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- blackdog

We have an M48 at the Mechanized Museum, it was saved from going to a range on 29 Palms. Don't know what the exact model is, though.

www.themech.org/img/ro.../v_m48.png

I lived in San Diego over a decade and even serviced the Naval Hospital clinical laboratories at Balboa and Pendleton for a few years in the '90's but to my regret, never visited the MCMechMuseum.

M48A3 Mod B in the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Brian

You guys really do have some cool stuff. Nice website.

You're missing at least one vehicle, don't give up...... Keep up the good work

Regards
Don

The r/n on the HCM-city M48, is this an original American or South Vietnamese r/n? I was there in feb 2005 and then it had no r/n painted on it.

Regards,
Lesley

Thanks for all of the nice comments, we keep plugging away slowly but surely. Not sure where the M48 is on the time line yet but we may look at getting it cleaned out and at least painted this summer. Going to have to find an idler wheel, and possibly fabricate the middle fender, though - the whole thing is pretty well torn up.

As for the one vehicle we're missing... we're still working on getting it. And a railroad caboose. And several railroad flatcars. And rocket racks for an International M-2-4 Rocket Truck. And...

I have some images that seem to show that USMC A2s upgraded to A3 standard retained the three top roller layout - Anyone verify that?

- blackdog

Thanks for all of the nice comments, we keep plugging away slowly but surely. Not sure where the M48 is on the time line yet but we may look at getting it cleaned out and at least painted this summer. Going to have to find an idler wheel, and possibly fabricate the middle fender, though - the whole thing is pretty well torn up.

You need to find a contact at Fort Benning!

Don't forget to add one of the wildly unpopular Universal Jettison Fuel Kits to it when you restore it. - I suggest using propane to simulate it in its natural state of being on fire



Actually don't bother restoring it - just add the kit and spray a bit of soot around

There's a 48 in the collection in Hue as well, but I didn't take any closeups of it. I imagine some can be found on the internet. Mine just shows it in the line up with the M88 in the foreground.

Virtually all M-48's operated by the ARVN units were transferred from U.S. Army units standing down in VN and had already been in service there.

USMC A2s upgraded to A3 standard retained the three top roller layout - Anyone verify that?

Jim,
I have heard of that somewhere before, but every time I'm shown a picture of a supposed A3 in Vietnam it turns out to be one of the few M48A2's that were there. From what I'm tracking, All production M48A3's were made from A1's, being the A2's were still considered needed. Work done at Red River and Anniston Army Depots, then the last batch at BMY (Total apx. 1600, I have conflicting numbers). Now the 6 pilots for the modernization program had the second and fourth support rollers removed. Separate note, the original program had them with 105mm guns. Later they decided to keep the 90mm since 105 ammunition was still hard to supply at the time (early 60's). Two of the pilots had 90mm guns installed and were used to finalize the M48A3. One of these six M48A1E1 or E2 hulls is in Armada Michigan and has the 152mm "D" turret installed. As was mentioned before, a lot A3's stayed in Vietnam. Also about 500 were converted to A5's in the mid 70's. Many others made into AVLB's. Now I have seen M48A3 type hulls used in AVLB's that had only 3 support rollers. That's because they were originally M48A2 AVLB's converted over, and that happened in the 70's after the USMC switched to M60A1's. A5 production was done exclusively at Anniston, and besides using the A3's they again converted many A1's (total A5's between 2000 and 2080, I have conflicting numbers again). I have yet to hear of any A2's being converted to either A3 or A5 Tanks in the U.S.

Mind you, this info only applies to US M48's. Many other nations converted their tanks and what may appear to be an A3 or A5 with 3 support rollers was originally an A2 supplied by the US. Another point to consider, just over 2300 M48A2's were produced, with over half being upgraded to A2C around the same time the A3 program was conceived. I just don't think enough A2's were available to convert to A3 between the A2C program and foreign aid shipments to justify another conversion kit and line at the time. I would really love to see a picture of a unit using an A3 with 3 support rollers though. Might explain what happened to some of the Pilot hulls.

Amended because of obvious confusion

with regard to previous message..



And as a separate question - Marine Corps M67s appear to have had three top rollers as well?

That is clearly a M48A2 used by the Army, 2/77AR 5(MECH)DIV. They were the only Army unit to use them in Vietnam.

I have some images that seem to show that USMC A2s upgraded to A3 standard retained the three top roller layout - Anyone verify that?

The Marines didn't use the A2. They used A1s and A3s. The original M67 was based on the A1. The M67A1 was based on the A2 and only used by the Army for a brief time. The M67A2 was a Marine M67 upgraded to A3 standards. If you have pics of M67s with 3 return rollers( which the above pic is not one) they are M67A1s used by the Army.

Looks like someone is trying to snooker you Jim,

M67's did not come with a searchlight or even the mounting hardware on the mantel or rear stowage brackets that I know of. That image looks doctored around the gun. Another give away is the 67A1's and A2's used a daylight only gunner's sight that externally looked very similar to the cupola periscope.

M67A1 Fort Leonard Wood MO

If IIRC there was one M67A2 with 3 support rollers, it was made by Chrysler using an M48A2 hull. I think it was a proposal to convert the Army's M67A1's that went no where.

Looks like someone is trying to snooker you Jim

No snookering - just trying to establish the identity of vehicles in untitled photographs...

- Joe_D

If IIRC there was one M67A2 with 3 support rollers, it was made by Chrysler using an M48A2 hull. I think it was a proposal to convert the Army's M67A1's that went no where.

Practically the same configuration as the one at Fort Leonard Wood except????

M48 at the back of the number 7 army museum, 247 DL Hoang Van Thu, Ward 1, Tan Binh district, HCM City.

Is this also a A3?