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The Patton Tank Paradox
Posted
October 10, 2025
Views
491,669
Likes
23,546
Comments
827
Engagement
4.96%
October 10, 2025
491,669
23,546
827
4.96%
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17:10Now PlayingM46, M47, M48 and M60. They saw action in Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf and held the line in the Cold War. For almost 40 years the US produced a succession of good tanks - but they never seemed to be good enough for the top brass.
Time after time, designers sought a perfection that seemed to lay out of reach until the arrival of the step-changing M1 Abrams.
Up till then, you have what can be called “The Patton” family: a series of closely related tanks that are only intended to be temporary until the next big thing arrived...
This is the story of the “Patton” family of tanks; tanks that the US tried and failed to replace time after time, yet which despite this ended up becoming the armoured backbone of the Free World during the Cold War.
If you're seeing this, why not let us know which of the Patton family is your favourite. Or, if you loved the video, give us a like!
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This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.
This video features archive material courtesy of the US Army Armor and Cavalry Collection.
Marine Corps History Division footage courtesy of the University of South Carolina's United State Marine Corps Film Repository. To learn more about this project visit
This video features:
M46 Model by KojfDiscord
M47 Model by GM3DScan
M48 Model by Muhamad Mirza Arrafi
M60 Model by xlisov
M1 Abrams Model by Artem Goyko
Warehouse Model by Hephaestus Studio
In this film, Tank Museum Historian, James Donaldson, walks us through the progression of US tanks from the M26 Pershing right up to the M1 Abrams. Commonly known as The Patton Family, this group of tanks were good… but never quite good enough. Always meant to be a stopgap, the Pattons persisted where their prospective replacements failed, leading them to become the vehicles that endured the Cold War around the globe.
Want to learn more about the Patton Family of tanks? Here are some of the sources we used to make this film:
‘Abrams. A History of the American Main Battle Tank, Volume 2.’ Richard Hunnicutt. 1990
‘Elvis - Word for Word.’ Jerry Osborne. 2000
‘History of the Shillelagh Missile System 1958-1982.’ Elizabeth J, DeLong, James C. Barnhart, Mary T. Cagle. 1984
‘M26/M46 Pershing Tank 1943-53’ Osprey New Vanguard 35. Steven J. Zaloga. 2000
‘M47 and M48 Patton Tanks’ Osprey New Vanguard 31. Steven J. Zaloga. 1999
‘M551 Sheridan: US Airmobile Tanks 1941-2001’ Osprey New Vanguard 153. Steven J. Zaloga. 2011
‘M60 Main Battle Tank 1960-1991’ Osprey New Vanguard 85. Richard Laythrop and John McDonald. 2003
‘Patton. A History of the American Main Battle Tank, Volume 1.’ Richard Hunnicutt. 1984
‘US Battle Tanks 1946-2025.’ Steven J Zaloga. 2025
E2015.4864 ‘Comparative Fuel Economy Test on T42 and M4A3 Tanks.’ US Department of the Army. 6th July 1953
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