M48 Patton (Family)

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In-Game Vehicles

Rank V

Rank VI

Development and Design

M48A2

The engine deck was redesigned; the grills were replaced with two large louvered doors, which helped to cool the engine more efficiently and also reduce the infrared signature of the vehicle. The suspension system was also modified, in order to simplify construction. They removed the track tensioner arm, modified the idler arm, added bumper springs and friction snubbers, and the air cleaning assembly was moved. The number of return rollers per side was changed from five to three. The engine was changed to the AVI-1790-8, which was more compact, but gave slightly more horsepower. The more compact engine allowed for the installation of additional fuel tanks, causing an increase of fuel carrying capacity, to 335 gallons. M48s and M48A1s were upgraded to the M48A2 standard, so many M48A2 retained the five return rollers.

M48A2C

The M13 Fire Control System was added, with the M5A2 ballistic drive and the M13A3 gun data computer, along with the M17 coincidence rangefinder which replaced the M12 rangefinder on previous M48s. The M13A3 gun data computer added gun barrel distortion to the calculations, and the M17 rangefinder was a double image coincidence image instrument. The gunner received an M20 day periscope with 8x magnification and an M105D day telescopic sight with 8x magnification and a 7.5 degree field of view.

M48A3

Development

The gasoline engine used on earlier M48 models proved to be unreliable, and was also known for catching on fire. Continental Motors and OTAC had been developing an X-shaped compression ignition engine in 1954, using the T95 to test it, but it proved to be unreliable. OTAC was instructed in June, 1955 to use a diesel engine if it was more fuel efficient. The AVDS-1790 diesel engine was selected in August, 1956, and in December the Army ordered 1,020 M48A1 and M48A2 to be converted to use the new engine.

A Soviet T-54 tank was driven onto the UK's embassy in Budapest's property during the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, and it was inspected by a British military attaché. They found that the British 20 Pounder would be unable to penetrate the frontal armor, and the 100 mm was extremely capable, and it was even suspected the Soviets were working on a larger 115 mm gun. The US Army was quick to act, and started to develop the XM60 medium tank and the M68 105 mm gun, in order to replace the M48 series.

Design

The M48A3 was the first M48 to incorporate a diesel engine, the AVDS-1790. This solved the problem of the engine catching on fire, and increased reliability. The commander's M1 cupola was modified to the M1E1 cupola, which removed the two rear vision blocks and modified the hatch, to increase the room inside the cupola. The M48A3 tanks that were built used the M48A2 hull (three return rollers), but many M48A1 and M48A2 were converted to the M48A3 standard. Some modifications were made to the hull: the steering wheel used by the driver was changed to a T-bar control, the driver received a padded seat, new fenders and mudguards were added, armored boxes were added around the taillights, and other minor details. As the M48A3 was a modification of previous models, the M48A3 had a number of varying characteristics. For example, the M48A3 could have either three or five return rollers, earlier or later headlight layout, and the M48A3 could also have the earlier M1 cupola.

M48A5

The M48A5 upgrade was applied to National Guard M48A2s and M48A3s, along with some M48A1s in order to maintain ammunition commonality between the tanks. The main feature of the upgrade was the change in main armament to the M68 105 mm gun, using the M116 mount and an all-metric measurement M16 fire control system. The hull featured components from the M60A1 RISE Hull PIP Update Kit, in order to increase commonality. The most notable component from the RISE was the AVDS-1790-2C engine with TLAC engine panels, with a 300 gallon fuel capacity. The transmission was changed to the CD-850-6 cross-drive transmission, used the T142 track assembly, and got the M13A1 NBC protection system. The co-axial .30 cal M37 machine gun was replaced with the .50 cal M219/T175 machine gun. As the M48A5 was an upgrade of multiple earlier models, it had many different variations. One example of this being the return rollers; the M48A5 could have either three or five return rollers. The M48A5 could also have differences in the headlights layout, with either the early layout or later layout. Additionally, some M48A5s had earlier cupola styles.

