In this video we sneak inside an active military base to explore a bunch of old abandoned war tanks. happen to sit in the middle of an “impact area” lined with radioactive material. This means the military personnel may use the area to detonate bombs, launch missiles, test mortars, and fire an arsenal of various firearms and other weaponry.
After a long, treacherous journey throug restricted roads and dense forestry, we finally made it around a tree-lined corner and saw the dark shilouttes of the old tanks. The large majority of the abandoned tanks are specifically the M60A3 Patton, which went on to become the top choice of metal tanks for the various armies of nearly 2 dozen different countries.
A total of approximately 15,000 of the M60A3 Pattons were eventually produced and would also go on to become the backbone of the United States Army for over 2 decades. It is said that these actual tanks all proudly served in the Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War from 1990 through 1991, as evidenced by the tanks distinct nato camouflage colors.
These tanks were shipped to the military base sometime around 2007 or 2008 where they have sat abandoned ever since. Luckily for us, they even left a hatch open so that we could show the inside. The inside of the tank sat 4 people known as a tank crew. It consisted of 1 commander, 1 driver, 1 gunner, and 1 loader. The tank crew were responsible for destroying anything and anyone that got in their way with a vast array of explosives, machine guns, and other weaponry.
The tanks main gun would have been the 105 mm M68 rifle gun, capable of penetrating body armor at a range of up to a mile and a half. The pattons coaxial weaponry consisted of a 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun, that was mounted directly in the commanders copula. In addition, the tank also held 2 six barrel grenade launchers, fitted on each side of the tanks turret. Furthermore, the Pattons were all equipped with a heavy duty V12 engine with 750 horsepower, so Needless to say, the M60A3 tanks were certainly capable of bringing mayhem into any battle or war.
Exploring these tanks inside an active military base was one of the more dangerous missions we’ve done, but also one of the most interesting explores we’ve done. After all, it was a unique experience to be able to see all these tanks and to get to climb inside, is certainly not something we get to do everyday.