M48A1 (China)

␗M48A1

␗IS-2 (1944)

Type 59

␗M48A1

␗IS-2 (1944)

Type 59

China

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	7.7	7.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:95 000

Purchase:270 000

Description

The ␗90 mm Gun Tank M48A1 Patton III is a rank V Chinese medium tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Rear (low), Roof)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	85-200 mm (59-74°) Front glacis 63-200 mm (13-60°) Lower glacis	76 mm (8-43°) Front 51 mm (0-43°) Rear	35 mm (26-32°) Top 25 mm (61-62°) Bottom	25.4-57 mm
Turret	127 mm (12-76°) Turret front 152 + 82 mm (17-26°) Gun mantlet	69-100 mm (12-36°)	51-55 mm (2-71°)	25-69 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	70 mm	70 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 38 mm in the front and 25 mm in the rear.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	51	10	44.9	1,255	1,545	27.95	34.41
Realistic	46	9		716	810	15.95	18.04

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm M41					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	60	-9°/+19°	±180°	N/A	22.85	31.62	38.40	42.47	45.18	9.75	8.63	7.95	7.50
Realistic					14.28	16.80	20.40	22.56	24.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M332 shot	APCR	321	316	292	265	240	218
T142E3	HESH	102	102	102	102	102	102
M82 shot	APCBC	185	182	170	155	142	130
M431 shell	HEATFS	320	320	320	320	320	320
M71 shell	HE	13	13	13	13	13	13

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M332 shot	APCR	1,249	5.70	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
T142E3	HESH	792	10.60	0.4	0.1	3,050	73°	77°	80°
M82 shot	APCBC	853	10.94	1.2	14.0	137.2	48°	63°	71°
M431 shell	HEATFS	1,216	5.80	N/A	0.1	712.6	65°	72°	77°
M71 shell	HE	823	10.55	0.1	0.5	925	79°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
M313	821	10.7	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M48A1 (China)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
60	54 (+6)	38 (+22)	30 (+30)	12 (+48)	1 (+59)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm M85
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	900 (200)	626	-15°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm M73
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	5,950 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The M48A1 plays as a general medium tank, acting as a jack-of-all-trades in all of the tank's traits with average armour, firepower, and mobility.

The M48A1 front hull glacis and turret are the strong points of the tank and have the best chance on the tank to bounce off rounds. However, its lower glacis and side armour remain a significant weak point for the tank, so take extra caution when exposing those weak points.

One of the best ways to use this tank when a player does not have access to its HEATFS round is to refrain from using it as a brawler. This is because most of the shells that this tank has in its arsenal, do not have the ample firepower to eliminate most of the targets it faces at its BR. However, since the tank is incredibly mobile, it can be used as an excellent flanker. It can out-manoeuvre most of its medium tank rivals and expose their side armours.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	M82 shot
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	T142E3
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	M431 shell	NVD
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	M313	Rangefinder

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent frontal armour
• M82 APCBC shells are less effective at its rank but will still do the job if used wisely
• Good penetration for the HEAT rounds
• Good mobility overall
• .50 calibre machine gun is good for use against lightly-armoured vehicles and aircraft

Cons:

• Armour can still be penetrated by the majority of the guns at this rank
• Stock APCR round is painful to use
• Slow turret traverse

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Images

• 

  Retired ROCA M48A3 at Keelung.
• 

  Retired ROCA M48A3 at Keelung.
• 

  Retired ROCA M48A3 at Keelung.

Videos

The Patton Family discusses the M48A1 (China) at 7:59 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.

China medium tanks
ZTZ59	Type 59 · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1
ZTZ69	Type 69 · Type 69-IIa
ZTZ88/96	ZTZ88A · ZTZ88B
	ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P)
ZTZ99	ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III
ZTZ99A	ZTZ99A · WZ1001(E) LCT
Export series	MBT-2000 · VT4A1
ROC	CM11
Other	Т-34-85 Gai · Object 122MT "MC"
Bangladesh	T-69 II G
Japan	␗Chi-Ha · ␗Chi-Ha Kai
Pakistan	Al-Khalid-I
USA	␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ␗M48A1 · ␗M60A3 TTS
USSR	␗T-34 (1943) · ␗Т-34-85 (S-53) · T-34-85 No.215 · Т-62 №545