Credit
Huhu · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified
FORCETALLY
Loading the evidence…
Preparing your view.
Preparing your view.
At a glance
M48 Pattonlarger figure on 1 of 2
T-80larger figure on 1 of 2
Counts only measures both sources give with the same scope. A larger figure is not a better system.
Measured figures
Length
Single source9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)[source]
Length
Single sourceConfiguration
| Specification | M48 Patton | T-80 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Medium tank[source] | Main battle tank[source] |
| Place of origin | United States[source] | Soviet Union[source] |
| In service | 1952–present United States Army (historical) 1952–1987 United States Marine Corps (historical) 1954–1973[source] | 1976–present[source] |
| Used by | See Operators[source] | See Operators[source] |
Gun forward T-80B
Single sourceT-80U
Single sourceT-80U Hull T-80B
Single sourceGun forward: 9.9 m (32 ft 6 in) T-80B, 9.654 m (31 ft 8.1 in) T-80U Hull: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) T-80B, 7 m (23 ft 0 in) T-80U[source]
Operational; M48
Single sourceOperational; M48A1 with external fuel drums
Single sourceOperational; M48A2
Single sourceOperational; M48A3
Single sourceOperational; M48A5
Single sourceM48 113 km (70 mi) M48A1 217 km (135 mi) with external fuel drums M48A2 177.8 km (110.5 mi) M48A3 463 km (288 mi) M48A5 499 km (310 mi)[source]
Operational; road, with external tanks
Single sourceOperational; road, without external tanks
Single sourceEngine
Single sourceM48A3–M48A5 Continental AVDS-1790 V12, air-cooled, twin-turbo , diesel engine
Single sourceM48/M48A1 Continental AV1790 V12 , air-cooled , gasoline engine M48A2 Continental AV1790 fuel-injected , V12, gasoline engine
Single sourceM48/M48A1 Continental AV1790 V12 , air-cooled , gasoline engine 810 hp (600 kW) M48A2 Continental AV1790 fuel-injected , V12, gasoline engine 825 hp (615 kW) M48A3–M48A5 Continental AVDS-1790 V12, air-cooled, twin-turbo , diesel engine 750 hp (560 kW)[source]
SG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD T-80B
Single sourceT‑80U
Single sourceBars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.
| Wars | Cold War 1958 Lebanon crisis Portuguese Colonial War Vietnam War Dominican Civil War Cambodian Civil War Six-Day War Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Yom Kippur War Turkish invasion of Cyprus Western Sahara War Lebanese Civil War Sino-Vietnamese War Iran–Iraq War Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Kurdish–Turkish conflict 2007 Lebanon conflict 2025 Cambodia‒Thailand conflict[source] | August Coup 1993 Russian constitutional crisis First Chechen War Yemeni Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) Wagner Group rebellion[source] |
|---|
| Designer | Chrysler Defense Engineering[source] | Nikolay Popov , LKZ (T-80) KMDB (T-80UD)[source] |
|---|
| Designed | 1950[source] | 1967–1975[source] |
|---|
| Manufacturer | Chrysler , Fisher Body , Ford Motor Company , American Locomotive Company[source] | LKZ and Omsk Transmash , Russia Malyshev Factory , Ukraine[source] |
|---|
| Developed from | M47 Patton[source] | — |
|---|
| Developed into | M60 tank[source] | — |
|---|
| Unit cost | M48A3 US$309,090 (equivalent to $3,330,118 in 2025) (1981 )[source] | US$3 million[source] |
|---|
| Produced | M48/M48A1 1952–1956 M48A2 1955–1957 M48A3 1957–1961[source] | 1975–2001 (T-80) 1987–present (T-80UD)[source] |
|---|
| No. built | 12,000 (all variants)[source] | 5,500+[source] |
|---|
| Variants | See Variants[source] | Engineering & recovery, mobile bridge, mine-plough with KMT-6 plough-type system and KMT-7 roller-type system.[source] |
|---|
| Armor | Upper glacis 110 mm (4.3 in) at 60° 220 mm (8.7 in) LoS Turret front 178 mm (7.0 in) at 0°[source] | — |
|---|
| Main armament | M48–M48A3 90mm M41/T139 gun M48A5 105 mm M68/T254E2 gun[source] | Smoothbore 125 mm 2A46-2 gun , 36 rounds and 4 9M112 Kobra ATGMs (T-80B) 2A46M-1 with 45 rounds and 6 9M119 Refleks ATGMs (T-80U)[source] |
|---|
| Secondary armament | M48 .50 cal (12.7 mm) on M1 mount M48A1/A2/A3/A5 .50 cal (12.7 mm) in M1 commander's cupola M48/A1/A2/A3 M37/T153 machine gun M48A5 M219 (7.62mm NATO)[source] | 7.62 mm PKT coax MG , 12.7 mm NSVT or DShK or PKT antiaircraft MG[source] |
|---|
| Power/weight | 16.6 hp (12.4 kW)/ tonne[source] | 23.5 hp (17.6 kW) / tonne T-80B 27.2 hp (20.3 kW) / tonne T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Transmission | Allison CD-850-4A or CD-850-4B Two forward ranges One reverse[source] | Manual, 5 forward gears, 1 reverse T-80B, 4 forward, 1 reverse T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Suspension | Torsion bar suspension[source] | Torsion bar[source] |
|---|
| Ground clearance | 16 in (0.41 m)[source] | 0.38 m (1.2 ft) T-80B, 0.446 m (1.46 ft) T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Fuel capacity | M48 200 US gal (760 L ) M48A1 200 US gal internal 420 US gal (1,600 L )(with external fuel drums) M48A2 335 US gal (1,270 L ) M48A3/A5 300 US gal (1,100 L )[source] | 1,100 litres (240 imp gal) (internal) 740 litres (160 imp gal) (external)[source] |
|---|
| Armour | — | T-80B – Hull 440–450 mm vs APFSDS 500–575 mm vs HEAT , Turret 500 mm vs APFSDS 650 mm vs HEAT T-80U – Hull & turret with Kontakt-5 780 mm vs APFSDS 1,320 mm vs HEAT[source] |
|---|
| Reported operators |
|
|
|---|
335 km (208 mi) (road, without external tanks) 415 km (258 mi) (road, with external tanks)[source]
SG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD 1,000 hp T-80B, 1,250 hp T‑80U[source]