M103 heavy tank
The M103 heavy tank was a tank of 65 tons, it was the heaviest and most heavily armed tank in service in the United States Army and the US Marines during the Cold War. It was manufactured at the Detroit tank arsenal and the first units were accepted in 1957. The last units left service in 1974. Only a few hundred were built. Like the British Conqueror tank the M103 was designed to counter Soviet heavies such as the Iosef Stalin tank or the T-10. It was never used in combat. The successive versions of the M103 shared many components with the M47, the M48 Patton tank and the M60, which were all considered medium tanks. Tracks, rollers and suspension elements were the same with some modification to take into account the greater weight. The engine and transmission though were never modified enough to give the extra power needed for the greater weight of the M103, and as a result the tank was relatively underpowered and the drive systems were fragile. The turret of the M103 was larger than that of the M48 or the M60 to make room for the huge 120 mm gun and the two loaders assigned to it, in addition to the gunner and the commander. The driver sat down in the hull.
|
