M60 Series Tank (Patton Series)

[David]

M60 Series Tank (Patton Series)

The M60 Patton main battle tank is now primarily found in US Reserve and National Guard units, but served as the primary US main battle tank for two decades prior to the introduction of the M1. Developed from the M48 Patton series, the M60 was fitted with a 105mm main gun and manned by a four-man crew. Criticized for its high profile and limited cross-country mobility, this durable tank proved reliable and underwent many updates over its service life. Initially produced in 1960, over 15,000 M60s were built by Chrysler and first saw service in 1961. Production ended in 1983, but 5,400 older models were converted to the M60A3 variant ending in 1990. This tank saw action with the Israeli forces during the Yom Kippur War in both the Sinai and the Golan Heights. During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force fielded 210 M60A1s to support the Saudi-Marine effort into Kuwait City.
Besides its main gun, the M60 series tanks are equipped with a 7.62mm M240 coaxial machine gun and 12.7mm M85 antiaircraft gun. Power is provided by a Continental AVDS-1790-2C 750 hp V-12 engine and an Allison CD-850-6/6A powershift crossdrive transmission.

Specifications
Weight	60 tons
Length	32'4"
Width	13'6"
Height	12'6"
Ground Clearance	18in
Track Width 28in
Forward speed	30 mph
Reverse speed	10 mph
Engine	750 hp Continental AVDS-1790 V-12 diesel
Vertical obstacle climb	49 in
Maximum width ditch	108 in
Fording Depth	48 in
Main Gun	105mm/51cal M68 rifiled gun with 63 rounds
Coaxial machinegun	M240 - 7.62mm with 5,950 rounds
Commander's machinegun	M85 - .50 cal antiaircraft gun with 900 rounds
Sensors and Fire Control	M21 solid state along ballistic computer, AN/VVG-2 ruby laser rangefinder usable by both commander and gunner, AN/vsg-2 Tank thermal Sights (TTS) withlaser rangerfinder and Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (HgCdTe) IR detector for passive night and dust vision

Variants:
M60A1 (principal production model from 1963 to 1980) w/British-designed L7 105mm rifled gun w/thermal sleeve and fume extractor (63 rounds)
M60A2 (production began in 1974) w/152mm Shillelagh gun/missile system (13 missiles and 33 rounds). Sarcastically referred to as the "Starship" by its crews due to its complexity, the M60A2 was an overall disappointment. During testing, numerous problems with the new turret arose, and production did not commence until 1973, and actually ceased in 1975. Eventually the new turrets were scrapped. Phase-out of the SHILLELAGH/M60A2 system from active Army units was completed in 1981.
M60A3 w/Tank Thermal Sight (TTS), hybrid solid-state ballistic computer, laser rangefinder, and turret stabilization system

[locksly]

The Sabra Main Battle Tank is modernised upgraded M60A3, developed by Israel Military Industries Slavin heavy weapons plant at Ramat Hasharon. As with all upgrade programs the scope of a Sabra upgrade package is customised to meet a particular country's operational requirements.

Armament

The Sabra's main armament is a 120 mm smooth bore gun which is similar to the gun developed by Israel Military Industries (formerly TAAS) for the Merkava Mk 3 main battle tank. The gun is fitted with a fume extractor and a thermal sleeve for reduction of wear and to maximise the first round hit probability by reducing thermally induced distortion of the barrel. Stowage is provided for 42 rounds of ammunition. The gun has greater range and armour penetrating capability than the 105 mm gun installed on the M60 MBT. The gun is capable of firing NATO standard 120 mm smooth bore ammunition including Armour Piercing Fin-Stabilised Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) rounds.
The co-axial machine gun is either 7.62 mm or 5.56 mm. The 60 mm mortar system is supplied by Soltam Ltd based in Haifa.


Pprotection

The Sabra is equipped with an automatic fire and explosion suppression system, a threat warning system and smoke grenade launchers. The tank is fitted with modular passive armour protection, which is upgraded to explosive reactive armour in the Sabra Mk II.

Fire Control and Observation

The hybrid turret and gun control system consists of an hydraulic elevation drive and an electric traverse drive. The tank is equipped with a Knight computerised fire control system supplied by El-Op (Electro-Optics) Industries Ltd of Rehovot and and Elbit Systems of Haifa. The fire control system is integrated into the turret control and actively controls the turret dynamics. The line of sight stabilisation in elevation and azimuth provides high hit probability for stationary and on the move engagements against stationary and moving targets. The system has four modes of operation : stabilised mode with the gun axis slaved to the line of sight, slaved mode where the gunner's line of sight is slaved to the gun axis, a non stabilised mode and back-up mode with manual operation for emergency use.
The gun can be layed and fired by the gunner or the commander. The gunner's station is equipped with a periscopic x 8 magnification day sight and x 5.3 magnification night sight supplied by El-Op. The sight is stabilised in two axes. The eyesafe Nd:YAG laser rangefinder operates over a range typically 200 to 9995 metres with an accuracy of +/- 5 metres.


Propulsion

The Sabra engine is the air-cooled AVDS-1790-5A four stroke diesel engine by General Dynamics, developing 908 horsepower at 2,400 rpm, which represents a gross power to combat weight ratio of 16.5 horsepower per ton.
The running gear has been upgraded for cross country mobility and features six road wheels per side, trailing arm suspension, torsion bar springs, piston dampers, three per side piston bumpers and single pin steel tracks.

The Sabra provides a maximum road speed of 48 km per hour and accelerates from zero to 32 km/hour in 9.6 seconds. The range on hard level ground is 450 km. The tank can negotiate slopes of gradient 60%, side slopes 30%, 2.60 m trenches, and 0.91 m obstacle height. The fording depth without preparation is 1.40 m and with preparation 2.40 m
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapo...bra/Sabra.html

The Sabra Mk II represents the most effective way to modernize your armoured units. Sabra Mk II is the new and improved generation of IMI's Sabra. It offers an extensive range of upgrade configurations for exact customisation, according to clients' needs.

Options available are the fruit of cutting-edge research by top Israeli military developers, including the IDF, IMI, Elbit and others.

Features in addition to those of the Sabra include:

Armour protection - the modular armour system allows for battlefield damage repair and can be easily upgraded
Instant smoke launchers - six-barrel, externally-mounted smoke grenade launchers, enabling M60 series tanks to be rendered invisible to tanks' optical and TV sights and to optically guided anti-tank missiles within just 2s
Infrared and laser detection systems - designed to locate the source of radiation, so that the tank commander can quickly decide on the right course of action
The Sabra is equipped with an automatic fire and explosion suppression system, a threat warning system and smoke grenade launchers. The tank is fitted with modular passive armour protection, which is upgraded to explosive reactive armour in the Sabra Mk II.
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapo...bra/Sabra2.htm

[SuperScout]

At least from my limited knowledge, the M60 tank was retired from all components long ago, being replaced by the M1A2 series. What was then the 49th Armored Division, Texas Army National Guard had M1's before I retired in 1993, although that division has now sttod down, being replaced by the 36th Infantry Division of WWII fame. I don't think that any US Army Reseve units ever had M60's.

[DMZ-LT]

Qualified my M-60 tank in gunnery at Graf. in 1969