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M60 Patton
The M60 Patton.
By Staff Writer
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.
The M60 was often criticized for its high profile (nearly 11 feet) and limited mobility through exceptionally rough terrain. The M60 Patton has been upgraded with modernization kits several times and is now powered by a Systems AVDS-1790-2C 750 hp V-12 engine and an Allison CD-850-6/6A crossdrive transmission.
The M-60A1 Main Battle Tank version is a fully-tracked, armored, combat vehicle operated by a crew consisting of a driver, gunner, loader, and tank commander. The base variant has a 105mm main gun and carries 63 projectiles of various types. The vehicle is further equipped with a deep water fording kit allowing it to become amphibious. The tank's suspension system, with six road wheels per side, is torsion bar sprung.
The main armament, a 105mm gun, is mounted on a powered 360-degree turret. Secondary armament includes a 12.7mm heavy caliber machine gun (for air defense role) in the commander's cupola, a coaxially mounted 7.62mm machine gun (operated by the gunner), and an M239 smoke grenade launcher. The M60 Patton Tank is equipped with three night vision periscopes.
The M60A1 Tank has been in the US Marine Corps inventory since 1974. Appliqué armor has been added to the M60A1 to enhance survivability against antitank threats such as RPGs. The M60 Patton served in the Vietnam War and was exported to several other countries including Israel. The M60 Patton is the latest in the long line of Patton-series tanks that include the M46, M47 and M48 Patton tanks.
The M60 Patton, like all other Pattons before it, is named after famed World War Two US General George S. Patton, Jr. Over 15,000 M60's have been produced for US and export use. The United States no longer utilizes the services of the M60 Patton Main Battle Tank as a frontline battlefield weapon. As of this writing, the current US inventory number of the M60 Patton stands at 716.
History text ©2003-2009 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved •
No Reproduction Without Permission • Corrections / Comments to MilitaryFactory at Gmail dot com
Last Updated: 9/17/2008
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Armored Vehicle Quick Profile |
Image Courtesy of RunawayStudios.com.
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| 1963 |
Designation: M60 Patton
Classification Type: Medium Tank
Contractor: General Dynamics Land Systems, MI, USA
Country of Origin: United States
Number Built: Not Available |
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Operators: Bahrain, Bosnia, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen.
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| Variants |
M60 - Base Production Model; Noticeable searchlight over main gun.
M60A1 - Introduced new turret
M60A1 AVLB - Bridgelayer
M60A2
M60A3 - Final production model for US Army service. Became standard model for previously produced versions.
M728 - Combat Engineering Vehicle (M60 chassis)
M60 (120s) - Upgraded export vehicle utilizing M1A1 Abrams turret with M60 chassis.
MAGACH-7 - Israeli-produced variant with more powerful engine, a passive armor package and Matador computerized fire control system.
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Dimensions:
