The development of the M48 variant in particular was given an additional sense of urgency after the painful lessons of the Korean War. The M46 in particular was built as a replacement for the WWII-vintage M26 Pershing and M4 Sherman, whilst the M47 – as noted by my 19FortyFive colleague Peter Suciu, “was largely seen as a stopgap – a marriage of the T42 tank prototype and M46 chassis.” The M48 was indeed America’s first generation of tanks to fit the MBT concept, but actually, was the third tank to bear the famous general’s name, following a direct linear alphanumeric sequence from the M46 and M47 Pattons. So with that in mind, let’s look at the M60’s predecessor, and one which was officially named the Patton: the M48 Patton MBT. would readily agree, that one good Patton tank article deserves another. A few months back, we at 19fFortyFive published a piece on the M60 “Patton” main battle tank (MBT) – and yes, we acknowledged that the M60 was never actually officially christened the “Patton.” Well, as the tank’s gregarious and flamboyant namesake, General George Smith Patton Jr.

M48a3 main battle tank