Intro
Dare we say that M60 remains one of the favourite tanks of modellers with more than 50 years’ service and service in the NATO territory. It’s a subject that has been for many years serving in many different Armies, not only in USA. This was the spearhead MBT for some of the most tense years of the Cold War in West Germany. Now finally it has been reproduced in 1/35 scale as it deserves, in a high level model kit with stunning detail.
Originally designed to counter the Soviet MBT’s in Europe during the Cold War, the M60 was the main weapon of armoured units of the US Armed Forces during the 1960’s and 1970’s. M60 entered in production at the end of 1959 with a M48 turret armed with a M68 105mm main gun. In 1962 M60A1 entered production with a new elongated turret and new improvements. It was seventeen years later when the M60A3 entered in production with all the “RISE” program improvements (Armoured Air Cleaners, AVDS-1970-2C V12 engine, T142 tracks, a new smoke discharger…), improved protection of the turret and a new coaxial M240 MG. But the most important modification was the addition of a new Laser Tank Fire Control System.
The final improvement was introduced in 1980 when a new AN/VSG-2 Tank Thermal Sight (TTS) was installed. In that same year the new MBT M1 Abrams entered service, and the M60A3 became replaced during the following years. Finally in 1987, after making more than 15 000 units, the production of M60 was stopped. Many countries all around the World acquired many of those retired (or new) tanks as Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Singapore, Taiwan, Brazil and many others.
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