Top of the Tree: M48A1 Patton

14.10.2014 Special Offers Discuss on Forum

Commanders,

The movie “Fury” is about to hit theatres across Europe, so this calls for a little of American
accent on the battlefields as well. That is why we decided to adhere to the tone set up by the
movie’s imminent premiere and put an American vehicle as the highlight of the Top of the
Tree. This edition of the special will bring back the versatile M48A1 Patton into the spotlight.
For the next two weeks follow the research line leading to the Tier X Patton and enjoy great
discounts and credit income bonuses:

30% discount on purchase and 15% more credits earned with the following American
vehicles:

X M48A1 Patton

IX M46 Patton

VIII M26 Pershing

Use this opportunity to earn extra credits while driving these extraordinary tanks, or get them
for 70% of their normal value!
These bonuses will be available from 15 October 07:10 CEST (GMT +2) until 1
November 06:00 CET (GMT +1). That’s two full weeks to show your enemies who’s the
boss!

M48A1 Patton

“So, you’re going to see Fury, huh? Allow me to show you a little sample first!”

In-Game Performance

Due to its unique characteristics, the M48A1 Patton is definitely a valuable addition to any
team in Tier X battles. The most prominent feature of this vehicle is its outstanding base view
range of 420 metres. This gives it the advantage of being able to spot the enemy at very good
distances, way before they can spot it themselves. In addition, the tank is quite manoeuvrable
and sports reliable rounded armour, capable of deflecting a good deal of shots. The armour is
supported by a very high HP pool that makes the M48A1 one of the most durable vehicles in
its class. Furthermore, just like most American tanks, the Patton enjoys good values for gun
depression, accuracy and damage, serving as a very versatile team member.

Just like any other tank in the game, the Patton also has its downsides. The most prominent of
these is the large silhouette, which makes it an easy target when spotted, and the huge cupola
on the turret – an obvious weak spot. In addition, this vehicle falls behind other mediums in
terms of top speed and is cursed by a rather weak ammo rack – a major disadvantage when
facing a skilled opponent. Last but not least, the M48A1 is one of the few Tier X tanks that
has additional guns open for research. This means that once you buy the vehicle you will need
to grind for an additional 45,000 XP to unlock the top gun, and then spend 325,000 credits to
buy it, mount it, and achieve your tank’s full potential.

 
Tactics

The M48A1 Patton can be described as a jack-of-all-trades, which means it can assume a
multitude of roles on the battlefield including sniping, scouting, brawling and providing
flanking support. Regardless of the role you choose, always try to utilise your biggest
advantage – the extremely good view range. Knowing the enemy’s positions can greatly
influence the outcome of the battle. Having said that, do not hesitate to back up your team’s
light tanks and scan your nearest area for enemy tanks.

Player Tip: While scouting, never forget that you cannot match a light tank in this role – you
may have the view range advantage, but remember you’re driving a bigger and slower
vehicle. This means that if you’re spotted in the open field, you may not make it to safety
before being de-tracked and destroyed by enemy fire. When scouting, do it in a passive
manner and take short peeks at your surroundings from behind cover, such as a house, a
huge rock, or from a natural hollow in the terrain (in the latter position, your good gun
depression value will also come in handy).

In order to maximise your performance on the battlefield, we suggest mounting the following equipment:

Coated Optics Vertical Stabiliser Gun Rammer

In addition, your crew members should learn the following skills:

Crew member 1st skill 2nd skill 3rd skill

Commander

Gunner

Driver

Loader/Radio Operator

*Please note that all of your guns already have quite comfortable reload-time values.
Therefore you could also consider replacing the Gun Rammer with Improved Ventilation
and make all your Crew Members learn the Brothers in Arms skill in order to improve the
vehicle’s general performance.

History

The development of this tank, very commonly regarded as the most successful armoured
vehicle of the immediate post-war period, was ordered on 27th February 1951 with the aim of
replacing the M47 and M4 medium tanks. On 2nd April 1953, the project was standardised by
the Ordnance Technical Committee (OTCM) and approved for production. By 1959, around
12,000 vehicles were built.

The early designs utilising a 12 cylinder gasoline engine combined with an 8 cylinder
auxiliary engine proved to be highly unreliable. It even posed significant danger to the crew,
as it made the vehicle suffer from low operating range and was prone to catching fire. As a
result, the decision was made to replace the gasoline engine with a diesel one. This, as well as
further design upgrades, enabled the engineers to modify the armament and replace the initial
90 mm gun with a 105 mm one, making the final version of the Patton complete.

The M48 Patton remained in U.S. Service until the mid-1990s, when it was replaced by the
U.S. Army’s first main battle tank (MBT), the M60 Patton. During its years of service, the
vehicle was used extensively in the Vietnam War and in the Cold War period. Beside the
U.S., many other foreign countries imported the vehicle and had it in active service well into
the 90’s. These included the NATO countries of Belgium, Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain
and Turkey.  Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Taiwan and South Korea are also known to have been
using the vehicle.