The recent reload buff the Soviet and Chinese 100mm armed tanks got now means they match the reload of the American short 90mm at 9.7 seconds stock. This also means that there is no gun the American short 90mm faces on tanks of a similar role that it can outreload. This is despite it being by far the worst of the medium tank guns at the tier, and it’s not like these tanks make up for it in other areas.
It’s somewhat understandable on the M26 Pershing has a worse than average reload, not only is the turret cramped enough for it to make sense, but it has the armor and versitility to make the reload issue less important.
This does not hold true for the later mediums, notably the M47 and M48 Pattons. Not only are their turrets much larger (Very much so in the M48’s case), but these tanks lack the same level of armor protection that allows the Pershing to work, without making up for it in any real way, like mobility.
This is made even more strange is the fact that two tanks that share identical turrets and larger guns (The M47 105/55 and the Magach 3) both reload one second faster stock, at 8.7 seconds, along with every other L7 105mm gun. So it apparently takes longer to reload a larger, heavier shell into a larger breach, in the same turret space.
It’s also 1 second longer than many other 90mm armed tanks who lack a dedicated loader, like the ELC, AML and AUBL. Other 90mm guns with dedicated loaders at or around this tier tend to be closer to 7-8 seconds, like the IKV 91 and Jpz 4-5.
In my opinion, both the M47 and M48 should see a reload reduction, to help give them some kind of edge over the other tanks at their BRs. Say 8 seconds for the M47, and 7 seconds for the M48. This will bring them in line with other 90mm armed vehicles at the tier, and help their ability when flanking and brawling with enemy MBTs.