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84-687: Turret front The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton , the M60 tank series was never officially christened as a Patton tank . It has been called a "product-improved descendant" of the Patton tank's design. The design similarities are evident comparing

168-471: A 127 mm armor plate when fired at a 60-degree angle from 2,000 yards (1,800 m). A standard T95 was equipped with 50 rounds. The T95E2 retained the armament of its predecessor, the M48A2 . With a 90 mm gun, it could fire a 74 mm anti-armor shell at 915 meters per second for a range of 2,000 yards. It was equipped with 64 rounds. The T95E3 was armed with a T140 105 mm rifled gun . With

252-579: A 360 degree traverse independent of the turret, was stabilized in azimuth and elevation and carried 600 rounds of ammunition. All M60s in US service retained the M19 cupola until the tank was phased out of service. The few M60A3s in Army service as training vehicles had their commander's cupola removed as it was deemed unnecessary for training and to better mimic the profile of Soviet tanks. Some M48A5s were retrofitted with

336-650: A Soviet T-54A medium tank was driven onto the grounds of the UK's embassy in Budapest by the Hungarians in November. After a brief examination of this tank's armor by a British military attaché it was concluded that the 20-pounder (84 mm L/66.7) was apparently incapable of consistently defeating its frontal armor with High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) or Armor-Piercing Capped (APC) ammunition. Its 100 mm gun

420-596: A briefing on 11 December 1958, General Maxwell Taylor ordered the XM60 into production because of the improvements it offered in firepower, protection, and cruising range. Since the tank had not yet received its official designation these prototype hulls were briefly referred to as the M68 in December 1958 until they were officially named the M60 in March 1959. Fulfilling this requirement was an interim tank design that resulted in

504-433: A concentric model in order to provide more clearance over the rear deck. The M68E1 gun shares the same firing characteristics as the M68. It featured several design improvements including an updated gun hydraulic configuration, a stabilization upgrade for the gun, a gun elevation kill switch for the loader, improved ballistic drive allowing the accurate firing of long dart penetrators and other component refinements. The gun

588-684: A hit, rate of fire and penetration performance. An M48A2C was fit with the 90 mm M41 and tested with the new T300E53 HEAT round. A smoothbore version of the 90 mm, the T208E9, was mounted on the T95E1 tank and tested the T320E62 Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) round. An American variant of the British Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun, under the US designation 105 mm T254E1 ,

672-480: A mass efficiency of approximately three versus copper-lined shaped charges , embedded in cast steel armor for an overall mass efficiency of 1.4. The early APFSDS penetrators fired by the T208 had a low length-to-diameter ratio, this being limited by their brittle tungsten carbide construction, with a diameter of 37 mm, although they had a high muzzle velocity of 1,525 m/s (5,000 ft/s). The rangefinder,

756-493: A muzzle velocity of 1079 m/s, the armor piecing capability at 2,000 yards was 122 mm at a 60-degree firing angle. Standard equipment was 64 rounds. The T95E4 was planned to have a T210 105 mm smoothbore gun. In order to accommodate the extra length of the rounds (112 cm), the gun was moved forward, preventing stabilization. The muzzle velocity of the round was 1,740 m/s, with an armor penetration of 152 mm at 60 degrees at 2,000 yards. Standard equipment

840-481: A number of countries' militaries, though most of these have been highly modified and had their firepower, mobility, and protection upgraded to increase their combat effectiveness on the modern battlefield. The M60 has undergone many updates over its service life. The interior layout, based on the design of the M48, provided ample room for updates and improvements, extending the vehicle's service life for over four decades. It

924-529: A progressive turret design scheme during its production life with four different turrets being manufactured for the M60-series. The T95E5 turret used on the M60 was hemispherically shaped and bore a strong resemblance to the M48 Patton. The M60A1 was the first version to employ the newly designed T95E7 turret with a redesigned bustle increasing the number of rounds for the main gun to 63. The M60A2 featured

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1008-524: A ring diameter of 85 inches (220 cm), the same as the M48 . The frontal turret armor is 178 mm, and the sides are 78 mm. The shape of the turret is elongated compared to the M48. The gunner's seat is situated to the right of the main gun in the front of the turret. The commander's seat is also in the turret, with a built-in 12.7 mm M2 machine gun , with an M28 periscopic sight for aiming. For 360-degree vision, five armored viewports are installed in

