Development of the American M60 series of tanks began in 1956 following a decision to create an improved version of the M48 'Patton' tank. Built by General Dynamics, the M60 entered service in 1960, but was quickly superceded by the A1 to A3 versions. Over 15,000 vehicles have been produced, many of which are still serving in the armies of 22 countries. The M60 series has been continuously upgraded with advanced weapon control, ammunition, applique armor, and increasingly more powerful engines. The M60 series main battle tanks of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the US were deployed in Operation: Desert Storm in 1991 during the Gulf Crisis.

Now Minichamps has created a gorgeous 1:35 scale diecast replica of the US Army's illustrious M60A1 main battle tank. This stunning recreation features a rotating turret and commander's cupola, elevating gun, fold down travel lock, working suspension, and treads that are made of flexible metal links! This item has been cancelled by the manufacturer.

Dimensions:
Length: 11-inches
Width: 4-inches
Height: 3-1/2-inches

Historical Account: "So Many Years Ago" - In the 1970s, the US Mobility Equipment Research & Design Command (MERDC) developed a system of camouflage patterns for US Army vehicles. These consisted of a set of standardized patterns for each vehicle, to be used with a set of twelve colors. The local terrain conditions and colors decided which of the paints were to be used, and on which parts of a vehicle. Then, if conditions altered, for example by a change in the weather, or by the unit moving into a new area of operations, the scheme could be quickly adjusted to suit them by replacing only one or two colours by different ones.

For example, if a vehicle was painted in the US & European winter scheme, which had a dark green and a medium brown as its predominant colors, and it started to snow, by overpainting either the green or the brown with white, one of the two snow schemes could be created. This gave a high degree of flexibility, though in practice it was hardly ever actually made use of—most vehicles were painted in one scheme and kept that.

Any of the MERDC schemes could be found with either hard edges (hand-painted) or soft edges (spray-painted) to the colour patches. Soft-edged patterns seem to be more common, however, probably because it takes less time to spray a tank than it does to spray the tank and then touch up the edges.