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M48 Patton
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The M48 Patton was the third and final US medium tank the M48 Patton would also serve as an interim tank until replaced by the US Army's first Main Battle Tank (MBT), the M60 series. The M48 would serve as the U.S. Army and Marine Corp's primary battle tank during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially other NATO countries. The tank was the last of the series belonging to the Patton family of tanks, named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle.
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The M48 Patton was the third and final US medium tank the M48 Patton would also serve as an interim tank until replaced by the US Army's first Main Battle Tank (MBT), the M60 series. The M48 would serve as the U.S. Army and Marine Corp's primary battle tank during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially other NATO countries. The tank was the last of the series belonging to the Patton family of tanks, named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank.
The M48 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M47 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although largely resembling the M47, the M48 Patton was a completely new tank design despite a rough similarity from a distance. Some M48A5 models served well into the 80s. Internationally, many various M48 Patton models remain in service. The M48 was the last US tank to mount the 90mm tank gun, with the last model, the M48A5, being upgraded to carry the new standard weapon of the M60, the 105mm gun.
History
On 27 February 1951, OTCM #33791 initiated the design of the new tank, designated the 90mm Gun Tank T-48 (the prefix letter "T" would be replaced by the prefix "X" beginning with the M60 series tank). A deeper modernization than the M46 and the M47, the M48 featured a new turret, new redesigned hull and an improved suspension. The hull machine gunner position was removed, reducing the crew to 4. Essentially, it was a new tank altogether. On 2 April 1953, the Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes (OTCM) order #34765, standardized the last of the Patton series tanks as the 90mm Gun Tank M48 Patton.
Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early designs were powered by gasoline engines which gave the tank a short operating range and were prone to catching fire when hit. This version was considered unreliable but numerous examples saw combat use in various Arab-Israeli conflicts. They also were prone to fire when the turret was penetrated and the hydraulic lines ruptured spewing "cherry juice" (the nickname for the red colored hydraulic fluid) at high pressure into the crew compartment resulting in a fireball. The flashpoint was too low at less than 300 F, causing many burn injuries and deaths to crew members. In 1959, American M48s were upgraded to the M48A3 model which featured a diesel power plant. However, in 1975, M48s with gas engines were still in use by many West German Army units including the 124th Panzer Battalion.
M48A3
In February 1963, the US Army accepted its first of 600 M48 Patton tanks that had been converted to M48A3's, and by 1964, the US Marine Corps had received 419 Patton tanks. These Pattons were to be deployed to battle in Vietnam.
M48A5
In the mid-1970s, the M48A5 upgrade was developed to allow the vehicle to carry the heavier 105mm gun. This was designed to bring the M48s up to speed with the M60 tanks then in regular use. Most of the M48s were placed into service with reserve units by this time.
By the mid-1990s, the M48s were phased out of U.S. service. However, many foreign countries continued to use the M48 models.
Combat service
Vietnam
The M48s saw extensive action during the Vietnam War, over 600 Pattons would be deployed with US Forces during the war. The initial M48s landed with the US Marine 1st and 3rd Marine Tank Battalions in 1965; the Marine 5th Tank Battalion would later become a reinforcement unit. Remaining Pattons deployed to South Vietnam were in three U.S. Army battalions, the 1/77th Armor near the DMZ, the 1/69th Armor in the Central Highlands, and the 2/34th Armor near the Mekong Delta. Each battalion consisted of approximately fifty seven tanks. M48s were also used by armored cavalry squadrons in Vietnam, until replaced by M551 Sheridan tanks. The M67A1 flamethrower tank (nicknamed the Zippo) was an M48 variant used in Vietnam.
The M48 Patton has the distinction of playing a unique role in an event that was destined to radically alter the conduct of armored warfare. When US forces commenced redeployment operations, many of the M48A3 Pattons were turned over to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces, in particular, creating the ARVN 20th Tank Regiment; which supplemented their M41 Walker Bulldog units. During the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Easter Offensive in 1972, tank clashes between NVA T54/PT-76 and ARVN M48/M41 units became commonplace. But on 23 April 1972, tankers of the 20th Tank Regiment were attacked by an NVA infanty-tank team, which was equipped with the new 9M14M Malyutka (Sagger) wire guided anti-tank missile. During this battle, one M48A3 Patton tank and one (M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle (ACAV) were destroyed, becoming the first losses to the Sagger missile; losses that would echo on an even larger scale a year later during the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East in 1973.
The M48s performed admirably in Vietnam in the infantry-support role. There were few actual tank versus tank battles. One was between the 1/69th Armor and PT-76 light amphibious tanks of the NVA 202nd Armored Regiment near Ben Het in 1969. The M48s provided adequate protection for its crew from small arms, mines, and rocket-propelled grenades.
