maya m48 a3 patton tank - M48 A3 PATTON US TANK VIETNAM by De Espona

The M48 Patton was one of the U.S army's principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the early 1950s to the 1990s. The M48 was the U.S. Army and Marine Corps primary tank during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially other NATO countries. The tank belongs to the Patton family of tanks, named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank.

The M48 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M47 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although largely resembling the M47, the M48 Patton was a completely new tank design despite a rough similarity from a distance. Some M48A5 models served well into the 80s. Internationally, many various M48 Patton models remain in service.