1092-613: A specially designed turret for the M162 gun/missile launcher that greatly reduced the frontal arc in comparison to the M60A1's T95E7 turret. 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. A redesigned full vision cupola was envisioned for the commander's station. It had 7 tiltable vision blocks arranged to give

1176-432: A strong boat-like appearance with a pronounced recess between the upper tracks and external suspension arms and one shock absorber on the first roadwheel pair. The armor was improved, at 6 inches (155 mm) on the front glacis and mantle of solid rolled homogeneous armor , while it was 4.3 inches (110 mm) on the M48. The first prototype hulls did not have shock absorbers and were briefly named M68 in late 1958 before

1260-429: A thickness of 95 mm and is at an angle of 65 degrees from vertical. The thickness of the roof and floor of the hull around the driver's compartment is 51 and 19 mm respectively; the thicknesses of said areas are 25 and 13 mm, respectively, around the fighting and engine compartments. The thickness of the main side plates vary from 102 mm in front down to 32 mm around the engine. The cast turret has

1344-548: A total capacity of 780 liters, were installed in the engine compartment. Despite higher fuel economy compared to the M48A2 engine, gasoline engines provided insufficient torque. At the same time, the development of the X -shaped diesel engine failed, so, starting in mid-1958, other options were considered. As an interim measure, it was decided to use a modified version of the civilian 12-cylinder, two-stroke , water-cooled, V-type , 570 hp GM 12V71T diesel engine. A contract

1428-409: Is a "flat track" and does not have return rollers. The forward and rearmost road wheels are equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers. On some of the tanks lightweight openwork road wheels were used. Caterpillar treads were used, with rubber bushed pins. The width of the tracks were 533 mm or 610 mm. The number of tracks in a tread was 80 and the length of the bearing surface was 4.2 m. During

1512-471: Is based on timeframe and technical factors, as a basis for further discussion. 1976 (Pz57) 12 The second generation had enhanced night-fighting capabilities and in most cases NBC protection . Most western tanks of this generation were armed with the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun or derivatives of it. The third generation of main battle tanks is characterized by composite armour and computer stabilized fire control systems, which allow firing on

1596-465: Is capable of using a wide range of ammunition including APDS-Tracer (APDS-T) (M392 and M728), Armour-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) (M735 and M774), APFSDS Depleted Uranium (DU) (APFSDS-DU) (M833), HEAT-FS (M456), APDS dummy and target practice rounds, High Explosive Plastic (HEP) / High-Explosive Squash Head (HESH) (M393), white phosphorus and canister rounds. Barrels with thermal sleeves were used starting in 1973. Both

1680-564: Is second with 866 upgraded units in service, and Saudi Arabia is third with over 650 units. 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. Testing and development cycles occurred simultaneously with production to ensure speedy delivery of new tanks. Such rapid production caused problems but

1764-592: The 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun or derivatives of it. Notable are the British Chieftain and German Leopard 1 . The United States fully committed to the MBT doctrine in 1963 when the Marine Corps deactivated its last M103 heavy tank battalion. The first American nomenclature-designated second generation MBT was the M60A1 version of the M60 series. The term MBT is used in strategic doctrine and

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1848-468: The British Centurion , filling almost all battlefield roles. Typical MBTs were as well armed as any other vehicle on the battlefield, highly mobile, and well armored. Yet they were cheap enough to be built in large numbers. The first generation consists of the medium tanks designed and produced directly after World War II that were later redefined as main battle tanks. These were exemplified by

1932-535: The Iran–Iraq War . 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-72 tanks. The United States retired the M60 from front-line combat after Operation Desert Storm , with the last tanks being retired from National Guard service in 1997. M60-series vehicles continue in front-line service with

2016-692: The M47 and M48 Pattons armed with a 90 mm main gun already in widespread US service. The original variant of the M60 series also fulfilled the definition of a late first generation MBT sometimes being referred to as an intermediate second generation design. The Soviet T-54 and T-55 as well as the original configuration of the T-62 A tank designs are also regarded as first generation MBTs. The second generation had enhanced night-fighting capabilities and in most cases nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection. Most western tanks of this generation were armed with

2100-536: The M48A2 . The X-shaped motor and electro-optical rangefinder were both discarded due to performance, and the accuracy of the smoothbore gun and its high velocity APDS ammunition continued to be unsatisfactory. The T95E6 turret was to be made with the advanced silicas armor but was never constructed. All this led to the closure of the T95 project on July 7, 1960. But the T95E7 turret design using conventional hardened steel armor

