The M60 Patton was the mainstay of the U.S tank fleet in the 1960s and 1970s, before being replaced by the M1 Abrams tank currently in service. The M60 not-officially-Patton was a “product-improved descendant” of the Patton series. Finally, two versions of the 120 mm gun from the M103 were trialed, the existing M58 model and a lightened variant known as T123E6 which was mounted on the T95E4. It was in production from 1962 to 1983.[41]. Myatt said,[129] "During the first day of combat operations 1st Platoon, D Company, 3rd Tank Battalion destroyed 15 Iraqi tanks". The United States' largest deployment of M60s was in the 1991 Gulf War, where the US Marines equipped with M60A1s effectively defeated Iraqi armored forces, including T-72M tanks. [64] This brought the frontal armor up to the same 10" line of sight armor standard of the M103 heavy tank. Most western tanks of this generation were armed with the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun or derivatives of it. It could be aimed and fired with the cupola closed. Due to the end of the Cold War, surplus US Army M1A1s were absorbed by the US Marines replacing their M60A1s on a one for one basis, allowing the Marine Corps to quickly become an all-M1 tank force at reduced cost. Survivability was enhanced with a layer of Chobham spaced applique armor built around the turret and frontal arc of the hull that noticeably changed its appearance. M60A1s configured to this standard were denoted as M60A1(RISE)+. [103] Testing conducted not only showed that the new suspension system smoothened the off-road ride, but also allowed the Super M60 to handle well in spite of its considerable weight increase over the original M60A1. [77] Additionally there was a mounting point to the left of the turret for an AN/VSS-1(V)1 Infrared Spotlight and M19E1 IR periscope providing first generation night vision for night operations. Other turret upgrades offered are the Curtis-Wright Gun Turret Drive and replacing the M19 cupola with a Hitrole remote controlled weapon system, that enables 360° panoramic surveillance from a secure position inside the tank armed with a M2HB .50cal machine gun. Here's a Youtube video of an M60 tank on the the range with a good tour of its interior. [97] They were phased from National Guard service between 1994 and 1997, being replaced with the M1 MBT. The power-with-stabilization-off option eliminates needless exercise of the stabilization system and provides a backup power mode. Typical main battle tanks were as well armed as any other vehicle on the battlefield, highly mobile, and well armored. USA: University Press of Kentucky, 1999. There were two versions of hulls used for the M60-series. Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD: US Army Ordnance School, Jul 1968. In August 1959, an engineering bid package was awarded for the second low rate production buy of M60s to be built at the Delaware Plant. Under starlight conditions, they will provide recognition beyond 500 meters with the use of an IR searchlight. The M60 is an American second generation main battle tank (MBT). All variants of this series underwent evaluations and trials at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Here's What You Need To Remember: Even the M1 Abrams, first introduced alongside the M60A3 TTS, has gone through several rounds of upgrades. The escape hatch was provided for the driver, whose top-side hatch could easily be blocked by the main gun.[39]. Marines from G Company of the US 22nd Marine Assault Unit equipped with Amphibious Assault Vehicles and four M60A1 tanks landed at Grand Mal Bay on October 25 and relieved the Navy SEALs the following morning, allowing Governor Scoon, his wife, and nine aides to be safely evacuated. The M60 Patton is a main battle tank (MBT) introduced in December 1960. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially classified but sometimes informally grouped, as a member of the Patton tank family. [74], During the development of the M60A2, three different turret types were considered, the Type A, Type B and Type C. The Type A turret would be constructed based on the T95E7 turret and then further modified and produced as the Type B standard. This system provided improved first round hit capabilities.[55]. [19] After a brief examination of this tank's armor by a British military attaché it was concluded that the 20-pounder (84mm L/66.7) was apparently incapable of defeating its frontal armor with HEAT or APC ammunition. A full sized prototype of this turret was constructed before this concept was dropped, mainly due to its slow rate of fire. [69] M60A1(AOS)+ was the denotation for M60A1s equipped with the TLAC, AOS and the T142 track.