M48A5 Patton
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M48A5 Patton
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[Client Values; Actual values in
6,100,000  Cost |
| 2000400 HP Hit Points |
| 47.72/50.3520.62/50.35 t Weight Limit |
- Commander
- Gunner
- Driver
- Loader (Radio Operator)
| 810810 hp Engine Power |
| 45/20 km/h Speed Limit |
| 5050 deg/s Traverse |
| 16.9739.28 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| YesYes Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
| 254/76.2/50.8254/76.2/50.8 mm Turret Armor |
APCR/HEAT/HE
APCR/HEAT/HE Shells |
1000/4800/680
1000/4800/680 Shell Cost |
| 390/390/480390/390/480 HP Damage |
| 268/330/53268/330/53 mm Penetration |
|
7.19 r/m ▲
7.19 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
2804.1 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
2804.1 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.36 m ▲
0.36 m With 50% Crew: 0.446 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.446 m |
| 1.9 s 1.9 s Aim time |
| 4040 deg/s Turret Traverse |
| 360° Gun Arc |
| -9°/+19°-9°/+19° Elevation Arc |
| 5757 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 1212 % Chance of Fire |
| 420 m 420 m View Range |
| 745 m 745 m Signal Range |
Additional Statistics
(Top Configuration)
Camouflage
- Stationary: 8.6%
- When Moving: 6%
- When Firing: 2%
Terrain Resistance
- On Hard Ground: 0.77
- On Medium Ground: 0.86
- On Soft Ground: 1.73
Dispersion Change Values
- Turret Contribution
- Rotation: 0.08
- Shot Recoil: 3.84
- Suspension Contribution
- Acceleration: 0.1
- Turning: 0.1
With 100% Crew
X
6100000
The M48A5 Patton is an American tier 10 medium tank.
A modification of the M48 tank of 1970, developed to modernize the remaining M48 tanks in service up to the M60 tank's level. The modification featured a new engine, armament, and fire control system. Apart from armor protection, the 2,570 upgraded vehicles were practically indistinguishable from the M60 that featured the same armament and engine.
The M48A5 Patton is another example of a jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none tank like its predecessors. It possesses a smooth, egg-shaped hull and a curved turret with decent frontal thickness. Its armor is stronger than most mediums of its tiers and will deflect a surprising amount of shots from its peers if hull down. The 105mm M68 is an extremely versatile weapon, with high penetration, damage, and rate-of-fire. While it is a clear improvement in firepower over the M46 Patton, the M48A5 will face opponents with equal or even superior survivability.
It is also slightly slower than its predecessor, due to its heavier weight and weaker engine. In addition, the M48A5 is also a very large tank, even larger than the T110E5 heavy tank, which earns the Patton the nickname “Fatton”. However, it compensates for that with its reasonable amount of maneuverability and great traverse, at 50 degrees per second. Furthermore, the gun depression is still satisfactory at 9 degrees, though not as effective as the M46 Patton due to its middle turret placement. This makes it suited for close to mid-range combat, darting in and out of cover or a crest, firing shots at the enemy before they can fire back.
The M48A5 Patton marks the end of its American medium line.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | 105 mm Gun M68 | 268/330/53 | 390/390/480 | 7.19 | 0.36 | 1.9 | 2850 | 325000 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | Continental AV-1790-7B | 810 | 12 | 1171 | 100000 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | M48A5 Patton | 50.35 | 50 | 0 | 8000 | 82500 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | AN/VRC-7 | 745 | 100 | 54000 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Excellent DPM, shell velocity and penetration
- Excellent gun handling and aim time
- Good turret armor and gun depression
- Large hitpoint pool
- Outstanding base viewrange
Cons:
- Large target with poor camouflage
- Low top speed for a medium tank
- Large hull with fairly ineffective armor
- Subpar ranged accuracy
Performance
One of the main improvements of the M48A5 over the M46 is the stronger hull and turret armor. M48A5 is able to more effectively go hull down and bounce more shots with its turret, with its mantlet acting as spaced armor. In addition, the turret and hull overall are sloped and shots that land on the turret's edges may bounce. The same also applies to M48's front plate or rather curved sides on its hull. However, one should be aware there is a hole in the center of the turret with no armor behind it. This means it is not a good idea to stay exposed for too long as accurate enemy fire and premium rounds can still go through your turret with ease. Fortunately, given the gun's accuracy on the move and depression angles, you do not need to stop, or at least stop for long, to make an accurate shot. A viable tactic is to use the M48A5s on the move accuracy to your advantage. Build up to your top speed and peek over a hill, auto-lock or manually aim at a target, and fire before driving out of sight on the other side of the hill to reload. Spotting targets is easier thanks to M48A5's game leading in-game view range of 420m, allowing the tank to both play the role of passive scout as well.