2184-405: The 2020s and planned implementation from 2030s/2040s. T95 Medium Tank The T95 was an American prototype medium tank developed from 1955 to 1959. These tanks used many advanced or unusual features, such as siliceous-cored armor, new transmissions, and OPTAR fire-control systems . The OPTAR incorporated an electro-optical rangefinder and was mounted on the right side of the turret, and

2268-970: The Detroit Arsenal Test Center for maintenance evaluations, they were then sent to Fort Knox for user trials. The fourth pilot was completed on 26 October and was used as the master hull to verify production standards at the Detroit Tank Plant with a low-rate initial production total of 180 M60s built in 1959. Subsequent production, starting with the October 1960 batch were built at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant , in Warren Michigan. It reached operational capability with fielding to Army units in Europe beginning in December 1960. The original variant of

2352-493: The M19 cupola due to its initial production problems. 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. 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. Production pilot 3 was completed 2 September. These tanks went to

2436-457: The M19 cupola to maintain training levels of ARNG units. The concept of the medium tank gradually evolved into the main battle tank (MBT) in the 1960s. The MBT was to combine the firepower and protection sufficient for the assault role with the mobility to perform as a medium tank. The MBT thus took on the role the British had once called the "universal tank" in the late 1950s, exemplified by

2520-464: The M48 focused on improving the 90 mm main gun and fire control systems while simultaneously exploring the development of silicas glass composite armor and autoloader systems. The tank continued further development through 1955 in conjunction with its simultaneous mass production. The course of its development during the mid-1950s was the source of widespread debate among Congressional Budget Oversight committees. The T95 program , which began in 1955

2604-450: The M48. Nine rounds were stowed in the left side of the turret bustle behind the loader. The remaining rounds were stored inside safe containers on the hull floor. A new short receiver coaxial machine gun was designed for the M60 tank. This was the 7.62mm M73/T197E2 which replaced the .30 caliber M37 used on the M48A2. It had 2,000 rounds of ammunition. They had a reputation for jamming. After working to correct this, they were redesignated as

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2688-576: The M48A2 after the fiscal year 1959, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics (DCSLOG) proposed a tank based on the M48A2 featuring improved firepower and the AVDS-1790 engine. Since the main gun had not yet been specified, four XM60 weapons systems were submitted in September 1957. The first concept was armed with the 120mm gun T123E6 in the long nosed T95E6 turret. This was the design preferred by

2772-399: The M60 series ultimately was produced as a quick fix engineering (QFE) upgrade of the M48 due to the Soviet Union's tank advancements of the late 1950s and the delays from developing the silicas armor and an improved turret design. The M60 mounted a 105 mm M68 main gun with the bore evacuator mounted towards the middle of the tube carrying 57 rounds in the clamshell shaped turret style of

2856-612: The M60 was by Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War , where it saw service under the "Magach 6" designation, performing well in combat against comparable tanks such as the T-62 . In 1982, the Israelis 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 M60 also saw use in 1983 during Operation Urgent Fury , supporting US Marines in an amphibious assault on Grenada. M60s delivered to Iran also served in

2940-742: The M60-series starting in June 1959 but retained interchangeability with the British X15/L52 barrel. All of the US guns and XM24 barrels were produced at the Watervliet Arsenal , NY and the gun mounts (M116 for the M60 and M140 for the M60A1/A3) were manufactured at the Rock Island Arsenal , IL. Because the evacuator was positioned lower on the gun's barrel US M68 guns were fitted with an eccentric bore evacuator instead of

3024-582: The M60-series, which largely resembles the M48A2 Patton it was based on, but has significant differences. The visual similarity of these designs as well as their overlapping period of service has caused some sources to informally name the original variant of the M60 as a Patton tank . The OTCM (Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes) #37002 officially standardized the type as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 on 16 March 1959. The production contract

3108-660: The M68E1 variant of the gun. It had an improved ballistic drive to allow for accurate firing of the M735 APFSDS ammunition. Most M60A1 RISE tanks were retrofitted to this standard by applying the M735 Cam update from the M60A1 PIP Turret Update Kit. Composite armor made with fused silica glass sandwiched between plates of steel were intended to be fitted to the hull. This led to a redesign of the front of

