Does anyone know if the M48A5 turret basket on the rear had the wire mesh on it? I tried looking at some pics,but found no good shots of that area Thanks in advance

I don't know about the US version, but our Norwegian A5s had mesh, and I doubt we invented that idea

My M-48A5 on Prime portal

Erik

Pretty sure it was basically the same as an M60A3 bustle, mesh on bottom and half-way up the sides.

Gents

Thanks for the answers Now to get off my lazy butt and finish this kit

As issued in their original form, I"ll say no. None of my photos of A5's in Tank Magazine show it, nor is it found on the one at the Patton Museum (though not an A5, it's pretty indicative that they did not originally come with it) Factory pics of the early M60, with the same basket, show them not to have mesh either. No doubt they were certainly added by several users later on, the IDF being a very good example, even though they didn't call it an A5.

Here is a photo of a former Vermont Army National Guard 50th Armor Division M48A5. I tried to enlarge the photo as best as possible. The wire mesh is fairly visible on the lower portion. I recall the A5s I crewed had a mesh basket.

Rob

Thanks for the photo The instuctions for the Academy kit don't have you adding any mesh No mesh comes with the kit as well Glad I thought to ask before it was too late