Tanks are common transportation used mainly in wars. They are massive in size, built with many specifications,s and for sure to be dangerous. The M60 patent was an American main battle tank that saw widespread use in the United States Army throughout the 1960s. Over 15,000 have been constructed and seen in battles.
By the 1990s, the modern M1 Abrams tank had supplanted it in the US armed services. However, 25 years ago, A tank roared through the streets of San Diego, smashing everything in its path. The 52-ton tank was sighted rampaging through downtown San Diego, California. The national guard owned the tank, which was kept in their armory in central San Diego, is an A4 model with a coaxially placed 7.62-millimeter machine gun and the latest version of the 105-millimeter cannon. But how did it get stolen and most importantly, who did it?
Shawn Nelson’s story does not have a happy conclusion. He was an ex-US army tank driver. He was born in Utah and joined the army after graduating high school. He served for two years and most of the time he drove tanks for the US army battalion in West Germany.
Nelson was expelled from the army in 1980 after appearing to be in constant conflict with his commanding superiors. He appears to have put his problems behind him and adapted successfully to civilian life. He established and maintained a thriving plumbing business before marrying a legal secretary and starting a family. Six years later, his problems began to escalate, as his business and marriage began to suffer as a result of his drug use.
Nelson’s life has been a disaster for the last few years. Both his parents had died, and his wife filed for a divorce. He was in a motorbike accident the same year, lost several cases, and was countersued for legal claims, lost his business, and his live-in girlfriend died of a drug overdose. He was in chronic discomfort due to his back issues, and he was on the verge of becoming homeless.
Because he did not pay his payments, his water and electricity were turned off in the spring, and the bank began the process of repossessing his home. Nelson grew even more addicted to narcotics as a means of numbing the physical and emotional suffering he was experiencing. Nelson got increasingly angry and violent, and his mental state deteriorated. He once excavated a 17-foot shaft in his lawn in the hopes of finding gold. All of this seems to have pushed Nelson to the limit that led him to steal a tank.
When he infiltrated a National Guard Armory through an unprotected fence and managed to open an unsecured Patton tank that he just so happened to know how to operate, he was a suicidal Army veteran with nothing to lose. The 63-ton tank lurched ahead as the guards attempted to stop him, then through the door, off the base, and into San Diego.
The police chase was modest, with a top speed of 30 miles per hour. But nothing could stop Shawn Nelson in the final moments of his life. He sped past stop signs, fire hydrants, parked automobiles, and traffic lights — anything that may slow him down in his tracked vehicle. He even tried to destroy a pedestrian bridge by repeatedly ramming it. The concrete, on the other hand, stood firm, and Nelson moved on.
He took the freeway this time. He entered the 805 southbound but attempted to drive through the concrete barrier into oncoming northbound traffic. That was the end of his joyride. The tank became encrusted in the concrete berm. Officers from San Diego ascended the vehicle and opened the hatch, commanding Nelson to surrender. He was shot in the shoulder while attempting to liberate the tank one more time.
The tank’s weaponry, a 105-millimeter cannon, a 12.7-millimeter antiaircraft gun, and a 7.62-millimeter machine gun, were not loaded, which was fortunate for San Diego. Shawn Nelson, on the other hand, took his fury out on the city traffic of San Diego for about a half-hour on May 17, 1995. He crushed about 40 parked vehicles and unconsciously turned off the power to 5000 people in the area.
Some say Nelson was politically motivated but with his outspoken views on the US government and army, there was no evidence that links Nelson to any organization. Most people, including his ex-wife and brother Nelson, suffered mentally which was caused by his addictions.
Sources: Simple History, We Are Mighty, 10 News San Diego