Continental AV1790

Common card · No. 359852

The Continental AV1790 is an American V12 engine used in armored vehicles. Produced by Continental Motors, the AV1790 was used in a variety of limited production and pilot heavy tanks, including the M53 and M55 howitzers, and the T30, T34 and M103 tanks. The AV1790 was put into service as the power plant for the Patton line of American medium tanks. The M46 Patton, an upgraded M26 Pershing, was the first of these to carry one. This was inherited by the M47 and M48 tanks. While the performance of the engines was satisfactory, the fuel consumption rate became a critical shortcoming as tank weight increased. As a result there were also diesel versions developed (AVDS, Air Cooled, V-engine configuration, Diesel, Superturbocharged) for the M48A3 and M60 tanks, and the Swedish Stridsvagn 104 (UK-built Centurions, re-engined with diesel engines in the 1980s). The AV 1790 would continue to be widely used as a power plant in US tracked vehicles and tractors throughout the Cold War, and remains in...

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