History Brief
In March 1959, the M-60 was officially standardized as the 105 mm Gun full tracked combat vehicle. Then in December 1960 the M60 Patton was introduced as the Army's main battle tank and became the primary tank during the Cold War. Bearing a strong resemblance to the M48 Patton and continuing in the namesake, the M60 series was a product-improved descendant of the M48 in the Patton tank series. Powered by a 750hp Continental, the V12 air-cooled twin-turbo charged engine gave the M60s had better range and fuel consumption than the M48s. The M60 underwent many updates over its service life. It was widely used by the U.S. and its Cold War allies and remains in service throughout the world today. More than 15,000 examples were eventually manufactured.