With the arrival of the improved M48 Patton in 1953, the M47 was declared limited standard in 1955, and examples in tank units were replaced with the M48 series soon after. After being declared obsolete in 1957, M46s and M47s were retained in active duty infantry division battlegroup assault gun platoons (four tanks each, one platoon per battlegroup, for a total of 20 tanks per division) until replaced with the light truck mounted SS-10 anti-tank guided missile in the early 1960s. M47s were used by the Reserves for a relatively short time, soon being replaced by early production M48 Patton series tanks; thus, most of the M47s were exported in the late 1950s.

The US Marine Corps also fielded M47s starting in late 1952; after the Korean War, all seven Marine tank battalions, three divisional, two reserve training, and two force level, each fielded M47s. But these were soon replaced with M48A1 Pattons and M103 heavy tanks, with the last M47s being retired in 1959.

The M47 was widely used by NATO and SEATO allies as well as other countries, including Austria (147), Belgium (784), Ethiopia (30), France(856), Greece (300 plus over 30 from West Germany), Iran (around 400), Italy (2,480), Japan (1 for evaluation only), Jordan (49), Pakistan (230), Portugal(161), Saudi Arabia (23 from the US, 108 on the international market), Somalia(25 from Saudi Arabia), South Korea(531), Sudan(17 from Saudi Arabia), Spain (389), Switserland (2 for evaluation), Turkey(1,347 from the US and West Germany), West-Germany (1,120), and Yugoslavia (319). Like the US Army of the time, the West German Bundeswehr also used some of their M47s as interim tank destroyers/assault guns until replaced by the Raketenjagdpanzer 1 tank destroyers armed with SS-11 anti-tank guided missiles in the early 1960s.

US Army M47s remaining in storage were expended as targets; in the 1970s, they were used for the M60A1's 105mm gun with devastating effect. The 105 mm HEAT round would penetrate the frontal armor with ease. Many M47s in like-new condition met their fate in this manner, showing the M60 crews first hand the effects of modern tank weapons on conventional steel armor.

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