3192-553: The M73A1 in 1970. The electrical package on the M60 was essentially the same as used on the M48A2C including an improved turret control system and an all-metric measurement M16 Fire Control System (FCS), The M16 FCS consists of a new M10 ballistic drive and mechanical M16E1 gun data computer which integrated barrel temperature data with an M17 coincidence range finder. The rangefinder is a double image coincidence image instrument used as

3276-479: The Ordnance Department renamed it the M60 in March 1959. This hull version was used only on the original M60 variant and early M728 Combat Engineer Vehicles (CEVs) and M60 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges (AVLBs) . This hull model was in production from 1959 to 1962. The M60A1 hull has basically the same visual characteristics, the noticeable difference was the addition of a second shock absorber at

3360-527: The Ordnance Department. It was fitted with a mock-up of the new designed full-vision commander's cupola. A full sized prototype of this turret was constructed before this concept was dropped, mainly due to its slow rate of fire. The second carried the 105mm rifled T254E1 main gun in the T95E5 type turret and the T9 cupola style of the M48A2. The T254 guns used British X15/L52 barrels with a concentric bore evacuator on

3444-482: The T53 optical tracking, acquisition and ranging (OPTAR) system, emitted pulsed beams of intense but incoherent infrared light. These incoherent beams scattered easily, reducing effectiveness in mist and rain and causing multiple returns, requiring the gunner to identify the correct return after estimating the range by sight. This, combined with the large and vulnerable design of the transmitter and receiver assembly, led to

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3528-619: The T95 chassis and the T96 turret , and were designated T95E4s . Because the T96 turrets were not yet constructed (and were never completed), it was decided that of the four T95E4s, two would be fitted with M48A2 turrets, and the other two were fitted with T54E2 turret and with 105 mm T140 cannons. The first T95 variant to go into production was the T95E2, in May 1957. The T95E3 was produced in July of

3612-399: The T95 tank to conduct the ballistics testing. This composite armor provides protection against HEAT , HEP/HESH and HE rounds. However, field repaired panel castings suffered a loss of kinetic energy protection. Limitations in manufacturing capacity and the added cost led to this armor being dropped by November 1958 and all M60-series tanks were protected with conventional steel armor but

3696-405: The T95, and the T96, which used a larger and heavier gun with a 105 mm round. Both tanks used smooth-bore barrels with fixed mounts and no recoil systems. In November 1956, it was decided that nine tanks would be produced. Four of them would be original T95s. One would be a T95 with a 90 mm gun on a mount with a recoil system , receiving the designation T95E1. The remaining four would use

3780-505: The XM60 tank in September 1957. This new tank design incorporated many Army Combat Vehicle (ARCOVE) committee improvements to the M48A2, chiefly the use of diesel engines to increase its operational range and the use of a more powerful main gun. The main gun was chosen after a comparative firing test of six different guns carried out on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1958. The factors evaluated were accuracy, lethality of

3864-574: The XM60. A contract was awarded to Chrysler Engineering in September 1958 for the advanced production engineering (APE) of the XM60 concept #2. The T95 hull was considered however its one-piece front casting was too difficult and expensive to produce in quantity. Some existing T95 hulls were re-fitted with the AVDS-1790 engine and used from 1960 to 1964 to develop the T118E1 prototyping of the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle . Instead

3948-645: The abandonment of the OPTAR system in 1957. In the early 1950s, work began in the US to develop an eventual replacement to the M48 Patton tank , the operational medium tank at the time. A series of relatively simple upgrades to the T48 were considered as part of the T54 project, but these were considered to offer too little advantage to be worth it. Examples of more radical upgrades were also called for. In September 1954, out of many submitted plans, two main examples were chosen –

4032-521: The ammunition was in two parts, shell and propellant bag, which required significant time to load. In the M103 this was addressed by adding a second loader, but a medium tank would not have the internal space needed for another crewmember and the firing rate would suffer as a result. In testing it demonstrated a maximum rate of 4 rounds per minute vs. the T254's 7 rpm. Based on these tests, the 105 mm T254E1

4116-629: The barrel. The Army Ordnance Technical Committee chose this design for production in August 1958. The third concept was to mount the 90mm T208 smooth-bore main gun and the T95E6 turret with the T6 cupola of the T95 tank. It never progressed beyond design drawings. The fourth used the T95E1 turret and the T208 main gun. A mock-up was built using the new vision cupola. All of these conceptual designs were referred to as

