M60A3-120 Scorpion Main Battle Tank

The M60A3-120 Scorpion Main Battle Tank, sometimes referred to as M60 Super (No Relation to the M60 Super Program undertaken in the 80's, however toward the end of their service life, they were modified with the uparmored M60 Super turret) or sometimes as the M60A4 Main Battle Tank, was a interim solution MBT developed for the Democratic Republic Army's units stationed on the Fulda Gap and on the German/Polish Border in New Germany. They were slowly phased to rear echelon units with the introduction of the M1A1 Abrams in 1986-87 to units in Fulda Gap and the Border.

They evolved from the M60A1-120, which were developed in the 70's as a result of examination of Soviet Equipment and the M68 not being adequate enough to penetrate. The A1-120 in itself was a more or less a failure as crews did not like the Two-Piece ammo design that was required to be used with the M231 120mm Rifled Maingun (Licensed Built L11A5), in the 80's the M60A1-120s were taken off the line and replaced with another interim solution, the M60A2 Scorpion with a 152mm Gun/launcher.

History
As the Cold War started to heat up in New Germany in the late 60's with the 1969 border skirmish which resulted in the deaths of several New German Soldiers and a dozen or so Polish Soldiers under the Soviet Unions 18th Motorized Infantry Company, and the wounding of three Tarakian Advisers. After a series of heated meetings in Praha (Prague) Czech Republic between New German, Tarakian and Soviet leaderships. New Germany requested that Tarakian Armor be posted on the New German/Polish Border to deter the Soviets from trying to pull another 1969 Border Skirmish.

In May of 1970, the 55th Armored Regiment of the 5th Armored Division under the command of Major James P. Walther arrived at the New German/Polish Border with the M60A1 Scorpion Main Battle Tank, to replace the M48A2Gs originally on the border, In June It was reported that the Soviets had been making movements towards the Fulda Gap and New German forces were ill prepared to stop an invasion through the gap, units of the 24th Heavy Mechanized Infantry Division, equipped with the brand new M60A1-120 Scorpion Main Battle Tank took positions all along the Fulda Gap with accompanying logistical and Intelligence Support. In September, Intelligence noted the arrival of the T-64 with a front line Armored Division that would spearhead into Fulda Gap had they decided to. This concerned the Crews with their M60A1-120s, M60A1s and M48A2s, if they could reasonable stop the Soviets before they crossed the Gap, even units on the First Line doubted the superiority of their tanks against the Soviets. It was noted on the New German/Polish Border that reserve units of the Polish Army were moving around in their T-55's and even some units still had T-34-100s and T-34-122s. One such Tank Commander noted the developments in a Journal.

The Soviets, and sure as hell the Polish were not stupid enough to roll over the border as it would be pure suicide for them, while achieving their objective through numbers.

In 1973, three years after the arrival of the T-64, An M114 Command Vehicle and M60 Command Tank with 3rd Brigade, 17th Armored Regiment noted a new development in the ORBAT of the Motor Rifles Division that was on the other side of the Gap, they were being reinforced by 90th Guards Tank Division, this was documented by a gunner on one of the M60A1-120s attached to the Headquarters Company

In September of 1973, 17th Armored Regiment received the M60A2 Scorpion, sometimes referred to as the Starship, this was only interim solution and a stop gap until the development of the M60A3 five years later. 17th Armored Regiment was again reinforced with more M60A1-120s and some units received prototypes of a M48A2 with a M68 105mm Maingun. Units on the gap were now in a place of certainty to hold it until reinforcements could arrive, AirLand Battle strategy was implemented for units on the gap and at the German/Polish Border. Special Forces was inserted onto the other side of the gap to monitor Soviet movements for weeks on end, only getting relieved when another unit rotated in.

