Tank Research #7 - M48 Patton

Tank Commanders,

Have you ever wondered how similar the actual tanks are to those in World of Tanks? Let's find out by visiting real-life tank exhibits and comparing them!

Let's meet our hero tank of this week, X M48A5 Patton !

Appearance Comparison: M48 Patton

Front

※ The specifications below are those of the M48A2C exhibited at the Yongsan War Memorial in South Korea, which is a variant of the M48A2 equipped with a new M17 rangefinder.

Specification Comparison

M48A2C Patton (Exhibited at the Yongsan War Memorial)	Comparison	M48A5 Patton (In World of Tanks)
Length: 9.3m / Width: 3.65m / Height: 3.1m	Size	-
-	Hit Points	2,000HP
Turret: 178mm Body: 110 ~220mm	Armour	Turret: 254 / 76 / 50mm Body: 152 / 76 / 25mm
47.5t	Weight	47.72t
810/750HP	Engine power	810HP
48km/h	Top Speed	45km/h
16.6hp/t	Power to weight ratio	16.97hp/t
AV 1790 12-cylinder Air-cooled Gasoline Engine (AV-1790-5C)	Engine	CONTINENTAL AV-1790-7B
M48A1~M48A3 : 90 mm M41(T Shape), M41E1(Y Shape), 90mm rifled gun(T54) M48A5 and later variants: 105 mm M68 gun	Armament	105 MM M68 GUN
Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver	Crew	Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver

※ The specification information may differ depending on the model.

The History of the M48 Patton

The US tank M48 Patton is from the Patton series, and is the successor to the M47 Patton. It is also one of the first generations of US tanks and the most frequently used by American allies.

The US developed the successor model M47 Patton to improve on the weaknesses of the M46 Patton, which was deployed during the Korean War. After the M47 Patton was determined to be unsuitable for marine and army use, however, the new tank M48 Patton was developed with a reinforced turret, armor, gun caliber, and engine.

The M48 Patton was produced by the United States until 1959. The second-generation M48A5 was used as the main tank by NATO and US allies until the early 1980s, and more than 1,000 vehicles were also sent to South Korea and Turkey.

Historical picture of the M48 Patton

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Variants

M48: The first production model.
M48C: The training vehicle of M48. Its hulls were found to be lacking correct ballistic protection and were relegated to training purposes.
M48A1: New driver hatch and the machine gun M1 commander's cupola to be operated and reloaded from within the vehicle.
M48A2: The engine was changed from a carburetted gasoline engine to a direct injection method.

M48A2GA2: The variant of M48 modernized independently by West Germany.
M48A2C: The variant of the M48A2 equipped with a new M17 rangefinder.

M48A3: Refit of M48A1 with the M60 powerpack.
M48A4: Refit of M48A3 with the M60 turret.
M48A5: Refit of M48A1 through M48A3 models with the 105 mm M68 gun.

The M48A5 Patton in World of Tanks

The Tier X US medium tank X M48A5 Patton has a 420m view range, which is the best figure in World of Tanks. It also has excellent terrain breakthrough capability with the ability to maintain a stable speed on any terrain, so you can support allies all around the map. It is a popular medium tank pick due to its balanced performance, which makes it useful in various situations.

You need to be careful, however, since it is more likely to be spotted by enemies due to its large body. Its fairly low top speed – 45 km/h – is also a weak point. However, it's not going to be a big deal with its thick armor.

Its excellent accuracy will destroy your enemy even while you are maneuvering!