M60: Cold War Guardian | Tank Chats

The high point of a series of American tank designs that began in WW2, the M60 stood guard in a divided Europe during the Cold War. David Willey gives us a detailed analysis of a tank that served far longer than anyone intended.

In the aftermath of WWII, there was a belief that the nature of warfare had completely changed. America was entering a nuclear-era – prioritising atomic weapons, and vehicles to transport them – and threatening to leave the tank behind. The Korean War reemphasised the need for tanks, pushing forward a series of new tank designs: M46, M47 and M48 Patton Family.

Leading on from this, the Army Combat Vehicle committee began work on the XM60 programme. A fear of new Soviet armour, along with an interest in new technologies such as diesel engines, resulted in what was originally intended to be an interim model – the M60. However, with the collapse of the MBT-70 project, the M60 had to soldier on for much longer than anticipated.

The M60 was put through a host of upgrades, including the RISE program, ending up with thicker armour, space for more rounds and improvements to the suspension system. The M60 proved reliable and served as a reliable Cold War guardian for the US Army.


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00:00 | American tanks 1945-1960
07:50 | M60 Development
17:34 | M60 Design Features
24:32 | M60A1, RISE and AOS upgrades
28:55 | M60A2 and the Shillelagh
33:01 | M60A3 and the final years
35:40 | Thank you to Horstman
36:34 | US Marines and the Gulf War

This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.

In this film, David Willey explores the history of the US M60, a tank that served in a huge number of theatres and conflicts around the globe. The M60 grew out of the earlier Patton projects of the M46, M47 and M48, and served as an interim measure during the development of the MBT-70. However, when this project was scrapped, the M60 soldiered on through a gauntlet of upgrades and served faithfully as America’s primary Main Battle Tank during the Cold War.

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