M47 Patton

Although a new power plant corrected the mobility and reliability problems of the M26 Pershing, the subsequently renamed M46 was considered a stopgap solution that would be replaced later by the T42 medium tank. However, after fighting erupted in South Korea, the Army decided that it needed the new tank earlier than planned. It was deemed that there was not enough time to finish the development of the T42. The final decision was to produce another interim solution, with the turret of the T42 mounted on the existing M46 hull. Although this interim tank was itself technically immature, Army officials felt the improvements over the M46 in firepower and armor were worth the risk. It entered production in 1951. Its main gun was the M36 (T119E1) 90 mm gun with an M12 optical rangefinder fitted, which was developed as a more powerful version of the earlier 90 mm guns and were backwards-compatible with their ammunition (but not vice versa, the new cartridge case does not chamber in the weaker guns). The secondary armament consisted of two .30 cal Browning machine guns, one in the bow and one coaxial with the 90mm main gun in the turret, and a .50 caliber Browning M2 on a pintle mount on the turret roof. The M47 was the last American-designed tank to include a bow machine gun. The T42 turret had a larger turret ring than the M26/M46 turret, and featured a needle-nose design, which improved armor protection of the turret front, an elongated turret bustle and storage bin which protruded halfway across the engine deck, and sloped sides to further improve ballistic protection; this gave the turret a decidedly lozenge-shaped profile. It also featured the M12 stereoscopic rangefinder, which was designed to improve first-round hit probability but proved difficult to use; the rangefinder protruded from both sides of the upper turret front, which would be a feature of American tanks until the advent of the M1 Abrams in 1980. Logistical and technical issues plagued production almost from the start. Truman administration policy sought to strengthen American arms makers' resilience to aerial attack by encouraging more decentralized weapons production – away from Detroit. The U.S. curtailed civilian automotive production to boost military production with the onset of the Korean War. As a result, Detroit's newly unemployed automotive workers found little work, while tank manufacturers outside Michigan lacked skilled workers. Truman's policy also counted on civilian factories being able to quickly transition to war-time production. However, many factories lacked needed tank production machinery, done away with during World War II demobilization. A faulty Ordnance Corps-designed hydraulic turret-control mechanism, shared by the M41 Walker Bulldog, kept the tanks from Korea while engineers worked on a fix. The first M47s were not fielded to the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions until summer 1952. Standardized in May 1952, the M47 Patton's production ran until November 1953; Detroit built 5,481 tanks, and American Locomotive Company (Alco) produced 3,095, for a total production run of 8,576 M47 Pattons. ==Deployment==

After the U.S. Army in Germany was equipped with the M47, the first M47s delivered under the Mutual Security Agency program were delivered to Portugal in 1952. In October the agency announced that NATO member nations had agreed to adopt the British Centurion main battle tank and the M47 as standard. By October the at Camp Drum in July, the New Jersey Army National Guard was the first reserve force to train with the tank. The Marine Corps also fielded M47s starting in late 1952; after the Korean War, all seven Marine tank battalions, three divisional, two reserve training, and two force level, each fielded M47s. But these were soon replaced with M48A1 Pattons and M103 heavy tanks, with the last M47s being retired in 1959. American Locomotive production was halted in October when the company's ordnance and locomotive divisions went on strike. Production resumed in February when union leaders agreed to a pay raise. In December 1952 the Defense Department ordered cutbacks to M47 and M48 tank production. In November 1953 American Locomotive halted production of the M47 after operators found drive gear defects in Europe. Army officials quickly acknowledged the issue arose from their own expedient decision to use lower grades of steel to circumvent wartime shortages. Chrysler laid off about 1000 workers at Detroit Tank Arsenal when it wrapped up production in November. American Locomotive resumed production in November. The company closed its tank division in June 1954. With the arrival of the improved M48 Patton in 1953, the M47 was declared "limited standard" in 1955, and examples in tank units were replaced with the M48 series before long. M47s were used by the Reserves for a relatively short time, soon being replaced by early production M48 Patton series tanks; thus, most of the M47s were exported in the late 1950s. from USA and West Germany), Iran (around 400), Italy (2,480), Japan (1 for evaluation only), Jordan (49), Pakistan (100), Portugal (161), Saudi Arabia (23 from the US, 108 on the international market), Somalia (25 from Saudi Arabia), South Korea (531), Sudan (17 from Saudi Arabia), Spain (389), Switzerland (2 for evaluation), Turkey (1,347 from the US and West Germany), West Germany (1,120), and Yugoslavia (319). U.S. Army M47s remaining in storage were expended as targets. ==Combat service==

