In a small town of 15,000 people, a machine lay dormant by a memorial to Italian soldiers. It has been a subject of online curiosity among armor enthusiasts, who typically pass it by as nothing more than JPEG pixels on their monitors, eliciting laughs and scoffs. However, perhaps such a mysterious being has a deeper history… This is perhaps, but maybe not, a definite historical background of The Tonk.
What is "Tonk?"
The Tonk from initial glance looks like a squashed up tank. Its proportions defies the standard convention of what a tank looks like, drawing attentions from passer-bys on its unique shape. The mono-tracked design gives incredulity on how such a thing could move, yet we stare trying to make sense of it.
On a more analytical look, however, we can make out the parts that form the Tonk. The turret/body is from an M60 tank's M19 cupola, with the .50 machine gun replaced by a dummy barrel that extends far beyond where the .50 cal machine gun would have extended. It rests on top of M60 track links, which appear to be the T97E2 track links. Inside the tracks are two wheels, which appear to be a M60's return rollers.
But how did such parts end up in Italy to form "Tonk"? Well, for that, we must dive back into the Cold War to a stage in Italian history where they sought better armor for their army.
M60s for the 1960s
Early in the Cold War, the Italian military re-equipped itself with M47 Patton II tanks, purchasing about 900 tanks under the United States' Mutual Defense Assistance Act. However, by the 1960s, the M47 Pattons were aging relative to the possible opposition's technology, so Italy began looking for a replacement.
At the time, there were several options available within NATO: The German Leopard 1, the French AMX-30, the British Chieftain, and finally the American M60A1 tank. After comparing the different options, the American M60A1 was selected to proceed, with the AMX-30 unsuitable for NATO-incompatible cannon ammunition, the Chieftain for not being mobile enough due to its weight and speed, and the Leopard for not being available for export yet. While Italy had considered an ambitious order of 1,000 M60A1 tanks, it was reduced to 300 when the Italian Army decided to field the Leopard tank alongside the M60A1.
The M60A1 was delivered in three batches: 100 were made in the United States from 1965 to 1966, and the remaining 200 were made in Italy, with one batch of 95 in 1969 and 105 in 1970, licensed-produced by OTO Melara. The tank went to equip the Armored Division "Ariete" in the Friuli region, where they are closest to the Warsaw Pact should World War III kick off. The Italian Army would use the M60 tanks for action during Operations LIBANO 1 and LIBANO 2 as part of the UN's Multi-National Force (MNF) operations in Lebanon, and again in Somalia for the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II).
Ultimately, as the Cold War drew to a close with the Iron Curtain lifting, the need for a large tank fleet did not exist for the Italian army anymore, especially as newer domestic options like the Ariete main battle tank was coming into service. The M60A1 was slowly phased out of service, with their retirement finalized in 2008.
So... What about Tonk?
With the memorial erected by earliest November 4th, 1990, the memorial predates the M60A1 retirement a few years. It is unknown if "Tonk" was built during or after the M60A1's service life in the Italian Army, but undoubtedly, there was plenty of M60 spare parts available for the right person to assemble "Tonk" as a tribute to the fallen soldier memorial in Saviano, Italy.
The Tonk sits where it is photographed since, with a short time period in 2022-2023 where the Tonk was removed for restoration, alongside the memorial.
Sources
- http://www.ferreamole.it/images/m60/m_60a1_01.htm
- https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/italy
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ERYCWFH7Vs