[55]. The hull to is upgraded to the same standard with the protection covering the hull sides extending to the third roadwheel. [72] Three M60E1 tanks with T95 turrets were modified to permit the installation of the 152mm XM81 gun-launcher. It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. The XM-13 missile system had proven itself viable, obtaining over 90% first round accuracy up to 4000 meters. The M60A1E1 variant was used to evaluate the XM81 dual purpose gun and its compatibility with the XM13 Guided Missile, Armor Defeating together with the XMTM51 training round. The M60 Patton was the mainstay of the U.S tank fleet in the 1960s and 1970s, before being replaced by the M1 Abrams tank currently in service. The US Army considered it as a "product-improved descendant" of the Patton tank's design. [84] Initial production M60A2s used the M60A1 hull powered by an AVDS-1790-2A TLAC engine, CD-850-5 cross-drive transmission and the T97 track assembly. The T95 program, which began in 1955 was intended to supersede the M48. These new passive gunner's sight and commander's periscope provide recognition capability at longer ranges and at relatively low night light levels (1/2 moonlight). M60s delivered to Iran also served in the Iran–Iraq War. $6.62 shipping. However, the greatest improvement was the AN/VSG-2, otherwise known as the Tank Thermal Sight (TTS), which gave the M60 a passive night vision thermal imaging capability as good as that on the new M1. The fourth used the T95E1 turret and the T208 main gun. [55] During 1978 kits for the mounting of the M239 smoke grenade launchers and the mounting of the M240 as the coaxial machine gun was fielded. [47] The course of the M48 Patton's tank production was the source of widespread Congressional debate. Indeed, in September 1942, it was already foreseen that the standard 75 mm (3 in) M7 gun of the M10 was only efficient at short r… The armor was improved. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1992, Танк Т-62. Tanks located in Korea were inspected and sold to Bahrain and Taiwan. Yet they were cheap enough to be built in large numbers. View. The M47 Patton entered production in 1951 and was used by the United States Army and Marine Corps but ongoing technical and production problems kept it from serving in the Korean War. In 1982 the Israelis once again used the M60 during the 1982 Lebanon War, equipped with upgrades such as explosive reactive armor to defend against guided missiles that proved very effective at destroying tanks. The gunner and loader were located to the right and left of the gun, respectively, and the commander was in a turret basket up and behind the main gun. A total of 2,205 M60s were built between June 1959 and August 1962. The interior layout, based on the design of the M26/46/47/M48, provided ample room for updates and improvements, extending the vehicle's service life for over four decades. [55] Next came Add-On Stabilization (AOS) that was introduced in late 1972. The T142 track was fielded in 1974 which had replaceable rubber pads, better end connectors and improved service life. The M60 was also deployed to Korea to support US Forces Korea and participated in bi-annual Exercise Team Spirit maneuvers with South Korea notably with the US 2nd Infantry Division until 1991. In testing it demonstrated a maximum rate of 4 rounds per minute vs. the T254's 7 rpm.[21]. The T95E5 turret used on the M60 was hemispherically shaped and bore a strong resemblance to the M48 Patton. The improvements to the M48 focused on improving the 90mm main gun and fire control systems while simultaneously exploring the development of silicas glass composite armor and autoloader systems. [82] The M60A2 was deployed to Army units in Europe starting in June 1975 when B Company, 1-32 Armor Battalion received its first M60A2 tanks. [83], The M60A2 featured a unique low profile turret, mounting the M162 Gun/Launcher that drastically reduced the turret's frontal arc in comparison to the A1's. [42] Range information from the rangefinder is fed into the ballistic computer through a shaft. [45] The rangefinder is a double image coincidence image instrument used as the ranging device of the gunner's primary direct sighting and fire control system. The weapons of the Super M60 are similar to those of the M60A3. [62] Production began on 13 October 1962 when the Army placed an initial order for 720 of the tanks for 61.2 million dollars.[63]. All were built at the Chrysler Tank Plant in Warren, Michigan with a total of 540 M60A2s produced. It was planned that using the tanks would allow the EOD crews to remove unexploded ordnance from tarmac runway and taxiway surfaces with increased safety. Production pilot 2 was finished on 4 August and used to develop technical publications and an additional 47 tanks produced to complete the first low rate production buy. The M51 MGS consisted of an infrared (IR) direct beam guidance and control system to track the missile mounted to the turret over the mantel of the gun[85] with a telescopic sight and a Raytheon AN/WG-1 Flashlamp Pumped, Ruby Laser range finder,[86][87] accurate to 4,000 meters,[83] for the gunner. Italy, Austria, Greece, Morocco, Taiwan and other countries upgraded their existing fleets with various E60B component upgrades under several FMS defense contracts with Raytheon and General Dynamics during the mid to late 1980s. It consisted of a large disk with a narrow channel in the center with each crew member in the turret having their own hatch. A descendant of Korean War-era tanks, the M60 was an example of how incremental advances in military technology could progressively better fighting machines. The commander was able to observe the battlefield using the x4 binocular M34D daylight vision block or the M19E1 IR or M36 Passive periscopes while remaining under armor protection with a 360 degree traverse independent of the turret,[44] was stabilized in azimuth and elevation[45] and carried 600 rounds of ammunition. [120][121][122][123], On 12 October 1973, President Nixon authorized Operation Nickel Grass that transferred M60 tanks to support Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The vehicle was one of the most technologically complex of its era, eventually garnering an unofficial