In service: 1952 - 1989? (USA)
Manufacturer: Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, American Locomotive Co.
Produced: 1951 - ???
Number built: 8676
Weight: 46 tonnes combat ready
Length: 8.51 m
Crew: 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver)
Armor 101 mm
Primary armament: 90 mm gun M3671 rounds
Secondary armament: 0.5 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine gun, 2x 7.62 mm machine gun
Engine: Continental AVDS-1790-5B V12, air cooled, twin turbocharged diesel engine. 810 hp (604 kW)
Operational: range 130 km
Speed: 48 km/h
History:
The M47 Patton I was the second tank of the Patton series, and one of the U.S army's principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the early 1950s to the late 1950s. The M47 was the U.S. Army and Marine Corps primary tank intended to replace the M46 Patton tank. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, both SEATO and NATO countries, and was the only Patton series tank that never saw combat while serving with US forces. The tank belongs to the Patton family of tanks, 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 M46 Patton tank.
The M47 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M46 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although largely resembling the later M48s and M60s, these were completely new tank designs despite a rough similarity from a distance. Many different M47 Patton models remain in service internationally. The M47 was the last US tank to have a radio operator and a hull ball machine gun.
Combat service:
The M47 was used by the Turkish Army, along with M48s, in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July and August 1974, with an estimated 200 or more Patton tanks involved in the action. At least one operational M47, example "092273" was captured intact by the Cypriot National Guard and was reported to be still in service as late as 1993.[1]
The M47 was used by Jordan in the Six Day War. Pakistan used its M47s against India in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Iran used theirs against Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war.
Croatia used its M47s against the Serbs in the Croatian War of Independence but their performance was regarded inferior to that of the T-55s. They were retired immediately after the war, and are now used as targets during exercise.
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