M48 Patton Information

The M48 Patton is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed in the United States. It was the third tank to be officially 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.[c] It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank. The M48 Patton was in U.S. service until replaced by the M60 Patton and served as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps primary battle tank during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially other NATO countries.

The M48 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M47 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although bearing some semblance to the M47, the M48 was a completely new design, featuring a complete new turret as well as modified hull. It was the last U.S. tank to mount the 90 mm tank gun, with the last model, the M48A5, being upgraded to carry the new standard weapon of the M60, the 105mm gun. Some M48A5 models served well into the 1980s with U.S. Army National Guard units, and many M48s remain in service in other countries. The Turkish Army has the largest number of modernized M48 MBTs, with more than 1,400 in its inventory. Of these, around 1,000 have been phased out, placed in storage, or modified as armoured recovery vehicles.

In February 1951, the Army 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).

By January 1952 Army officials were considering whether the lighter T42 medium tank was better suited to the doctrine preferred by the Ordnance Department that called for lighter, more agile tanks.

A deeper modernization than the M46 and the M47, the M48 featured a new hemispherical turret, a redesigned hull similar to the T43 heavy tank, and an improved suspension. The hull machine gunner position was removed, reducing the crew to four. In April 1953, the Army standardized the last of the Patton series tanks as the 90mm Gun Tank M48 Patton.

In April 1952 Chrysler Corporation began production of the M48 at its Newark, Delaware, plant. The tank was christened after the late General George S. Patton at its public debut at the Chrysler plant in July.General Motors and Ford Motor Company produced the tank in Michigan. Also in July the Army awarded American Locomotive Company a $200 million contract to produce the tank. In December Chrysler took on orders initially intended for the American Locomotive after the Army ordered production cutbacks to its tank program. Under the "single, efficient producer" model of Defense Secretary Charles Erwin Wilson the Army was directed to reduce the number of contractors producing each model of tank. General Motors underbid Chrysler, and in September 1953 Army Secretary Robert T. Stevens awarded GMs Fisher Body division a $200 million contract to become the sole producer of the M48. The decision raised skepticism in lawmakers. Senator Estes Kefauver noted the move would effectively leave GM as the only producer of light and medium tanks when Chrysler wrapped up M48 production by April 1954. The Defense Department was called to the Senate Armed Services Committee in January 1954 to defend the single-producer decision. During hearings Army Under-Secretary John Slezak said the move reduced costs, and that multiple producers were unnecessary to fulfill the Armys diminishing needs for new tanks.

Months later Chrysler underbid GM in the new round of proposals. In September 1954 the Army awarded Chrysler an exclusive $160.6 million contract to restart production. In November 1955 the Army awarded Alco Products a $73 million contract to begin producing 600 M48A2s the next year. Alco opted to wrap up its tank business when its contract ended in July 1957. In May 1957 the Army awarded Chrysler, the only bidder, a $119 million contract to continue production of the M48A2 in Delaware and Muskegon, Michigan.

In 1960 the Government Accounting Office, investigating performance of Army and Marine tanks, found that the M48 and M48A1 were "seriously defective vehicles." In November a House Armed Services investigation largely corroborated the GAO report, which had been disputed by Army Secretary Wilber M. Brucker.

Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early designs, up to the M48A2C, were powered by a gasoline 12-cylinder engine and a 1-cylinder auxiliary generator (called the "Little Joe"). The gasoline engine versions gave the tank a shorter operating range and were more prone to catching fire when hit. Although considered less reliable than diesel-powered versions, numerous examples saw combat use in various Arab–Israeli conflicts. The low flashpoint of hydraulic fluid used in the recoil mechanisms and hydraulic systems for rotating weapons or aiming devices was less than 212 °F (100 °C) and could result in a fireball in the crew compartment when the lines were ruptured. The fluid was not peculiar to the M48 and is no longer used in combat armored vehicles, having been replaced by fire resistant hydraulic fluid. Beginning in 1959, most American M48s were upgraded to the M48A3 model, which featured a more reliable and longer-range diesel power plant. M48s with gasoline engines, however, were still in use in the US Army through 1968, and through 1975 by many West German Army units.

In February 1963, the US Army accepted the first of 600 M48 Patton tanks that had been converted to M48A3s, and by 1964 the US Marine Corps had received 419 Patton tanks. The A3 model introduced the diesel engine, countering the earlier versions characteristic of catching fire. These Pattons were to be deployed to battle in Vietnam. Because all M48A3 tanks were conversions from earlier models, many characteristics varied among individual examples of this type. M48A3 tanks could have either three or five support rollers on each side and might have either the early or later type headlight assemblies.

