- Patton tank
Infobox Weapon
name= Patton tank
caption=
origin= United States
type= Main battle tank
is_artillery=
is_vehicle= yes
service=
used_by=
wars=
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant , Alco,Chrysler ,Fisher Tank Arsenal ,Ford
unit_cost=
production_date= from 1949
number=
variants=M46, M47, M48 and M60
Patton were theUnited States Army 's principalmain battle tank s of theCold War , with models in service from the late 1940s to the 1990s. The many models were named afterGeneral George S. Patton , commander of the U.S. Third Army duringWorld War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle.The M46 replaced later versions of the
M4 Sherman andM26 Pershing , and was the primary U.S. tank in theKorean War . The M48 was the primary U.S. Army and Marine Corps tank during theVietnam War . The M47 saw no action while serving with the U.S. military, but the M60A1 saw limited service with American forces inDesert Storm . The M60A1 was widely used by U.S. Cold-War allies, especially other NATO countries.Internationally, many various Patton models remain in service. Although referred to here as the Patton series, the M48 and M60A1 were each completely new tank designs, despite their outward resemblance. The last version of the Patton was the M60A3 variant that entered service in 1978. Two years later, the U.S. Army introduced the
M1 Abrams , which eventually replaced the Patton tank series over a ten year period (M48A5 models were up-gunned from the convert|90|mm|in|abbr=on to the convert|105|mm|in|abbr=on, and both models served alongside the Abrams well into the 1980s).About 11,703 M48 tanks have been produced. The M48 and later the M60 series were designed to destroy Soviet tanks in Europe. The M48 was replaced in the US Forces by the M60 Patton.
The
M103 heavy tank , when viewed by the untrained eye, appeared similar in shape and design to the M48 and M60 Patton tanks, and consisted of a convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on rifled gun and five crewmen, compared to the usual four crewmen.eparate articles
ee also
*
List of armoured fighting vehicles External links
* [http://www.patton-mania.com/M60_Patton/m60_patton.html Development and History of the M-60 tank]
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