American medium tank M48 “Patton III”
The medium tank M48 (90mm Gun Tank M48) was designed in the years 1950-1951. The tank is also known as “Patton III” and “Patton 48 ″. The main purpose of the new medium tank was the replacement of all existing models of tanks of this class, standing at the time in the armed forces of the United States. The T43 heavy tank was taken as the basis of the new combat vehicle using structural changes and a number of innovations. The armored hull and turret of the M48 medium tank were cast. The tower was in the shape of an ellipsoid. Serial production of the new tank began in 1952. Production of the M48 tank was carried out until 1959, when it was replaced by a new model of the medium tank - M60. The basis of which, however, was taken by the M48. In total, during the mass production, 1952 - 1959, 11703 M48 tanks were produced in the United States. In the mid-1960s, most M48 tanks were upgraded to a new level, which was very close to the base M60 model.
The M48 tanks for the most part entered service with the United States ground forces, although it should be noted that they were delivered in small quantities to NATO countries, with the exception of western Germany and Greece. However, in 1960, the active export of medium-sized M48 tanks to allied countries of the USA, as well as to neutral states, began. M48 was adopted in 25 countries. M48 was actively used to resolve conflicts such as the Second Indo-Pakistani and Arab-Israeli wars. US troops used medium tanks M48 in the Vietnam War.
The M48 tank was modernized many times during production, constantly improved, and also models for export were produced. For example, the M48A5K tank, which had an improved fire control system (a similar system was used for the M60), and having a powerful 105-mm cannon as the main armament, was supplied to South Korea. .d
The M48 tanks with the weapons of the US Army were removed in the 80-s, however, despite this, a large number of modernized tanks of this model are still in service with some countries, including Lebanon, Greece, Jordan, Thailand, Portugal, etc.
The design of the medium tank M48 had a classic layout, in which the engine-transmission compartment was located in the rear part, in the frontal part - the control compartment and the combat compartment. The crew consists of four people: the commander, loader, gunner and driver-mechanic. The tank was equipped with a differentiated anti-shell armor protection. His body was made by casting of armor steel. Most of the tanks had a solid cast hull, but some tanks of the latest releases had a combined hull, which consisted of several parts welded together. The shape of the body was very complex and, in general, can be described as an ellipsoid. The frontal part of the M48 tank had a streamlined shape, which was incredibly profitable, as it was characterized by high projectile resistance. Its upper part, with respect to the vertical, was located at an angle of 60 degrees and had a thickness of 110 millimeters. The lower half of the frontal part had an angle of inclination 53 degrees and thickness 102 millimeters. Closer to the bottom, the thickness gradually decreased and at the thinnest part was a 61 millimeter. The thickness of the bottom of the hull in the area of the frontal part of the 38 mm, under the fighting compartment - 32 mm, under the engine and transmission compartment - 13 mm. Starting with the upgraded M48А1, the bottom thickness in the middle and aft parts was 25 millimeters. It should be noted that the use of injection molding technology of the tank, could give a few millimeters of deviation in a smaller or larger direction.
Increased attention was paid to the armament of the medium tank M48. Starting with М48А1 and М48А3, for several modifications, the main weapons was a semi-automatic rifled gun M41 caliber 90 mm. According to its ballistic characteristics, this instrument was identical to the M36 gun. The length of the gun was equal to 4500 millimeters (50 gauges). The initial speed of various armor-piercing shells ranges from 851 to 914 m / s, with dueling energy reaching 476 t / m.
The gun was supplied with a special automatic compensator, used after the shot to restore the original position of the gun. In addition, a very convenient duplicate guidance system was provided, which allowed both the gunner and the crew commander to fire. The maximum rate of guns - 7 shots per minute.
On various upgrades of the medium tank M48 used various periscopic, optical, combined day and infrared sights. To determine the distance to the target used a stereoscopic rangefinder. Different rangefinders were used for various modifications, for example, for the M48 itself, as well as for the M48A1, the T46X1 rangefinder was used, the M48A2 rangefinder, the M13AXNXXX and IXNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNXXXXXXXXNXXXXXXXXXXXXNXXXXXXXXXXXXNXX In addition, arithmometers were used to determine the distance to the target. mechanical ballistic solvers. Although according to the crew of the M1 and the upgrades of this tank, in practice it was quite rare to use rangefinders and adding machines. For the M48 cannon, which was used on the medium M2 tank, a wide range of different ammunition was used, including grading, smoke, high-explosive, subcaliber and caliber ammunition.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the medium tank M48 “Patton III”:
Mass - 46,2 tons;
Dimensions:
Case length - 6,88 m;
Height - 3,12 m;
Width: 3,63 m
Length - 8,69 m (with a gun forward);
Maximum speed - 48 km / h (on the highway);
Power reserve - 460 km (on the highway);
Power point:
diesel 12-cylinder engine "Continental" AV-1790-2A, hp power 750 (560 kW);
Obstacle obstacles:
wall height 0,92 m;
ford depth 1,22 m;
angle of elevation up to 30 °;
ditch width 2,59 m;
Armament:
The gun - 90-millimetric rifled gun M41;
Machine gun - 12,7-mm anti-aircraft gun, 7,62-mm coaxial machine gun;
Crew - 4 person.
Fans of American combat vehicles in the game World of Tanks will be able to conquer the field of virtual battles here on such an average tank M48A1 (Patton III), armed with 90 mm M41 and 105 mm Gun M68 guns
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