MBT-70

[Sewter]

Hello, here is a nice website. It has pictures of the German prototype, as well as some interesting facts. The US prototype appears to incorporate the 152mm gun/launcher, which was the same as the M60A2 and the M551! That would have been quite a machine.

http://www.battletanks.com/mbt70.htm

[MarkSheppard]

The US prototype appears to incorporate the 152mm gun/launcher, which was the same as the M60A2 and the M551

No, those were the short versions, the MBT-70 had a long barrelled 152mm gun.

[Sewter]

My friend, I did not mean to offend. Though the weapon was a longer barrel 152mm prototype, the fact that it was to incorporate the Shillelagh missile is still an amazing idea.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...und/mbt-70.htm

"The US prototype was equipped with a 152mm gun launcher with an auto loader. It was capable of firing AP/HE/WP rounds and the Shillelagh Missile. The main armament was to be a long-barrelled improved XM-150 variant of the XM-81 gun/launcher mounted on the M551 Sheridan and the M60a2 Patton. This was a much more reliable weapon than the earlier variant, firing Sabot, HE, and Cannister rounds in addition to the Shilelagh A/T Missile, but the earlier weapon's reputation was such that it was a lost cause from the start. It had a coax 7.62 machinegun and a 20mm AA remote control gun in a separate part of the turret. It would pop up out of twin hatches and fire at the target. The German version had a 120mm autocannon, instead of the 152mm gun launcher."

There is an interesting review on Wikipedia: Here is the link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBT-70

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillelagh_missile

And for more pictures:

http://www.panzerbaer.de/types/bw_kpz_70-a.htm

[Mustang]

Did anyone tell you, by the way, that the Shillelagh had a one mile minimum range?

[SGTGunn]

Actually it's closer to 1/2 mile. The MGM-51 had a minimum range of 730 meters. As I understand it, the ballistic track of the missile caused it to drop out of the sight/tracker's field of vision within the minimum-range envelope.

Adrian

[pdoktar]

"Pop out of twin hatches and fire at the target"....?!
Sound like a trailer from Star Wars. No wonder the whole vehicle was a failure.

[Mustang]

Still, it was a very cool tank. The prototypes that never make it into service are actually more interesting than the stuff that does the real fighting. How many German Maus superheavy tanks saw combat service in WWII? Zero. How many books where written about the Maus? Dozens.