Tank Graveyard Usa - Every Memorial Day, Fort Knox military base opens its restricted areas for a few hours to allow civilians access to more than a hundred cemeteries on post. Although the main goal of our trip was to visit the cemeteries, we came across some of these abandoned tanks on the side of the road as we drove.
Fort Knox is best known to most of the public as a place that keeps a storehouse of American treasures, and it is also a military base where the Armored School was located until 2010. The road we were on was at the very border of this country. an area used for artillery and armor fire, which explains why the tanks are so close. Although most of the tanks we passed had heavy damage, which may have been used as hard targets, these tanks showed no signs of being in the line of fire. These tanks may have been used in recovery exercises, or their time may have never been used as targets.
Tank Graveyard Usa
The gallery below has been set up to look at each of the tanks individually so we can pick out some of the details of their degradation.
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This tank is an M60. It was the main battle tank of the US forces until it was replaced by the M1 Abrams. Its barrel is lined with dried debris.
We climb over the reservoir and through the opening here we see a small tree taking root. A smaller turret visible behind the tree would hold an M-85 .50 caliber machine gun for the commander's use.
The floorboards were covered with dirt, and the tree seemed to have grown in front of and under the shells. Each of these tubes was to contain a 105 mm shell for the main gun, the tank had a total of about 60 shells.
View of the rear of the tower, showing the open hatch in the turret. The thicker U-shaped piece of metal was a lifting hook that allowed maintenance crews to lift the tower out of the tank.
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Looking at the opening, we see that the only place left in the tank is for the tank commander. The tip of the gun is visible in the lower right of the photo. A periscope is visible behind the trunk.
To the right of the M-60 shown above is what appears to be an M-47 Patton, an earlier vehicle that is not often seen anymore. This shot is actually from the rear of the tank, with the turret turned a full 180 degrees.
A closer look at Patton. There is no engine platform or "hood" to allow a view of the engine compartment. The engine is water-cooled like most civilian vehicles, and large fans visible under the gun barrel are used to cool the radiator. The silver colored structure in the lower part of the picture is the steering and control mechanism of the tank called the controlled differential. When you drive a tank, power is directed to one side or the other, turning the tank from side to side.
This is the second M-60 behind the other two tanks shown above. The track drive sprocket is visible in the lower right. The tank track works like a large bicycle chain, which moves a rotating gear, moving the tank forward or backward.
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Like the Patton, this M-60's turret is rearward facing. A large square box on the side of the tank is used to store tools and spare parts.
Notice here that the wheels appear to be .50 caliber with two bullets. This is the only ammunition damage I've seen on all three tanks, and it may be an accident.
The image shows faint remnants of the ID over a large area of rust. It is a white box with black lettering and a black border. Four screws forming a square pattern are used to secure the second storage box.
Fourth tank seen on the side of the road. This is a version of the M-48 with a larger turret than usual. Looks like there was some shooting on the other side of that tower.
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Tags: 105mm, gun, debris, fort, foot, grave, cemetery, gun, kentucky, knox, m-47, m-48, m-60, military, military communication, patton, ruins, tank, tanks, scrap
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