Bunker Talk blog with 30,000 photos of my toy soldier collection of Roco Minitanks, Heiser Models, Fidelis Models, Airfix and Pegasus figures; and 54mm & 60mm plastic soldiers from Tim Mee, Elastowit, BMC, MPC. Be sure to follow Bunker Talk. Email at BunkerMeister45@aol.com. Get merch at: https://www.redbubble.com/people/bunkertalkwar/shop
6 comments:
It's cool, and you did a nice job - but M482 and M60s look SOOO much alike (except, of course, for the shape of the front bow) that if you didn't mention it, and just posted the picture, I a;most certainly would have missed it - looks just like an M60A2 to me!!
Yes the later M48 tanks even had the M60 engine and engine deck so even more like the M60 in appearance. Still I think it's a cool vehicle.
There was a lot of playing around with swapping turrets and other parts between the M48 and M60 series in case of major war we would have needed lots of tanks quickly.
Bunkermeister
So fucking cool man
I've a picture of an M-60A2 I took at Grafenwoehr, Germany in 1976 or 77 in a motor pool by the turn to Vilseck. As I recall the M60A2 was rushed into production as a stopgap measure to match the then-new Soviet T-72, which was supposed to have had a load of new high speed - low drag improvements such as a snorkeling device which allowed them to ford shallow rivers in moments, NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) filters so the crew could "button up" and be safe in a CBR environment (later that became more or less standard on all Soviet vehicles) - the big thing was a new high speed main gun sight that allowed the T-72 to fire while on the move.
The US was working on what would become the M1 Abrams tank at the time but was still years from being ready to produce so the gurus came up with the M-60A2 with some of the finished improvements that would be on the M1. That way we'd have an improved tank (the M60A1 was a great tank but getting old) to field until the Abrams was available.
At least that was the plan. I saw the M-60A2 at the same place we (I was in B 1/40th FA, the 3rd Armored Division's 8-inch Field Artillery Battalion) were given a look at the T-72. The Israelis had captured a slew of them in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and had given a number of them to us so we could get a close look at them.
It turned out the snorkeling device was a mixed blessing as if a wave or ripple of water splashed over the opening it could cause the device to come loose and flood the tank drowning the crew. The "fire on the move" gunsight had about a 50% accuracy ratio - according to our gunners that was the rate our gunners had on their M-60A1s.
From what I gather the A2 was a disappointment in spite of the upgunned 152mm main gun and Shillelagh missiles - but it was the first US tank to have a laser range finder. Anyway it didn't last long and only some 500 or so of them were built before the tank was replaced with the much better A3 model.
I got out for awhile in 78 and did some time in the Reserves while I went to college. By the time I returned to Active Duty in 1980 at Ft Bragg all I saw were A3s; then in 1983 we started seeing the M-1s. The 82nd Abn had a National Guard Armored Battalion that was designated to be attached to us if the balloon really went up and they were among the first to receive the new tanks. They were spending their summer camp learning their new tank.
One day in the Summer of 1983 we were firing demonstrations for ROTC Summer camp and saw an M-1 tearing down the tank trail with an MP jeep chasing it blue light on. First, I was pretty impressed that the tank could stay ahead of the jeep. Then we saw the driver really kick it in gear and leave the jeep behind. The MP switched off his light and turned around, going in the other direction. A tank outrunning a jeep.
We were impressed.
Sorry to write such a long post, but your model really brought back some memories. You always do a great job and I get a kick out of seeing what you've come up with. Reminds us of what the hobby is supposed to be - fun. Thanks.
Thank you Forper we are all about the fun here.
Bunkermeiater
Thank you Wayne Wanner. Your story was great! Thank you for writing it. You may always post a long comment here if you wish! Love the Jeep story.
I read a lot about the -A2 recently. Several things came up. The Army was looking for a very long range and accurate weapon. The gun/rocket launcher idea promised that but the technology was not mature enough. One idea was they could take out Hind helicopters with the rocket. That and the T72 were big fears at the time.
It seems M60A2 crews usually hated them because they were fragile and temperamental, also parts were hard to get. I have also heard from crewmen that were in units that really pressed for excellence in maintenance and training that -A2 could perform well, but it required a lot of work and attention.
Bunkermeister
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