Armor from 1960-1969
New tank designs are not in short supply as both sides of the Cold War dig from positions all across the globe.

1 AMX VCI (Vehicule de Combat d'Infanterie) The French-made AMX VCI (for "Vehicule de Combat d'Infanterie") infantry combat system was designed to a specific French Army vehicle requirement made in the years following World War 2. The VCI was based on the AMX-13 light ... 1967

2 AMX-30 The AMX-30 stemmed from a post-World War 2 design that saw many nations in Europe attempting to refit and update their armor inventories. With a three-way organized effort between West Germany, France and Italy to design and ... 1966

3 BMP-1 The BMP-1 APC replaced the BTR-50 series of APC. It was in production for 20 years before being replaced by the improved BMP-2 series of APC, detailed elsewhere on this site. The BMP-1 can carry a compliment of 8 combat ready... 1967

4 BRDM-2 The BRDM-2 is an update to the BRDM-1 4x4 Scout Car. Updates include night vision equipment, more powerful engine which in turn improves the 4x4 cross-country performance and handling (along with two powered-belly wheels tha... 1966

5 BTR-60 The BTR-60PB represents the final production version of the BTR-60 series of 8x8 APC developed in the late 1950s. The system is fully amphibious and can carry 14 fully-loaded combat personnel in an enclosed passenger compartm... 1960

6 Chaimite V-200 The Chaimite V-200 is a Portuguese-designed and produced 4x4 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) and has the ability to become completely amphibious. The Chaimite V-200 is served by a crew of three made up of a commander, driver ... 1967

7 Chieftain The British Chieftain main battle tank appeared in the 1960s and quickly established itself as the most powerful tank on the market, that is, until the arrival of the West German Leopard 1 series. A replacement for the aging ... 1963

8 FV432 The FV432 was a solid, if unspectacular, armored personnel carrier for the British Army, seeing over 3,000 in total production completed. Much like other multi-faceted chassis of this type, the FV432 continues to serve in oth... 1963

9 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 1 A classic post-war German tank design, the Leopard 1 would feature some resemblance to German tank design and engineering from World War 2, with the jagged skirting and turret-forward placement. The Leopard 1 entered servi... 1965

10 M1068 SICPS The M1068 SICPS was designed from the M113A2 Gavin armored personnel carrier chassis and was a further modification of the M577A2 design. The M1068 SICPS variant was a mobile battlefield system complete with an expanded commu... 1962

11 M109 Paladin Much like the 1960's era M113 armored personnel carrier, the M109 Paladin self-propelled gun has enjoyed a unique and long service life thanks in large part to sound design and a never ending series of upgrade programs. With ... 1963

12 M110 Developed in the 1950's, the M110 is a large caliber 203mm self-propelled howitzer. Developed about the same time as the M107 Self-Propelled Gun, they each share the same chassis and mounts. The crew is completely exposed to... 1960

13 M113 The M113 armored personnel carrier can be regarded as one of the most successful post-war armored vehicles. No fewer than 80,000 units were produced since the system made it's way to frontline service in 1960 with over 50 cou... 1960

14 M114 The M114 was originally designed as a battlefield recon vehicle. Poor off-road performance kept it from fulfilling the role successfully and thusly the system was entirely removed from service by the early 1980's. The extende... 1962

15 M151 The M151 Jeep is a multi-purpose utility vehicle that served a variety of battlefield roles. It represents a variation of the World War Two Wyllis-style jeep. The US Marine Corps utilized the M151 as a Fast Attack Vehicle (FA... 1960

16 M163 Vulcan The M163 Vulcan 20mm Air Defense System is composed of a 20mm electrically-operated gatling gun on an M157A1 turret gun mount. The weapon system is fused to the chassis of the M113A Armored Personnel Carrier. It is a short-ra... 1969

17 M530 Kaiser Jeep ... 1966

18 M551 General Sheridan / Sheridan The M551 General Sheridan (or simply "Sheridan") was a light-armored and heavily-armed portable tank system utilized by the United States Army. The system evolved from the need to counter a similar Soviet design of the time a... 1968

