M47 Wreck Walk Around Page 1

Any questions, comments, or problems, please email me.

These pictures were taken and shared with the web by Michael Humphries.

My guess is that this might've been a range target at one point (though a "gently used" one, since there aren't a whole lot of bullet pockmarks, mainly visible on the left side of the turret and on the loader's periscope guard).  Since the original driver's station has been replaced with 90mm ammo stowage, this vehicle was likely in German (or possibly Spanish or Italian) service and was later returned to the US.

The tank had been de-milled, with huge cuts in the glacis and turret armor and, of course, the breech.  The outside cuts have been welded up by the owner, when he was planning on restoring the vehicle, but the inside ones are all still visible.  The engine is missing as are all the tank's fenders and the stowage boxes and mufflers mounted on them (the armored part of the exhaust system is present, though the left side is broken.  The muzzle brake is missing (though the owner said that it was there when he purchased it) and the bore evacuator is dented and askew (the ports in the barrel are clearly visible).

The major components of the interior are present, but since two of the hatches are missing (loader and original driver's hatch) and the other two are rusted open, the interior is essentially gutted of small components and the seat pads and similar items are rotted away.

An interesting thing about this tank is that it has both "solid" and "lattice" sprockets.  I've seen photos of M47s in service with one type or the other, but not both on the same vehicle.

- Michael Humphries

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