M48s, alongside Australian 20 pounder (84mm) gunned Centurions of the 1st Armoured Regiment, were the only vehicles in Vietnam that could reasonably protect their crews from land mines. They were often used for minesweeping operations along Highway 19 in the Central Highlands, a two lane paved road between An Khe and Pleiku. Daily convoys moved both ways along Highway 19. These convoys were held up each morning while the road was swept for mines. At that time, minesweeping was done by soldiers walking slowly over the dirt shoulders of the highway with hand-held mine detectors. During this slow process, convoys would build up to a dangerously inviting target for the enemy. As a result a faster method was improvised. One M48 lined up on each side of the road, with one track on the dirt shoulder and the other track on the asphalt; then they raced to a designated position miles away. If M48s made it without striking a mine, the road was clear and the convoys could proceed. In most cases, an M48 that struck a land mine in these operations only lost a road wheel or two in the explosion; seldom was there any hull damage which would be considered "totaling" the tank.
Indo-Pakistani Wars
personnel pose atop destroyed and abandoned Pakistani M-47 and M-48 tanks near Khemkaran.]]
M47s and M48s were again used in tank warfare by the Pakistan Army against Indian Army's Centurion and M4 Sherman tanks in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 with some good results. In the Rann of Kutch the tanks proved surprisingly nimble in marshy terrain, and Pakistani forces drove back Indian incursions. In Kashmir and Punjab, the tank had its first real test. During Operation Grandslam, Pakistani tank forces broke through the Indian lines very quickly, and defeated armored counterattacks. The Pakistanis used approximately a division worth of tanks though not all were Pattons. The Patton failed to live up to expectations in the Battle of Asal Uttar, where several tanks were lost. Later the tank was the main Pakistani tank at the Battle of Chawinda and its performance at that battle was deemd satisfactory.The Patton was later used by Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, with mixed results. In a repetition of 1965, Pattons spearheaded the Pakistani advance through Chamb, and the Patton was the main Pakistani tank at Shakarghar. In the latter battle, a brigade of tanks (the Changez Force) successfully resisted the Indian advance, in a repeat of Chawinda. However, in what became known as Pakistan's Charge of the Light Brigade, a counterattack led by 13th Lancers and 31st Cavalry was mauled by the Indian 54th Division around Battle of Barapind. India later set up a war memorial named "Patton Nagar" ("Patton City") in Khemkaran District, where the captured Pakistani Patton tanks are displayed.
Analyzing their performance, the Pakistani Army held that the Patton was held in unreasonably high esteem by both sides and that tactics were to blame for the debacle at Asal Uttar . However, a U.S. study of the battles in South Asia concluded that the Patton's armor could in fact be penetrated by the 20 pounder gun (84mm) of the Centurion as well as the 75mm gun of the AMX-13.
Middle East
M48s were also used with mixed results during the 1967 Six-Day War. On the Sinai front, Israeli M48s upgunned with 105mm L7 rifled guns were used with stunning success against Egyptian T-54s and T-34s supplied by the Soviet Union. However, on the West Bank front, Jordanian M48s were often defeated by Israeli WWII-era M4 Shermans (upgunned with 105mm guns). In pure technical terms the Jordanian Pattons were far superior to the Israeli Shermans, with Israeli shots at more than 1,000 meters simply glancing off the M48s' armor. Other reasons for the Jordanian Pattons' failure on the West Bank were Israeli air superiority and a distinct lack of aggressive handling by the Jordanian crews. The Israeli Army captured about 100 Jordanian M48 and M48A1 tanks and pressed them into service in their own units after the war.
M48s were used by the Lebanese Army and the Christian Lebanese Forces militia in the Lebanese Civil War. The Lebanese Army still operates about 100 M48s. In 2007, during the 2007 North Lebanon conflict Lebanese Army M48s shelled militant outposts in a refugee camp.
M48s were used, along with M47s, in the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in July and August 1974.
Variants
U.S. variants
- M48 - Differed from the M47 in having yet another new turret design and a redesigned hull, doing away with the bow machine gun position, featuring the M41 90 mm gun. These turrets give the M48 its distinctive non-M26 style look. Originally the gun featured a Y-shape muzzle brake, but this was changed to the more characteristic T-shape.
- M48C - Over a hundred original production hulls were found to be lacking correct ballistic protection and were relegated to training as the M48C.
- M48A1 - New driver hatch and M1 commander's cupola, allowing the M2HB .50 caliber machine gun to be operated and reloaded from within the vehicle.
- M48A2 - improved powerpack and transmission, redesigned rear plate, an improved turret control.
- M48A2C - M48A2s with an improved rangefinder, M17, new ballistic drive and bore evacuator for the main gun, and the auxiliary tensioning wheels were deleted.
- M48A3 - Refit of M48A1s with diesel engines and a new fire control system.
- M48A3 Mod. B - Additional armor on the exhausts and tail lights, and a raised commanders cupola.
