Modern upgrades of the M60 Cz. 2

The M60 SLEP tank, also known as the M60A4S, is a joint upgrade proposal for the M60 family from Raytheon and L-3.

Due to the fact that the M60 tanks were popular with US allies (some of them earlier) around the world, the M60 is still in service in many countries - especially the less wealthy, who could not afford the purchase of the third generation vehicles. This means that even in the 50th century, more than XNUMX years after its first modifications entered service in the US Army, extension of their service life and subsequent modernization are being considered.

The Chrysler Corporation M60 Patton tank officially entered service with the US Army in December 1960 (it was standardized a little earlier, in March 1959), as the successor to the M48 (also Patton). In fact, it was supposed to be the first main battle tank in the US Army, as it was also supposed to replace the last American heavy tanks - M103. The Soviet T-62 can be considered its counterpart on the other side of the Iron Curtain. At that time, it was a modern machine, albeit heavy, more than 46 tons (the basic version of the M60). For comparison, it is worth mentioning the combat weight of other tanks of that era: M103 - 59 tons, M48 - 45 tons, T-62 - 37,5 tons, T-10M - 57,5 tons. It was well armored, because in the M60 version the hull armor was up to 110 mm thick, the turret armor up to 178 mm, and due to the inclination and profiling of the sheets, the effective thickness was greater. On the other hand, the advantages of armor were offset by the large dimensions of the M60A1 / A3 tank hulls (length without barrel × width × height: approx. 6,95 × 3,6 × 3,3 m; dimensions of the T-62 with similar armor and armament: approximately 6,7 .3,35 x 2,4 x 60 m). In addition, the M105 was well armed (the 68-mm M7 cannon is a licensed version of the British L48 tank gun, with effective armored personnel carriers and cumulative ammunition available from the beginning of service), fast enough (12 km / h, provided by the Continental AVDS-1790 - 2-cylinder engine) 551A with a power of 750 kW / 850 hp, interacting with the GMC CD-105 hydromechanical transmission), and in the hands of a trained and well-coordinated crew, it was a formidable opponent for any Soviet tank of that time. Of no small importance were observation and aiming devices that were quite good at that time: the M8D gunner's daytime telescopic sight with 17x magnification, the M1A500 (or C) rangefinder sight with a measurement range of 4400 to 1 m, the M28 commander's sight tower with its devices (M37C and eight periscopes) and, finally, the rotating periscope of the M36 loader. In the case of operations at night, the main instruments of the commander and gunner were to be replaced by the M32 and M1 night vision devices (respectively), interacting with the AN / VSS-XNUMX infrared illuminator.

Development of the M60

Subsequent serial developments were to ensure combat effectiveness for many years to come. The M60A1, which entered service in 1962, received a new, improved and improved armored turret, reinforced frontal armor of the hull, increased gun ammunition from 60 to 63 rounds, and a two-plane electro-hydraulic stabilization of the main armament was introduced. A decade later, in the wake of admiration for rocket weapons (and in response to the aging of the M60A1), a version of the M60A2 Starship (lit. spaceship, unofficial nickname) was introduced, equipped with an innovative turret. It housed a 152 mm M162 low-pressure rifled gun (a shortened version of it was used in the M551 Sheridan airmobile tank), which was also used to fire MGM-51 Shillelagh guided missiles, which were supposed to provide the ability to accurately hit targets, including armored, at long distances. Constant technical problems and the high price of ammunition led to the fact that only 526 (according to other sources there were 540 or 543) of these tanks were produced (new turrets on the old M60 chassis), which were quickly converted to the Air Force standard. version M60A3 or for special equipment. The M60A3 was created in 1978 as a response to problems with the M60A2. Modifications to the M60A1 included, among other things, new fire control instruments, which are in fact a simple fire control system. From the middle of 1979, in the M60A3 (TTS) variant, these were: AN / VSG-2 TTS day and night thermal imaging sights for the gunner and commander, an AN / VVG-2 ruby ​​laser rangefinder with a range of up to 5000 m and a digital ballistic computer M21. Thanks to this, the accuracy of the first shot from the M68 gun has significantly increased. In addition, a new coaxial 7,62-mm M240 machine gun was introduced, the driver received an AN / VVS-3A passive periscope, six (2 × 3) smoke grenade launchers and a smoke generator, an automatic fire extinguishing system and new tracks with rubber pads were also installed . The total production of the M60 was 15 units.

Already in the 70s, on the other side of the Iron Curtain, more T-64A / B, T-80 / B and T-72A vehicles appeared in the lineup, with which the crews of the increasingly obsolete Pattons were not able to fight in equal fight. For this reason, Teledyne Continental Motors developed a deep retrofit project known as the Super M70 for Patton at the turn of the 80s and 60s. Introduced in 1980, the modernization package was supposed to significantly increase the capabilities of the M60. The vehicle received multi-layered additional armor, protecting mainly from HEAT rounds, which significantly changed the appearance of the turret. In addition, the survivability of the crew was supposed to increase the new fire protection system. The increase in firepower should have been affected by the use of the upgraded M68-M68A1 gun (identical to that of the M1 tank) with a stock of 63 rounds, but interacting with the M60A3 optoelectronics. An increase in weight to 56,3 tons required changes to the suspension (hydropneumatic shock absorbers were added) and transmission. The last in the Super M60 was to consist of a Teledyne CR-1790-1B diesel engine with an output of 868,5 kW / 1180 hp, aggregated with a Renk RK 304 hydromechanical automatic transmission. This unit was supposed to provide a maximum speed of up to 72 km / h . hour However, the Super M60 did not arouse the interest of the US military, who then focused on a completely new design - the future of the M1 Abrams.