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TL;DR: An M48A1 modified to use the MB-837 Ea-500 diesel engine.
History:
After WW2, Germany was split into two halves, East and West. The end of WW2 also brought about NATO and immediately after the signing of the treaty that brought it into existence, the question about West Germany’s entrance into the organization was brought up. West Germany’s entrance into NATO would essentially mean that Germany would be allowed to rearm itself, which wasn’t a popular decision with many parties for obvious reasons, however, it was eventually reasoned that German engineers were some of the best in the world and if led properly, they could become an incredibly strong ally. It was decided that the most logical course of action was to rearm both sides. The West would enter NATO on May 9th, 1955, with the Bundeswehr being created only a few months later on November 12th, 1955. To be able to defend itself, it was predicted that the Bundeswehr would need at least 3,000 tanks the first 1,100 of these would be M47s cheaply acquired from the US. After evaluating the Centurion Mk. VII and the M48A1 in 1957, it was decided that the remaining 1,900 tanks would be M48s, the first of which would be M48A1s, however, these tanks wouldn’t serve for long as they were soon replaced by M48A2s. There were now a few unused M48A1s lying around that the Bundeswehr didn’t really have a use for. Someone who did have a use for them, however, was Turkey who was looking to expand and modernize their military. Motoren-und-Turbinen Union (MTU), noticed this and proposed an M48A1 equipped with their MB-837 Ea-500 diesel engine, which developed 750 gross horsepower and had previously been mounted on an M47, meaning that they could preform the conversion rather quickly. Turkey took them up on this offer and development began. The first prototype of was based on a standard M48A1 equipped with the 90mm M41. This armament wasn’t suitable for the modern battlefield, however, and would eventually be swapped for a British L7A3. The tank was also had its mantlet replaced with the one from the M48A2 G A2 and had the large commander cupola replaced by a low-profile version equipped with the US M20A3 periscope. Five M48A1s with these modifications would be produced and tested in Germany. The Turkish military was satisfied with the vehicle and the German government approved the sale of 165 conversion kits, however, it is ultimately unclear if this ever fully went through or not as the US had assisted in the building of two M48A5 conversion facilities around the same time, which would eliminate the need for the German conversion kits.
Place In War Thunder:
Squadron vehicles have been a vehicle type in-game for quite a while now, yet the majority of the newer squadron vehicles are at very high tiers. This not only results in unpleasantly long research times, but also allows less experienced players to buy in to the higher ranks with a stock vehicle causing the losses of countless games. High tier premiums are also guilty of this but at least they aren’t stock. There hasn’t been a good low/mid tier squadron vehicle added for quite a while. What we have here is essentially a weaker M48A2 G A2. While that might sound bad at first, this is actually a good thing. Its worse horsepower and likely worse ammunition pool would allow the vehicle to be at a lower BR. Playstyle would be similar to the standard American M60 with the exception of your hull armor being less reliable. You ideally want to stay at range as you don’t have a stabilizer.
Specifications:
Armament: 105mm L7A3 cannon and 1x .30 cal
Dimensions: 9.30m, 3.65m, 3.10m
Weight: 45010kg
Armor: Same as M48A2 G A2 in-game
Crew: 4
Ammunition: Same as M48A2 G A2 in-game (Possibly minus DM23)
Speed: 48kph
Horsepower: 750hp
Pictures:
Side View:During Trials:With The Turret Removed:Excerpt from Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank by R.P. Hunnicutt:
Sources:
Der Kampfpanzer M 48 in der Bundeswehr by Stefan Marx
Jane’s Armour and Artillery 2005-2006 by Christopher F. Foss
Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank by R.P. Hunnicutt