![]() That would be less concerning with modern armor. To begin with, its main gun ammunition is not separately stowed, as it is on the Abrams, making the shells more likely to detonate if the armor is penetrated. These saw heavy combat against Iraqi tanks in Kuwait, knocking out around 100 tanks for the loss of just one Patton - largely testifying to the imbalance in training, tactics and supporting arms of the opposing forces. Marines during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. ![]() M-60A1 and A3 Patton tanks still served with the U.S. Not only is the Abrams a superior tank hunter, its composite armor is better protected - although not invulnerable - from the shaped-charge warheads of anti-tank missiles. military began replacing the M-60 with the M-1 Abrams, a tank which possesses a far more decisive edge over its Soviet-era rivals than the Patton ever did. This popular machine featured - at the time - superior armor and a more powerful gun. To bolster its own tank fleet, the Soviet Union introduced the T-72 tank in the 1970s. When M-60s counterattacked Egyptian troops crossing the Suez Canal, those troops blew away the Israeli tanks - their hydraulics prone to bursting into flames - with portable AT-3 Sagger missiles. However, the war demonstrated that Patton tanks were vulnerable to anti-tank guided missiles just beginning to proliferate around the world. The Patton was so well-liked that Israel produced several generations of upgraded Mag’ach Patton tanks, the last of which remained in service until 2014. However, in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israeli M-60s rushed to relieve a force of 170 M-48 and Centurion tanks defending the Golan Heights from a Syrian invasion of 800 T-54s and T-62 tanks.ĭuring several days of perhaps the most intense armored warfare in history, Israeli tanks and artillery crushed the Syrian attackers, counter-attacked and drove within striking distance of Damascus. ![]() The M-60 didn’t see action in the Vietnam War, except for bridge-laying and engineering variants. This latest “Patton” was the last in a family of tanks including the M-46, M-47 and M-48, all armed with 90-millimeter guns. The M-60, informally called the Patton after the M-48 Patton and the famous American general, was a brawler of a machine designed to outmatch the ubiquitous Soviet T-54 by virtue of its heavier armor and long M68 105-millimeter gun. Turkish army photo Meet Turkey’s favorite tank ![]() ![]() But curiously enough, the M-60 has seen the most combat. The latter type, which entered service the same year as the Cuban Missile Crisis, is rather long in the tooth. The vast majority of Turkey’s tanks are American-made M-48 and M-60 Patton tanks. The country is facing one of its worst geopolitical crises in decades, and it also maintains an enormous tank force - more than 2,400 all told, greater than the tank forces of France, Germany and the United Kingdom combined.īut only Turkey’s 354 German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks are modern designs, and even those date back to 1985. It’s easy to see why Turkey’s tanks are so active. Recently, Turkish armor crossed over into Syria and drove the Islamic State terrorist group from its last holdings along the Turkish border - and also fought with U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels, creating a frustrating diplomatic quandary for the White House. Turkish army photo Rebels armed with guided missiles punish Ankara’s tank forceĪnkara’s tanks have been in the news a lot this year, whether prowling the streets of the Turkish capital in a failed coup attempt, or taking missile fire from rebel fighters on the Syrian border. A Turkish M-60 tank and ACV-15 armored vehicle. ![]()
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