Don't mess with American armor in the 60's

The Second World War solidified the position of tanks as a vital tool in the modern military arsenal. And so, over the course the Cold War, the United States fielded a wide range of tanks.

M24 Chaffee

Commissioned to replace the M3/M5 Stuart, the M24 was created in 1943 to counter increasingly heavy German tanks. It was named the Chaffee after General Adna R. Chaffee, a pioneer of US armored warfare who had died in 1941, just missing the conflict in which his field would reach maturity.

M26 Pershing

Another product of WWII, the Pershing was a heavy tank designed to take on the very best German technology. Its thick armor and 90mm gun made it a worthy opponent for the Panzer forces with their famous 88mm guns, but political disputes within the military kept it from reaching the front until the final months of the war.

M41 Walker Bulldog

During the Second World War, tanks had been designed without a specific engine in mind. The vehicle was created and a suitable engine then found. Without the pressure of the war, designers had time to take a different approach, designing tanks around specific engines. The M41 was one of the first.

M47 Patton

The post-war period was one of serious change for American tanks. The Army sought to develop a completely new range of vehicles using new technology and lessons learned from the war.

M48 Patton

The M47 was only ever intended as a stopgap measure. While it was rushing to Korea, work was already underway on its replacement – the M48.

M60 Patton

Produced from 1959, the M60 combined the core elements of the M48 with an improved engine and an American version of the British 105mm L7 tank gun.

M103

Of the various tanks rushed into production for the Korean War, the M103 was one of the less successful. Intended as a heavy tank, its body was essentially an enlarged M46 and it carried a 120mm gun derived from an anti-aircraft weapon.

M551 Sheridan

Designed to combine the roles of light tank and self-propelled anti-tank weapon, the M551 was a significant new creation. Its 152mm gun could launch anti-tank missiles as well as fire conventional ammunition, and it had an infra-red command link to control the missiles. With its aluminum hull, it was a light, hard-hitting vehicle.

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