In the winter of '73, during a fierce blizzard Soviet Forces unknowingly crossed over into New Germany by way of the Gap and were fired upon by coaxs and 50 cals from tanks, jeeps and static emplacements. The Soviets knowing clearly now what happened, opened fire on the Tarakians willingly with small arms and RPGs, during the course of the shootout in white out conditions only marked by tracers from both sides, fighting intensified until finally Artillery from a Tarakian Artillery Unit leveled the playing field and made the Soviet unit retreat back into their territory. In response to the situation, later that night (December 13) Sappers and Engineers mined the gap even more then had already done, this time however it was on the gap border itself the cut off line that the soviets had established to prevent another incursion such as the one that took place at 1500. In the Spring of 1973, Greater Espana had offered to help the Democratic Republic with logistical, Intelligence and armored support. With the arrival of Greater Espanan units in April, many of their armored units were placed on 4th, 5th and 6th lines of defense, with some of their more experienced units being placed on 1st and 2nd lines of defense with AMX-30E's and Leopard 1A4E's. The Soviets noted the arrival of the Spanish units and brushed it off.

In 1976, Spanish Intelligence noted the arrival of the most advanced Soviet Tank yet, the T-80 Ural. Unlike previous Soviet Tanks, The T-80 was capable of using Gun Launched Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (GLATGM). Almost immediately DR and Spanish Intelligence also noted the arrival of upgraded T-72s. Work began on a new M60 Scorpion, the M60A3 Scorpion was meant to be the final tank in the Scorpion family until it's replacement by the MBT-70 (Which the program had been going on and not making much progress) after extensive testing at Kellermann Proving Grounds in the Winter of 1976 and throughout 1977, the M60A3 Scorpion was put into production of which the first 125 Tanks were sent off to units in New Germany, In order to bring numbers up to desired quantity, many of the units getting the new M60A3s were trading in their M60A1s to be converted to A3 standard and then shipped back to New Germany, some of the M60A2s were converted to A3 standard by removing the starship turret and replacing it with an A3 turret.

The Soviets noted the arrival of the new M60A3 Scorpions and didn't think nothing of it, as they had did with the Spanish. The Soviets didn't consider the A3 to a threat, but they did consider the A1-120 to be a threat still.

In 1979, with feedback from Deployed Units in New Germany and those rotating back to Tarakia. Cadillac Gage began to work on a successor to the M60A1-120, designers at Cadillac Gage noted that the crews of the A1-120s did not like the two piece ammunition design that was used with the M231, to rectify this General Armaments acquired the Licensing to the RUAG 120 CTG and began the manufacture of 5 barrels to be integrated into a M60A3 turret, ammunition storage was a concern as the 105mm Rounds were shorter and also thinner then the 120mm. The Spanish had been experimenting around with 120mm rounds and Barca Ammunition plant was contracted to develop an Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot and a High Explosive Anti-Tank for use on the M60A3-120TTB, the 5 Tank Test Beds for the Smoothbore Tank Test Bed Program were trialed in the Spanish Desert and then later in New Germany to see if any of the Soviet Intelligence would note the arrival of a new Tarakian Tank. Crews who were assigned to the tanks for testing enjoyed the new system, but the lack of ammunition was a concern, due to the unitary 120mm rounds being bigger, the ready rack was increased from 5 rounds up to 10 and total storage was brought up to 25. While this was better then before, crews still had worries. After Decatur Marine Works filled for bankruptcy in the summer of 1979, General Dynamics Land Systems took over the M60A3-120 program and bought out General Armaments and renamed it to General Dynamics Armament Systems. General Dynamics tried to design a lengthened bustle storage for 120mm rounds and move the radios to a different area in the tank, but couldn't develop a solution to the problem.

In 1980, the M60A3-120 was still plagued by problems with ammunition storage (And it wouldn't be until the late 80's when GDLS decides to take the Super 60 turret and place it on the M60A3-120). While ammunition storage was still a problem, crews suggested the addition of Sideskirts to protect the sides of the tank if fighting ever broke out, while it wouldn't be much protection it would still be adequate enough to protect against small arms and RPGs (Although at the lose of the skirt). Crews also suggested the use of Explosive Reactive Armor on the turret to provide better overall protection and survivability and pointed at the Israeli Blazer ERA, crews also suggested the deletion of the current cupola for the Israeli Urdan cupola and a flex mount for the .50cal, loaders were also to receive a M60D Machine Gun but this never went forward.

