Thread by @ArmorCollection

#TankTuesday: The M46 Patton Medium Tank.

The M26 Pershing was rushed to Europe to fight German tanks at the end of World War II. With greater armor and firepower, the Pershing was a substantial improvement over the M4 Sherman.
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However, the 46-ton Pershing used the Ford GAF 500 horsepower V8 engine, a slightly modified version of the standard 35-ton Sherman’s GAA engine with similar horsepower. This meant that the heavier Pershing suffered mobility issues due to its power to weight ratio.
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In 1948, work began on a Pershing variant with a Continental AV-1790 V12 engine which gave 810 horsepower. This was designated as the M46 Patton and began arriving to U.S. Army tank battalions shortly before the Korean War began.
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The M46s combination of firepower, protection, and mobility allowed it to eventually replace both the M26 Pershing and the M4A3 Sherman in the mountainous combat of Korea.
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Though the M26A1 Pershing and M46 Patton look similar from the front, the change of power plant required a different layout in the exhaust system. The M46 is identifiable by its fender mounted mufflers and exhaust, whereas the M26 featured a central exhaust on the back hull.
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