Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security."
- Article 5 of the NATO Charter

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 Built by General Dynamics, the M60 entered service in 1960, but was quickly superseded by the A1 to A3 versions.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 has been continuously advanced and upgraded with advanced weapon control, ammunition, applique armour, and increasingly 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.

The M60A1 with a new turret, thicker armor, and a new ammunition stowage system, was manufactured from 1962 to 1980. The M60A2, fitted with a new turret mounting a 152mm gun and missile launcher, was halted in the mid-70's and development and production effort was instead diverted to the highly successful M60A3, which incorporated improvements to the gun fire control system. The M60A3 entered service with the US Army in 1978 and is still being used by several National Guards units. Although General Dynamics' Land Systems Division has ceased production of the tank, it continues to provide fleet management support to the US Army Tank Automotive Command and to user countries world-wide.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a US M60A1 Patton medium tank with a Reliability Improved Selected Equipment (RISE) Passive IR/White Light Spotlight that was attached to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Armored Division, then deployed to Gelnhausen, Germany, during 1977. In 1975, the M60A1(RISE) meaning Reliability Improved Selected Equipment was introduced. Its AVDS-1790-2C diesel engine featured several changes in order to improve service life and reliability: new top-loading air cleaners; stronger cylinders; improved starter, fuel injection lines, and nozzles; and better turbosuperchargers. A new 650 ampere oil cooled alternator, a solid state regulator and new wiring harness with more accessible disconnect were also incorporated into its electrical system. The M60A1(RISE)(PASSIVE), which debuted in 1977, featured passive night vision sights for gunner and commander, a new night vision device for the driver and a deep water fording kit. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 5-1/2-inches
Width: 2-inches

Historical Account: "Paint by Numbers" - 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 colors 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 color 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.