The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and reliable chassis, it was fitted with an oscillating turret built by GIAT Industries (now Nexter) with revolver type magazines, which were also used on the Austrian SK-105 Kürassier. Including prototypes and export versions, over a hundred variants exist, including self-propelled guns, anti-aircraft systems, APCs, and ATGM versions.
Development
The tank was designed at the Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX) in 1946 to meet a requirement for an air-portable vehicle to support paratroopers. The first prototype ran from 1948. The compact chassis had torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels and two return rollers; the engine runs the length of the tank on the right side, with the driver on the left. It features an uncommon two-part FL-10 oscillating turret, where the gun is fixed to the turret and the entire upper turret changes elevation. The turret is set to the rear of the vehicle and holds the commander and gunner. The original 75 mm SA 50 gun was loaded by an automatic loading system fed by two six-round magazines located in on either side of the automatic loader in the turret's bustle. The 12 rounds available in the drum magazines meant that the crew could engage targets quickly; however, once those rounds were expended, the vehicle commander and gunner could either manually refill them from within the turret or retreat to cover and reload shells from outside the vehicle through hatches above.
Production began at ARE (Atelier de Construction Roanne) in 1952, with the first tanks delivered the following year. In 1964, production was transferred to Creusot-Loire at Chalon-sur-Saône, as ARE switched to the production of the AMX-30 MBT, and the numbers produced declined significantly.
After 1966, AMX-13s in French service were up-gunned with a 90 mm CN-90-F3 L/52 medium pressure gun firing more effective high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) munitions; this variant was designated AMX-13/90. The F3 was similar to the DEFA D921/F1 low pressure gun developed for the Panhard AML-90, and even utilized the same ammunition, though it possessed a significantly higher muzzle velocity. By the late 1960s, an export model of the AMX-13 was also available with an even larger 105 mm CN-105 L/57 gun in a FL-12 turret.
Although there were many variants on the turret, the basic chassis was almost unchanged until 1985, when changes including a new diesel engine, fully automatic transmission and new hydropneumatic suspension were introduced. Production halted with the AMX-13 Model 1987. After sales support and upgrades are still offered through GIAT Industries (now Nexter).
The AMX-13 tank was phased out of service with the French Army in the 1980s. Current French armoured vehicles with a similar role are the ERC 90 Sagaie and the AMX 10 RC.
Additional characteristics
Ground clearance: Fording: Vertical obstacle Trench: Gradient 60% Side slope: 60% NBC system: None Night vision: Optional
Service history
France
During the Suez Crisis of 1956, the French Army used two sections of the 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment's AMX-13 tanks in Port Fouad. The AMX-13s also saw limited action in the Algerian War, largely due to the rough terrain in most of Algeria and much of the fighting with the anti-colonial guerillas being in the difficult terrain of the countryside. France also fielded a number of AMX-13s fitted with US Chaffee light tank turrets in the fighting in Algeria.
Argentina
The Argentinian Army fielded locally-built versions of both the AMX-13-105 and the AMX-VCI armoured personnel carrier.
Argentine AMX-13s were not deployed during the Falklands War. Senior commanders considered that off-road conditions in the Falkland Islands were too boggy for all of the armoured vehicles available at the time. The newly-developed Tanque Argentino Mediano (TAM) was not yet available. For on-road operations in the islands, Argentina's Panhard AML-90 wheeled fighting vehicles were considered more suitable than the AMX-13. The higher speed and other aspects of the Panhard's performance also represented acceptable trade-offs for its smaller (90 mm) main gun, relative to the AMX-13 (105 mm).
Dominican Republic
AMX-13s saw service among both the loyalists and the rebels during the Dominican Civil War of 1965. Two AMX-13s used by the rebel forces were destroyed by M50 Ontos of the United States Marine Corps during the subsequent American intervention in the Dominican Republic.