A rather extensive book collection can be very helpful when dealing with Cold War American tanks. The book Patton by Hunnicutt is an excellent example. I was reading about the M47 tank and discovered some interesting information. There were plans to upgrade the tank with a cupola similar to that used on the M48 tank. There was also a plan to use the M48 gun in the M47 tank turret. And finally, the M60 105mm gun in the M47 turret.
My collection has over 100 M47 tanks, and so I have been looking for ways to use them. The Spanish Army in 1964 rented dozens of M47 tanks to masquerade as World War Two Tiger tanks. So certainly it seemed right to make this famous version of this old war horse. The two tanks are similar in over all size and shape, but the Tiger II is longer, and heavier.
The changes are alterations to the main gun, cutting off the bustle on the turret, and of course German paint and markings. In the movie the tanks were Panzer Gray but in real life I have found no evidence that Tiger II tanks were ever painted gray.
To make this version I retrieved an M48 cupola from a tired old M48 and after cutting a suitable hole in the roof, I added the cupola to the M47. This modification was planned but as far as I know never applied. I think it looks very nice there.
This upgrade to the same 90mm gun used on the M48 tank was planned, but like the cupola never carried out on US Army vehicles. The M47 had a very short service life with the US Army, being replaced rather quickly by the M48 and then soon after the M60 entered service. The M47s were sent to allied nations where many did get upgrades.
This upgrade is the 105mm gun from the M60 series tanks. This was done to large numbers of M47 tanks in foreign service. Often they upgraded the engine also but not always. A couple quick cuts and the barrel is swapped out.
I have made four new versions of the M47 each one was either done in real life or was planned but never implemented for US Army service. Interesting note, the M47 on the far left I got as a used model about 20 years ago. The original owner had painted on the US stars. It was so cool I masked them off and kept them in place when I repainted the rest of the vehicle.
Keep your M48 and M60 tanks that donated parts for your upgraded M47 fleet. There is a use for them too!
Thanks for reading.
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Mike Bunkermeister Creek