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“This film presents the story of the development, testing, and use of the M-60 tank in the U.S. Army. Scenes trace the origin of the modern tank and the need to create a mobile armored vehicle that could carry enough fire power to destroy machine gun emplacements as it led its troops through the line.”
“The Big Picture” episode TV-673
Reupload of a previously uploaded film with improved video & sound.
Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
The 105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank, M60, also known unofficially as the M60 Patton, is a first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in December 1960. It was widely used by the U.S. and its Cold War allies, especially those in NATO, and remains in service throughout the world today despite being superseded by the M1 Abrams in the U.S. military. Egypt is currently the largest operator with 1,700 upgraded M60A3s, Turkey is second with more than 900 upgraded units in service, and Israel is third with over 700 units of Israeli variants…
M60
The M60 traces its roots to the late WWII-era M26 Pershing heavy tank from which the M48 was developed. In 1957, plans were laid in the US for a tank with a 105 mm main gun and a redesigned hull offering better armor protection.
The resulting M60 series largely resembles the M48 it was based on, but has significant differences. The M60 mounted a bore evacuated 105 mm main gun, compared with the M48’s 90 mm, had a hull with a straight front slope whereas the M48’s hull was rounded, had three support rollers per side to the M48’s five, and had road wheels constructed from aluminum rather than steel.
The improved design incorporated a Continental V-12 750 hp air-cooled, twin-turbocharged diesel engine, extending operational range to over 300 miles…
The hull of the M60 was a single piece steel casting divided into three compartments, with the driver in front, fighting compartment in the middle and engine at the rear. The driver looked through three M27 day periscopes, one of which could be replaced by an infrared night vision periscope. Initially, the M60 had essentially the same turret shape as the M48, but this was subsequently replaced with a distinctive “needlenose” design that minimized frontal cross-section to enemy fire.
The M60 was the last U.S. main battle tank to utilize homogeneous steel armor for protection. It was also the last to feature an escape hatch under the hull.
Originally designated the M68, the new vehicle was put into production in 1959, reclassified as the M60, and entered service in 1960. Over 15,000 M60s (all variants) were constructed…
Combat performance
Overall, the M60A1/A3s performed well against opposing tanks such as T-55s, T-62s, T-72s and Type 69s in various conflicts including the Yom Kippur war, Lebanon and the battle for the Kuwait airport. The Marine Corps M60A1s had ERA that helped to protect them, and the Iraqi tank crews were not well trained and were using older T-55s and T-62s. During the Yom Kippur War, the M60 tank proved effective versus T-54/55 and T-62 tanks. However, many Israeli M60s were destroyed by Egyptian troops armed with AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles. Most of these casualties were in the first few days following the Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal. Once the Egyptian armor left the cover of the anti-air umbrella, it sustained heavy losses to the Israeli Air Force, before it was defeated by dug-in Israeli tanks in defensive positions on 14 October. In the 1982 Lebanon war Israeli M60A1s saw success against Syrian T-55, T-62 and even the new T-72, which the Soviets designed to defeat the M60. On 10 June 1982 Israeli tanks south of Beirut encountered 400 Syrian tanks and by the end of the two-day battle the Syrian tank force was defeated. Israeli M60A1s destroyed many Syrian T-72s during the battle.
In Israeli service, the type is highly regarded and has been updated through the years…
As of 2005, M60 variants are in service with Bahrain, Bosnia, Brazil, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Jordan, and some other nations to varying degrees…
