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Anyone ever seen a sponson box on the front fender?

M60 SPONSON BOX

Hi,

Nope, never seen.

Those attractive hats mark this as early 60s. I suspect that this is some sort of prototype, maybe a toolbox put there because of the blade. I have some faint recollection about a tank or accumulator in the sponson box position at the right rear, but I'm not sure it was on an M60. This strikes me as one of those situations where the installers stepped back to admire their work and some bright soul said "Hey, we still have this sponson box left over. What should we do with it?" Enter the Good Idea Fairy...

I' m sure this didn't make it into service. I really don't see that location as being very durable. We dinged and ripped that fender off fairly regularly, and the weight of that box bouncing up and down on that fender would just make that happen more. It wasn't unusual to return from the field with that fender tented up or looking like someone took a big hammer to the underside. That box (and whatever accountable items were in it!) would have been toast.

C

I've been doing some research. This photo is from 1964. Tank belongs to the 10th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. They were at Larson Barracks, Kitzingen, Germany. You bring up a good possiblity that it's part of the blade system. That's why there isn't one on the other side. It also has aluminum roadwheels. When did they come out?

There also appears to be a Cal .50 mount in the center of the bustle. That's another new one to me.

When they mount the blade they have to remove the left rear box. That's where the hydraulics reservoir goes. No big mystery, guess they decided to save it and mount it up front. Smart move.

There also appears to be a Cal .50 mount in the center of the bustle. That's another new one to me.

Guess you've never seen the rear of a Slick 60 turret. They all have it. Look here: www.kcamps.org/gallery...ewsIndex=1

It also has aluminum roadwheels. When did they come out?

That's what they were built with. They were the original roadwheels, so 1959.

We dinged and ripped that fender off fairly regularly, and the weight of that box bouncing up and down on that fender would just make that happen more. It wasn't unusual to return from the field with that fender tented up or looking like someone took a big hammer to the underside. That box (and whatever accountable items were in it!) would have been toast.

That may have been true of a tank without a blade, but that blade makes one hell of a front bumper.