M48 Patton

The M48 Patton is an American medium tank produced between 1952 and 1959 and in service with the United States military from 1953 to 1990. The M48 was designed to replace the M47 Patton and M4 Sherman tanks. It was used extensively by American and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War. The earlier variants used a 90mm gun as its main cannon and an M2 Browning as a co-axial machine gun. The M48A3 variant could include a large xenon searchlight above the barrel, which aided significantly in battles during the night. Certain M48s were also modified into M67 "Zippo" tanks, which was basically a normal M48A2 or -A3 armed with a flamethrower.

Battlefield Vietnam
In Battlefield Vietnam, the Patton is the US Army's, USMC's and ARVN's standard main battle tank. It boasts a very powerful main cannon with 30 rounds to fire and a co-axial machine gun with 400 rounds in reserve. Another player can take control of the mounted machine gun to spot enemies and aid in anti-infantry offensives. The machine gun has 500 rounds in reserve.

The main cannon can be devastating in battle, as it features very high damage and a large blast radius. Infantry and light vehicles are easily eliminated by the main cannon, however, against other tanks, it can take up to 4 rounds to fully destroy a main battle tank, or 3 for light tanks like the PT-76. Naturally, a good tactic is to get the element of surprise and attack the sides and rear of enemy tanks. The driver's co-axial machine gun is also very effective against infantry, as with high damage, small cross hairs and no recoil can kill infantry at a variety of ranges. It is recommended to not overshoot, as enemy infantry can also easily avoid the Patton by entering a building, and reloading the main cannon and overheating the co-axial machine gun can give an opportunity to escape. Compared to light tanks, the Patton is slower, bigger, more resistant and generally more powerful, while having a longer reload for the main cannon. It can be considered an equivalent of the NVA and Viet Cong T-54.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam
In Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam, the M48 is the United States Army's main battle tank. It is the equivalent of the M1A2 Abrams and the T-90 from the base game, and is the American counterpart to the NVA T-54. It has two positions: a driver who drives the vehicle and controls its main cannon, and a gunner who controls the top mounted heavy machine gun. It features an unusable xenon searchlight above its barrel.

The M48 fulfills the role of carrying out heavy firepower without sacrificing armor. Its powerful main cannon has a large damage output with decent splash damage, capable of inflicting massive damage on large and immobile targets. It can easily punch holes through buildings and other cover, and is capable of destroying light vehicles with ease, and a skilled player can also destroy opposing main battle tanks in as little as three shots. It can also fire at very long ranges, and can be used to bombard objectives or choke points from far away, made even more effective with the application of the Improved Warheads Package or the High Power Optics Package. However, the main cannon is relatively less effective against infantry, as they're small and maneuverable, and the warhead has a small one-hit kill blast radius. Additionally, the main cannon's reload time is quite long, and an enemy can run away by the time a player has the chance to fire a second shot. The M48 is relatively difficult to maneuver, especially in tight areas. As such, the tank is not a vehicle to use close to infantry, especially in areas filled with buildings, as these make it easy for the M48 to be ambushed. To counter this, players can equip the Alternate Weapon Package which gives the M48 a flamethrower, which greatly increases its close range potential. As well, another player can enter the gunner's seat and use the mounted machine gun, which can greatly aid in anti-infantry fighting.

When faced against the UH-1, the M48 can be a useful asset to take it down. It doesn't have the most effective weapons to use against a helicopter, but it protects the player from the aircraft's rockets, and its heavy machine gun can heal in taking it down, though it will be unable to efficiently destroy it alone.

The M48's prime weaknesses are its size and speed. It is a large and bulky vehicle, and it is not capable of travelling at high speeds, nor can it make sudden maneuvers with ease. Additionally, it is very loud (only worsened by the fact that it constantly plays its radio out loud), and is very easy to notice.

When faced against the M48, there are a number of options that a player can use or exploit. Generally, when playing as a Medic or Assault, there is very little the player can do against it, and the best thing to do is to run and hide in order to survive. However, when playing as a Recon, the player can plant packs of TNT on the M48 - no more than 2 are ever needed - and detonate them to destroy the tank, though this will require stealth or rushing maneuvers. As well, players using an Engineer kit equipped with an RPG-7 may need knowledge of several anti-vehicle strategies to effectively and easily destroy the M48. One of these would be to fire at the back or sides of the M48, with a hit in the middle of these areas resulting in double damage. If a player uses the Improved Demolitions specialization, two direct hits in the weak spots of the M48 can destroy it even if it is at full health. Other tactics can include firing rockets from multiple angles to confuse the driver and secondary gunner in the tank, though such a tactic is best used with squad coordination. As well, players can use Anti-Tank Mines against them, usually on commonly frequented roads or paths, and only one will be necessary to destroy the M48, unless the driver is using the Active Armor Upgrade.

Rush

 * Hill 137
 * Operation Hastings
 * Phu Bai Valley

Conquest

 * Operation Hastings
 * Phu Bai Valley
 * Vantage Point

Squad Deathmatch

 * Operation Hastings
 * Vantage Point