Patton: The Final Generation

Historical Background

During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, a captured Soviet T-54 was driven onto the British Embassy's garden at Budapest. After the armour and the gun were inspected, it was concluded that the armour is able to withstand hits from 20-pounder rounds of British Centurion tanks and 90-mm rounds used by the US M47 and M48 Patton tanks. Royal Ordnance took note of this development and consequently developed and produced the famous L7 105-mm gun. In Europe it led to a discussion between the UK, France and West Germany to develop a 'Europanzer' based around the gun (the programme broke down and the parties went with their separate ways with the UK adopting a 105 mm-armed Centurion, the French with the AMX-30 and the West Germans with Leopard 1). In the US, it led to a decision to adopt and produce the gun under license (as the M68) and design a new platform based on the M48A3 Patton. Studies were started in 1957 and was designated M68 in 1959. However the Bureau of Ordnance renamed it as the M60, after the year of its acceptance.

The M60 is based on the M48, with a one-piece steel cast hull divided into three compartments : driving at the front, fighting in the middle and engine to the rear. The bottom hull is still boat-like although it has a straight front slope (the M48 has rounded slope). The M60 series was powered by a Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12 air-cooled, twin-turbo diesel engine, allowing a range of up to 480 km while reducing fuel consumption and servicing. Initially, the M60 had the same clamshell-shaped turret as the M48, but this was changed to a 'needle-nose' shape in 1963 on the M60A1. The new turret face presented a smaller frontal profile to the enemy, while at the same time optimising the layout of the turret on the same width as before. The original M60 had no commander's cupola, which was introduced in the M60A1. The fully rotating cupola is armed with a 12.7mm M85 machine gun, allowing the commander to operate it from behind cover. A M73 7.62mm machine gun was provided as a co-axial weapon. The main armament is a licence-built L7, known as the M68. The M68 can fire a whole range of American-built rounds: be it APDS, HEAT, HEP (HESH) and APERS (HE) but also foreign-manufactured ones should the need arise.

The original M60 was upgraded to M60A1 in 1963. Apart from the new turret, it was two tons heavier, requiring a shock absorber on the second wheel pair and the relocation of the first return roller. The armour was thickened further (e.g. 254mm RHA equivalent for turret face compared to 217mm RHA equivalent for M60). In 1972, the Add-On Stabilization system was fitted, but still not allowing the the tank to fire on the move. In 1974-75, the M60A1 received the RISE (Reliability Improvements for Selected Equipment) upgrade program, which include upgraded engine design and a new track type. In 1977, they were given RISE Passive program, consisting of passive IR sights for the driver, gunner and the commander, eliminating the need for the IR searchlight above the gun. USMC M60A1 RISE Passives were outfitted with Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks in the 1980s. In 1969, the M60A2 appeared. Nicknamed 'Starship' because of its 'space age' looks and technology, it was intended to be an interim design pending the introduction of the MBT-70. It has a different, low-slung turret than the rest of the family, which was somewhat spoiled by the rather high machine gun cupola. The main armament was the M18E1 152 mm gun-missile launcher, similar to the one arming the M551 Sheridan and capable of firing the MGM-51 Shillelagh missile. The M60A2 was a disappointment, with many rebuilt as M60A3 or converted to AVLB vehicles when the MGM-51 Shillelagh system was withdrawn in 1981. 

In 1978, work for a vastly enhanced version, designated M60A3 was begun. The hull and turret remain as the M60A1, but it was fitted with two banks of smoke grenade dischargers, AN/VVG-2 laser rangefinder, M21 ballistic computer and turret stabilisation system. From mid-production onwards, the commander's cupola was eliminated, as it actually created a shot trap, and was replaced with the Israeli-style 'Urdan' cupola. Some M60A3s were fitted with AN/VSG-2 thermal sight, creating the M60A3 TTS (tank thermal sight). Other variants of the M60 family include M60AVLB (Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge, with 60-ft scissors-type bridge) and M728 CEV (Combat Engineer Vehicle) with a folding A-frame crane and winch and armed with a M135 165 mm demolition gun. It was also commonly fitted with a D7 bulldozer blade.

The M60 family first saw action with the Israeli Defence Force during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The M60 proved superior to the T-54/55 and T-62 facing them, but suffered losses when confronted with the portable 9M14 Malyutka (AT-3 Sagger) anti-tank missiles. The Israeli M60s were later upgraded to Magach 6/7 standard and saw further combat during Operation Peace For Galilee in 1982. Iranian M60s saw combat during the Iran-Iraq War despite being handicapped by spares problems and acquit themselves well against the Soviet-made Iraqi tanks, including the T-72.  In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, 200 Marine Corps M60A1s took part in the battle at Kuwait Airport, destroying some 108 Iraqi T-54/55, T-62 and T-72 tanks for the loss of just one M60A1. The M60, by this time relegated to training role,  was phased out of US Army service in 2005. The type however still see service with several other countries.

