M48 Patton III

The M48 Patton III is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed in the United States. It was the third tank to be officially named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank. The M48 Patton was in U.S. service until replaced by the M60 and served as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps's primary battle tank in South Vietnam 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 was a completely new design. It was the last U.S. tank to mount the T54 90mm/53-caliber tank gun, with the last model, the M48A5, being upgraded to carry the new standard weapon of the M60, the M68 105mm/52-caliber gun. Some M48A5 models served well into the 1980s with American forces, and many M48s remain in service in other countries. The Turkish Army has the largest number of modernized M48 MBTs, with more than 1,400 in its inventory. Of these, around 1,000 have been phased out, placed in storage, or modified as ARVs.

Users

 * Belgium
 * Belgian Land Component
 * Republic of China
 * Republic of China Army
 * West Germany
 * Landwehr
 * Greece
 * Hellenic Army
 * Iran
 * Imperial Iranian Army/Islamic Republic of Iran Army
 * Iraq
 * Iraqi Army - captured during Iran-Iraq War
 * Israel
 * Israeli GOC Headquarters
 * Jordan
 * Royal Jordanian Army
 * Korea
 * Republic of Korea Army
 * Republic of Korea Marine Corps
 * Lebanon
 * Lebanese Army
 * Morocco
 * Royal Moroccan Army
 * Norway
 * Royal Norwegian Army
 * Pakistan
 * Pakistan Army
 * Portugal
 * Portuguese Army
 * Thailand
 * Royal Thai Army
 * Spain
 * Spanish Army
 * Tunisia
 * Tunisian Army
 * Turkey
 * Turkish Land Forces
 * United States
 * United States Army
 * United States Marine Corps
 * Vietnam
 * Army of the Republic of Vietnam
 * Vietnam People's Army