The M47 Patton was one of a series of American tanks developed during the early years of the Cold War, using the hull of the M46 with the T42’s turret and 90mm gun.
The M47 Patton was one of a series of American tanks developed during the early years of the Cold War. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 convinced the US Army that they would not be able to wait for their next tank project to be ready – they needed something that could handle the latest Soviet tanks now. Therefore, the turret from this project, the T42, was placed on the proven M46’s hull.
The M47 was armed with a more powerful 90mm gun than the M46’s, along with a new stereoscopic rangefinder to improve accuracy. Production ran from July 1951 until November 1953 and 8,576 were built. It was the last American tank to have a five man crew and a bow machine gun.
The M47 had a very long service life, but not with the Americans. They replaced it with the M48 from 1953 and most were gone by the end of the decade. Many were passed on to US Allies around the world. Some of these countries kept it in service until the mid 1990s. Examples were used in combat by France, Pakistan, Turkey, Ethiopia and Croatia.
The Tank Museum’s M47
The Museum’s M47 was built by American Locomotive Company in 1952. It was delivered to the Italian Army and given serial number 107353. It remained in service until 1987 and was donated to The Tank Museum shortly afterwards. In the 1990s, it was blasted and partially dismantled for restoration but the project was consistently pushed down the to-do list… until now! Support the restoration of the M47 to running order HERE.
