The "Starship" was an evolution of the M60A1 but replaced the 105mm gun with the 152mm gun/launcher firing both conventional ammo and the MGM-51 Shillelagh ATGM.  They entered service in 1972 and were phased out in the early '80s.  

While M60A1 and A3s served in combat, I don't know of any actions involving the A2.

[pic by Mark Holloway]

It looks sick. Though I've always been a fan of the A3s and the Izzy M60 models

It's an interesting idea. It seems like it could work. Isn't the TOW 152mm in diameter?


My dad crewed one of these at Ft. Hood back in the 70s. He said they were awful, and that the A1 & A3 were much better. I don't remember details; I just remember him telling me they were crap.

There were a couple still around Fort Knox into the 90's. I'm not exactly sure why they chose to use A2s other than maybe "they were there" but they installed a modified Hoffman training device  in the end of the barrel so it looked like a large Gatling gun,making them look even more science fiction like than usual.

IIRC, the gun/launcher was also used on the M551 Sheridan.

It fired the same rounds, but I'm not sure it was the same gun.

The gun/Missile launcher came from the left over MBT 70 project.. Only about 750 of the A2 were built and were designed to be used in Over watch for the M60A1's.
Lots of Tech issues in a system built during a winding down of the Vietnam war and budget cuts.
Later the same gun was put in the M551 Sheridan.. Too big a gun in too small of a chassis. The HEAT rd would lift the Sheridan off the first 3-4 road wheels and knock the LRF off it's mount

Missiles seemed to be a big answer to everything back in the Late 60's and 70's... Look at the Air Force and how they were not putting guns on Jets.... then later learned that Jets need guns... and just how many Missiles did they think one tank could carry....

The one cool thing on the A2... every crewman had a Hatch....

.....as a kid in the early 1980's, my dad worked at an Army Reserve Center, during a field trip with my class in a park next to the center, my dad borrowed one of the M60s like the one pictured and drove it over to the park so we could take a look inside. ...he worked on such things at the time.