The elliptical shape of the hull and turret castings are easily seen in this frontal view. This tank is fitted with a T-shaped muzzle brake. The right-hand aperture for the stereoscopic rangefinder is visible on the turret side below the commander's cupola, and the gunner's telescope T156E1 would peer through the hole in the gun shield. (Picture courtesy Calvin.)

The large box in the middle of the hull rear plate housed an infantry phone. The square plates below and outboard of the phone box and the central circular plate just below the phone box were all for access to the transmission. Note that this tank has had its track tensioning idlers removed from behind the rear road wheels.

The M48 and M48A1 had their exhausts routed through the rear deck, and the exhaust outlet is visible here. Deflectors were necessary to keep the hot exhaust gases from heating the gun travel lock, a situation which would eventually cause it to bind. The armored cover in the foreground protected the engine oil filler.

90mm gun tank M48 Patton 48 at the US Army Ordnance Museum.

The drivers of M48s had a small hatch compared with later versions of the tank. This vehicle had been equipped with an infrared periscope for the driver; the IR periscope was mounted in the hatch door.

The driver was provided with an escape hatch in the hull floor below his seat, the opening for which is shown here. Near the rear of the hull, we can see the two fuel tank drain hole covers mounted side-by-side, the main engine oil filter access hole cover behind these on the tank's left, then the main engine drain hole cover behind this.

The positioning of the gun travel lock in relation to the exhaust and how the deflectors protect it can be better seen in this image. A fuel filler cover is visible in the lower right.

Due to the prodigious thirst of its carbureted V12 engine, an auxiliary engine was provided to power a 28 volt, 300 ampere generator when the main engine was not needed. The muffler for this engine was mounted on the right fender just aft of the turret.

90mm gun tank M48 Patton 48 at the US Army Ordnance Museum.

The commander of the M48 was provided with a conventional cupola and an external mount for his .50cal machine gun. This was replaced in production with Aircraft Armaments's M1 cupola.

The turret roof is shown here, with the commander's cupola on the left facing away from the camera. The loader's hatch is beside the commander's cupola.

The loader's hatch is highlighted here.

A ventilator was mounted in the turret to the loader's left rear. Antenna mounts can also be seen in front of the ventilator and at the turret rear.

The cupola is shown here from the rear. The commander was provided with four periscopes in the cupola, including one in the hatch door. The cupola provided the commander the capability to aim and fire--but not reload--the .50cal machine gun from under armor. Note that the door catch is welded to the periscope guard.

The front view of the cupola provides details of the gearing used to aim the machine gun.

90mm gun tank M48A1 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

The M48 and M48A1 had two gasoline-powered personnel heaters installed along the left side of the hull. The exhausts for these heaters were routed through the front hull next to the driver's hatch as seen here. The guard in front of the heater exhausts housed handles for external activation of the vehicle's fire extinguishers. Around the gun shield are mounts for a cover, and through the gun shield are protrusions for the coaxial machine gun (on the cannon's left), and the gunner's direct sight telescope on the opposite side of the main gun.

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90mm gun tank M48A1 Patton 48 in Fort Benning, Georgia.

The outline of the door in the rear of the commander's cupola can be seen in this image, and its hinge is at the bottom next to one of the covered vision blocks. Five vision blocks ringed the bottom of the cupola, and the commander was provided with a periscope M28 in the top for using the machine gun, which was fed from a 100-round box magazine.

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90mm gun tank M48A1 Patton 48 in Fort Benning, Georgia.

The thickness and countour of the main gun shield can be gleaned from this picture. Lifting eyes were welded to the upper corners, attachments for a canvas cover can be seen on the turret, and the aperture for the gunner's T156E1 telescope is below the lifting eye.

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90mm gun tank M48A1 Patton 48 in Fort Benning, Georgia.

The auxiliary track tensioning idler and its swing arm are highlighted here. Note that it is mounted in a different way with a longer swing arm compared to those found on the M46 and M47 tanks. The attachment for the rear shock absorber can be seen just in front of the bump stop for the rear road wheel.

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90mm Gun Tank M48A2C Patton 48 at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

The elliptical cross-section of the tank can be seen in this view. A Y-shaped blast deflector is apparent, as are the two sighting blisters for the M17 coincidence rangefinder on the top of the turret sides. The single exhaust for the personnel heater is visible to the right of the driver's hatch, and the three periscope housings surrounding his hatch are closed. The driver's hatch itself has a mount for an infrared periscope. Just to the left of the driver's hatch is a support for when it is rotated to the open position. The large M1 commander's cupola dominates the turret's right side, and the guard for the gunner's M32 periscope is visible in front of the TC's cupola. The opening for the coaxial machine gun has been plated over on the gun shield's left side, and the larger aperture for the gunner's M97C telescope is on the other side of the 90mm gun.

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90mm Gun Tank M48A2C Patton 48 at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

The new exhaust grille is obvious when the vehicle is viewed from behind. The square in the right-side door is for mounting a deep-water fording exhaust stack. The vehicle's taillights are just below the exhaust grille doors, and a towing pintle is placed in the center of the lower rear plate. The two square plates and the circular plate above the towing pintle still provide access to the transmission. The ventilator is also visible on the turret's left side, and a periscope guard rises up from the commader's cupola. The housing for the infantry telephone intercom can be seen on the right fender.

