Weight: 50.1-tons (46,170-kg)

Length: 27' 11” (8.51-m)

Width: 11' 6” (3.51-m)

Height: 9' 11” (3.02-m)

Crew: 5

Armor:

Hull Front: 4” (101-mm)

Hull Sides: 3” (76-mm)

Turret front: 4” (101-mm)

Turret Sides: 2.5” (63-mm)

Weapons:

-Primary

1x 90-mm M36 rif ed cannon

-Secondary

1x .50” M2HB machine gun

2x .30” M1919A4E1 machine guns

-Ammunition

71 x 90-mm

440 x .50”

4,12 x .30”

Engine: 29.4-liter V-12 petrol, 810-hp

Power/weight: 16.2-hp/ton

Fuel Capacity: 231-USG (875-l)

Range: 80-miles (130-km)

Speed: 30-mph (48-km/h)

In 1949, the decision was made to begin development of three tanks: T41 Light, T42 Medium, and T43 Heavy. However, when the Korean War broke out, the T42 was not ready for production, so they put the turret onto the familiar M46 hull to create M46E1, accepted for limited service as M46A1. Some tweaks later, to include an improved version of the T119 90mm gun called M36, variant entered production in Detroit as M47. Despite the rush, M47 never did see combat in Korea and it was superseded on the production line by M48. This vehicle has no engine or transmission.

Despite the rush, M47 never did see combat in Korea, and as an interim design, it was superseded on the production line by M48. The 867th and last M47 rolled of the line in November 1953, some 3,440 of which were built by the Detroit Tank Plant, and the remainder by American Locomotive Company.

The M48 being a substantially better tank, M47 didn’t have much of a role in the US Army, so most of the M47’s soon found their way overseas as military aid. One of them ended up with a rather young (and less bulky) Private Schwarzenegger at the controls. The Governator bought his actual tank from the Austrian Army and imported it into the US. By 1959, the last M47 tank was removed from the US inventory, a Marine Corps tank.

Only 11 of the main gun rounds were readily available in the turret, the remainder were scattered throughout the tank. Some nations dispensed with the bow machine gun and gunner/radioman, thus increasing overall ammunition capacity to 105, much as the British did with Sherman Firefly. Other improvements followed, to include infrared searchlights, and M47 remained in service in a number of NATO countries through the 1980s, suitably upgraded. Today, the last user of the gun tank is Somaliland, though some other nations do use conversions based on the hull for specialist vehicles and a few gun tanks are used as static fortif cations in the former Yugoslavia.

M47’s main claim to fame turned out to be in the movies. Many times an M47 would suffer the indignity of being panted Panzergrau with Balkenkreuz in order to be gloriously blown up while pretending to be a German WWII tank. “Battle of the Bulge” is a particularly prominent example of this.

Please note, this lot is a registered Destructive Device. Bidders for this lot must meet certain qualifications; please review the BATFE guidelines posted at Aucitonsamerica.com/littlefieldDD.

Transport Cost to Storage: $5,280