With the M48A5's long view range, decent agility, and quick turning turret combined with the exceptional on-the-move gun handling make it more than just a passive scout or shoot-and-scoot tank, it also makes it an adept counter scout vehicle. It is very dangerous for a light tank to attempt to engage in an area occupied or watched by an M48A5 as it has the agility and attributes to counteract its speed, even on the move. Even if the scout has managed to immobilize the M48A5 and is attempting to encircling it, the turret of the M48A5 alone has the traverse speed to keep up with most light tanks.
In essence, play the M48A5 as a second-line supporting tank for more heavily armored mediums attempting to flank the enemy team, using your excellent gun depression and reasonably well-armored turret to provide covering fire. Your goal is to assist in a push and to engage any tanks that attempt to flank your teammates. A commander of the M48A5 shouldn't worry too much if the enemy gets too close though. Brawling in the M48A5 is possible, with its well-angled turret and curved hull, along with excellent on the move dispersion allowing you to duel effectively, but your lack of armor will show in an extended engagement and/or when flanked by another opponent. It is best to keep duels on the move, one-on-one, and at medium distance. Commander's should also keep in mind that the M48A5s large size, slow top speed, poor acceleration, and generally weak armor make the tank a very attractive target, especially for artillery. Therefore, an M48A5 commander should constantly maintain situational awareness and never stay idle for too long, especially in the open.
Early Research
The tank comes elite upon purchase.
Suggested Equipment
Gallery
Historical Info
The M48 Patton is a medium tank that was designed in the United States. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank. The M48 Patton served as an interim tank in U.S. service until replaced by the U.S. Army's first main battle tank (MBT), the M60 Patton. The M48 served as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps's primary battle tank during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially other NATO countries. The M48 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M47 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although largely resembling the M47, the M48 Patton was a completely new tank design. Some M48A5 models served well into the 1980s with American forces, and many various M48 Patton models remain in service in other countries. The M48 was the last U.S. tank to mount the 90 mm tank gun, with the last model, the M48A5, being upgraded to carry the new standard weapon of the M60, the 105mm gun.
Development history
On 27 February 1951, OTCM #33791 initiated the design of the new tank, designated the 90mm Gun Tank T-48 (the prefix letter "T" would be replaced by the prefix "X" beginning with the M60 series tank). A deeper modernization than the M46 and the M47, the M48 featured a new turret, newly redesigned hull, and an improved suspension. The hull machine gunner position was removed, reducing the crew to 4. It was essentially a new tank. On 2 April 1953, the Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes (OTCM) order #34765 standardized the last of the Patton series tanks as the 90mm Gun Tank M48 Patton. Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early designs, up to the M48A2C's, were powered by a gasoline 12-cylinder engine which was coupled with an auxiliary 8-cylinder engine (called the "Little Joe"). The gas engine gave the tank a short operating range and was prone to catching fire when hit. This version was considered unreliable but numerous examples saw combat use in various Arab-Israeli conflicts. They also were prone to fire when the turret was penetrated and the hydraulic lines ruptured spewing "cherry juice" (the nickname for the red colored hydraulic fluid) at high pressure into the crew compartment resulting in a fireball. The flashpoint was too low, less than 300 F, causing many burns and deaths to crew members.
Diesel power plant introduces
Beginning in 1959, most American M48s were upgraded to the M48A3 model which featured a diesel power plant. M48s with gas engines, however, were still in use in the US Army through 1968 and through 1975 by many West German Army units including the 124th Panzer Battalion. In February 1963, the US Army accepted its first of 600 M48 Patton tanks that had been converted to M48A3's, and by 1964, the US Marine Corps had received 419 Patton tanks. These Pattons were to be deployed to battle in Vietnam. Because all M48A3 tanks were conversions from earlier models, many characteristics varied among individual examples of this type. M48A3 tanks could have either 3 or 5 support rollers on each side and might have either the early or later type headlight assemblies.
