M60
The US supplied M60 tanks to Iran during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi as part of their broader military relationship. This occurred prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when Iran was a key ally of the U.S. in the Middle East. At that time, Iran purchased a wide range of US military equipment, including M60 Patton tanks, as part of efforts to modernize its military. By 1972 British, French and Italian arms salesmen were putting the hard sell on the Iranian armed forces and were encountering increasing receptivity.
The US Embassy , Military Assistance Advisory Group [MAAG] Chief initially hesitated to push US weapons — which the Iranians would prefer — since there was a point of view “in certain echelons of the USG to the effect that we should do what is possible to prevent Iran, in our studied wisdom, from overbuying.” This position was voiced extensively by James H. Noyes, Deputy Asst. Secretary DOD, on 11 May 1972. Further, it was this stance which activated the recent sale of 800 Chieftain tanks by England to Iran since Iran believed US posture on tank purchase would be negative.
President Nixon’s policy was to encourage purchase of U.S. equipment. Decisions as to desirability of equipment acquisition should be left in the hands of the Iranian Government and the U.S. should not undertake to discourage on economic grounds. As long as Iran can financially afford both guns and butter there was no reason for the US to lose the market, particularly when viewed over the red ink on the balance of payments ledger. The U.S. should offer technical advice on the capabilities of the equipment in question, i.e. 200 M60 tanks, Maverick and Hawk missiles, light vehicles, etc. sum involved in excess of $250 million. If the Government of Iran has decided to buy certain equipment, no restrictions other than the normal licensing and legal requirements should be placed on U.S. firms which are prepared to supply it, and normal Embassy facilitative services should. be made available.
For the first time, the Iranian army managed to receive 460 M-60 tanks between 1969 and 1970, equivalent to 1347 and 1348. This tank was the best tank of the Iranian army for a long time, even according to the commanders, it was better than the troublesome and capricious Chieftan tank. Of course, Iran had also purchased another tank, but with small dimensions, named M-48 Patton, which was considered a more agile tank.
However, following the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the U.S. cut off military ties with Iran, and further support or sales of equipment were halted. The M60 tanks that Iran acquired before the revolution remain in Iran’s inventory to this day, although the country's defense industry has worked on upgrading and maintaining them over the years without U.S. support. In recent years, Iran has also developed its own tanks and upgraded existing ones, but the M60s, along with other older U.S. and European equipment, still play a role in its armored forces.
Benefiting from advanced and well-equipped tanks can be effective in upgrading ground force units. The main tank of the battlefield, the M60 Patton, along with the M48 Patton, was among the heavy armored vehicles of the Iranian army in most of the years before the revolution. This tank, which was modeled after the M48 , was one of the most important tanks of the Cold War era in the countries facing the West.
The M60 tank was considered one of the most successful armored designs of the Western bloc in the years of the Cold War, of which nearly 15,000 units were produced and exported to a large number of American allies in the world. This tank has a crew of 4 and its weight is between 50 and 52 tons depending on the model. This tank uses a 105 mm gun with a 12.7 mm gun and a 7.62 mm gun. The propulsion system of this tank, which has been produced since the early 1960s, is a 750 horsepower diesel engine that provides a speed of about 48 km/h and a range of 500 km for this tank.
This tank was present in the 1973 war between the Arabs and Israel, the imposed war against Iran and the Desert Storm operation in 1991, and Western sources believe that Iranian M60s performed very successfully against Russian tanks during the Iran-Iraq war. During the Desert Storm operation, the M60s of the US Marine Corps, which were upgraded especially in the armor section, were able to demonstrate acceptable performance by destroying Iraqi tanks. The M60 tank was produced in the US between 1960 and 1987, after which it was replaced by the Abrams tank in the US Army.
The weight of this tank is 46 tons (the weight with weapons is heavier), its length is 6.94 meters, width is 3.63 meters, height is 3.21 meters, and the number of its crew is 4 people. This tank uses a 105 mm gun with a 12.7 mm gun and a 7.62 mm gun. The M60 tank was considered one of the most successful armored designs of the Western Bloc during the Cold War years, of which nearly 15,000 units have been produced and exported to a large number of US allies in the world. Four versions of this tank named M60, M60a1, M60a2 and M60a3 were designed and produced, and Iran bought the M60a1 version from America.
All Iranian M60A1s were locally modified and given different local names.
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