T60110

T60110
T60110 M3 with extended ammunition magazine
Type	Main Battle Tank
Place of origin	Tarsas
Service history
In service	1961 - present
Used by	Tarsas
Production history
Designer	Alderia-Anacom Armor Works
Designed	1954-1958
Manufacturer	Alderia-Anacom Armor Plant
Produced	1961-1980
Specifications
Weight	36 tonnes
Length	8.6 m (barrel forward) 6.87 m (hull only)
Width	3.20 m
Height	2.45 m
Crew	4 (earlier variants) 3 (later variants)
Armor	Cast turret 210 (250 on later variants) mm turret front 178 mm turret sides 80 mm turret rear 45 mm turret roof 110 mm at 60° hull front 80 mm hull upper sides 18 mm hull lower sides 49 mm at 0° hull rear 25 mm hull bottom 35 mm hull roof
Main armament	11.0cm F01T L/48 smoothbore gun
Secondary armament	2 x 12.7mm EA15 24 x 76mm smoke grenade launchers
Engine	Pantra F12 4 stroke 12 cylinder 40 liter water cooled diesel engine 620 hp at 2500 RPM
Suspension	Torsion Bar
Operational range	650 km (with fuel drums)
Speed	55 km/h on-road 42 km/h off-road

The T60110 was a Tarsan main battle tank that debuted in 1961 to replace the older T50100 in service with the Imperial Legion. It served as the primary main battle tank until it was superseded by the T70125 in 1970, following the Decade Armor Plan. The tank retains many of the design elements Tarsan tanks are known for, including thick turret armor and a low profile. It has found some success in the export market though it has been replaced in Tarsas.

Development

In 1954, even as the T50100 was still under mass production, the successor to the vehicle was already being sought. The emergence of the Arthuristan 105mm gun and rumored 120mm gun had Tarsan designers scrambling to field a more powerful gun to compete. New armor schemes and weapons were rapidly causing the 100mm gun on the T50100 to become obsolete when faced with newer threats. Though HEAT ammo could have accomplished the task, it was significantly less accurate than typical armor piercing rounds. To rectify this problem, the 11.0cm F01T L/48 smoothbore gun was produced by the Imperial Central Foundry. It was decided to increase the bore size of the 100mm gun, remove the rifling, and lengthen the barrel. These changes created a larger and heavier weapon that proved fundamentally unsuited to mount on the T50100 chassis. Initial prototypes proved unsatisfactorily slow and the turret ring of the T50100 could not adequately handle the increased recoil and size of the weapon. Therefore, a new successor was sought.

In order to accept the larger weapon, a larger turret ring was required which necessitated a larger hull. Several possible prototypes were prepared by the Alderia-Anacom Armor Plant where the bulk of Tarsan tank production has taken place. While not a radical departure from the design language, the new vehicle was significantly better armored and more mobile than the previous generation of vehicles. Significant testing was committed to the concept by 1958 and it was determined that production would go ahead with the 110mm equipped models. Though combat tests proved more than satisfactory, it was noted that the new vehicle cost significantly more than the outgoing tank. Because of this, it was determined that the new tank, dubbed the T60110, would supplement existing armor by being delivered to Class A divisions first followed by lower classes. The first examples were delivered in early 1961 to units on the border with Marad.

Design

Interior

The interior of the vehicle, though cramped, was larger than its predecessor, the T50100. Keeping with a similar design language from previous vehicles, it was determined that the driver be located directly behind the primary frontal armor arc.

