M60 Patton The M60 Series is a second - generation main battle tank ( MBT ) introduced in December 1960 . It was widely used by the U . S . and its Cold War allies , especially those in NATO , and remains in service throughout the world today despite being superseded by the M1 Abrams . Egypt is currently the largest operator with 1 , 700 upgraded M60A3s , Turkey is second with more than 900 upgraded units in service , and Israel is third with over 700 units of Israeli variants . Nomenclature . Although developed from the M48 Patton , another interim until replaced by the M60 , the M60 series was never officially classified as a Patton tank , but as a " product improved descendant " of the Patton series of tanks . On 16 March 1959 , the OTCM ( Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes ) # 37002 standardized the vehicle as the 105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M60 . With the US Army ' s deactivation of their last ( M103 ) heavy tank battalion , the M60 became the Army ' s first main battle tank during the Cold War . M60 . The M60 traces its roots to the late WWII - era M26 Pershing heavy tank from which the M48 was developed . In 1957 , plans were laid in the US for a tank with a 105 mm main gun and a redesigned hull offering better armor protection . The resulting M60 series largely resembles the M48 it was based on , but has significant differences . The M60 mounted a bore evacuated 105 mm main gun , compared with the M48 ' s 90 mm , had a hull with a straight front slope where as the M48 ' s hull was rounded , had three support rollers per side to the M48 ' s five , and had road wheels constructed from aluminum rather than steel . The improved design incorporated a Continental V - 12 750 hp air - cooled , twin - turbocharged diesel engine , extending operational range to over while reducing both refueling and servicing . Power was transmitted to a final drive through a cross drive transmission , a combined transmission , differential , steering , and braking unit . The hull of the M60 was a single piece steel casting divided into three compartments , with the driver in front , fighting compartment in the middle and engine at the rear . The driver looked through three M27 day periscopes , one of which could be replaced by a night vision periscope . Initially , the M60 had essentially the same turret shape as the M48 , but this was subsequently replaced with a distinctive " needlenose " design that minimized frontal cross - section to enemy fire . The M60 was the last U . S . main battle tank to utilize homogeneous steel armor for protection . It was also the last to feature the M60 machine gun and an escape hatch under the hull . Originally designated the M68 , the new vehicle was put into production in 1959 , reclassified as the M60 , and entered service in 1960 . Over 15 , 000 M60s ( all variants ) were constructed . M60A1 . In 1963 , the M60 was upgraded to the M60A1 . This new variant , which stayed in production until 1980 , featured a larger , better - shaped turret and improvements to the armor protection and shock absorbers . The M60A1 was also equipped with a stabilization system for the main gun . However , the M60A1 was still not able to fire on the move , as the system only kept the gun pointed in the same general direction while the tank was traveling cross country . It did however enable the coaxial machine gun to be brought to bear while moving . M60A2 ' Starship ' . The M60A2 , nicknamed the " Starship " due to its Space Age technology , featured an entirely new low - profile turret with a commander ' s machine - gun cupola on top , giving the commander a good view and field of fire while under armor but spoiling the low profile . It also featured a 152 mm main gun similar to that of the M551 Sheridan light tank , which fired conventional rounds as well as the Shillelagh anti - tank guided missile ( ATGM ) . The fitting of a CBSS ( closed breech scavenger system ) , which used pressurized air to clear the breech after each shot , solved the problem of unburnt propellant from the main gun rounds fouling the barrel and pre - detonating subsequent rounds . The M60A2 proved a disappointment , though technical advancements would pave the way for future tanks . The Shillelagh / M60A2 system was phased out from active units by 1981 , and the turrets scrapped . Most of the M60A2 tanks were rebuilt as M60A3 , or the hulls converted to armored vehicle - launched bridge ( AVLB ) vehicles . M60A3 Series . In 1978 , work began on the M60A3 variant . It featured a number of technological enhancements , including smoke dischargers , a new rangefinder , and M21 ballistic computer , and a turret stabilization system . All active American M60s eventually underwent the conversion to the A3 model . The M60A3 was phased out of US service in 1997 , but it remained a front - line MBT into the 21st century for a number of other countries . While overall a considerably less effective tank than the M1 Abrams , the M60A3 did have some limited advantages over some M1 models : Service history . Vietnam . The M60 - based AVLB and the M728 CEV were the only variants of the M60 deployed to Vietnam . The Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge , commonly referred to as the " Bridge tank " was mounted on an M60 tank hull , and the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle was an M60 tank mounting a short - tubed 165 mm main gun that fired a shaped charge . Israel . M60s and M60A1s saw action with Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in both the Sinai and the Golan Heights . The United States sent additional M60s to Israel just before and during hostilities . Following the war , the Israeli Defense Force ( IDF ) received many more M48s , M60s and M60A1s from the U . S . Israel further upgraded their inventory of M60s prior to their use in the invasion of Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon War . The Israeli modifications included new tracks and explosive reactive armor ( ERA ) . This variant was known as the Magach . Further work in Israel has been done on the upgraded Magach models , adding new armor , new fire control system , a thermal sleeve and smoke dischargers . The latest versions , the Magach 7 ( with variants A through C ) , are still in use with the IDF reserve units . Kuwait . The M60A1 RISE Passive of the U . S . Marines saw action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 , opposing Iraqi armor which included the T - 54 / T - 59 , T - 55 , T - 62 , Type 69 , and T - 72 . The M60A1s were fitted with add - on explosive reactive armor ( ERA ) packages and supported the drive into Kuwait City where they were involved in a two day tank battle at the Kuwait airport with the loss of only one vehicle and no crew . They saw service with the United States Marine Corps , and the Saudi Arabian Army . Other users . As of 2005 , M60 variants are in service with Bahrain , Bosnia , Brazil , Egypt , Greece , Iran , Israel , Portugal , Spain , Turkey , Taiwan , Thailand and some other nations to varying degrees . Also , the US continues to have significant stockpiles of them waiting to be scrapped , sold - off , converted , or used as targets in weapons testing , although some vehicles that use the chassis are still in use . Most of those still used are much upgraded models . Pattons formed the basis for many ' new ' tank designs , some using the chassis but with all - new turrets others using various upgrade packages . Combat performance . Overall , the M60A1 / A3s performed well against opposing tanks such as T - 55 s , T - 62 s , T - 72 s and Type 69 s in various conflicts including the Yom Kippur war , Lebanon and the battle for the Kuwait airport that involved hundreds of tanks in a two day , all out battle with only one vehicle lost on the US side . The Marine Corps M60A1s had ERA that helped to protect them , and the Iraqi tank crews were not well trained and were using poorly maintained equipment . During the Yom Kippur War , the M60 tank proved effective versus T - 54 / 55 and T - 62 tanks . However , many Israeli M60s were destroyed by Egyptian troops armed with AT - 3 Sagger anti - tank missiles . Most of these casualties were in the first few days following the Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal . Once the Egyptian armor left the cover of the anti - air umbrella , it sustained heavy losses to the Israeli Air Force , before it was defeated by dug - in Israeli tanks in defensive positions outnumbering Egyptian tanks 2 - 1 , on the 14 October . In Israeli service , the type was regarded ambiguously . Asked for his opinion , a former Israeli tank commander who had served in M60s in 1982 commented tersely , " they burn . " There were also a number of prototype upgrades evaluated in the U . S . , which were passed over in favor of simply producing more M1 Abrams . Due to the end of the Cold War , surplus US Army M1 tanks were absorbed into the remaining USMC units allowing the Marine Corps to transition to an all M1 tank force at reduced cost . The M60A3 participated in CAS trials with the F - 16 in the 1980s . During the 1991 Gulf War / Desert Storm at least one US Air Force unit was equipped with M60s . The 401st TFW ( P ) , deployed to Doha , Qatar had two M60s intended for use by explosives ordnance disposal personnel . It was planned that using the MBTs would allow the EOD crews to remove unexploded ordnance from tarmac runway and taxiway surfaces with increased safety . M47 Patton tanks portrayed enemy tanks in the film " Battle of the Bulge " , starring actor Robert Shaw and Henry Fonda ; Spanish M48 Patton tanks were used as enemy tanks in the film " Patton " , with actor George C . Scott as General Patton . The M60 series has appeared in many smaller roles in U . S . films made after World War II , and have become the stereotypical image of the Cold War U . S . tank . Ironically , in many American films Patton tanks are used to portray enemy tanks . An M60A3 TTS was also involved in a police chase , when one was stolen by Shawn Nelson from an Army National Guard armory and taken on a rampage through San Diego , California . The driver was killed by police when he refused to surrender after the tank got stuck on concrete freeway dividers . News footage of this incident has been shown numerous times on World ' s Wildest Police Videos and other such programs . Variants . Specialized . " Additional equipment " :