Mostly interior video of the Commander's, Gunner's and Driver's positions of the M60a2 tank located at the AAF Tank Museum located in Danville, Virginia
Was the gunner on an M60 C24 on constant field patrol on the Czech border 1967-1969, 1968 proved very interesting. Home base was Ray Barracks. We did 9 months of the year in the field. Fired copious rounds at Graf. Changed the Pack on C24 in the dead of night on a road march during the frozen winter of 67-68. Had one of our Scout details taken by Soviets. Stripped their gear and gave the guys back a few days later. PS: The heaters never worked in those babies. Everybody was stealing each others igniters for them til nobody had a working heater. Will never forget it. Thrown tracks and all. Served with a great bunch of guys. I still have scars to remind me.I was proud to be a Tank Crewman/TC. Firing the 105 and coax was just about the most exciting thing any man could do. Gunner..Heat!.....Tank!...Identitified.....Fire!....On the way. Do it twice in 17 seconds.
I cut my teeth on one of these in 1988. I was a Combat Medic assigned to an armor unit with the 35th Infantry Division. A crew let me drive, load and fire one of these at the MPRC on Ft. Campbell. I thought I was on top of the world that day. Later I was assigned to a 4.2” mortar crew in a 118 and got to fire that too but that time it was fire for effect. There’s not a drug on this earth that can get your heart to pumping like firing a piece of heavy ordnance. Running with the Scouts and Combat Engineers was freaking badass too. I couldn’t believe that my government was actually paying me, feeding me, clothing me and giving me free healthcare and free travel to shoot and blow shit up. Damn I miss the army. 🇺🇸
Thanks for sharing this video, brought back lots of memories I've served on the M60A2s over 40 years ago with the 1/37 Armor Katterbach Germany Cco 2nd Plt 77 to 79
One nice thing about this video is that I think that I am better condition than this tank. That is not saying much because the M60A2 was already a mess when it was in service. Like you, I had an M60A2 platoon during the 77 to 79 time frame. (C/1/32AR, 3AD, Friedberg).
Great video. First time I have been in the A2. I was a Marine Corps M60 A1 Tank Crewman in the eighties. The driver's compartment is about identical in the A2 as in the A1. Miss being a Tank Crewman.
Sexiest damned piece of armor ever. I love how the drive sprocket is something out of WW2. It’s just a badass looking tank. All tanks should be named after Patton. I mean c’mon. Abrams ain’t got shit on Patton.
We had the M60A1s, never got to operate a A2. Can't get over the filthy condition it's in. We operated the hell out of them, but we also maintained them constantly. We kelp a high operational percentage.
I was stationed in friedburg Germany, 3/32 ,M60A3. Never seen a a2. Talked to others that were on them. Most said after fire shillelagh ,had trouble firing heat round. Something about sights
My MOS was 63C and I left FT Knox in April 77, my duty station was FT Hood, I was assigned to HHC 1st/67th, 2AD and these were our tanks and I just remember them constantly breaking down or when the tankers were out at the firing ranges, they couldn’t hit crap. But it was actually a cool looking tank, cramped as hell on the inside though.
I was Scout I was on M551 Sheridan which was where they got the idea for 60A2 it was to be heaver more stable platform. I never had any dealings with A2 but it was supposed to have been a wiring nightmare.
There was a modification work order that lifter the external phone box off the right rear fender and put it on a platform bolted to the back deck and braced against the side of the hull by the fender. My unit (A/1-32 Armor) installed that, along with top-loading air leaner boxes, when we drew the tanks new at Vilseck in August of '75.
Brings back memories of a CEV in south Korea that I had to combat unload and clear a road with !😂😮😂! Miss my old platoon Sgt. He was a dawn good combat Engineer platoon leader! Taught me alot .
This video is very informative to anyone who wants to be exposed to many particulars inside tanks. Although I am not tanker, but it is clear for me, that this tank is easy to handle its instrumental hardwares are easy to understand and get familiarized how to deal with. The second, it is explicitly seen that tank has sufficient space for its personnel, and thus m60 tank is not so awkward as Russian tanks in which someone has to crawl to get oneself close to levers, controls etc. I want to thank the author of the video for providing such detailed video. The only my concern is that this tank should be vacuum cleaned and purged all dirt out to have it cleaned like a shiny dime.
@@spideytank ..... I can't read the red knob but by elimination that is the one you're allowed to play with. It might say "HEAT" for conventional ammo adjustment; maybe boresighting?
Question: At 12:10 in the video, On the rear turret bustle area, what is the part located just to the right of the turret ventilator (the part that protrudes above and to the rear of the bustle, and has two "trailer ball" looking things attached to it )? I have wondered about this part on the M60A2's rear turret for years. I'd appreciate if anyone knowledgeable of the M60A2 tank could tell me.
It's my understanding that the searchlight/IR searchlight was stored on those hitches when not attached to the position next to the mantlet. I guess it would prevent the unit from being damaged when not needed.
Thank you! I don't think I have ever seen the searchlight stored (on the outside, in a non-service location) of the M60A2 tank in any pictures of the tank I have seen. I built a model of the M60A2 years ago, and the model instructions had a part description, but generically referred to the part in question only as a "turret part" (or something similar). I understand that as a tank, the M60A2 was a technology marvel, but otherwise not a great success, due to the complexity and unreliability of the 152 mm dual ammunition gun (missile and conventional round) and related systems, and high turret silhouette. But when I bought the model (in 1980), I thought it was a very cool looking tank!
Thank you. Actually, I was referring to a part mounted on the rear of the M60 A2's turret. Another individual responded to my question and said was this part is for stowing the search light when not in use.
That is indeed the stowage position for the VSS-2 searchlight. A similar arrangement can be found on M60A1's of certain years where the turret bustle has a 'removable' section to permit the hanging of the unit there. Notice also in this video, the loaders panel at 12:07. This panel was very poorly designed with the ventilator blower motor prominent and on top, while breech controls were buried further down the panel in un-intuitive positions. The breech op and safe switches should have been up where the vent controller were. I served on the Initial Production Test of these in '73.
Shillelagh was such a stupid idea, especially for an MBT. Pure "generational thinking", like just because autoloaders and SACLOS ATGMs were hot at the moment, they decided that no tank would ever need anything else ever again. hahah. The M60A1 with the 105mm rifled gun could kill something like 5 tanks while the M60A2 gunner was still waiting patiently for his Shillelagh to reach his first target (which he couldn't take his sights off until the missile hit). It took three times longer to reload after every shot, too, and the caseless ammo was a massive fire hazard. Whole vehicle was a K-kill waiting to happen. Eventually somebody with sense realized the proper vehicle for a SACLOS ATGM was two Joes in a Jeep with a TOW bolted down in the back. And only 95% cheaper!