- M48A4 - Proposed refit of M48A3s with M60 turrets, scrapped with the need of these previous "surplus" turrets with the failure of the M60A2
- M48A5 - Upgunned with the 105 mm M68 gun.
- M48A5PI - M1 cupola replaced by the Israeli Urdan model.
 - M67A1 - M67 variant, M48A2 hulls used.
- M67A2 - M67 variant, M48A3 hulls used.
Specialized variants
- M88 Hercules - Armored recovery vehicle based on M48 chassis.
Additional equipment:
- M8 - Bulldozer and earthmoving equipment for the M48.
- M8A1 - Improved bulldozer and earthmoving equipment for the M48
British variant
- M48 Marksman - a SPAAG version, equipped with a Marksman turret.
Israeli variants
Israel created an extensive number of variants of the series from tanks acquired initially from a number of sources, including capturing them in battle, or from other countries such as Germany and the United States.
Many of the Israeli M48's have been upgraded with additional reactive or passive armor, drastically improving their armor protection. These uparmored versions are called Magach.
- E-48
- E-48 AVLB - a M48 AVLB but with an Israeli bridge.
- E-48 (M48A2) - basically unmodified M48A2 from Germany
- E-48 (M48A2C) - basically unmodified M48A2C from Germany
- E-48 (M48A3) - basically unmodified M48A3 from USA
- Magach - a series of improved Israeli versions of the M48 and the M60.
Jordanian variants
- AB1 - Jordanian armoured recovery vehicle.
- AB9B1 - Jordanian upgrade with 120 mm smoothbore gun.
Republic of China variants
- M48A3 (ROC Variant) - Most of Republic of China Army M48A3 began their lives as M48A1/A2 and have (unlike those serving other nations) retained the original engine compartment, the engine installation made possible by removing adjacent fuel cells, resulting in a lower operational range of 312km.
- M48H/CM-11 "Brave Tiger" - ROC version consisting of an up-gunned M48A2 turret and a M60A3 hull. Also has significant upgrades to the gun tracking equipment and fire control.
- CM-12 - M48A3 MBT receiving the same weapons and fire control upgrades as those of CM-11. They retained the original engine compartment of M48A1/A2, and the upgrade apparently again included the removal of some fuel cells, resulting in a lower operational range than that of M48A5 (the official figure being 203km).
Hellenic variants
- M48A5 MOLF - The Hellenic Army has added the EMES-18 FCS to their M48A5, denumerating them as “MOLF” for Modular Laser Fire Control System.
Spanish variants
- M48A5E - M48A5 variant, 105 mm gun with laser rangefinder.
- Alacran CZ-10/25E - Spanish army combat engineer variant. (M-60.A1)
- Alacran CZ-10/30E - Upgraded CZ-10/25E. (M-60.A1)
South Korean variants
- M48A3K - This variant uses a diesel engine instead of the original gasoline one. Other changes include installation of T-form muzzle brake on the gun, three additional support wheels on the tracks, commander's periscope on the turret and smoke grenade launchers. The fire control system has also been replaced with a South Korean version.
- M48A5K - Replacing the main gun with the KM68 105 mm gun. Additional side skirts were provided, and the fire control system has been upgraded to the Laser Tank Fire Control System. (LTFCS)
Turkish variants
- M48A5T1 - Turkish-upgraded M48 variant along similar lines to the M48A5, with M68 105 mm main armament, passive night vision and MTU diesel engines.
- M48A5T2 - Turkish-upgraded M48 variant, improved version of the M48A5T1 with thermal sight and laser rangefinder.
- M48T5 "Tamay" ARV - Turkish-designed armored recovery vehicle based on the M48 body.
German variants
- Minenraeumpanzer Keiler - an armored mine flail, mine clearing vehicle based on a widely modified M48 A2C cast hull. (Still in service)
- Kampfpanzer M48 A2C - replaced the Kampfpanzer M47 since the end of the fifties and saw service with the Home Defense Forces in reserve units until the early nineties
- Kampfpanzer M48A2GA2 - upgraded version with the 105mm L7 cannon and a different MG3 installation from the Leopard 1. Out of service in the early nineties
- Super M48 - upgraded version M48.
Operators
- - 390 M48A5 MOLF (retiring)
- - 80
- - 561 Magach 5 Golan * - 200
- - 850 M48A5K
- - 104 M48A1 and M48A5
- - 235
- - 345 M48A5
- (Taiwan) - 450 CM-11, 100 CM-12
- - 150 M48A5
- - 28
- - (1200)525 M48, 250 M48, 1350 M48 and 750 M48
- - 20 M48
Former operators
- - 224 M48A5
- - 38 M48A5
- - 86 M48A5
- - 164 M48A5E*
- - 35 M48A2 were on preservation, some are exhibited in military museums
 - 20 (passed on to Socialist Republic of Vietnam)
See also
External links
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