Jump to content
Please support this forum by joining the SH Patreon ×
Sturgeon's House

United States Military Vehicle General: Guns, G*vins, and Gas Turbines


Tied

Recommended Posts

Yeah, sorry for inactivity. Been busy a lot the last few months.

 

Also IIRC Jordan uses a modified version of the M60AX with a Swiss 120mm gun, right? Or is that an entirely different tank?

 

 

M60 Phoenix sure does look like M60AX, and it's not at all uncommon for big companies to "badge engineer" things for countries that want to claim their own indigenous weapons projects that they're not actually capable of making.  Supposedly M60 Phoenix is a Jordanian design through and through.

 

Armor is a bit differently shaped though.  They don't have the big cutout in the hull applique on M60 Phoenix that M60AX does, and M60 Phoenix lacks the cutouts in the frontal armor packages for the stereo rangefinder.

 

But I don't know for sure whether it's a related development or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's really bad compared to an Abrams':

rebound+figures.jpg

 

And since all these souped-up M60 designs were basically pitched as Abrams alternatives, that was a piquant point of comparison.

Yep.  The suspension on the M60 was really not all that different from all the other Patton series tanks, going back to the M46.  The torsion bars on the M1 were a much more advanced material that allowed for greater bending.  Initially, an improved suspension system was considered for the M60A3 variant.  The first system considered was a tube over bar system.  This was later dropped and the competition was between a Hydro suspension (National Waterlift) and the "advanced torsion bar" system (ATB.)  ATB consisted of bars made from high strength H-11 electroslag refined steel and had a spring rate roughly halfway between the standard bars and the tube over bar system.  The ATB could have been put into existing tanks quite easily, all it required was replacing the existing bars.  Chrysler was determined to kill any mobility upgrades to the M60A3, which they saw as a threat to the XM1 program.  Also, Chrysler did not want to do anything that might help out Teledyne Continental, which stood to profit if their new 950hp version engine was accepted into the M60A3.  Since Teledyne Continental was partnered with GM on the XM1 program, Chrysler did not want to do anything to help them out at all.  As I understand it, this included Chrysler putting pressure on Allison to say they couldn't get the CD-850 transmission upgraded to accept 950HP.  Therefore, Teledyne Continental went and licensed the German Renk transmission to go with higher power output versions of the AVDS-1790 for the "Super 60" and Merkava II.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

M60 Phoenix sure does look like M60AX, and it's not at all uncommon for big companies to "badge engineer" things for countries that want to claim their own indigenous weapons projects that they're not actually capable of making.  Supposedly M60 Phoenix is a Jordanian design through and through.

 

Armor is a bit differently shaped though.  They don't have the big cutout in the hull applique on M60 Phoenix that M60AX does, and M60 Phoenix lacks the cutouts in the frontal armor packages for the stereo rangefinder.

 

But I don't know for sure whether it's a related development or not.

 

As far as I know, Teledyne Continental had nothing to do with the Jordanian Phoenix, so I would say that there is no real connection.  That said, I never have figured out which subcontractor did the armor layout for the Super 60 (M60AX).  Teledyne Continental were engine guys, the armor stuff was farmed out to some other company.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...