The M48 Patton is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed in the United States. It was the third tank to be officially named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank. The M48 Patton was in U.S. service until replaced by the M60 and served as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps's primary battle tank in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially other NATO countries.

The M48 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M47 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although largely resembling the M47, the M48 was a completely new design. It was the last U.S. tank to mount the 90 mm tank gun, with the last model, the M48A5, being upgraded to carry the new standard weapon of the M60, the 105mm gun. Some M48A5 models served well into the 1980s with American forces, and many M48s remain in service in other countries. The Turkish Army has the largest number of modernized M48 MBTs, with more than 1,400 in its inventory. Of these, around 1,000 have been phased out or are in storage, or have been modified to ARVs.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a Israeli M48A2 Patton Medium Tank that was attached to the 7th Armored Brigade, then deployed to the Sinai during 1967. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 2-3/4-inches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: June 2014

Historical Account: "Battle of Abu-Ageila" - The 1967 Battle of Abu-Ageila was a military confrontation between the Israeli and Egyptian military that was part of the Six-Day War of June 1967. The Egyptian defeat here was an important factor in the loss of the entire Sinai Peninsula to Israeli forces in the following days of the Six-Day War.

The Israeli attack at Abu-Ageila was part of the Israeli offensive into the Sinai Desert. This attack was led by the Southern Command, consisting of three divisions under major generals Israel Tal, Avraham Yoffe, and Ariel Sharon. As part of the Israeli plan of Southern Command, Sharon was ordered to capture the road junction at Abu-Ageila in order to gain access to the central route into the Sinai Desert. The Egyptians had taken considerable preparations to prevent a breach there. Egyptian defences had focused on the Um-Katef (or Umm-Qatef) plateau to the east of Abu-Ageila, roughly 25 kilometers from the Israeli border. The defences were an important part of the overall defence plan, called Qahir, in the preparations for the expected war, later known as the Six-Day War.