M60 Patton tank

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A U.S. designed main battle tank, eventually replaced by the M1 Abrams (tank) but in extensive use worldwide. The M60 was the last of the "Patton series" tanks, which included the M47 Patton tank and the M48 Patton tank, which were derivatives of the Second World War M4 Sherman tank.

On a tank-for-tank basis, the Sherman was inferior to other nations' machines of the same vintage, but still was effective because it could be manufactured efficiently, in large quantities. British and German tanks were superior to the Patton, while the Israelis used it as a base for remanufacturing their own variants.

The U.S. versions were constantly being improved. A late-model M60 would still have a fighting chance against a Soviet T72 tank, and might be superior to earlier versions. Soviet tanks tended to be less survivable than other nations' tanks, although their Second World War T34 tank might have been the best-balanced tank of the war.

Its 105mm cannon has been adapted to the Stryker M1128 mobile gun system‎. The M729 (combat engineering vehicle) is a M60 derivative.