The M48A1 Patton is a tier 5 American main battle tank.
About
Designed by the Chrysler Corporation with the intent of replacing the M47, the M48A1 was the successor to the M47 and retained many similar design features used on other tank projects. Production of the vehicle began 1952 and entered service in 1953 with the 2nd Armored Division. Though unlike its predecessor, the M48A1 had its original roof mounted machine gun placed inside a M1 cupola that could be manned by the commander.
Playstyle
While sharing similar traits as its tier 6 counterpart, the main difference of these two tanks comes at the gun. While it does less damage for a faster reload (similar to the centurion) compared to the M48A5's gun, the gun still makes the tank a relatively good Jack of All Trades tank within the game at tier 5.
Its weaknesses are not major, similar to the A5. The turret armor is weaker compared to the hull armor. This means the A1 Patton has a rather large weakspot on top of its hull that is vulnerable to tanks such as the KV-2 and SU-152.
When playing the tank, the gameplay is very much similar to the A5 Patton's gameplay which means the tank is capable of being either a brawler or sniper. The lack of major weaknesses allows the player to play the tank without much consenquences (although they may find difficulties to reliably bounce shots with its armor).
Pros
- Good gun depression and elevation, giving it an advantage fighting on elevated terrain.
- Quick gun reload time giving the tank a DPM advantage over many other high-tier tanks with a maximum value of 2329 at Crew Level 20
- Slightly over-average top speed.
- Big healthpool for its tier.
- Great reverse speed of up to 20 km/h.
Cons
- Weak turret armour
- Despite having frontal armor above average for an MBT, the tank is unable to reliably bounce most shots.
- Rather high profile might be spotted from mid ranges
- Has slightly more bullet drop than the M48A5 which may hamper lethality at longest ranges.
- Has a bit less DPS Than its brother, The M48A5.
Trivia
- A month after its debut, the M48A1s armor penetration was buffed from 168 mm to 248 mm.
- The better version of this tank the M48A5 was added in the game to replace the Tier Vi American MBT
History
The search for the replacement of the M47
The M47 Patton tank only served as a stopgap in U.S. Army tank design. Before it could enter service, the tank suffered from inadequate and rushed testing, retaining technical problems, and inadequate supply in M12 optical rangefinders meant the M47 was too late to serve in the Korean conflict. Its only major improvement from the M46 was that it incorporated more sophisticated firing controls and its better-sloped turret and glacis plate. But even before it entered service, the U.S. Army had contracted the Chrysler Corporation in December 1950 to develop the M47s replacement, designated as the M48.
M48
The major aim of the design team responsible for the M48 project was to develop a better armor layout and to incorporate a much larger turret ring. Essentially, the armor layout was derived from the T43, or what would become the M103 Heavy tank, and the assistant drivers spot was eliminated to create more space. The new M48 would've re-used the same engine and transmission used on the M47, along with similar suspension modified to use wider tracks. But as in the case of the M47, the fears of a third World War involving nuclear weapons forced over-hasty production schedules resulting in rushed testing. The first M48 pilot model rolled off the new tank plant in Newark, Delaware in 1952. The first units entered service in 1953 with the U.S. 2nd Armored Division. Therefore in 1955, the M47 was declared 'limited-standard' with a few hundred shipped for service in NATO countries under the MAP (Military Assistance Program) program.
M48A1
Although nearly identical to its counterpart, the M48A1 had its original exposed .50 caliber machine gun removed from the turret roof and placed inside an enclosed M1 cupola. Inside, the commander could operate the .50 caliber machine gun and either traverse or elevate or depress the gun while being able to safely reload the gun inside.