4200-412: The commander a 360 degree field of view with overlapping vision between adjacent vision blocks. The front vision block could be replaced with a dual power M34 7×50 binocular day sight or an M19E1 Infrared (IR) periscope. A special feature was that the cupola body could be raised up to 3.5 in (89 mm), providing the commander a direct field of vision while remaining under armor protection. Access

4284-599: The composition of force as determined by the United States Army. The M60 series tanks fulfilled the MBT role on a strategic and tactical level. It was never referred to as such in any official training or technical manuals. The first Soviet second generation main battle tank designs were the T-64 and T-72 . By May 1957, it became clear that the T95 Medium Tank would not have a significant advantage over

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4368-405: The decision was made to use modified M48A2 hulls. The hulls had 3 return rollers and 6 steel roadwheel pairs per side with no shock absorbers, using only bumper springs on the first and sixth roadwheel arms, along with a widened turret well and ring, and a flat wedge-shaped glacis. The T254E2 gun was chosen to be the main weapon of the tank in August 1958 being standardized as the M68 105mm gun. After

4452-399: The development of T95 tank, it became clear that it would not have a significant advantage over the M48A2 . The X -shaped motor and optical rangefinder were both discarded due to performance, and the accuracy of the smoothbore gun continued to be unsatisfactory. All this led to the closure of the project on July 7, 1960. Work on the T95E7 turret was continued, which led to the creation of

4536-467: The glacis above the driver's head. With the hatch sealed the driver operates the tank using three periscopic visual devices, the middle of which is equipped with a night-vision infrared camera from the T161 . Ammunition stores are located on either side of the driver’s chair. The majority of the hull is welded, but the front is a single massive casting. The upper part of the forward armor, or glacis, has

4620-507: The gunner. The ballistic drive receives the range input and, through the use of cams and gears, provides superelevation information to the superelevation actuator. The superelevation actuator adds sufficient hydraulic fluid to the elevating mechanism to correctly position the gun. In late 1962, a kit was fielded that allowed the use of the AN/VSS-1(V)1 IR searchlight. The searchlight has both infrared and visible light capabilities and

4704-555: 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 was also envisioned that the T95 E6 turret was to be constructed solely with this special armor. The US Army Ordnance Tank Automotive Command (OTAC) and the Carnegie Institute of Technology began development of the armor in November 1952 at Fort Belvoir VA as Project TT2-782/51 using examples of

4788-534: The importance given to rapidly equipping combat units with new tanks precluded detailed testing and evaluation prior to quantity production. 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. The M48 Patton tank entered US service in 1952 but its early designs were deemed unsatisfactory by Army Field Forces (AFF). The improvements to

4872-422: The machine gun in the forward part of the cupola and eight vision blocks. The front vision block can be replaced by a M19E1 infrared periscope or an M36E1 passive periscope for night observation. Initial production of the cupola was problematic. The first 300 M60s produced were armed with a .50cal M2HB machine gun in a pedestal mount welded to the left side of the commander's cupola owing to production problems with

4956-412: The move as well as very high first hit probability on targets up to 2,000 meters away. These are third-generation tanks modernized with fourth-generation technology. A generation of tanks developed since the beginning of the 21st century and implemented since the 2010s. In August 2023, Hungary announced that it will join the development. A generation of tanks developed since the beginning around of

5040-410: The new M85 machine gun. Of these tanks, the first 45 manufactured were made without the cupola itself, also due to production problems. All of these early M60s eventually had the M19 cupola and M85 machine gun installed. Compared to a conventional pintle mount, the remote-controlled M85 machine gun was relatively ineffective in the anti-aircraft role for which it was designed. Removing the cupola lowered

5124-454: The one used in the M48A2 , with stereoscopic rangefinders and mechanical ballistics computers. The T95 also had an FCS which had an OPTAR optic rangefinder, as well as an electronic ballistics computer. It also featured a periscopic sight from the T44 and a T50 ballistic computer. The T95E1 used a simplified targeting system – a rangefinder and a ballistics computer were omitted. Under