In 1981, several prototypes were sent to New Germany for trial during the Summer and stayed their till Spring of 1982. During the trials, Soviet Forces did take note of the new arrivals and watched them with a close eye, it is reported a M60A3-120TTB fell into Soviet Hands, but this is disputed as all A3-120TTBs were accounted for when they arrived in Greater Espana for additional trials. During the 10 months of trials, Soviet Forces kept a close eye on the A3-120TTBs and at one point tried to acquire one through false flag tactics, the Tarakian Tankers could tell something was not right with the arrival of four new tankers, as the unit had no tank for them to crew, even their papers were all out of order. Their fall came when they were caught speaking a slavic language and they were arrested by MPs and put on trial.

Soviet Forces, especially the Soviet Design School were intrigued by the use of Blazer Reactive Armor on the turret of the A3-120TTB, the Soviet Design School had already been experimenting with ERA for deployment on the T-72 and T-80. However, they wanted Blazer, they wanted to know what it was composed of, how well it would stand up against 125mm 3BM Sabot Rounds, they wanted to study it and find a way to defeat it or apply it's composition for use. Acquiring a block of Blazer ERA would be no easy task. Blazer ERA was only being manufactured for the TTBs and would most likely not be seen on the production A3-120s. Blazer was Israeli, but the Soviets were not on good terms with the Israelis due to the Yom Kippur War and the other conflicts the Soviets supplied equipment too. In the end the Soviet Design School gave up acquiring the Blazer ERA and would only be able to aquire it if the Cold War went hot.

By Fall of 1983, the Army approved the M60A3-120 for Pre-Production, in the pre-production run 67 M60A3-120s were built (And without the Blazer ERA like the Soviets suspected) and shipped to New Germany for deployment (By this time, the M1 Abrams was also in service and in New Germany) The Soviets noted the arrival of both tanks, and were able to examine them on the gap where a majority of the A3-120s went. The Soviets suspected that the A3-120s would be phased out of service in favor of the M1, they were partially right but also wrong. At this time, the A3-120 even in it's pre-production run is the only 120mm Armed Tank in the Democratic Republic Army after the transferring of the old A1-120s to the Democratic Republic Marine Corps to replace their M54A3 Cougar Main Battle Tanks and M48A3s and move them to rear echelon units. With the arrival of winter, Army Special Forces noted that the Soviet Tank and Motor Rifles Division that had been present on the gap since 1973 was pulling back, it was possible they were rotating out to allow another unit to fill their place or they had orders to relocate elsewhere on the gap. A Spanish Tank Commander noticed the passing of Soviet Tanks and Vehicles past his units lookout point east of their original position and relayed this to the 72nd Armored Regiment located further east of the Spanish 1st Armored Regiment. The 72nd Armored Regiment was almost exclusively M1 Tanks and at the very edge of the gap, where if the Soviets were moving there; the 72nd would see them.

But to no joy, Soviet Forces never did pass the 72nd Armored Regiment, nor did they pass any of the observation towers between the Spanish 1st Armored Regiment, 32nd Armored Regiment or the New German 3rd Panzer Regiment, U2 Spy Planes supplied to the Spanish Intelligence by the Democratic Republic Central Intelligence Agency spotted the Soviet Tank and Motors Division 54 miles from their original position at a staging point, during this time the Democratic Republic Army capitalized on this moment to build up more defense lines and other fortifications, extending into the original Soviet lines and using their fortifications as well.

With the return of the Soviets a week later, many of their T-72s and T-64s were not present. Instead they had more T-80's, a model that also had not even been reported, among them were Czech Reservists and Polish Regulars. Czech Reservists were placed at the front of Soviet Defenses with T-62s and T-55s, with some units still sporting the T-34-122s (As seen on the New German/Polish Border) as the Soviets expected the Tarakians would roll over the reservists in a matter of seconds and then onto the Polish Regulars and finally onto them. They were wrong, the Tarakians had no intention to roll over them without probable cause.

