What kind of M60 tanks are these and what is the main gun size?

LTC Stephen Conway — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 16:19:39 -0500

I belonged to an Idaho ANG Cav Brigade and two California ARNG armored battalions but we used Abrams Tanks back then. I noticed these tanks parked near The Joint Lewis-McChord Range Control office. I would like to know a little bit more about these tank models and if the main guns are different. Fort Lewis has had an exceptionally cold winter week with 8 inches of snow falling in the last 24 hours and a state of emergency declared by the Washington State Governor. The forecast calls for dropping temperatures. The temperature currently is 29° but it's supposed to drop to near-zero F tomorrow.
p.s. I was stranded at the USO in Seattle for 3 days since most flights were cancelled due to snow shutting down Vancouver, Seattle and Portland airports.

Response by PO3 Phyllis Maynard made Feb 9 at 2019 4:37 PM

PO3 Phyllis Maynard — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 16:37:08 -0500

LTC Stephen Conway how about that climate change and metal?:)

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2019 4:38 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 16:38:48 -0500

It would appear the closest AFV to you is an M-60 Patton (Cold War Era) and the one further away could be an M-41 Walker or an M-47 Patton of possible Korean War / Cold War vintage.

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Feb 9 at 2019 4:51 PM

PVT Mark Zehner — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 16:51:42 -0500

Not sure but great picture!

Response by LTC David Brown made Feb 9 at 2019 5:11 PM

LTC David Brown — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 17:11:52 -0500

Snow happens there, when I was there in 1984-1985 it snowed and got bitterly cold. My X went to Augusta to visit friend and had a picnic at Clark Hill Lake! No idea concerning the tanks.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Feb 9 at 2019 5:56 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 17:56:07 -0500

M60A1-A3 fired a 105 mm round

Response by CW5 Jack Cardwell made Feb 9 at 2019 6:03 PM

CW5 Jack Cardwell — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 18:03:41 -0500

All M60 variants were 105mm except for the M60A2 which was 152 mm with a stubby gun tube.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Feb 9 at 2019 6:12 PM

Lt Col Charlie Brown — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 18:12:07 -0500

Can't help, but it is a great photo

Response by Brad Powers made Feb 9 at 2019 7:16 PM

Brad Powers — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 19:16:18 -0500

Looks like the M60 Patton main battle tank. If it is then it mechanically supports a rifled 105 mm (4.1 in) main gun and a 50 caliber BMG. It is a formidable weapon though it does need American ground Crews to sustain its March.

Response by SPC Anthony Schepis made Feb 9 at 2019 7:25 PM

SPC Anthony Schepis — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 19:25:50 -0500

It’s a railgun

Response by Cpl Benjamin Long made Feb 10 at 2019 12:19 AM

Cpl Benjamin Long — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 00:19:57 -0500

75 mm gun M3 (90–104 rounds)* Correction that is the WW2 Sherman M4, the M60 had 105mm Main armement

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 10 at 2019 1:42 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 01:42:17 -0500

Seeing anything with a 90mm on it causes me to look at my umbrella holder, a spent case from one. I was doing some varied reading on it. Like the German 88, it started out as an AA gun. There are articles out there saying it's comparable to the 88. It could have been better but the Germans were better with metallurgy and our penetrator steel was inferior to it. A number of examples can be found at various installations and museums. I enjoy my piece of history on the front porch. Pretty impressive AA throwing a HE pill up to 60K feet where nobody was flying at the time.

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Feb 10 at 2019 2:04 AM

LTC Stephen Conway — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 02:04:50 -0500

I have never seen a functioning German 88. I have seen non-functioning ones before. One at the Siegfried line in Germany inside one of the tunnels that you can take on tour in the SAAR of Germany. The other German 88 I saw at the Palm Springs Museum on the other side of the airport

Response by PFC James (LURCH) Janota made Feb 10 at 2019 6:26 AM

PFC James (LURCH) Janota — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 06:26:11 -0500

I’m not too familiar with this series of tanks but I have had experience with Diesel engine vehicles. I hope they run them often in that cold.

Response by SGT Dave Matteson made Feb 11 at 2019 10:06 AM

SGT Dave Matteson — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 10:06:30 -0500

The M60 in the foreground has the M68 105mm main gun as used on the M60A1-A3 and M1 Abrams and the M47 in the background has the M36 90mm main gun.

Response by SGT Daniel Durkovich made Feb 15 at 2019 5:04 PM

SGT Daniel Durkovich — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 17:04:06 -0500

Look like M48 or M60. Can't tell from the picture too well but look like 105mm

Response by SPC Robert Willis made Feb 20 at 2019 11:46 AM

SPC Robert Willis — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 11:46:24 -0500

Not sure if that's the M60 a 1 2 or 3 but the M60 had a 105 mm main gun.