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5208-652: The original M60 variant as well and the initial configuration of the M60A1 used the M68 gun. Additionally, many M48A3s armed with a 90 mm gun that were in service with the Army National Guard (ARNG) were retrofitted with the M68 gun during the mid-1970s and redesignated as the M48A5. This was done to maintain training levels of ARNG units as well as using a commonality in ammunition amongst tanks. M60A1 RISE (Reliability Improved Selected Equipment) Passive tanks built after 1977 and all M60A3 tanks were armed with

5292-476: The original proposal, T95 and T96 tanks had to be equipped with X-shaped 750 hp 12-cylinder diesel engines . However, because this engine was only in the early stages of development, it was decided to temporarily equip the tanks with four-stroke , eight-cylinder AOI-1195 gasoline engines. The engine was placed transversely and was connected with the XTG-410 four-speed transmission . Three fuel tanks, with

5376-716: The original version of the M60 and the M48A2. The United States fully committed to the MBT doctrine in 1963, when the Marine Corps retired the last ( M103 ) heavy tank battalion. The M60 tank series became America's primary main battle tank during the Cold War , reaching a production total of 15,000 M60s. Hull production ended in 1983, but 5,400 older models were converted to the M60A3 variant ending in 1990. The M60 reached operational capability upon fielding to US Army European units beginning in December 1960. The first combat use of

5460-490: The ranging device of the gunner's primary direct sighting and fire control system. The gunner is provided with an M31E1 day periscope with a magnification of x8 and an M105D day telescopic sight with a magnification of x8 and a field of view of 7.5 degrees. Range information from the rangefinder is fed into the ballistic computer through a shaft. The ballistic computer is a mechanically driven unit that permits ammunition selection, range correction, and superelevation correction by

5544-404: The same year, and the first original T95s were ready in February 1958. The T95 tank was created using a traditional design with a driver in the front, the fighting compartment in the center, and the engine compartment in the rear. The tank had a four-man crew, consisting of a commander, a gunner, a loader, and a driver. The driver's work area is in the forward compartment. The hatch is located in

5628-411: The second roadwheel pair and was also accompanied by a slight relocation of the first return roller. These modifications were needed due to the increased weight of the M60A1 turret as well as the additional hull armor. This hull model was used on the M60A1, M60A2 and M60A3 models of the M60-series as well as the M728A1 CEV and M60A1 AVLB. It was in production from 1962 to 1983. The M60-series went through

5712-401: The tank retained the capability to employ armor panels. The M60 was the last tank to feature an escape hatch under the hull. The escape hatch was provided for the driver, whose top-side hatch could easily be blocked by the main gun. There were two versions of hulls used for the M60-series. The M60 hull had a straight slope and beak compared to the earlier M48's rounded one. The hull bottom had

5796-540: The turret. Primary shells are stored in the lower section of the turret, beneath the ring. The T95 and the T95E1 are equipped with T208 90 mm smooth-bore guns. The T95's equipment is on a fixed mount and is stabilized in two axes. The T95E1 equipment was installed on a recoil mount , but lacks stabilization systems. All T95 models were equipped with T320 armor-piercing rounds , which have tungsten cores, diameters of 40 mm, and muzzle velocities of 1,520 meters per second. These rounds can successfully penetrate

5880-444: The vehicle's relatively high silhouette. The cupola's hatch also opened toward the rear of the vehicle and was dangerous to close if under small-arms fire owing to a lock-open mechanism that required the user to apply leverage to unlock it prior to closing. 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

5964-411: Was 40 rounds. With the appearance of the T123 120 mm rifled gun, it was decided that it should be installed on two of the four planned T95E4s. This variant was designated T95E6 . The T123 gun had a muzzle velocity of 1,070 m/s and armor-piercing capability of 122 mm at 60 degrees, at a range of 2,000 yards. The T95E2 and the T95E3 were equipped with fire-control systems , identical to

6048-649: Was a significant advancement over the weapon of the T-44 . There were also rumors of an even larger 115 mm gun in the works. These events spurred the United Kingdom to begin upgrading existing tanks with a 105 mm high-velocity rifled gun in 1958, the Royal Ordnance L7 to keep the Centurion viable against this new Soviet tank design. The United States responded by starting development of

6132-673: Was approved April 1959 with the low rate initial production starting in June at the Chrysler Corporation Delaware Defense Plant in Newark Delaware. Production pilot 1 was completed at Chrysler Defense Engineering on 2 July with an initial production total of 45 tanks in July 1959. These tanks were sent to the Aberdeen Proving Ground for survivability testing and final design modifications. This batch of tanks did not have