By 1984, Soviet Leaders met with Tarakian and New German leadership, this time in Moscow to discuss a plan to deescalate the current situation on the Fulda Gap (Czech Reservists opened fire on a patrolling Tarakian unit) Moscow did not want the war to go hot, because they knew both sides would take major losses. During the meeting, Lieutenant Layla Novinger demanded that the Czech Reservists be removed from their position and sent back to where they were before to prevent another situation to where the war could go hot, Soviet Army General Maximilian Cerenkov agreed with the Tarakian Lieutenant, under the condition that Tarakian Forces pull back to their original defense lines. New German and Tarakian officials were flown back to Mannheim Airforce Base and Lieutenant Novinger was flown by helicopter to her unit on the Fulda Gap and ordered them to pull back to their original defense lines.

1985 would be a long year for both sides, the M60A3-120 had entered serial production and the M1 had received a Armor Package Upgrade and was put into production as the IPM1 (or M1IP, M1-IP) and units were requesting the M1IPs over the M60A3-120s. Some units still requested the M60A3-120s to provide more firepower at range then the current M1IPs could, with the production M60A3-120, Blazer ERA was fitted to the turret and sideskirts to provide more protection.

Design
The M60A3-120 Super Scorpion traces it's lineage to the M60 and the M60A1-120, of which it was modified from.

2013 Redesign, Prototype and Refit


The Espanians, being one of the largest receivers of the M60A3-120 Super Scorpions at the end of the Cold War maintained them throughout the years for use by the Reserve and Guard Units within the Espanian Army. In 2013, General Dynamics Land Systems Santa Barbara Sistemas was contracted to do a resigned turret and hull for the Espanian Army to bring them up to standard. Early work began in 2010 with the help of General Dynamics Land Systems, who had originally performed the conversions of the M60A3-120s in the early 90's with the Super 60 Turret. The new turret, being that of the original A3 was remounted on the hull and the M256 L/44 120mm Smoothbore was mounted (locally built and designated as the Modelo 44 120mm Smoothbore) T-158 Tracks, Allison CR-1790-3A Diesel Engine and Allison-Renk 304, replacement of M85 Machine gun in copula with the FN M3M .50cal Heavy Machine Gun and mounting of the ATK LW25 25mm towards the rear of the turret on a Remote Weapon Station, the Loader also has a pintle mounted M249 Mk3 7.62mm Light Machine Gun for use against targets. An Integrated Fire Control System as developed by Cascadia Optronics and FLIR Systems was fitted to the tank to provide a similar capability to the Abrams Advanced Fire Control System Mark 1 developed by Indra Systems. The new sideskirts mounted were of composite material and lighter then the older steel skirts used in the 80's. The addition of two rear mounted cameras on the hull for situational awareness are similar to the Abrams Situational Awareness Package which added cameras mounted on the rear of the hull, the sides and the front of the hull. Additionally, they were built with Slat/Cage Armor around the turret to defeat RPGs and other explosives fire. After entering production, the Espanians developed a Reactive Armor similar to Blazer for use on the Sideskirts, but resembled more of the Abrams Explosive Reactive Armor Tiles. The M60A3-120 Super Scorpion, now known as the Alacrán (Spanish for Scorpion) was shown at the International Arms Expo held in New Germany in 2013.

Operators
Kingdom of Sal-Kar - Sal-Kari Army 35 M60A3-120s were sold to Sal-Kar in 1999 under a Foreign Military Equipment Sales Package to equip the Sal-Kari Army with new vehicles and tanks. In 2010, they were upgraded with a Product Improvement Package to extended their life to 2025.

Former Operators
Democratic Republic of Tarakia - Tarakian Army Operated 800 M60A3-120s during the Cold War, many of them were upgraded towards the end of the Cold War in the 90's and 100 of them were exported to allies of the Democratic Republic. By 1999, many of them had either been refitted and retrofitted for export or were sent to Armor Museums in Tarakia and New Germany.

Federal Republic of New Germany - New German Heer Operated 150 M60A3-120s during the Cold War, they were leased from the Democratic Republic Army in the mid 80's and used by the 15th Panzer Division based out of Dusseldorf. After the end of the Cold War, many of them were bought from the DR Army and remained in service until 2006 and were retired.