In the mid-1970s, the vehicle was modified to carry the heavier 105 mm gun. The original program designation was XM736. The designation was subsequently changed to M48A3E1 and was finally standardized as M48A5. As many components from the M60A1 were utilized as possible. Anniston Army Depot was issued a contract to convert 501 M48A3 tanks to the M48A5 standard and this was completed in December 1976. These early M48A5s were essentially M48A3 tanks with the 105mm gun added. They retained the M1 cupola armed with a .50 cal machine gun.

Based on Israeli experience in upgrading M48 series tanks, further changes were included starting in August 1976. These included replacing the M1 cupola with a low-profile "Urdan" type cupola that mounted an M60D machine gun for use by the tank commander. A second M60D machine gun was mounted on the turret roof for use by the loader. Internal ammunition stowage for the 105mm main gun was also increased to 54 rounds. These tanks were initially given the designation M48A5API; but, after early conversions were brought up to the later standard, the API was removed and these tanks were known simply as M48A5.

In addition to the conversion of M48A3 tanks, an additional conversion process for bringing M48A1 tanks to M48A5 standard was also developed. By March 1978, 708 M48A5 tanks had been converted from the M48A1 model.

Work continued until December 1979, at which time 2069 M48A5s had been converted.

The vast majority of M48A5 tanks in service with US Army units were assigned to National Guard and Army Reserve Units. A notable exception was the 2nd Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea, who replaced their M60A1 tanks with M48A5s, which arrived in June and July 1978. On 2nd Infantry Division M48A5 tanks the commanders M60D was replaced with a .50 caliber M2 machine gun.

By the mid-1990s, the M48s were phased out of U.S. service. Many other countries, however, continued to use these M48 models.

The M48 saw extensive action with the US military during the Vietnam War. Over 600 Pattons would be deployed with US forces during that war. The initial M48s first landed with the US Marine 1st and 3rd Tank Battalions in 1965, with the 5th Marine Tank Battalion later becoming a back-up/reinforcement unit. The remaining Pattons deployed to South Vietnam were in three US Army battalions, namely the 1-77th Armor near the DMZ (67 M48A2C (23 tanks supplied from US Army Training Center at Fort Knox, KY USA, and 44 tanks from Letterkenney Army Depot Chambersburg, PA USA) tanks were used by the 77th Armor from August 1968 to January 1969. These were later replaced with M48A3s), the 1-69th Armor in the Central Highlands of central South Vietnam and the 2-34th Armor positioned near the Mekong Delta. Each battalion consisted of approximately 57 tanks. M48s were also used by Armored Cavalry Squadrons in Vietnam until replaced by M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicles (ARAAV) in the Divisional Cavalry Squadrons. M48A3 tanks remained in service with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment until the unit was withdrawn from the conflict. The M67A1 flame tank (nicknamed the Zippo) was an M48 variant used in Vietnam. From 1965 to 1968, 120 US M48A3 tanks were written off.

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 battalion-sized 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 T-54/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 infantry-tank team, which was equipped with the new 9M14M Malyutka (NATO designation: 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. By 2 May, 20th Tank Regiment had lost all of their tanks to enemy fire. During the first month of the First Battle of Quảng Trị a total of 110 ARVN M48 Pattons were lost.[d]

The M48s performed admirably in Vietnam in the infantry-support role. However, there were few actual tank versus tank battles. One was between the US 1-69th Armor and PT-76 light amphibious tanks of the NVA 202nd Armored Regiment at Ben Het Camp in March 1969. The M48s provided adequate protection for its crew from small arms, mines, and rocket-propelled grenades. South Vietnamese M48s and M41s fought in the 1975 Spring Offensive. In several incidents, the ARVN successfully defeated NVA T-34 and T-55 tanks and even slowed the Norths offensive. However, due to shortages of fuel and munitions faced by the South Vietnamese military because of the US Congress-placed ban on the further funding and supply of military equipment and logistics to the country, the American-made tanks soon ran out of ammunition and fuel and were quickly abandoned to the NVA, which then put them in their service after the war ended in May 1975. In total, 250 of the ARVNs M48A3s were destroyed and captured and those captured (at least 30) were only used briefly before being phased out and turned into war-memorial displays all over Vietnam.

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