Extremely rare photos of M48 operations in the Vietnam People's Army

During the war in Vietnam, the US Army brought here a large number of first-generation M48 Patton main battle tanks (M48A3 version) to equip army and marine units.

The M48 tank weighs 49.6 tons, is equipped with a 90 mm main gun with 62 rounds of ammunition, its heart is a 750 horsepower diesel engine, giving a maximum speed of 48 km/h on good roads and a range of 463 km.

After withdrawing, the US left the Army of the Republic of Vietnam with 3 M48 armored divisions with a total of about 160 vehicles. In combat, many M48A3s were destroyed by the People's Army of Vietnam, some were confiscated and re-used after April 1975.

According to some assessments, compared to the T-54/55, the M48 tank has the advantage of being very easy to operate, the fighting compartment is much more spacious and comfortable, the powerful engine allows good mobility on the battlefield, and the large ammunition load helps the vehicle play the role of providing fire support for infantry quite well.

The M48's disadvantage is also easy to see, that is, it is only equipped with a 90 mm main gun with destructive power and armor penetration far inferior to the D-10T2S of the T-54/55. At that time, the US had not yet brought the M48A5 version carrying the 105 mm M68 gun.

In fact, the M48 tank was also used on the Cambodian battlefield, but there are very few images of it, partly because its number was smaller than the M113, and partly because it was not assigned to units directly engaged in combat on the battlefield.

Most of the M48 tanks captured after the liberation of the South were part of reserve or guard units, such as the 180th Guards Battalion protecting the 479th Front Headquarters in Cambodia.