The M103 heavy tank served the United States Army and the US Marines during the Cold War. Until the development of the M1A1 in the mid 1980s, it was the heaviest and most heavily-armed tank in US service. The M103 was manufactured at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant and the first units were accepted in 1957.Like the contemporary British Conqueror tank, the M103 was designed to counter Soviet heavies such as the Josef Stalin tank or the T-10 if a conventional World War III broke out. Its long-ranged 120 mm cannon was designed to hit enemy tanks at extreme distances, but it was never used in combat. Of the 300 M103s built, 80 went to the US Army, and 220 were accepted by the US Marine Corps, to be used as infantry support.
The successive versions of the M103 shared many components with the M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks and the M60 Patton, which, with the exception of the M60 (a main battle tank) were all considered 90 mm gun (medium) tanks. Tracks, rollers and suspension elements were the same, with some modification to take into account the greater weight. The engine and transmission were never modified enough to give the extra power needed for the greater weight of the M103, and as a result, the tank was relatively underpowered and the drive systems were fragile.
The turret of the M103 was larger than that of the M48 or the M60 to make room for the huge 120 mm gun and the two loaders assigned to it, in addition to the gunner and the commander. The driver sat in the hull. The gun was capable of elevation from +15 to -8 degrees.
| M103 HEAVY TANK | |
|---|---|
| TYPE | Heavy tank |
| PLACE OF ORIGIN |  United States |
| SERVICE HISTORY | |
| IN SERVICE | 1957 - 1974 |
| PRODUCTION HISTORY | |
| MANUFACTURER | Chrysler |
| NUMBER BUILT | 300 |
| VARIANTS | M103A1, M103A2 |
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| WEIGHT | 65 short tons (58 metric tons) |
| LENGTH | 22.7 ft (6.99 m) |
| WIDTH | 12.22 ft (3.76 m) |
| HEIGHT | 10.49 ft (3.23 m) |
| CREW | 5 (commander, gunner, driver, 2 loaders) |
| ARMOR | 180 mm (7.1 in) or 7.34 in (186 mm) |
| MAIN ARMAMENT | 120 mm gun M58, 34 rounds |
| SECONDARY ARMAMENT | 2×.30-cal (7.62 mm) M1919A4E1 machine gun (co-axial) 1×.50-cal (12.7 mm) M2 AA machine gun |
| ENGINE | (M103A1) Continental AV1790 12-cylinder air-cooled gasoline (M103A2) Continental AVDS-1790-2, V12, air cooled, twin turbocharged diesel 810 hp (604 kW) 750 hp (560 kW) |
| POWER/WEIGHT | M103: 12.4 hp/short ton M103A2: 11.5 hp/ton |
| TRANSMISSION | General Motors CD-850-4A or -4B, 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse |
| SUSPENSION | torsion bar |
| FUEL CAPACITY | 280 US gallons (710 liters) |
| OPERATIONAL RANGE | M103: 80 mi (130 km) M103A2: 295 mi (480 km) |
| SPEED | M103: 21 mph (34 km/h) M103A2: 23 mph (37 km/h) |
The successive versions of the M103 shared many components with the M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks and the M60 Patton, which, with the exception of the M60 (a main battle tank) were all considered 90 mm gun (medium) tanks. Tracks, rollers and suspension elements were the same, with some modification to take into account the greater weight. The engine and transmission were never modified enough to give the extra power needed for the greater weight of the M103, and as a result, the tank was relatively underpowered and the drive systems were fragile.
The turret of the M103 was larger than that of the M48 or the M60 to make room for the huge 120 mm gun and the two loaders assigned to it, in addition to the gunner and the commander. The driver sat in the hull. The gun was capable of elevation from +15 to -8 degrees.
Armor
The armor is made from welded rolled and cast homogeneous steel of varying thickness.- Hull front: 100 mm to 130 mm (4 in to 5.3 in)
- Hull side: 76 mm (3.1 inch)
- Hull top: 25 mm(1 in)
- Turret mantlet: 250 mm (10.2 in)
- Turret front: 180 mm (7.34 in)
- Turret side: 76 mm (3.1 in)
- Turret top: 38 mm (1.55 in)
source = allmilitaryweapons.com
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