M47, it was hoped that the new M48 Patton would replace all other types of tank in Army service, including the remaining M4 Shermans, M26 Pershings, and M46 Pattons. The new Patton entered service in 1952--it was rushed into production, for fear that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union in tank effectiveness.
The Army expected that the M48 would run into issues in the field, and they were not wrong. Most of the problems were easily rectified, but the biggest one was the engine: the M48 used a gasoline engine, and the tank proved to be a gas-guzzler. It lacked range, and since it was a gas engine, it was vulnerable to fire; there was a fear it would "brew up" if hit. The tank commander's .50 caliber machine gun was also completely exposed. The latter would be corrected in the M48A2, which would enclose the cupola, while the engine was addressed with the M48A3, which switched to diesel fuel, adding range and lessening the chance of catastrophic fires.
After the Army got the chance to look over a Soviet T-55 captured during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, it made the decision that the M48 could not survive a hit from the T-55's 100mm gun, while the T-55 could survive a hit from the 90mm. Production would then switch to the M60 Patton, with improved armor and a 105mm gun. Since 11,700 M48s had been built in the 1950s, this left the Army with a lot of redundant tanks. These were passed on to Reserve and National Guard units, or exported; modernization programs were gradually applied to US Army M48s, but most were retired by the early 1970s.
Though being replaced by the M60, the M48 was still the backbone of US Army and Marine tank units during the Vietnam War, and since the tank threat was minimal there, the M48 was deemed adequate for combat. It proved its worth, being effective against infantry, and much less vulnerable to RPG fire and mines. One tactic the Army developed was the "thunder run," when Pattons would be run at full speed up a road. If they hit a mine, the most that would usually happen was the loss of a road wheel or track. Convoys could then followed the tanks without worrying about mines. (The term "thunder run" would be applied to any high-speed tank attack, most famously in the assault on Baghdad in 2003.) In the few tank battles fought during the war, the 90mm was found to be effective against North Vietnamese PT-76s, T-34s, and even T-55s.
The M48 would also see extensive service in the Indo-Pakistani Wars and Arab-Israeli Wars, with mixed results. Pakistani M48s took heavy losses against Indian Centurions, mainly due to poor tactics and the Centurion's 105mm gun. Israeli and Jordanian M48s also suffered losses, for the same reason (the Israelis used upgunned Shermans and Centurions against Jordanian Pattons; Israeli Pattons fought Egyptian T-55s). The gasoline engine on unmodified M48A2s was indeed prone to explosion, and the Israelis had to modify their tactics to take into account the shorter range of the 90mm gun. Following the Six-Day War, the Israelis began upgunning their M48s with 105mm guns, a practice emulated by the West Germans (in the oddly designated M48A5GA2) and many others. Upgunned and uparmored M48s remain in service with eight nations, including Greece, Taiwan, and Turkey; these tanks have been so upgraded, they barely resemble their original forms.
"Mad Harlot," this M48 at the National Museum of Military Vehicles, is a Marine example, on display at the NMMV's Tet Offensive exhibit. The exhibit may not be complete yet, as the rubble is sort of random; a group of three mannequins is behind the Patton (unseen in this picture), using it as cover. The setup resembles a famous picture of Marines advancing under fire at Hue City in February 1968.