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M60A1. US Marine Corps, Operation Desert Storm, 1991
By 1991, the US Marines were using the M60A1 Rise (Reliability Increased
Standardized Equipment) Passive model fitted with additional external
armor. The Israeli Army had originally developed the external armor
package for the M60 tank as a result of combat experience during the
Yom Kippur War. During that conflict lightweight anti-tank missiles
destroyed numbers of M60s. In order to add additional protection a kit
was developed to add additional armor tiles spaced away from the primary
armor. The goal of the kit was to detonate incoming missiles against
the tile armor where the jet of hot metal used to pierce armor would
be dissipated.
Additionally the Israeli version of the armor used explosive tiles
to counteract the blast of the incoming missile. The US Marine version
used inactive tiles. This illustration is of one of the 210 that were
used by the Marines during Operation Desert Storm. This was the first
and last time the M60 saw combat while in US service. During Operation
Desert Storm flat black inverted V symbols were painted on Coalition
vehicles to aid in recognition.
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