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Welcome to the suggestion for the M48A5! This is an American main battle tank, and the last M48 variant to see service with the U.S. Military. Compared to the M48A1 in War Thunder, the M48A5 would replace the 90 mm M41 gun with the 105 mm M68, use a better 750 hp engine, and likely have a lower profile due to the low profile commander’s cupola seen on a number of M48A5s. In War Thunder, this could be foldered with the M60 and finish off the M48 family for the U.S. tree.
History
An M60A1 from the 24th Infantry Division during Exercise Gallant Eagle '79.
With the advent of the M60 main battle tank, the U.S. military had a large fleet of M48s equipped with inferior firepower and a lower range. On June 10th, 1959, a memorandum from the Chief of Ordnance to Ordnance Tank Automotive Command (OTAC) referred to a modernized M48 with M60 components as the M48A1E1. Six pilot vehicles were produced under the designation 105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M48A1E1. These would undergo testing at a variety of locations, including Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Knox most notably. The new M48A1E1 was equipped with the AVDS-1790-2 paired to an Allison CD-850-6 transmission. Carried over from the M60 were the aluminum fuel tanks, top rear deck, grills, dry type air cleaner, fire control system, and, of course, the 105 mm M68 gun. Testing concluded that the M48A1E1 was superior to the existing M48 family in all ways, and comparable with the M60, with the exception of its growth potential in both daylight and infrared capability for the tank commander.
The results of this program led to the M48A3 variant, which used the AVDS-1790-2A and CD-850-6A, but omitted the larger 105 mm gun. This was largely due to OTAC cutting costs and wanting to use up existing stocks of 90 mm ammunition. In mid-1965, while the M60A2 was under development, it was realized that a number of 105 mm gun turrets would be left over after the M60A2 retrofit. To utilize these, a program was started to install these turrets on M48A1 modernized to M48A3 standards. Initially designated XM735, Chrysler produced two prototypes which were tested at Fort Knox under the designation M48A1E3. These had new T142 tracks, and adjustments to the turret ring and ammunition stowage to accommodate the M60 turret and its 105 mm ammunition. Ultimately though, the amount of M60s converted to A2s was less than expected, and this project was cancelled.
By the 1970s, the 90 mm M41 gun was obsolete. This led to a revival of the concept to upgun the M48, which while adequate during its service in Vietnam, was inferior to tank guns of other nations at the time. Initially designated XM736 and later redesignated M48A3E1, the new M48 variant was essentially an M48A3 upgunned with the 105 mm gun and incorporating M60A1 components. It retained the late M1 commander’s cupola initially, and by the time of conversions beginning in October of 1975, the tank was known as 105 mm Gun, Full Tracked, Combat Tank M48A5.
An M48A5 during Exercise Gallant Eagle '82.
The year after conversions began, the M48A5 began to incorporate a number of product improvements. Chief among these was a new, lower profile commander’s cupola. This new cupola made use of Israeli experience with their own M48s, including in the then-recent Yom Kippur War. Another important modification was an increase of ammunition from 43 to 54 rounds, and a 7.62 mm M60D machine gun on the loader’s cupola. The new commander’s cupola used a pop-up hatch allowing for 360° of view with little exposure. It featured three periscopes, one in front and one at each side for use when the hatch was closed. A two position ‘scissors type’ mount was used to mount an M60D, which could be switched between either position easily. These changes began in August of 1976, resulting in the short lived designation M48A5PI (Product Improved), which was dropped after earlier M48A5s were upgraded with these modifications.
In total, 2,069 M48A5s were created under the conversion program at Anniston Army Depot. In American service, a majority of these were slated for Army Reserve and National Guard units. With the U.S. Army, they never saw combat, but did see use in Korea as replacements for worn out M60A1s from the 2nd Infantry Division, arriving at Pusan on June 8th, 1978. While these were largely similar, they notably had the commander’s M60D replaced with a 12.7 mm M2HB, with changes made to ammunition stowage for the larger machine gun. Outside of American use, the M48A5 saw service with a number of nations, including Greece, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Pakistan, Portugal, Thailand, and Turkey. A few of these nations later created their own variants of the vehicle, such as the Greek M48A5 MOLF, upgraded with the EMES-18 fire control system, or the Turkish M48A5T2, which uses the M21 fire control system used on the M60A3, including the Tank Thermal Sight (TTS) for the gunner.
While the M48A5 continued to serve into the mid-1980s with some units, by this time the M1 Abrams was entering production. Equipped with the same firepower, and superior mobility, armor, electronics, and overall capability, the M48A5 was outclassed. This led to its replacement in National Guard service with the M60A3, with the last unit, 1st Battalion, 632nd Armor Regiment, Wisconsin National Guard retiring its M48s in May of 1987. Despite its replacement in American use, the M48A5 still sees service to this day in very limited numbers abroad, continuing its service life into the near future.
An M1 Abrams during REFORGER '85.
Specifications
- Crew: 4
- Mass: 48.9 t
- Length: 9.3 m
- Width: 3.6 m
- Height: 3 m
- Main armament: 105 mm M68 (54 rounds)
- Main armament elevation: -9°/ 19°
- Secondary armament: 1× M219 coaxial machine gun, 2× M60D machine gun on loader and commander’s hatch (Note, the M60D on the commander’s hatch was replaced with a 12.7 mm M2 on 2nd Infantry Division M48A5s deployed to Korea)
- Turret traverse: 360° in 15 seconds
- Engine: 750 hp AVDS-1790-2 (Serial #A3001 - 3999 used the 2A, A1001 - 1999 used the 2D)
- Maximum speed: 48 km/h
- Maximum range: 499 km
Sources
- Hunnicutt, R.P. (1984). Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank Echo Point Books & Media
- https://www.tankarchives.ca/2022/01/pattons-growing-pains.html
- 90mm Gun Tank M48 Patton 48
