The driver looked through three M27 day periscopes, one of which could be replaced by a night vision periscope. The hull of the M60 was a single piece steel casting divided into three compartments, with the driver in front, fighting compartment in the middle and engine at the rear. Power was transmitted to a final drive through a cross drive transmission, a combined transmission, differential, steering, and braking unit. The improved design incorporated a Continental V-12 750 hp air-cooled, twin-turbocharged diesel engine, extending operational range to over 300 miles (480 km) while reducing both refueling and servicing. The M60 mounted a bore evacuated 105 mm main gun, compared with the M48's 90 mm, had a hull with a straight front slope where as the M48's hull was rounded, had three support rollers per side to the M48's five, and had road wheels constructed from aluminum rather than steel. The resulting M60 series largely resembles the M48 it was based on, but has significant differences. In 1957, plans were laid in the US for a tank with a 105 mm main gun and a redesigned hull offering better armor protection. The M60 traces its roots to the late WWII-era M26 Pershing heavy tank from which the M48 was developed. With the US Army's deactivation of their last ( M103) heavy tank battalion, the M60 became the Army's first main battle tank during the Cold War. On 16 March 1959, the OTCM (Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes) #37002 standardized the vehicle as the 105 mm Gun Full Tracked Combat Tank M60. Although developed from the M48 Patton, another interim until replaced by the M60, the M60 series was never officially classified as a Patton tank, but as a "product improved descendant" of the Patton series of tanks.
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