6216-922: Was based on or influenced by designs of World War II , most notably the Soviet T-34 . The second generation was equipped with NBC protection (only sometimes), night-vision devices, a stabilized main gun and at least a mechanical fire-control system. The third generation is in Western parlance determined by the usage of thermal imagers, digital fire-control systems and special (composite) armour (Soviet doctrine, however, de-emphasizes thermal vision and electronic fire control, preferring large-caliber gun and engines of high power). However, Hilmes acknowledged that tanks cannot be definitively grouped by generations, as each tank-producing country develops and introduces its tanks in tune with its own ideas and needs. He also states that breakdown of postwar tanks by generations

6300-456: Was carried forward, becoming the M60A1's turret. The course of the M48 Patton's tank production was the source of widespread Congressional debate. The Bureau of the Budget believed that the Army was not progressing with sufficient speed in its tank modernization program and recommended the immediate replacement of the M48A2. Correctly predicting that Congress would not approve the procurement of

6384-517: Was dropped in favor of a design based on the M1 cupola of the M48A2's turret. This T9 cupola provided the commander with more headroom than the T6 cupola of the T95 tank, carrying a new short receiver M85/T175 .50 caliber machine gun and it was standardized as the Cupola, Tank Commander's Caliber .50 Machine Gun, M19. The first M19 cupola (a modified T9) was ready on 27 October 1958. It has an M28C sight for

6468-492: Was intended to supersede the M48, featured a host of innovative and experimental components such as its 90mm smoothbore T208 cannon rigidly affixed to its turret, experimental X-shaped engine design using a vapor-cycle power plant fueled by hydrocarbons , composite armor and infrared rangefinder. The burden of developing them, however, slowed the overall program to a crawl. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 ,

6552-530: Was mounted on the T95E2 and tested with British APDS ammunition. Finally, two versions of the 120 mm gun from the M103 were trialed, the existing M58  [ zh ] model and a lightened variant known as T123E6 which was mounted on the T95E4. 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. However,

6636-549: Was positioned over the gun. Along with an M32 IR periscope for the gunner, M19 IR periscope and M18 IR binoculars for the commander provided first generation night vision capability to the M60 and M60A1 tanks. This kit was also compatible with the M48A3/A5. List of main battle tanks by generation#Second In 1973, Rolf Hilmes saw three tank generations and three "intermediate generations", which consisted mainly of upgraded vehicles. The first generation of main battle tanks

6720-525: Was selected, modified to the T254E2 and standardized as the "Cannon, 105 mm Gun, M68". It used a vertical drop breechblock instead of the T254E1's horizontal sliding breechblock. Until American-made barrels could be obtained with comparable accuracy, British X15/L52 barrels were to be used. US built XM24/L52 barrels (218.5 in (5,550 mm) in length) fitted with an eccentric bore evacuator were used for

6804-643: Was signed with the Continental Motors Company in the development of the AVDS-1100 air-cooled diesel engine, and with Caterpillar to develop the LVDS-1100 water-cooled diesel engine. Both engines are quad-V-shaped, with an estimated 550 hp. However, tank testing with the three new power plants began after the retirement of the T95 program. The suspension consists of five sets of double road wheels with torsion bar springs. The system

6888-470: Was through a hatch cover on the roof and a .50 caliber M2 Heavy Barrel (HB) machine gun was pedestal mounted on the forward part of the cupola. It could be aimed and fired with the cupola closed. Also there was an 11 in (280 mm) long hydraulically operated port on the left side allowing spent cartridge cases to be ejected. After creating a full-sized mock up of this design using the T95E6 turret , it

6972-466: Was used in conjunction with the APFSDS -firing 90 mm T208 smoothbore gun, which had a rigid mount without a recoil system. In addition, although the tanks were designed with a torsion beam suspension , a hydropneumatic suspension was fitted, and one of the tanks was fitted with a Solar Saturn gas turbine for demonstration purposes. The siliceous cored armor consisted of fused silica, which has

7056-560: Was widely used by the US and its Cold War allies, especially those in NATO , and remains in service throughout the world, despite having been superseded by the M1 Abrams in the US military. The tank's hull was the basis for a wide variety of prototype, utility, and support vehicles such as armored recovery vehicles , bridge layers and combat engineering vehicles . As of 2015, Egypt is the largest operator with 1,716 upgraded M60A3s, Turkey

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