The M60 family was America's premiere main battle tank through most of the Cold War, helping hold back communist aggression from 1960 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. The M60A1 was the second tank in the series and was principally produced between 1963 and 1980. Its primary improvement was the British designed L7 105 mm rifled gun with thermal sleeve and fume extractor. Although production of the M60A2 began in 1974, the M60A1 remained in use for many years. The U.S. Army never used the M60A1 in combat, but it earned distinction in two wars: Israeli forces used it in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the U.S.M.C. deployed 210 M60A1 tanks to southwest Asia in support of the liberation of Kuwait during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Weighing 53 tons, the tank was 32'4" long, 13'6" wide, and 12'6" high, with a 750 Hp, V12 diesel engine, a crew of four, a 105 MM cannon, an M240 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and an M85 .50 cal commander's machine gun.