19 M60 Patton A reliable and durable warhorse of the US forces over the decades, the M60 Patton Series Tank has seen over 20 years of action, including operations in both the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights during the Yom Kipper War. ... 1963

20 M88 Hercules The M88 Hercules series began in the 1960s and had since run through three major conversions. The Hercules is designed as an armored recovery vehicle and is therefore intended to be used under fire for the repair and replacem... 1961

21 Magach (M48 / M60) Israel needed tanks to defend her borders from the Arab states and the M-48 tank was the choice based on reliability and available stock. Israel ordered 1950 era M-48 tanks from stock piles in Germany as part of the reparati... 1968

22 MIM-23 HAWK ... 1960

23 MIM-46 Mauler The MIM-46 Mauler was an ill-fated attempt at a mobile surface to air defense system. The MIM-46 Mauler project was dropped after development issues resulted in various technological failures which included structural failure... 1960

24 MIM-72A / M48 Chaparral The M48 Chaparral SAM system consists of an infrared heat seeking missile, a launcher with a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sight, and a tracked vehicle. The defense system was designed to be used in conjunction with the sho... 1969

25 Panhard AML 60 / 90 The French Army used the Panhard AML 60 / 90 series of light armored cars to replace the 1950s-era Daimler Ferrets. Scout / Armored Cars have served on the battlefield for decades and continue to serve today in the form of fo... 1960

26 Pbv 302 (Pansarbandvagn 302) Though rarely considered a military powerhouse in the breath as the United States, Great Britain and Russia, it seems that Sweden has always stayed on the cutting edge of their military endeavors choosing a more calculated, b... 1966

27 Roland ... 1962

28 SA-3 Goa ... 1960

29 SA-9 Gaskin ... 1960

30 Stridsvagn 103 (S-Tank) The Scandinavian Strv 103 'S-Tank' was an extreme departure from conventional main battle tank design in post-war Europe, or the world for that matter. Tank doctrine in World War Two reserved this type of design for Assault G... 1966

31 T-62 The T-62 tank represented an update to the T-54/55 series of Soviet-produced main battle tanks. Conventional systems include a 115mm main gun, self-defense machine guns from aircraft (12.7mm machine gun) and enemy infantry an... 1961

32 Type 61 After the close of hostilities in World War 2, the Japanese Empire was rightfully stripped of all war-making capabilities that included their heavy arms industries. Though Japanese tanks in World War 2 proved any but effectiv... 1961

33 Type 62 Yet another in the long line of NORINCO designs inspired by Soviet-era purchases, the Type 62 (classified as a “light tank”) is nothing more than a base version of the Type 59 built for better off road capabilities. Thusly th... 1962

34 Type 63 The Chinese NORINCO-built Type 63 is in many ways a relative to the Soviet-designed and built PT-76 troop carrier. The weapon system is fully amphibious, utilizing water bilge pumps at a fording speed of up to 12km/h (propell... 1963

35 Type 65 The Type 65 is a self-propelled anti-aircraft system produced by NORINCO in China. The system features twin 37mm cannons and is a variant on the Soviet-produced, World War Two-era Type 55 (detailed elsewhere on this site as t... 1965

36 Type 653 ARV The Type 653 ARV is a basic battlefield Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV) that is based on the Type 69 production MBT (Main Battle Tank - detailed elsewhere on this site) combat chassis. Unlike the Type 69, the Type 653 is field... 1969

37 Type 69 The NORINCO-produced Type 69 is a further indigenous development based on previous Soviet hardware purchases. The Type 69 is crewed by four personnel and comes in a type I and type II model flavor with the main difference bei... 1969

38 Vickers MBT The Vickers Main Battle Tank series was created with export customers in mind. It was soon discovered that foreign operators of the Centurion would find it's successor - the Chieftain - too expensive to procure and effectivel... 1965

39 ZSU-23-4 Shilka The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" system has been - and continues to be - a much-feared anti-aircraft system for pilots all over the world. The effectiveness of the Shilka at low altitudes has been very well documented, as the system has... 1965