The Curious Tale of the Israeli M-47 Patton Tank

Now, here's an oddity...

In a previous post, I identified this as an M-60 Patton tank with Israel Defence Force markings.

However, on the underside it's identified as an M-47 Patton. There were three main variants of the Patton - M-47, M-48, M-60.

OK, so I think "no biggie, so it's an M-47 not an M-60. They look similar so easy mistake to make."

Until come to do some research prior to listing on eBay - I can find no info on Israel ever having used M-47 Patton tanks. Israel requested that the U.S. sell them 60 in 1955 and 100 in 1958 but we're refused on both occasions. They later acquired M-48s from Germany and M-60s from the U.S. But, as far as I can tell, never M-47s.

The only other reference that I can find to the M-47 in relation to the Israeli Defence Force is that they were used against Israel by the Jordanian Army in 1967 in what became known as "The Six Day War".

So, what's going on? Is this an error on the part of Solido, an M-48 or 60 misidentified as an M-47? Did the Israelis acquire M-47s but I just can't find any references? Did they capture Jordanian units (unlikely)?

More research is required.......

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e12000.m43.l1123/7?euid=25e94e4a45404b29ac089b3606bffedf&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.co.uk%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D171734858822%26ssPageName%3DADME%3AL%3ALCA%3AGB%3A1123