Today’s Photo of the Day is of an M60A2 “Starship” tank. Or is it? Eagle-eyed viewers may notice that the rear engine deck is not of an M60 but rather an M48 or M48A1. As we understand it, this Frankenstein of a tank was used at Fort Knox for training exercises.
Tank and AFV News 
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot??? Training for WHAT, exactly??? Why not just dump an obsolete tank as-is for training tankers to pull a tank out of the muck? Your tax-dollars at work, folks!
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I can’t imagine it took much money to toss that particular hull and turret together. I don’t think it was a runner, it was used for recovery practice and things that required a big heavy non-moving object. Perhaps there is an old tanker out there that knows more details.
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It looks like it’s been there for years. The debris on the deck and the encroaching brush on the left hand side- If it was placed there for recovery training, they must have failed a few classes after. Wonder if it”s still there?
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My thoughts exactly, Ken. I was truly puzzled last night when I saw this photo, given the M48 hull and the derelict nature of the bastardized vehicle? Plus that doesn’t much look like Fort Knox to me, at least? I went through AOBC (Armor Officer Basic Course) at Knox in the fall of 1973 and we young lieutenants were not allowed near the M60A2 turret trainers which we observed among those for the M60A1 and M551 Sheridan, which we spent MUCH time in. Upon arriving at Fort Hood I was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division’s cavalry squadron (2/1) and was thereafter mostly involved with the Sheridan, though during my three years at Hood and in the 2/1 Cav I spent considerable time as a safety officer and range OIC in support of the four tank battalions of the division. I felt right at home with the M60A1, but 1/67 Armor was equipped with the A2 and I’ll never forget my frustration one night as a safety officer when I was called to clear a malfunction with the M85 .50 caliber in the powered cupola of an A2. I climbed in and was completely clueless about the internal layout and such, even as the gunner and loader looked on with bemused expressions. As I recollect, 1/67 and a battalion in Germany were the only two so equipped with the A2, which was expected to eventually replace the A1? At least that was the plan! But the Shillelagh weapons system shared by the M551 and M60A2 was so rife with problems that those of us in the field could not conceive of that ever happening…..
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Thanks for the great comments guys.
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