The M60E1 was the first major variant of the original M60. It did not go into full-scale production, though many of its features were included in the later E3 and E4 variants. Some of its features were also incorporated into the existing M60 production.

2011年7月7日 · The result was the M60E1, the first minor variant, which sought to improve the ease of changing the weapon's barrel and reduce the number of parts in the weapon. The M60E1 has a modified barrel...

M60E1: Proof of concept prototype for the M60A1 mating an M60 hull to the T95E7 turret. [146] M60A1: First variant to feature the distinctive "needle-nose" long nosed T95E7 turret, M73A1 coaxial machine gun along with increased hull armor protection, improved hydraulics and AVDS-1790-2A TLAC engine. [147]

2022年6月23日 · Variants that provided improvements and enabled special applications included M60 (basic early model), M60E1 (experimental), M60E2 (vehicle mounted and electrically fired), M60B (used in helicopters unmounted), M60C (used in aircraft with fixed mounts), M60D (pintle-mounted in helicopters), M60E3 (lightweight variant in 1980s), M60E4 and Mk43 ...

2023年6月12日 · Chambered in 7.62mm, the gun could effectively fire 650 rounds per minute at a range of up to 1,200 yards. The weapon's high rate of fire and maximum effective range made it far superior to its World War II and Korean War predecessors, like the Browning Automatic Rifle and the M1919.

2023年8月10日 · The M60E1 became the first major revision of the base M60 and therefore its first true variant. The M60E2 became an electrically-fired, vehicle-mounted co-axial version of the base M60 machine gun. Its usefulness was apparent in such systems as main battle tanks and armored fighting vehicles.

Over 15,000 M60s (all variants) were constructed. In 1963, the M60 was upgraded to the M60A1. This new variant, which stayed in production until 1980, featured a larger, better-shaped turret and improvements to the armor protection and shock absorbers.

As a side-note, the M60E1 was a version with the bipod mount moved to the handguard which never entered production, while the E2 is a coaxial version with no furnishings or stock and a lengthened gas tube used on the M48A5 and M60 Patton tanks (replacing the alarmingly awful M73 machine gun) and the South Korean K1 MBT.

2003年12月1日 · The M60E1 variant pointed the way, and was confirmed in the later E3/E4 variants. The high levels of induced strain are a combination of the small surface contact area of the barrel extension in the trunnion socket, combined with the very heavy weight of the barrel assembly itself.

By the time the M60E1 and M60E3 entered service in the 1960s, however, the type had evolved into an accurate, reliable weapon that could produce a murderous volume of fire wherever it was needed.