nickname of "Starship". A basket was fitted to the rear of the turret to stow the spotlight when not in use. In the early 1980s, as the U.S. Army was distracted with the deployment of the brand-new Abrams tank, development of the M60 shifted to Israel. All of these conceptual designs were referred to as the XM60. The M60A3's turret was similar to the A1's but with increased armor protection for the frontal arc and mantlet in an effort to provide additional protection of the turret's hydraulics system. The Raytheon Integrated Fire Control System (IFCS) integrating an eye safe laser rangefinder, second generation gunner's night sight, digital ballistic computer, cant sensors, a fully electrical superelevation resolver and a MIL-STD 1553 data bus, giving the system capabilities similar to the M1AD standard. It also has a 12 tube High Speed Directed Launcher (HSDL) smoke screen system using a multi-spectral smoke hardxill providing protection against thermal detection. It is equipped with the LOTHAR gun sight, DNVS-4 Driver's Night Vision Sight and TURMS digital fire control system. [38] After creating a full-sized mock up of this design using the T95E6 turret, it was dropped in favor of a design based on the M1 cupola of the M48A2's turret. This means a better working environment for the crew: they have more room to maneuver and are not separated into two different sections of the hull, since the M65 lacks a turret. Another proposal was a more compact turret design of the T95E7. It had the advantage of being immediately available and its ammunition was already in production. The M60A2 was not considered a success, with only 600 built and serving for a short time with the U.S. Army Europe before being withdrawn from service. Some 11,700 examples of the type were built by Chrysler, Ford, Fisher, and ALCO in the 1950s. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a Soviet T-54A medium tank was driven onto the grounds of the UK's embassy in Budapest by the Hungarians. [22], The T123E6 was preferred by the Ordnance Department because its ammunition, the same as that for the M58 gun, was already at an advanced state of development. The first prototype hulls did not have shock absorbers and were briefly named M68 in late 1958 before the Ordnance Department renamed it the M60 in March 1959. [73] On 10 January 1962, representatives from various ordnance organizations met at the Ordnance Tank-Automotive Center (OTAC) to review armament systems that might be suitable replacements, if the Shillelagh missile could not be developed in a timely manner. A direct infrared beam missile tracker in the gunner's sight detected any deviation of the flight path from the line-of-sight to the target, and transmitted corrective commands to the missile via an infrared command link. The M60 looks likely to serve into the third decade of the twenty-first century—or further. Browse 177 m60 tank stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. When the Soviet Union got the T-54 tank, the United States decided to upgrade the M48 Patton tank. The United States entered a period of frenzied activity during the crisis atmosphere of the Korean War, when America seemed to lag behind the Soviet Union in terms of tank quality and quantity. [85] Most of the M60A2 tanks were rebuilt as M60A3s, or the hulls converted to armored vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) vehicles[84] and M728 Combat Engineer Vehicles with a few M60A2s retained as museum pieces.[92]. The applique armor comprised of an outer layer of high-hardness steel armor panels and an inner layer of ceramic inserts covering the base M60A1 vehicle. An American version of the British 105 mm gun the Royal Ordnance L7, under the US designation 105 mm T254E1, was mounted on the T95E2 and tested with British APDS ammunition. The second generation had enhanced night-fighting capabilities and in most cases NBC protection. Introduced in 1975 the Reliability Improved Selected Equipment (RISE) was a comprehensive upgrade of the M60A1 hull as well as integrating the previous TLAC and AOS upgrades. The M60 is an American second generation main battle tank (MBT). After being retired from combat use in 1991, 18 M60A3s, with the M19 cupola removed, continued in active Army service to provide tactical combat training to US and NATO forces in Europe. It reached operational capability with fielding to Army units in Europe beginning in December 1960.[16]. [109] The M21 FCS is replaced with Raytheon's Integrated Fire Control System (IFCS). [118], Mobility is improved via either a full refurbishment of the existing power packs or an upgrade. [40] A new short receiver coaxial machine gun was designed for the M60 tank. The army also threw in a new 750 horsepower diesel engine and and also improved the level of protection in the form of flat-rolled glacis armor on the front of the hull. This led to a redesign of the front of the hull into the shape of a flat wedge, instead of the M48's elliptical front, as it simplified the installation of this armor. It featured the AVCR-1790-1B engine producing 1200 hp coupled to a Renk RK-304 transmission with 4 forward and 4 reverse gears. In 2005, M60 variants were in service with Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Taiwan and some 20 other nations to varying degrees. As of 2015 Egypt is the largest operator with 1,716 upgraded M60A3s, Turkey is second with 866 upgraded units in service, and Saudi Arabia is third with over 650 units.