M60 Patton

The M60 Patton is a main battle tank (MBT) introduced in December 1960.^[12] The M60 became the Army's primary tank during the Cold War.^[13] When the Soviet Union got the T-54 tank, the United States decided to upgrade the M48 Patton tank.^[14] The armor was improved. It was fitted with the British L7 105 mm tank gun.^[14] The army also decided to switch from gasoline to diesel.^[14]

M60
An M60 tank on display at the Batesville, Mississippi VFW Post in October 2012.
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1959–present[1]
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Cold War Yom Kippur War Ogaden War Invasion of Grenada Persian Gulf War Iran–Iraq War Lebanese Civil War 1982 Lebanon War Multinational Force in Lebanon Yemeni Civil War (1994) Western Sahara War 2011 Bahrain protests Houthi insurgency in Yemen Kurdish–Turkish conflict Cambodian–Thai border dispute Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Sinai insurgency Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
Production history
Designer	Chrysler Defense Engineering
Designed	1957
Manufacturer	Chrysler Corporation Delaware Defense Plant 1959-1960 Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant 1960-1983
Unit cost	M60: US$309,000 (1962) M60A1RISE: US$385,000 (1976)[2] M60A2: US$372,000 (1974)[3] M60A3TTS: US$1.292 million (1990)[4]
Produced	M60: 1959–1962 M60A1: 1962–1980 M60A2: 1973–1975[3] M60A3: 1978–1983[5]
No. built	Over 15,000 (all variants)
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	M60: 50.7 short tons (46.0 t; 45.3 long tons) M60A1: 52.6 short tons (47.7 t; 47.0 long tons) M60A2: 52.0 short tons (47.2 t; 46.4 long tons) M60A3: 54.6 short tons (49.5 t; 48.8 long tons)[6]
Length	M60/M60A1/M60A3: 6.946 meters (22 ft 9.5 in) (hull), 9.309 meters (30 ft 6.5 in) (gun forward) M60A2: 6.946 meters (22 ft 9.5 in) (hull), 7.3 meters (23 ft 11 in) (gun forward)[7]
Width	M60/M60A1/M60A2/M60A3: 3.631 meters (11 ft 11.0 in)[7]
Height	M60: 3.213 meters (10 ft 6.5 in) M60A2: 3.1 meters (10 ft 2 in) M60A1/M60A3: 3.27 meters (10 ft 9 in)[7]
Crew	4[8]
Armor	Upper Glacis[9] M60: 3.67 in (93 mm) at 65° 8.68 in (220 mm) LoS M60A1: 4.29 in (109 mm) at 65° 10.15 in (258 mm) LoS M60A2: same as M60A1 M60A3: same as M60A1 Turret Front[9] M60: equals 7 in (180 mm) M60A1: equals 10 in (250 mm) M60A2: equals 11.5 in (290 mm) M60A3: equals 10.87 in (276 mm)
Main armament	M60 / M60A1 / M60A3: M68 105 mm (4.1 in)[10] M60A2: 152 mm (6.0 in) M162 Gun/Launcher[10]
Secondary armament	.50 BMG (12.7×99mm) M85 mounted on M19 Commanders Cupola[11] 7.62×51mm NATO M73 machine gun (later upgraded to M240C)
Engine	Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12, air-cooled Twin-turbo diesel engine 750 bhp (560 kW)[7]
Power/weight	15.08 bhp/st (12.4 kW/tonne)[7]
Transmission	General Motors, cross-drive, single-stage with 2 forward and 1 reverse ranges[7]
Suspension	Torsion bar suspension
Ground clearance	1 foot 6.2 inches (0.463 m)[7]
Fuel capacity	385 US gal (1,457 L)[7]
Operational range	300 miles (500 km)[7]
Maximum speed	30 mph (48 km/h) (road) 12 mph (19 km/h) (cross country)[7]