, left behind wrecked from the Somaliland War of Independence • Near the end of the Korean war, some M47s were deployed for field testing. Some of these had 18-inch searchlights. • During Ogaden War the Somalis used T-54 and T-55 tanks to defeat Ethiopian M41 and M47 tanks. • Iran sent their M47s to fight against Iraq in the Iran–Iraq War between 1980 and 1988. Iranian M47s were roughly equivalent to the T-54s but not as good as the T-55s, performed very poorly against much-superior Iraqi tanks such as the T-62s and T-72s. Large numbers of M47 Patton tanks fell into Iraqi capture by the end of the war. • The M47 saw small scale use during the Somali Civil War. • In the 1980s and up to the early 1990s, the Turkish Army used M47 tanks against PKK guerrillas within Turkey and neighbouring Iraq. Turkish M48A5 variants replaced all remaining M47s by the late 1990s. • Croatia used M47s against their Serbian enemies in the Croatian War of Independence but their performance was regarded as inferior to that of the Soviet-designed T-55. The M47s were retired from service immediately after the war and are now used as gunnery/missile live-firing targets during military exercises. ==Variants==

• M46E1 – pilot model, M46 hull with T42 turret, fitted with the M36 90 mm Gun, and was longer to incorporate a radio, ventilator, and featured a stereoscopic rangefinder; only one built but was not adopted due to the M47 reaching the end of its production life; up to 20 built • M47M – The product of an improvement program started in the late 1960s, the M47M featured the engine and fire control elements from the M60A1. The assistant driver's position was eliminated in favor of additional 90 mm ammunition. Not used by the US; over 800 vehicles were produced for Iran and Pakistan Never used in active service. • Tiam – Iranian variant of the Sabalan fitted with Type 59 tank turret, new fire control system, new communication equipment, composite and reactive armor. Additional equipment • M6 – Earth Moving Tank Mounting Bulldozer. Bulldozer kit for the M47 series. • Unknown name - Switching 90mm M36 to 90mm M41 which used by M48 Patton III. • M47 with 105 mm (France) – French upgrade with 105 mm CN 105 F1 gun, extra ammunition storage by removing assistant driver position, and infrared spotlight. • M47 with 105 mm (Italy) – Italian upgrade with OTO Melara 105 mm L/52 gun, new fire control systems, and new AVDS-1790-2A diesel engine. ==Operators==

Current • − In 1994, it was estimated that Iran had 100 M47 tanks (upgraded to the M47M standard) out of 400 originally delivered 148 M47 and M48 as of 2024. Former • • • • – Around 20 were used during the Croatian War of Independence. • – Approximately 30 acquired second-hand from Yugoslavia in 1977, without the US permission. • – 856 (1954–1970) One of the tanks was converted with the 105mm gun developed for the AMX-30, including modifications to the gun breech assembly and ammunition racks. • – 150 in 1994, rebuilt to the M47M standard. • • • − 60 in 1994, inherited from ex-Yugoslav stocks. • – 100, no longer operational by 1994. • – 300 in 1994. • – 375 in 1994, scrapped. • • – 767 were in reserve in 1994. • − Phased out by the late 1950s. • Non-state • • Serbian Krajina Evaluation only • – One M47 was provided for evaluation, and used as reference for the STA (Type 61 tank prototype) development. After being used for comparison with prototype vehicles of STA and technical analysis, it was disposed of. This tank was not scrapped, and is kept in a private collection (not open to the public as of 2021). Civilian • – 1 former Austrian Army M47 owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He previously operated the vehicle (331) during his mandatory service in 1965, which he later obtained in 1992 and now uses to support his charity. ==See also==