M48A5API

The Israeli military had received M48 Patton tanks, and replaced the M1 cupola with an Urdan cupola, which featured a low profile. The Urdan cupola did not allow the commander to fire his machine gun from inside the tank, but gave him more protection from enemy tank shells. The Urdan cupola was equipped with an M60D machine gun, replacing the previous .50 M2 Browning machine gun. Additionally, a second M60D machine gun was fitted to the turret roof, near the loader's cupola, allowing the loader to fire a machine gun. The ammunition stowage was modified, and the tank could carry 54 rounds of 105 mm ammunition. These tanks were called M48A5API, but as earlier M48A5 tanks were upgraded to the API standard they simply became known as M48A5, dropping the API designation.

Combat Service

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, over 600 M48s saw service with American forces alone. The Marine 1st and 3rd Tank Battalions were the first units using M48s that were landed in Vietnam, in 1965. The Marine 5th Tank Battalion also used the M48 in Vietnam, but it was a unit that was held in reserve. M48s were also used by the Army 77th Armor, 69th Armor, and the 34th Armor. M48 Pattons were also used by the armored cavalry units, until they were replaced by the M551 Sheridan. Notably, M48s were used by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment until the unit was withdrawn from Vietnam. The M67 "Zippo", a flame thrower tank based on the M48, was used heavily in Vietnam. Between 1956 and 1958 120 American M48A3 tanks were written off.

The main role of the M48 during the Vietnam War was supporting the infantry, which the M48 did very well. There were very few engagements of tanks against tanks. The M48s were proven to protect their crew well from most weapons carried by the infantry: mines, small arms fire, and rocket-propelled grenades. ARVN M48s and M41 Bulldogs fought in the 1975 Spring Offensive. In that campaign they were able to destroy NVA T-34-85s and T-55s. Unfortunately, Congress then banned any further military aid to South Vietnam, and their M48 tanks soon ran out of fuel and ammunition, and were abandoned. The NVA recovered the tanks and put them in service after 1945, when the war ended. 250 of the ARVN M48s in total were destroyed or captured. About 30 were used by the NVA after the war, but were soon phased out of service, and were then used as war memorials.

Shipments of M48s to South Vietnam

1971: 54

May 1972: 120

October 1972: 72

November 1972: 59

January 1973 - July 1974: 16

Total: At least 321 M48 tanks - According to official US data, 343 M48s were delivered to the ARVN until March 1975

123 American M48s were lost during the Vietnam War, giving a total of approximately 500 M48s destroyed during the war, including ARVN Pattons

Indo-Pakistani Wars

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

M47s and M48s of the Pakistani military were used against the Indian T-55s, Centurions, and M4 Shermans during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. The M47s and M48s made up the bulk of the Pakistani armored forces during Operation Grand Slam. They pushed through the Indian Army defensive lines and beat back the Indian Army counter-attacks. At the battle of Asal Uttar in September 1965, 97 Pakistani tanks were lost; a majority of the were Pattons. At the Battle of Chawinda the M48s armor proved to be sufficient against the tanks they faced.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

At the Battle of Barapind in December of 1971, a counter-attack led by the 13th Lancers and the 31st Cavalry was stopped by the Indian 54th Division. The Pakistani M48s could not stop the Indian 2nd Armored Brigade's T-55s. At least nine M48s were lost in the Battle of Nainakot alone. Over 80 Pakistani M48s in total were destroyed during the battle of Barapind, mostly by Indian Centurions and T-55s.

Patton Nagar and Analysis

After the conflicts, India set up a memorial called "Patton Nagar" (Patton City) where the Pakistani Patton tanks that were captured were displayed. It was located in the Khemkaran District of Punjab. This was only temporary, and the tanks were all scrapped or sent to other memorials.

The Pakistani military maintained that the M48 was a tank that was respected by both sides of the war, and the reason for its downfall at Asal Uttar was tactical. A post-war US study found that both the 20 Pounder gun and 75 mm gun used by the AMX-13 could penetrate the armor of the M48.

