The M60 Patton main battle tank is now primarily found in US Reserve and National Guard units, but served as the primary US main battle tank for two decades prior to the introduction of the M1. Developed from the M48 Patton series, the M60 was fitted with a 105mm main gun and manned by a four-man crew. Criticized for its high profile and limited cross-country mobility, this durable tank proved reliable and underwent many updates over its service life. Rarely has one vehicle type labored as the principle main battle tank for as long as the stalwart M60. The interior layout, based on the excellent designof the M26/46/47/M48, provided ample room for updates and improvements, extending the vehicle's service life for over four decades. 

In the early 1950s, reports from British intelligence indicated the Soviets had developed a new heavily armored medium tank, the T-54. This new tank was armed with a 100mm gun, superior to the American M48 medium tank, which used an old 90mm main weapon developed in WWII. In response, the US developed a strategy to bring the M48 up a level to compete with the new Soviet tank -- the M60. Initially produced in 1960, over 15,000 M60s were built by Chrysler and first saw service in 1961. Production ended in 1983, but 5,400 older models were converted to the M60A3 variant ending in 1990. This tank saw action with the Israeli forces during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 in both the Sinai and the Golan Heights. 

Besides its main gun, the M60 series tanks are equipped with a 7.62mm M240 coaxial machine gun and 12.7mm M85 antiaircraft gun. Power is provided by a Continental AVDS-1790-2C 750 hp V-12 engine and an Allison CD-850-6/6A powershift crossdrive transmission. The first M-60s retained a turret similar to the M-48, but had a revised hull with better ballistic protection. The M60 tank hull was designed with a unique rounded boat shape, made from five cast pieces that combine to provide excellent ballistic protection for the four crew and equipment packed inside. 
 

The M60A1 was the principal production model from 1963 to 1980 with the British-designed L7 105mm rifled gun with thermal sleeve and fume extractor (63 rounds). Other than the new turret design, little was done to the basic M60 chassis excepting minor changes in hull fittings. The new variant, under the designation M60A1, was able to be placed in production relatively quickly, and without serious problems. The first M60A1s were issued to US regular army units during the spring of 1962, less than 2 years after the first M60s. Following introduction of the M60A1 into American service, it was supplied to U.S. allies, including Austria, Iran, Israel, Jordan and Italy. 

The M-60A1 had a redesigned wedge-shaped turret with better ballistic protection, and a new mount for the M68 105mm main gun. Early vehicles had no gun stabilization system, but later this was retrofitted, and by the mid-70s most were so equipped. This vehicle became the mainstay of the US Army's tank force through the 1960s and into the early 70s. The M68 105mm gun in the M60 tank is a modified British L7 weapon, utilizing an American vertical sliding breech block. This same weapon was also used in the M1 Abrams tank, before it was swapped for a new 120mm gun in the M1A1/A2. Weighing 58 tons (52,617 kg) and with a crew of four -- commander, gunner, loader, and driver -- the M60A1 has as its main armament a 105mm gun. The M60 turret is organized in typical American fashion, with the gunner on the right, the commander directly behind him, and the loader on the left and rear of the 105mm gun. The turret interior is roomy in comparison to most other main battle tanks of the 1960s era.

The M60A3 main battle tank is used as the principal assault weapon of tank battalions during all types of combat operations, conducted under any conditions, from low-intensity conflict to general nuclear and nonnuclear situations, as part of an offensive combined arms team. The M60A3 ise employed as the decisive element of army forces to defeat an enemy force using fire and maneuver. In the role of defense, it ise used as a part of a combined arms team to prevent, resist, repulse, or destroy an enemy attack. The M60A3 (TTS) replaced the M48 series of tanks, and the M60A1 tank.