The Kit

The Academy 1/35 kit of the M60A1 RISE Passive was released in 1993. The parts are spread among five dark green sprues, upper and lower hull halves, vinyl one-piece tracks, polycaps and tyres, plastic mesh and a decal sheet. I have never actually seen the Tamiya version of the M60A1 but the Academy seemed to be a reworked copy of the Tamiya kit (the motorization hole under the hull gives the clue). The parts are well-moulded, with the usual exceptions for injection-moulded parts, such as solid fender support brackets (which should be hollow). The kit also allows one to build an M60A1 without the ERA blocks while equipped with the passive IR sight. A small number of accessories are also included. Decals provide markings for two tanks : 'Rolling Thunder' in desert camouflage and an anonymous M60A1 in NATO 3-colour camouflage.

Construction

As usual with armour kits, construction starts at the bottom of the hull. Another attack of laziness strikes again and I decided to leave the motorisation hole as it is, afterall, the hole is at the very bottom of the hull and not visible to the casual observer. The upper half of the side hull was cemented into place which resulted in a small gap. Nothing to pull my hair about, it just need a bit of putty and sanding. Next, the assembly of the shock absorbers. It was quite a shock (pun intended) when I realised that the struts don't meet up with the suspension. So I used a road wheel to see if this would be unsightly. Luckily the road wheels hide this major problem and I left the absorbers as they were. The suspension arms are of a very tight fit and I have to sand them down. I decided not to fit the wheels at this time and finished the lower hull by cementing the rear panel into place.

Construction then moved to the upper hull. There weren't much to do here, just assembling the exhausts, some stowage bins, the headlights and their guards and some other items on the rear deck such as the gun travel lock. The driver's hatch was made moveable but I decided to glue it shut. The ERA blocks that need assembly were done so but I decided to leave them off the model at this time to facilitate painting and decaling later on. The upper and lower hull were then mated together. There are gaps at the rear which need to be filled. Next was the turret. The turret shell was assembled and there is a gap where the mantlet meet body of the turret. The turret is also the place where most of the options for building an ERA-less M60A1 were noted. Having already decided to build an ERA-equipped M60A1, most of the parts for the plain M60A1 were discarded. The gun barrel is the usual two-piece affair but no gaps was encountered the halves were cemented. For the bustle rack, Academy provided jigs to assemble it, easing the task. They also provide templates for the wire mesh (somewhat inexplicably, I used the one for the floor of the rack only). The commander's cupola was also assembled but remain separate from the turret. The hatch cover remain loose as I was still undecided whether to use the commander's figure or not.

Painting and Decaling

I decided to paint my M60A1 in the desert scheme. I used the same concoction I used for my M1A2 SEP, that is 40% XF-59 Desert Yellow, 40% XF-57 Buff and 20% X-2 White. The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown and washed with AK Interactive's Track Wash. The rubber parts of tracks were painted H77 Tyre Black. The vision blocks were painted Gloss Black - a colour I believe more suitable for a buttoned-up tank. I then sprayed some Gloss Clear to help the disreputable Academy decals conform to the surface, although I still doubt their ability to cling over raised details, such as the bolt heads on the ERA blocks. The decals were then applied and as I thought, their cardboard-like stiffness made them unable to cling over the raised details, tearing them. I ended up using only the decals for the lines and the nickname on the gun barrel and the tank serial number. The ID markings, of which a few were torn, was done using paint. The stencil on the left rear fender has a spelling mistake: 'Two' instead of 'Tow'! It wasn't used however as it folded upon itself and cannot be salvaged. The rest of the decals however suffered from silvering despite repeated baths in Mr Mark Softer. The model was then washed with a wash mix of Flat Black and Red Brown.

Finishing

I started off by putting on the tracks. They are of the old-style heat-type and I have to hide the joint underneath the fender. They are also quite loose and I have to superglue them onto the return rollers. The commander's cupola was then inserted into place and I finally decided to close the commander's hatch. The ERA blocks can now be placed. However, Academy chose to simplify matters here (not always a good thing) by having the blocks attached directly to the main body while the Tamiya kit (upon which this kit is apparently based on) include the mountings which were placed onto the turret before attaching the blocks. This apparently affected the fit of the blocks. To make them adhere better, I used superglue rather than the normal cement. I then apply Mig Productions' Gulf War Sand pigment in enamel thinner all over the lower hull and rather sparingly on the wheels and the tracks. Once dry the excess was removed with a stiff brush while those on the track pads was removed with a tissue paper dipped in thinner.

I then add some of the accessories that came with the kit ( 'some' because the rest were used in my M1A2 kit). It looked bare and I added more stuff from Academy and Tamiya accessory kits and also the spares box. They include MRE boxes, 105mm ammo crates, water cans, 40mm ammo box, a sleeping bag, an M60E3 machine gun and a portable stereo.

Conclusion

Being the main battle tank for the US Army for decades, there are a number of kits dedicated to it. However they are all  using 1980s (or even earlier) technology for kit-making. However of all the existing M60A1s to date (the AFV Club M60A1 is yet to be released at the time of writing), the Academy offering is the best (well at least to me). I heard that the ESCI kit is better but as it wasn't readily available, the Academy kit took the top spot. The Academy kit have generally good fit although the ERA blocks should be better represented a la the Tamiya kit. Above all it does look like an M60A1 to me!