The M-48A3 was the main battle tank of M Company, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry
Regiment when I served with regiment in 1968. K Troop did not have tanks. K
Troop's main battle weapon was the M113A (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle). The
M-48A possessed a 90 MM gun. The Patton
Tank was fast, maneuverable and provided the regiment with a formidable medium tank
weapon against the North Vietnamese (NVA) enemy forces and the Viet Cong.
Because of the unlikelyness of encountering *NVA (North Vietnamese Army) tanks, the
M-48 was issued too few rounds of HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) or AP (Armor-Piercing)
rounds to complete the destruction of enemy vehicles. Instead, they had to resort to
the use of HE rounds which luckily, because of the light construction of the enemy's PT76
tanks were sufficient to destroy them anyway. It demonstrated that the M48, in
competent hands, was very much still a potent anti-armor weapon.
| Name: |
M48a2/M48a3/M67 "Patton" tank |
| Type: |
Main Battle Tank |
| Crew: |
4 |
| Vehicle Range: |
258/463 km |
| Max. Speed: |
48 km/h |
| Fording: |
1.2 m |
| Vertical Obstacle: |
.9 m |
| Gap Crossing: |
2.59 m |
| Armament: |
M48a2/M48a3: -1 x 90mm, 1 x .50 cal HMG on Commander's cupola, 1 x .30
cal MMG, co-axial; M67: 1 x M7-6 Flame gun, 1 x 50 cal HMG on Commander's cupola, 1 x
.30 cal MMG, co-axial. |
| Armor: |
Hull Front: 120mm; Hull Side, front: 76mm; Hull Side, rear: 51mm; Hull
rear: 44mm; Turret Front: 110mm; Turret Side: 76mm; Turret Rear: 50mm. |
| Notes: |
Developed from the M47 "General Patton" tank, the M48 was the
mainstay of the US Army and Marines in Vietnam. The M48a2 featured a petrol engine which
was very prone to fire. This was replaced on the M48a3 by a diesel unit. The M67 was
the flame-thrower variant. It featured a shorter, thicker barrel than the normal 90mm
armed version.
Many M48's in Vietnam had the commander's HMG mounted on top of the cupola for better
all round vision and the mounting hole plated over. |
* NVA (North Vietnamese Army) was a term used by the U.S. Forces in
Vietnam and their allies to refer to the enemy forces of North Vietnam. The North
Vietnamese knew their Army as the VPA ( Vietnamese People's Army).
