The M46 Patton Tank

The M46 Patton was an American medium tank developed in the late 1940s as an improvement over the M26 Pershing, addressing its mobility and reliability issues. Introduced in 1949, it featured a more powerful 810-horsepower engine, an improved torsion bar suspension, and a 90mm M3A1 gun, making it more effective against Soviet armor. The M46 saw its primary combat use in the Korean War (1950-1953), where it outperformed older M4 Shermans and engaged North Korean T-34/85 tanks with success. Though it was an important transitional design, it was soon replaced by the M47 and M48 Patton tanks, marking a step in the evolution of U.S. armored forces during the Cold War.