Tanker's Tuesday: M47 Patton Tank

 

 

First real postwar US MBT

The M47 was a relatively short-lived MBT (then called “medium tank” created to replace the M46 Patton/M26 Pershing and the M4 Sherman. It was widely produced to fit the needs of the US Army, US Marines, but also OTAN nations as a whole as a stopgap measure before new models could be built locally. Although a good all-over tank, the M47 Patton was used only for a few years, before its replacement by the M48 in 1953 which was realy a generation ahead. Declared obsolete in 1957, the impression it left and service time nevertheless far outlasted the fifties under other colors. The Soviet T-54 was modified to face it and the M47 defeated many foreign-built models with success, even taking part in massive tank battles.

 

 

M47 Patton Tank