5 men: Commander in turret right rearGunner in turret right frontLoader in turret left rearDriver in hull left frontAssistant driver in hull right front
M47: Dimensions
Combat weight
101,800lbs46,170kg
Height over AAMG
131"333cm
Length without gun
250.3"635.8cm
Gun overhang forward
84.7"215cm
Width over fenders
138.3"351.3cm
Tread
110.0"279.4cm
Ground clearance
18.5"47.0cm
Fire height
~81"~210cm
Turret ring diameter
73.0"185cm
Ground pressure, zero penetration
14.7psi1.03kg/cm²
M47: Armament
Type
Mount
Ammunition
Traverse
Max traverse rate
Elevation
Max elevation rate
90mm Gun M36
M78 in Turret
71 rounds(11 ready)
360°(manual and electric-hydraulic)
24°/sec
+19° to -10°(manual and electric-hydraulic)
4°/sec
.50cal M2HB MG
Flexible in turret AA mount
1,700 rounds
360°(manual)
--
Manual
--
.30cal M1919A4E1 MG
Coaxial to 90mm gun
11,150 rounds(750 ready for coaxial gun)
360°(manual and electric-hydraulic)
24°/sec
+19° to -10°(manual and electric-hydraulic)
4°/sec
.30cal M1919A4E1 MG
Ball mount 7351999 in right bow
Manual
--
+24° to -10°(manual)
--
Aiming equipment
Rangefinder M12, periscope M20 or M20A1 for gunner; periscope M20 or M20A1 for commander
Night vision
Infrared periscope M19 for driver
Rangefinder
Stereoscopic M12
M47: Armor
Assembly
Welding
Hull
Rolled and cast homogeneous steel
Location
Thickness
Angle from vertical
Upper front
4.0"10cm
60°
Lower front
3.5" to 3.0"8.9cm to 7.6cm
53°
Front sides
3.0"7.6cm
0°
Rear sides
2.0"5.1cm
0°
Upper rear
2.0"5.1cm
0°
Lower rear
0.75"2.0cm
62°
Top
0.88"2.2cm
90°
Front floor
1.0"2.5cm
90°
Rear floor
0.5"1.3cm
90°
Turret
Cast homogeneous steel
Location
Thickness
Angle from vertical
Gun shield
4.5"11cm
60°
Front
4.0"10cm
40°
Sides
2.5"6.4cm
30°
Rear
3.0"7.6cm
3°
Top
1.0"2.5cm
90°
M47: Automotive
Engine
Continental AV-1790-5B, -7, or -7B; 12 cylinder, 4 cycle, 90° vee gasoline
General Motors CD-850-4, 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse
Steering
Mechanical, wobble stick
Brakes
Multiple disc
M47: Suspension
Type
Road wheels
Track return rollers
Torsion bar
6 independently sprung dual/track
3 dual/track
Drive sprockets
Idlers
Shock absorbers
13-tooth rear drive
Dual compensating at front of track;dual track tension wheel behind last road wheel
On first 2 and last 2 road wheels/track
M47: Track
T80E6
Center guide, double pin, rubber backed steel
Width
23"58cm
Pitch
6"15cm
Shoes/track
86
Ground contact length
Left side: 148.8"Right Side: 152.6Left side: 378.0cmRight Side: 387.6cm
T84E1
Center guide, double pin, rubber chevron
Width
23"58cm
Pitch
6"15cm
Shoes/track
86
Ground contact length
Left side: 148.8"Right Side: 152.6Left side: 378.0cmRight Side: 387.6cm
M47: Performance
Max level road speed
30mph48kph
Max trench
102"259cm
Max grade
60%
Max vertical obstacle
36"91cm
Min turning diameter
Pivot
Max fording depth
48"120cm
Cruising range
~80mi~130km
The M47 was essentially an M46 fitted with the narrow turret from the T42 tank prototype. The front hull had a sharper slope, however, and the rotoclone blower placed 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. Production issues with the rangefinder led to the first fifty-one tanks being delivered without the unit, and the rangefinder's turret apertures in these machines were blanked off. Early tanks were armed with a 90mm gun featuring a single-baffle muzzle brake, 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 1960s 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 louvres 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 rear road wheel was moved 3.8" (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.
Hunnicutt, R.P. Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank, volume 1. Navato, CA: Presidio Press, 1984.
TM 9-718A 90-mm Gun Tank M47. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 9 January 1952.
Manuscript of TM 9-718A C1. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Ordnance, April 1952.
FM 17-78 Tank, 90-mm Gun, M47. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 15 April 1955.
ORD 9 SNL G-262 List of All Service Parts of Tank, 90-mm Gun, M47. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 23 December 1953.
ORD 9 SNL G-262 List of All Service Parts of Tank, Combat, Full-tracked: 90-mm Gun, M47. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1 April 1957.
TM 9-1730E Hydraulic Turret-traversing and Gun-elevating system for 76-mm. Gun Tank T41E1 and 90-mm. Gun Tank M47. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 3 October 1952.
TM 9-6065 Ordnance Maintenance Ballistic Drives M3 (T23E1), M4 (T23), T23E2 and T24. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 24 November 1954.
TM 9-6067 Ordnance Maintenance Range Finders M12 and T41. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 14 December 1954.
TM 9-6073 Ordnance Maintenance Superelevation Transmitter M22. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1 April 1954.
Crismon, Fred W. U.S. Military Tracked Vehicles. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1992.
Icks, COL (Ret.) Robert J. M47 Patton. Ed. Duncan Crow. Windsor, England: Profile Publications, Ltd., Dec 1972.
Sola, Samuel, Vincent Bobkowski, and Kara Crocker. Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament. Santa Monica, CA: G. O. Noville & Associates, Inc., April 1957.
Miller, David. The Illustrated Directory of Tanks of the World. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Co., 2000.
Decker, Oscar C. "The Patton Tanks: The Cold War Learning Series." Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of U.S. Armored Forces. Eds. George F. Hofmann, Donn A. Starry. USA: University Press of Kentucky, 1999.
Foss, Chris. Modern Tanks. Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.