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90mm Gun Tank M48A2C Patton 48 at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

This tank lacks the track tensioning idler wheel found on the earlier Patton tanks. The number of track return rollers has also been reduced to three. The frame for the insulated exhaust tunnel is visible, and engine intake grilles line both sides of the exhaust tunnel. The friction snubber on the last road wheel is also apparent, just in front of the return roller.

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90mm Gun Tank M48A3 Patton 48.

The clamshell nature of the commander's cupola can be seen in this image, where both the commander's and loader's hatches are open to the rear. These troops were part of the 3d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and were taking part in Operation Buckskin near Laike, Repblic of Vietnam. (Picture taken 8 Jan 1966; available from the National Archives.)

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90mm Gun Tank M48A3 Patton 48.

Once in action in Vietnam, some tank commanders felt that the cupola did not provide sufficient room to service the machine gun. Despite the increased exposure to enemy fire, external mounts were devised for the .50cal, as on this machine. This tank, from H Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, was fitted with the cupola vision block ring but retained the original style headlights. (Picture taken 20 May 1970 by Cpl G.N. Zimmerman; available from the National Archives.)

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 at the American Armoured Foundation Tank Museum.

This M48A5 is sporting the Israeli-designed low-silhouette commander's cupola, and the stark contrast between the two designs is apparent when this vehicle is compared with the tank above. The bore evacuator of the 105mm gun M68 is visible, as is the right-hand "eyeball" of the coincidence rangefinder near the center of the turret. The taller box just behind the long fender stowage box is an engine air cleaner housing. The xenon searchlight is not plugged in to its power receptacle on the turret roof. A .50cal machine gun is mounted on the commander's cupola; the low-profile cupola usually sported a 7.62mm M60D machine gun. This tank was fitted with the later headlights first found on the M48A3 (Mod B), and their brush guards can be contrasted with the tanks above.

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48.

A closer look at the low-silhouette commander's cupola is provided here. The positioning of the three periscopes in the cupola housing can be seen in front and to the sides of the hatch door, and the details of the machine gun mount can be gleaned as well. The springs of the loader's hatch door are in the background. (Photo by Richard S. Eshleman.)

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

Above the 105mm ready rack is the coaxial machine gun ready ammunition box, which could hold 2200 rounds. The feed chute can be seen towards the front of the box, and the cradle for the coaxial machine gun is visible to the right of the picture.

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

An overview of the driver's position is seen here. He used the black steering wheel to control direction, and the brake and accelerator pedals are below the wheel to the left and right, respectively. The red bottles are fire extinguishers, and the green tube to the front of the driving compartment is the crew heater. The lever to the driver's left in front of the fire extinguisher bottles is the purge pump, and the pump handle to the right of the driver's seat is the turret seal pump. The transmission shifting control lever is marked for park, neutral, and low, high, and reverse ranges. Between the accelerator pedal and the transmission shifting control lever is the throttle lock lever.

When in reverse, turning the steering wheel to the right caused the vehicle's rear to swing to the left, and vice-versa. When in neutral, the tank would pivot to the right or left by turning the wheel in the desired direction.

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

The left side of the driver's compartment is highlighted here. The dimmer switch is labeled, and the red fire extinguisher control handle can be seen towards the vehicle's front. Twelve main gun rounds were stowed in the green tubes behind the fire extinguisher bottles, and a nine-round rack was placed on the right side of the driver's compartment.

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

The eyepiece for the M17B1C rangefinder is found in the forward area of the commander's station. Just below the eyepiece is the occluder knob, and the large black knob below and to the right is the ranging knob. The halving knob is located just above the ranging knob, and above and to the right is the filter lever. The red knob above the eyepiece is the ICS knob, and the range scale window can just be seen to the right of the ICS knob. Two of the three periscopes in the TC's cupola are visible in this shot.

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

Above the main gun is positioned the instrument light panel for the rangefinder. The farthest-left knob dimmed or brightened the range scale, the knob to its right was for dimming or brightening the reticle, and the switch toggled the coincidence and auxiliary gunsights. The next knob to the right is the vertical adjustment knob, and the final knob in the picture is the horizontal adjustment knob. The shaft going forward from the bottom of the rangefinder is the ballistics drive link assembly, part of the ballistic drive that attached the gun mount elevation system, gunner's sight, commander's telescope, and ballistic computer.

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105mm Gun Tank M48A5 Patton 48 belonging to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

The gunner's controls are shown here. Powered traverse and elevation were accomplished by the control handles in the center of the picture. The black manual elevating handle is located behind the control handles, and the red button on this handle is the gun firing button. The white handle above the control handles was for hand traversing the turret. The red handle on the left side of the picture was for manually firing the main gun. From left to right, the selector switchbox to the front of the tank activated the coaxial machine gun, the main gun, and turret power. Just below the selector switchbox is the gunner's relay box, and the superelevation actuator is just to the switchbox's right. The gauge behind the gunner's control assembly showed the acculumator pressure. The device to the right of the picture with knobs and dials is the M13B1C ballistic computer, and the gunner's dial-like azimuth indicator is just beyond this. A green intercom control box is below the azimuth indicator. The container below the gunner's control assembly is an oil reservoir.

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Last updated 28 Oct 2020.

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