Tank Craft 37: M60 Main Battle Tank

Tank Craft 37: M60 Main Battle Tank written by David Grummitt and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £16.99 - Softcover - Pages 64

The M60 was a second-generation American main battle tank, the last in the line of Patton tanks

that had first been developed at the end of World War. It entered operational service with the US

Army in 1960 and some 15,000 M60s were manufactured by Chrysler at the Detroit Tank Arsenal

Plant between then and when production ceased in 1983. It served with both the US Army and the

US Marine Corps and was the principal tank deployed in Europe in the ‘sixties, ‘seventies and

early ‘eighties, providing NATO’s main armoured force at the height of the Cold War. It became

one of the most widely used armoured fighting vehicles of the twentieth century, serving in the

armies of over 25 countries. It continued to serve alongside the M1 Abrams into the 1990s before

this venerable Cold War warrior was finally retired from active service with the US military in 1997.

This volume charts the development of the M60 from its origins in World War II to the Cold War. It focuses on its service with the US military and other NATO armies, examining its combat service in the First Gulf War and also with other armies in the Middle East. The book gives a full account of the wide range of kits and accessories available in all the popular scales and a modelling gallery features builds covering a range of M60s in service with various armed forces. Detailed colour profiles provide both reference and inspiration for modellers and military enthusiasts alike.

A fantastic book that really does sell and make the M60 Main Battle Tank look really good, and I really enjoyed this book, maybe it’s because this tank and book focus on the Cold War era of tanks, which just makes a nice change from WW2. It shows the main differences and the changes needed for tank warfare in the later period, as the Cold War was changing things. Yet again these are highly crafted books from Pen & Sword Books as usual with great text, photography and detail throughout the book. Certainly, a book that is going to appeal to all model makers who love tank warfare. Highly recommended.