Features
Crew :4 men.
Weight :48,980 t.
Engine :Continental AVDS-1790-2A 12-cylinder diesel developing 750 hp at 2,400 rpm.
Dimensions :length with barrel, 9.436 m;
length (body), 6.946 m; width, 3.631 m;
height , 3.27 m.
Performance :
maximum road speed , 48.280 km/h;
maximum autonomy on the road , 500 km;
fording , 1.219m; slope, 60%;
vertical obstacle , 0.914m;
straight cut , 2.59 m.
Armament
Main armament M60A1, A3:1 x 105 mm M68 gun (63 shells)
M60A2:1 x 152 mm M162 gun/launcher (33 shells &13 MGM-51 Shillelagh missiles)
Secondary Armament M60A1:1 coaxial M73 7.62 mm machine gun (6,000 rounds)
M60A2:1 coaxial M219 7.62 mm machine gun (6,000 rounds)
M60A3:1 x 7.62mm M240C coaxial machine gun (5,950 rounds)
M60 A1, A2, A3:1 x M85 cal. 050 (12.7mm) cupola (900 rounds)
The current model, the M 60A3, is produced at the Detroit Armor Plant, which came under the control of the Land Systems Division of General Dynamics, which took over Chrysler Defense Incorporated in 1982. The M 60A3 benefited, from to the first M 60A1, important improvements, including a laser rangefinder (in development at Hughes Aircraft), a new night sighting apparatus, vertical and horizontal stabilization of the main armament, a new BISE AVDS-1790-2A engine, new tracks, a new spotlight on the main armament, a thermal sleeve for the gun, a new coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and six smoke launchers mounted on each side of the turret. Many of these improvements have also been made to the M 60A1, which has thus become the M 60A3.
Its ammunition endowment includes 63 105 mm shells, 26 of which are placed in the front part of the hull, 13 in the turret, ready for use, and 3 under the gun. A 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted in the axis of the main armament, and a 12.7 mm machine gun is placed under the tank commander's cupola. The M 60 can be equipped with a bulldozer blade, located in the front of the hull, complete night vision equipment, NBC system, radiator and a kit to improve the fording ability of the tank.
Production of the M 60A3 will end in 1984, by which time more than thirteen thousand vehicles will have been manufactured for the domestic and foreign markets. In addition to the US Army and Marines, the users of these tanks are:Austria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Italy (which also uses 200 vehicles built under license by OTO Melara), Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and North Yemen.
There are two main versions of the M 60, the M 60 AVLB and the M 728 CEV. The M 60 AVLB has a scissor bridge at the top of the fairing, which deploys at the front of the vehicle and can span ditches up to 18m wide. The Engineer Fighting Vehicle, the M 728 CEV, has the same turret and hull as the M 60A1, but is armed with a 165 mm demolition gun that can launch HESH ammunition intended to destroy fortifications and blockhouses. A bulldozer blade, mounted at the front, is used to clear the battlefield and prepare firing positions for other tanks. A-shaped, it can swivel and lays backwards when not not in action. The M 60A1 was used by the Israeli Armor Corps, which considered it a very reliable tank. Its main drawback is its silhouette, which is tall compared to other tanks, especially the T-54, T-55 and T-62, which makes it difficult to conceal in the desert. Its armor protection is better than that of the French AMX-30 and the West German Leopard 1, but worse than that of the British Chieftain. Teledyne Continental undertook, on its own funds, the development of an improved M 60, with a new engine and a new hydropneumatic transmission, capable of receiving additional armor that would increase the chances of survival on the battlefield.