M60 Tanks

mike robel · Post by **mike robel** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 4:59 am

I've been to the Patton Museum about 7 or 8 when it was open. I have photos, but am unable to post here because I don't have any of the right kind of storage.

What I remember the most is this cool 3D scale topographic map of the training center. The inside exhibits are nicely done. Taking care of tanks is much harder than it seems.

I remember seeing tanks in a similar state of disrepair at the Fort Knox Museum, but to be fair, they were mostly WWII tanks. Aberdeen had a very large tank park in about 1980 as well as a long avenue where tanks were parked on the median of a two or four lane road on the post. Some of their outside models were operable..

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:02 pm

When I went to ROTC camp at Fort Knox in 1970, the Patton Museum was still in old tank barns in the classroom area. The collection was mostly in the same state the tanks were in when pulled off the battlefield. They were packed in so close you could get up in the decks and walk from tank to tank. They had more on a storage lot. The Vietnam War was still going and there was no money for restoration. One of the ways money was raised was the selling of a print called The Patton Eagle, a print of a bald eagle. My college roommate and best friend and I were in the same basic training company as training officers, a rather serendipitous occurrence. We left after a year and our company commander presented us each with a Patton Eagle as departure gifts. After a subsequent your in Germany, I returned to Knox for the Officer Advanced Course and discovered the museum collection had been expanded, work had been done to restore some of the vehicles, a re-enactors' group has been established, and the building and exhibits had been expanded. Then, it was gone in the night, kidnapped to the Home of Infantry, a!ong with the Armor School and decades of tradition. &%$#@+@@#!!!!

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:11 pm

Thanks for the info on museums, Gents. Some day I'll get inside! We have several aviation museums i my area, but the Patton museum is the closest tank/Army museum to me.

I'm sure someone got an ARCOM for coming up with the idea to move the Armor branch to Benning.

STS · Post by **STS** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:47 pm

I hope it's ok to include them here, while not strictly M60s, I'd guess my M48A5 with their L7 gun, standing in for Bundeswehr M48A2G2 will come rather close.

although, I really need to clean up the flash at the cupola a bit. The camera reveals, what the eye doen't see anymore....

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:47 pm

Yeah... Some INFANTRY guy. Probably a LEGION OF MERIT!

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:00 pm

Hell yes M48s are welcome! Especially those! That's a great looking tank!

Hoth_902 · Post by **Hoth_902** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:48 pm

Redleg,

Nice job on the Merdec. Looks really good.

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 12:09 am

Hoth donâ€™t go crazy on the M60 with mine plow.
Redleg, Begemot, Hoth, thank you for sharing. Good looking. I copied a few pics.
I may try MERDC. I am scared.

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 1:31 am

I gotta get in on some M60 action...

Ok first but an M48 in plain old 70s OD Green.

These next three are some of the oldest vehicles in my collection. They were sold as M60s but have Israeli style cupolas. I actually wish GHQ would re-release them.

Note the five color MERDC. Oops

I went back to regular four color on the next batch.

And then plain old forest green.

And then a couple in gray desert MERDC

Then a generic NATO M60A3 in Khaki Drab

An M48 in Jordanian Camo

Then two Israeli M48A5s

First GHQ - Actually this is an Israeli Magach 3 with the ranging MG cut off the barrel.

Then the "other" guy's

And a German M48A2G2 by the other guys as well. This was test paint job for MERDC.

And finally the real thing from the Deutsches Panzer Museum in Munster.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 2:26 am

this stuff really makes me HUNGRY111 MORE, PLEASE111

Hoth_902 · Post by **Hoth_902** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 2:44 am

Chris

Hoth donâ€™t go crazy on the M60 with mine plow.

You don't like my M60 with the mine plow? You Jelly? LOL

Great work on all the submittals to the topic. The M48s are a nice addition.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:05 am

Pop quiz... Who can identify the nation operating the real M 48 in the pic above and what are the identifying characteristics?

Hoth_902 · Post by **Hoth_902** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:12 am

Germany. The destinguising marking is the TO&E markings on the tread cover.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:18 am

Did you notice the stone swastikas in the foundations of the billets? Baumholder was selected for a training center by the Germans because it spent so much time under cloud cover. My wife and I enjoyed our time there very much. Many great gasthausen in surrounding towns and easy to get to other places. We lived in Rohrbach across from a dairy farm. Got fresh cream for our ice cream maker and made it for our neighbors. Had a giant garden, which our neighbors cared for when we were both in the field. There was still a French post nearby and we went to their commissary sometimes for a change of pace. French tanks all over the roads broken down (AMX30s). Bought a 1953 Mercedes 300 Adenauer from the owners of the rib place.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:18 am

Damnit you guys! I have absolutely no need for M48s, but here I am looking at the budget and trying to figure out if I can squeeze some of them into my next purchase!

Fantastic work, Cav Dog! Your tanks are inspiring!