New gun for the final version
In the mid-1970s, the M48A5 upgrade was developed to allow the vehicle to carry the heavier 105 mm gun. This was designed to bring the M48s up to speed with the M60 tanks then in regular use and to simplify ammunition logistics. Most of the M48s were placed into service with reserve units by this time. By the mid-1990s, the M48s were phased out of U.S. service. Many foreign countries, however, continued to use the M48 models.
Variants
With the M47 being only a stopgap solution the M48 Patton was a completely new design compared to its predecessors. The hull and turret were of cast steel, well-curved design, and offered much better ballistic protection than former welded and rather flat designs. The M48 was significantly larger than any earlier medium tank design. The M48 finally omitted the bow machine gun and gunner. It was armed with a co-axial 7.62mm MG and the commander’s .50 cal MG only. The M48 retained a 90mm M41 gun as the main weapon. The US Army evaluated the first prototypes in 1951 and the production of the M48 began in 1952. Production finally ceased in 1959 with 11703 vehicles being build.
M48/ M48A1
The first production M48 can easily be distinguished by the .50cal being mounted on an external cradle without any armor protection. The tank was fitted with an AV1790 gasoline engine giving it an operational range of only 115km. Many of the early M48 suffered from the lack of testing and were not considered fit for service. They were quickly superseded by the M48A1. The M48A1 received the M1 commanders’ cupola providing armored cover and enclosing the .50 cal plus numerous other improvements to the tank. However, the M48/ M48A1 was still hampered by its unreliability and lack of range as it was pressed into service due to cold war threats. To overcome the lack of range a system of jettison-able fuel drums was developed.
M48A2
The M48A1 was quickly followed by the M48A2 entering service in 1955 with a new power plant and fire control systems. The M48A2 can be easily distinguished from the earlier versions. It had three instead of five return rollers and a new engine deck without the extensive grille work atop. However, it was still powered by gasoline. The next step, the M48A2C was a further improved version; externally the only major difference is the absence of the small track tensioning wheel between the sixth road wheel and the sprocket. All M48A2 had a new headlight arrangement, similar to the M60. The M48A2C was the last ‘all-new’ M48 to be produced, all further versions are rebuilds of existing tanks.
M48A3
Another step further in the M48 development was the M48A3 of 1959, as already stated these were rebuilt M48/ M48A1 and possibly a few M48A2. The upgrade included a new diesel power plant, the AVDS 1790 engine, with the necessity for a new engine compartment, similar to the A2 but with external side loading air cleaners mounted on top of the fenders. Late M48A3 also had a new vision ring for the commanders’ cupola plus a few internal upgrades. The CWS hatch was redesigned, providing more internal space but deleting the two periscopes to the rear. The M48A3 was widely used in the US Army and Marine Corps and saw extensive action in Vietnam where it proofed rugged and reliable.
M48A5
The final US version is the M48A5 of 1975. It incorporates a new main gun, the L107 105mm, two M60D 7.62mm machine guns, and new tracks with replaceable octagonal track shoes, the T142 track, and a new CWS now close to the IDF ’Urdan’ design as most prominent features. Of course, the fire control received upgrades also, most M48A5 also have the lighting system reworked to M60 standard. The rear lights and engine access doors were upgraded, too. The whole M48A5 program nevertheless shows a wide range of actual different conversion status’, some even without the new gun but others with the old M1 cupola or track. Conversion packs were also sold to other M48 users. The M48A5 has been phased out of any US service since the mid-1990s.
Foreign service
The M48 has seen and still sees widespread use in foreign service. The first users being allied NATO countries. Major users were Belgium, Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain, and Turkey. Other important foreign users are Israel, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Korea.
Historical Gallery
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Historical Accuracy Errata
* While the previous version of the tank in-game (M48A1 Patton) never carried the 105mm M68 gun and had the wrong hull/turret combination, the current M48A5 Patton was equipped with the 105mm M68 and is thus in a historical configuration for its combination of hull/turret/gun.
- Actual speed is 48km/h.
