Räumpanzer M48A2 C - I'm Keeping My Gun

[DMYEugen 688]

TL;DR: A German M48A2 C fitted with an M8 dozer blade.

 

History:

The M48 Patton was a widely exported early American MBT, with over 6000 examples seeing service in foreign militaries. West Germany, in need of tanks, received a large number of M48s in the mid 1950s with many of them being M48A2s. Packaged with these tanks were M8 Dozer kits that allowed the M48s to assume engineering roles. The Bundeswehr did not initially mount these kits onto their M48s, at least, not in large numbers, however, with the arrival of the Leopard 2, this changed. The many M48s in the German arsenal now didn't have much use and 52 M48A2s were retired into Homeland Security brigades and engineering units. These 52 units received the M8 Dozer kit and had all of their weapons removed as they now weren't necessary. These vehicles were called Pionierpanzer M48A2 and served until the 1990s. That being said, at least one M48A2 C equipped with an M8 Dozer kit was shown to the public with its weapons maintained. In front of this vehicle was a sign with the text "Räumpanzer" or "Clear(ing) Tank".

 

Place In War Thunder:

Germany doesn't have too much when it comes to armed dozer tanks as many of their engineering vehicles were purpose built, meaning that they were specifically designed to fit the engineering role and nothing else. The Americans, on the other hand, while they did also service purpose built engineering vehicles, had special kits that would turn their MBTs into engineering vehicles. This means that Germany has less to offer when it comes up major update Ground Breaking's new mechanics. The Räumpanzer M48A2 C would allow German players to readily experience the aforementioned mechanics.

 

This vehicle could be added in one of two ways:

1. As a modification. Currently, all vehicles with dozers have them as modifications. The Räumpanzer M48A2 C could be a modification for the in-game M48A2 C.

2. As a separate vehicle. As far as we know, the Räumpanzer M48A2 C is the only one of its kind as all other pictures of a German, dozer-equipped M48A2 C feature removed weapons. This means that this specific vehicle is unique.

 

Specifications:

Armament: M41 90mm cannon, 1x 12.7mm, and 1x 7.62mm

 

Dimensions: 9.30m, 3.65m, 3.10m (L,W,H)

 

Armor: Same as M48A2 C in-game with the exception of the dozer blade.

 

Crew: 4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)

 

Ammunition: Same as M48A2 C in-game

 

Speed: 48kph (Might be slower due to the dozer)

 

Pictures:

Spoiler

Page from The M 48 Main Battle Tank in German Army Service:

 

Sources:

Spoiler

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M48_Patton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._military_vehicles_by_model_number#Tankdozer_kits

http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product481.html

http://www.panzerbaer.de/types/bw_pipz_1_m48a2-a.htm

The M 48 Main Battle Tank in German Army Service by Verlag Jochen Vollert

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by DMYEugen

[leroyonly 4,311]

Open for discussion. 

[DMYEugen 688]

3 hours ago, leroyonly said:

Open for discussion. 

Thanks!

[eleks12 1,079]

+1 

[Milocat 4,857]

+1 from me for sure, I'd suggest it as a new vehicle.  Would be perfect with the incoming update.

[Insanerobert 307]

I did a mistake while voting - I did not see that "Modification." option was the 1st choice. I would gladly accept it as a modification for the M48 C variant in-game though.