Variants

• T60110-M1 - First production variant introduced in 1961 and delivered to the 18th Cataphract Sýntagma in Yisrael. It was equipped with new advanced technology, including a twin plane stabilizer and an early computerized fire control system. An optical coincidence rangefinder and a full gun stabilizer system made the tank a formidable opponent. It was produced for six months until the improved M2 came out, rapidly replacing it.
• T60110-M2 - Introduced in early 1962, the M2 included several improvements over the M1. Additional armor for the front of the turret and the sides of the vehicle greatly improved the capabilities of the armor scheme. An improved multi fuel diesel engine allowed the vehicle to burn more available combustible fuels. Initial problems with recoil on the turret ring emerged mid production on M2 vehicles and they were switched to the M3 standard in 1964.
• T60110-M3 - Further improvements to the suspension and roadwheels. The M3 had significantly improved tracks for trekking vast distances under its own power. An ATGM launcher and an infrared search light were both made available on this particular variant. Improvements to the main weapon allowed the gun to fire more rounds before barrel changes and an additional five rounds of ammunition were stowed due to internal improvements.
  • T60110-M3E - Export variant of the M3.
  • T60110-ABL - Armored bridge layer that could deploy a 15 meter bridge based off of the M1 chassis. Thirty older M1 vehicles were converted to ABL models and production continued in small numbers until the cessation of production in 1985. Over 310 vehicles were produced in the twenty five year production run of the T60110.
  • T60110-EV - Engineering vehicle produced in small numbers until 2001. Still utilized today in the military.
  • T60110-ARV - Armored recovery vehicle produced after older models based off of T50100 vehicles had some difficulty managing the new design. Based off of the M3 chassis with improved suspension and road wheels. Produced unchanged until 1987.
• T60110-M4 - Introduced in 1967, the M4 employed a glut of new technology. A ballistics calculator, a sight with laser telemetry, and a crosswind sensor greatly improved accuracy. The development of the 110mm F01T was considered to be at an end of its usefulness. It was replaced with the greatly improved 110mm H01T weapon. It was quickly shipped to the front lines where Hellenic and Yisraeli forces utilized them with great effectiveness in the Fourth West Scipian War. It was the first Tarsan tank developed and refined from significant combat experience. An experimental mass deployment autoloader was also included on all M4 variants. Additional armor strengthening and the inclusion of applique armor made the M4 more formidable.
  • T60110-M4B - Rush improved M4 model released at the end of the Fourth West Scipian War. The fully developed autoloading system was perfected during the war and rush retrofitted to T60110-M4 models.
• T60110-M5 - Comprehensive modernization introduced in 1971 and widely exported. The vehicle contained a new fire control system and a slight redesign to the outer turret structure. Significant amounts of Explosive reactive armor could finally be mounted to the T60110, which the M5 heavily relied on. Additional improvements to the gun resulted in the H01TB variant being introduced for the M5. Refinements to the autoloader resulted in a more ergonomic crew layout, which increased ammunition storage. More advanced computing capabilities came in the form of improvements to systems already present. The vast majority of vehicles produced were M5 models.
• T60110-M6 - Further improved computing and armor. This variant was previewed in 1973 and added additional ERA mounts to the rear of the vehicle. It was produced in small numbers until the rear ERA mounts were fitted to M5 models, making this variant superfluous.
• T60110-M7 - Improved M5 variant introduced in 1975 with the rear ERA mounts and more capable computing power from the M6. A portion of existing models were simply retrofitted to the M7 standard rather than producing new vehicles.
• T60110-M8 - New variant introduced on the eve of the First Abalessian War with significantly greater combined computing capabilities. Many of the older functions were combined into a new unified fire control system that could handle ballistics calculation and work with the gun stabilizer. Capable of firing newer ATGMs as well. First previewed in combat during Tarsan involvement in the war and proved deadly.
• T60110-M9 - Introduced after the First Abalessian War to capitalize off of combat experience. Introduced more capable mobility with a more powerful engine, which increased top speed slightly and improved fuel efficiency. Ironed out the initial teething issues from the newer and more capable computing.
• T60110- M10 - Released on the eve of program cancellation in 1979 as the T80125 was preparing to be produced, this included some advanced technology from early T80125 models. A new H02T 110mm gun with greater length and penetrating power increased combat effectiveness. New generation ERA as well as far more capable computing systems were employed on this variant.
• T60125 Jackal - Modernization released in 1994 as a significant upgrade of older vehicles still in service. New generation ERA mounts cover many portions of exposed hull, allowing for significant protection. The G03TB main gun was chosen to replace the older 110mm weapon, creating a far more dangerous vehicle. A more efficient modern diesel engine replaced the older model. The tank was also fitted with the same new computing technology from the T80125.
• T60125 Aegis - Test vehicle retrofitted with the Aegis Core Master Processing Suite II and designed to test the next generation ACMPS. Ten vehicles were built in mid 2017 to run the ACMPS II through significant trials even as the Generation I was already being deployed. The smaller platform with less room to work with enabled designers to create a more efficient and smaller ACMPS with more processing and features. The Generation II is set to be ready in 2021.