Middle East

Israel

During the 6 Day-War of 1967, Israeli forces used M48s up-gunned with the 105 mm M68 gun. These up-gunned M48s were successful on the Sinai front when facing Egyptian IS-3s, T-54s/T-55s, T-34-85s, and SU-100s, which had all been. One example of this occurred during the Second Battle of Abu-Ageila. On the West Bank front, Israeli forces faced Jordanian M48s. The Jordanian M48s were able to be killed by Centurions with 105 mm guns and M51 Shermans (Shermans upgraded with French 105 mm guns by Israel). Generally, the M48s fared better than the M-51 "Super Shermans", with most shells bouncing off the armor when fired from more than 1,000 m away. But, the M-51 could fire HEAT rounds designed to penetrate the armor of the Soviet T-62, which had been designed to counter the M48s replacement in US service, the M60. Part of the reason Jordanian M48s fared so badly on the West Bank was because of Israeli air superiority. Over 100 Jordanian M48s were captured by Israel and pressed into service during the 6-Day War, along with Jordanian M113 APCs.

During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel used 445 M48 tanks, which took part of the Battle of the Chinese Farm, the largest tank battle of the war. The opposition was formed by the Egyptian army, with approximately 232 T-55 and T-62 tanks, facing about 440 Israeli tanks. Israel won the battle, both sides losing about 200 tanks. On the night of October 15/16 the  Israeli 14th Brigade of the 143rd Division lost 70 out of 97 tanks, while between the 16th at 0900 and the 17th at 1400, the Israeli 143rd and 162nd Divisions lost 96 tanks. By the 18 of October the Egyptian 21st Armored Division had only 40 tanks out of the 136 (T-55s) they started with, 25th Armored Brigade had only 10 tanks out of 75 (T-62s).

Other Users

M48 Pattons were used by the Lebanese Army, the Lebanese Forces militia, the Druze Progressive Socialist Party's People's Liberation Army militia, and the Shia Amal militia. The 4th Brigade of the Lebanese Army was the source of all the M48s captured by the militias. On the 10 of June, 1982, during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub,an ambush by Syrian T-55 tanks and BMP-1 IFVs claimed 8 Israeli M48s, 2 M60A1s, and at least 3 M113 APCs were destroyed.

Lebanon

100 M48s are still in service with the Lebanese Army. They were used during the 2007 North Lebanon conflict, shelling militant outposts in a refugee camp.

Turkey

M47 and M48 tanks in service with Turkey were used in the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, and Turkish M48s are still used in Northern Cyprus. Turkish forces still used M48s in 1978, when the Kurdish-Turkish conflict began. They were used as static fortifications, protecting Turkish military bases from attack even into the 1990's.

Iran

During the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1989, Iranian M48s - along with M60s - faced Iraqi T-55s, T-62s, and T-72s. They had some successes and some defeats, notably at the Battle of Abadan, where approximately 150 Iranian M48s were lost.

Africa

Morocco

Morocco received its first M48A3 Patton tanks in 1973, and M48A5 tanks were delivered by the end of the 1970's. The M48A3 tanks were also upgraded to the M48A5 standard at the same time as M48A5 tanks were being delivered. They upgraded the M48A3s locally, with help from US consultants. The last shipment of M48A5 tanks to morocco occurred in 1987, a shipment of 100 M48A5 tanks from the Wisconsin National Guard. Additionally, there are reports that Israeli M48A5s were delivered to Morocco in the 1980's, but the reports have not been confirmed. Morocco used the M48 tanks against the Polisario guerrillas in the Western Saharan desert.

Battle of Mogadishu

M48 tanks of 6 Lancer Regiment and 19 Lancer Regiment were used by Pakistan during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, when American forces were trapped in the city and had to be extracted. The Pakistani tanks, along with American HMMWVs and Malaysian Condor armored personnel carriers, were part of the relief force that moved into the city to extract the trapped forces.

Bibliography

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