User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Meet the Patton: Why the M-60 tank is still a killer in battle

  1. #1
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,122, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496581
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,700
    Points
    859,122
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,223
    Thanked 147,591x in 94,420 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Meet the Patton: Why the M-60 tank is still a killer in battle

    Meet the Patton: Why the M-60 tank is still a killer in battle

    The US stopped using the M-60 and its variants a long time ago. But many other nations still field them.

    Meet the Patton: Why the M60 Tank Is Still A Killer After Decades on the Battlefield

    The Patton may reliably soldier on and contribute its heavy firepower to the battlefield—but in an era where minimizing casualties and denying propaganda victories to the other side is important, its dated armor protection will remain a liability.


    Just how far can you soup up a tank from the 1960s?
    It was in the Middle East that the M60 Patton first showed its mettle. During the Yom Kippur War, Israeli M60s rumbled to the rescue of the Seventh and 188th Armored Brigades on the Golan Heights, breaking the back of a Syrian onslaught numbering over 3 thousand tanks. However, on the southern front, AT-3 anti-tank missiles devastated M60s counterattacking the Egyptian beachhead on the Suez canal. The Patton’s tall profile made it an easy target, while its frontally mounted hydraulics were prone to bursting into flames when the armor was penetrated. Nonetheless, the Israelis were so fond of the Patton that they kept it in service until 2014, upgrading them into several generations of Mag’ach tanks.

    The Patton saw quite a few upgrades over its service life. The avant-garde M60A2 “Starship” variant used a 155-millimeter gun that could fire Shillelagh anti-tank missiles; it was quickly phased out because of crippling technical limitations. The final version, the M60A3 TTS, came with improved fire control systems and thermal sights that made it an effective night fighter. Some Marine Corps Pattons were even fitted with explosive-reactive armor.


    However, by the 1980s the Soviet Union had exported large numbers of the T-72 tank, which equaled or outmatched the Patton in armor and firepower. Meanwhile, the United States introduced the M1 Abrams tank, which proved a decisive technological leap ahead in both firepower (once it received a 120 millimeter gun) and protection, thanks to its composite armor.


    The last U.S. M60s were operated by the Marine Corps, and finally saw heavy combat in the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, knocking out around 100 Iraqi tanks for the loss of a single Patton. However, that reflected the unequal training and tactics of the opposing sides more than anything else, and shortly afterwards the Patton was phased out of U.S. service.


    However, M60s remain the most numerous main battle tank in service in many countries today, including Egypt (1,700), Turkey (932), Taiwan (450), Saudi Arabia (450), Morocco (427), Thailand (178), and Bahrain (180.)
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Peter1469 For This Useful Post:

    Cotton1 (03-25-2019)

  3. #2
    Points: 11,596, Level: 25
    Level completed: 83%, Points required for next Level: 154
    Overall activity: 11.0%
    Achievements:
    Veteran10000 Experience Points
    mamooth's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1080
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    3,513
    Points
    11,596
    Level
    25
    Thanks Given
    15
    Thanked 1,071x in 788 Posts
    Mentioned
    61 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I worked on the M60 upgrades. Coming in on Saturday, "the tank" was tooling around out back, looking for "non-civilian" moving targets to test the targeting system, and my compact car fit the bill. I knew the gun wasn't loaded, but it's still not comfy looking down the barrel as it tracks you.

    Then there was the day ... "We need volunteers to drive the tank" ... "Really?" .... "That means people who possess experience driving a tank." ... "Awww, you're no fun."

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to mamooth For This Useful Post:

    Peter1469 (03-25-2019)

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts