About the M48 Patton MBT:

The M48 Patton was a main battle tank designed and produced in the United States in 1952. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank, and served in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as the primary battle tank in South Vietnam. The M48 Patton was the last U.S. tank to mount the 90mm gun with future tanks upgrading to the 105mm gun. It was in service from 1953-1990s in the United States. The Turkish Army currently has the largest number of modernized M48 MBTs with more than 1,400 in its inventory.

The M48 saw extensive action during the Vietnam War with over 600 being deployed. Initial M48s landed with the US Marine 1^st and 3^rd tank Battalions in 1965. It performed admirably in Vietnam in the infantry-support role, but there were few actual tank versus tank battles. They were later used to sweep for mines in what was called the “Thunder Run” – essentially quickly moving through the land in an attempt to find any possible mines before American troops pushed forward each morning. Mines that struck the M48 rarely totaled the tank. The worst damage would usually be a lost wheel or two.

Specifications:

• Weight: 45 tons (combat ready)
• Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
• Armor: upper glacis – 110mm at 60 degrees = 220mm for line of sight; turret front – 178 mm at 0 degrees
• Main armament: 90mm T54; M48A3 90 mm gun M41; M48A5 and later variants: 105mm M68 gun
• Secondary armament: .50 cal M2 Browning machine gun + .30 cal M73 machine gun
• Engine: Continental AVSI-1790-6 V12 air-cooled twin-turbo gasoline engine
• Power: 16.6hp
• Transmission: General Motors CD-850-4A or -4B, 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse
• Operational range: M47 and M48A1 – 113 km
• Speed: M48A5: 30mph (48 km/h)
• Number produced: 12,000 (M48)

Additional information about this Brickmania custom building kit:

The M48 Patton MBT comes with the following features:

• Includes working suspension
• Printed Exhaust Tiles
• Mechanical turret function
• Rotating command turret with BrickArms .50 cal
• Tank Commander minifigure included
• 1/35 scale to match other Brickmania models.
• Designed by Cody Osell
• Includes 927 genuine new-condition LEGO® bricks and BrickArms® elements
• Advanced Skill Level (6-8 years experience with LEGO is recommended)

All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks. This model comes disassembled and includes complete printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. This is a limited edition kit and production may be discontinued at any time.

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