North Carolina, Surry County, Mt. Airy
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The M47 was essentially an M46 fitted with the turret from the T42 tank prototype. The front hull had a sharper slope, however, and the rotoclone blower place between the drivers on the M46 was deleted. The turret had a long bustle which housed the radio and a ventilator. The "eyes" of the gunner's stereoscopic rangefinder protruded from the top sides of the turret. Early tanks were armored with a 90mm gun featuring a single-baffle muzzle break, and late tanks had a T-shaped blast deflector. Most M47s, however, were produced with a cylindrical blast deflector. Later tanks also had a taller .50cal MG pintle placed farther forward on the roof compared to earlier vehicles.
The tank was originally nicknamed Patton II, but the name was changed to Patton 47 a few weeks later. On 9 November 1950, the US Army changed the basis of its tank designation system from weight to the caliber of the vehicle's main gun. The M47, which would have been a medium tank previously, therefore became a 90mm gun tank.
An upgrade program for the M47 was started in the late 1960's and resulted in the M47M. M47M used the engine and fire control system from the 105mm gun tank M60A1. The engine, Continental’s AVDS-1790-2A supercharged diesel, had its exhaust vented through rear louvers like on the M60, replacing the M47's fender-mounted mufflers. The transmission used was the CD-850-6A. The assistant driver was eliminated in favor of a 22-round 90mm ammunition rack and the small track tension idler wheel was deleted as well. To compensate for the location of the new engine's oil pan, the read road wheel was moved 3.9" (9.7cm) to the rear. The tank's shock absorbers were also dropped in favor of friction snubbers. Five hundred forty-seven M47s were modified to M47M standard by Bowen-McLaughlin-York, Inc., in a factory built in Iran for M47M production. The improved tank was used by Iran and Pakistan.
(Military) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The M47 was essentially an M46 fitted with the turret from the T42 tank prototype. The front hull had a sharper slope, however, and the rotoclone blower place between the drivers on the M46 was deleted. The turret had a long bustle which housed the radio and a ventilator. The "eyes" of the gunner's stereoscopic rangefinder protruded from the top sides of the turret. Early tanks were armored with a 90mm gun featuring a single-baffle muzzle break, and late tanks had a T-shaped blast deflector. Most M47s, however, were produced with a cylindrical blast deflector. Later tanks also had a taller .50cal MG pintle placed farther forward on the roof compared to earlier vehicles.The tank was originally nicknamed Patton II, but the name was changed to Patton 47 a few weeks later. On 9 November 1950, the US Army changed the basis of its tank designation system from weight to the caliber of the vehicle's main gun. The M47, which would have been a medium tank previously, therefore became a 90mm gun tank.
An upgrade program for the M47 was started in the late 1960's and resulted in the M47M. M47M used the engine and fire control system from the 105mm gun tank M60A1. The engine, Continental’s AVDS-1790-2A supercharged diesel, had its exhaust vented through rear louvers like on the M60, replacing the M47's fender-mounted mufflers. The transmission used was the CD-850-6A. The assistant driver was eliminated in favor of a 22-round 90mm ammunition rack and the small track tension idler wheel was deleted as well. To compensate for the location of the new engine's oil pan, the read road wheel was moved 3.9" (9.7cm) to the rear. The tank's shock absorbers were also dropped in favor of friction snubbers. Five hundred forty-seven M47s were modified to M47M standard by Bowen-McLaughlin-York, Inc., in a factory built in Iran for M47M production. The improved tank was used by Iran and Pakistan.
(Military) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