Response by SSG Stuart Zion made Mar 18 at 2019 12:31 AM

SSG Stuart Zion — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:31:32 -0400

105 mm

Response by SSG William Hubbard made Mar 19 at 2019 12:10 PM

SSG William Hubbard — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 12:10:45 -0400

They look like M60A1

Response by SP5 Peter Pruitt made Mar 21 at 2019 4:03 PM

SP5 Peter Pruitt — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 16:03:50 -0400

I think A1 and 105mm

Response by SFC Ron Shaffer made May 3 at 2019 11:37 PM

SFC Ron Shaffer — Fri, 03 May 2019 23:37:56 -0400

The close one does look like the early M60. I was on one in the 80’s for a weekend when my unit trained with some NG’s at fort bragg. The essentially looked like a M48 turret on a M60 chassis. I am not sure how long they served but the turret changed with the A1-A3 to the turret you mostly see as museum pieces. I started on the M60A1, went to the A3, then M1IP then retired in on a M1A1. I told my soldiers that I knew it was time to retire when the tank I started on is now on display in front of the Burger King on post at fort carson.

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Sep 27 at 2019 4:07 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 16:07:02 -0400

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Sep 27 at 2019 4:26 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 16:26:16 -0400

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Sep 27 at 2019 9:12 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 21:12:19 -0400

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Sep 27 at 2019 9:35 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 21:35:21 -0400

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Sep 27 at 2019 11:21 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 23:21:01 -0400

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Sep 27 at 2019 11:21 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 23:21:48 -0400

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2019 11:55 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 23:55:17 -0400

105mm main gun. We had those on the M-60s and the original M-1. The cool thing about the 105 is that we had so many different round options. My favorite was the white phosphorus rounds. They made a huge mess and burned everything.

Response by SSG Tom Montgomery made Sep 28 at 2019 12:09 AM

SSG Tom Montgomery — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 00:09:19 -0400

If the are M-60's their main gun is 155mm.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2019 6:56 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 18:56:07 -0400

They look like M60A1’s to me! They had a 105MM main gun, M85 .50 cal MG in the Commanders Cupola and a M219 .30 (7.62) cal for a coax and an M60 .30 cal (7.62) in the loaders hatch....great tank! If you had some OHT (oil hydraulic test), safety wire and a hammer you could keep it going forever!!

Response by SGT James Driggers made Feb 4 at 2020 10:56 PM

SGT James Driggers — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 22:56:59 -0500

ONE ON LEFT LOOKS LIKE THE FIRST M60, ONE ON RIGHT LOOKS LIKE MABY A 48

Response by SGT James Driggers made Feb 4 at 2020 11:22 PM

SGT James Driggers — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 23:22:20 -0500

105 1,400 meter zero range , heat hep, high explosive rounds and white fosrus.

Response by SSG Robert Velasco made Jul 16 at 2020 7:53 PM

SSG Robert Velasco — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 19:53:50 -0400

I'm not sure,but they could be M-48's.some where fitted with 105 mm main gun and power packs were upgraded also! Man,what a rush to remember Yakima!

Response by SSG Tom Montgomery made Jul 16 at 2020 11:06 PM

SSG Tom Montgomery — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 23:06:13 -0400

They look to me like M-60 A1.
155mm main gun.
30 cal coax
50 cal cupola mounted machine gun.

Response by SP5 Ralph Arvizu made Jul 4 at 2022 10:29 AM

SP5 Ralph Arvizu — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 10:29:14 -0400

An M-60 is an M-60, is an M-60! They (M-60 Tanks) are ALL the same. It had a 105 Millimeter Main Gun.
The M-48 had a 90 Millimeter Main Gun. I took Armor training in a M-48 and went to Vietnam with C Co 2nd Bn 34th Armor in August 1966. When I came back from Vietnam in June 1967 I was assigned to the Armor School in Ft. Knox and they had the M-60 there.
Ralph 11E40

Response by SSG Robert Velasco made Jun 12 at 2024 1:35 AM

SSG Robert Velasco — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 01:35:21 -0400

I believe that particular tank is a M-48 remnant from the Vietnam war. It has a 90 MM main gun and is extremely rugged. I visited Yakima training center in the 80's with my tank battalion but we utilized M-60 and M-60A1 tanks fitted with the 105 MM main. During training in the field at Camp Roberts Hunter Liggett we were assigned M-48 tanks and enjoyed it more than anticipated because of the history behind them. That was my favorite place BTW.

Response by SFC Dave Nutter made Jul 8 at 2024 1:50 PM

SFC Dave Nutter — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:50:32 -0400

The could be M60 or M60A1, same armaments in wither variant, 105MM main gun, 7.62MM coaxially mount machine gun and a M85 .50 caliber machine gun for the tank commander. They do noy appears t be M48s to me the snow on the front slope is hinting a curve in the fron but i think it is an optical illusion. The TCs cupola is right for an m60 series. I crewed on M60A1s for my 1st 3-1/2 years back in the day

Response by PFC David Gettman made Jul 24 at 2024 2:05 PM

PFC David Gettman — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:05:01 -0400

I can't say for absolute certain, but I believe the tank in the background could be an M26 Pershing, likely of the 72d Tank Battalion, 2d Infantry Division. After coming home in 1947 from WW II and occupation duty in Europe, my dad was stationed at Ft. Lewis with the 717th Tank Battalion, 2d Infantry Division. The battalion was equipped with the M26. In 1948, the 717th was inactivated and reflagged 72d Tank Battalion. The battalion went to Korea with the 2d ID in 1950, and dad went with them as the battalion motor sergeant. He likely serviced that tank in the photo. One of dad's best friends in the 72d at the time, Ernie Kouma, received the Medal of Honor for actions in Korea shortly after they arrived.