The new life of an old M-48 Patton main battle tank of the Spanish Army in Australia

In 1952, the American company Chrysler Corporation began production of a new battle tank for the US Army.

The old Spanish battle tank that will be exhibited in a museum in Australia
Crisex 83, un enorme ejercicio militar con EEUU contra una posible invasión de España

The M-48 Patton, nicknamed after the famous American general George Patton, entered service with the US Army in 1953, replacing the M-47 Patton on which it was based. The M-48 was initially fitted with a 90 mm cannon, making it the last tank to be fitted with a weapon of this calibre.

The M-48 arrived in Spain in 1965, in a batch of 54 units, when its successor (the M-60 Patton) had already been in service with the US Army for five years. Spain received a total of 181 M-48s: 164 for the Army and 17 for the Marine Corps, the latter received in 1966. The first Spanish unit to operate the M-48 was the 61st Armored Infantry Regiment "Alcázar de Toledo", based in El Goloso (Madrid) and currently part of the 12th "Guadarrama" Brigade.

Many of the Army's M-48s were upgraded to the M-48A5E2 version (and in the 1980s to the M-48A5E3 version), being equipped with 105 mm guns, while those of the Marine Corps were upgraded to the M-48A3E version in 1976, retaining their 90 mm guns. As in the US, in Spain the M-48 replaced the M-47, and was in turn replaced by the M-60 in 1993.

Some M-48s are still preserved in Spain. Two of them (one with a 90 mm cannon and the other with a 105 mm cannon) can be seen in Madrid, at the Museo de Unidades Acorazadas de El Goloso. Now, in addition, one of the former M-48s of the Spanish Army can be seen on the other side of the world.

In March, I told you here about the restoration process of an old M-48A5E2 battle tank in Spain for the Australian Ordnance and Artillery Museum, based in Cairns, Queensland, a city of about 160,000 inhabitants in the northeast of that country.

On June 7, the museum posted these three photos of the arrival of the Spanish M-48 in Australia.

As I told you in March, this M-48 has been fitted with wheels from an M-60, perhaps due to a lack of original spare wheels. The name displayed on the barge is "Babieca" (the famous horse of El Cid) and the number 110. In addition, on the front of the barge, the M-48 has the emblem of the Cavalry Regiment "Montesa" No. 3 painted, a unit based in Ceuta.

On August 9, the Australian museum published this photo of the Spanish M-48 in its hangars. We can see the Spanish flag painted on its right front side, and the shield with the Cross of the Order of Montesa and the lances of the Cavalry Weapon.

On August 14, the museum published this new photo of its Spanish M-48, this time taken outside and with a novelty: the tank has the protective cover that the Spanish M-48s used on the gun shield.

Here we see another photo published on August 30, in which we can also see the smoke grenade launchers (four on each side of the turret). It should be noted that this tank is not only on display, but is operational and is used for demonstrations.

It is a pleasure to see that this old Spanish tank is appreciated in Australia. I wish the employees and visitors of this museum a very good time with it.

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Photos: The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum.