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39-499: 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 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

78-502: A Pakistani armoured offensive comprising five regiments of M48 Patton tanks and one regiment of M24 Chaffee tanks. The Indonesian Army received 175 AMX-13/75, 32 AMX-VCI (including 4 command variants and six ARV variants), and 10 AMX-13 PDP from France in 1960, which were delivered in 1960–1962. Indonesia then bought around 100 to 180 ex-Royal Netherlands Army AMX-VCI in 1976, which were modernized and delivered in 1977–1978. The last batch of AMX-13 family were bought in 1980–1981, when

117-670: A staggering 85 percent of all foreign weapons shipped to the Middle East between 1951-1956. It is worth noting that in Ismail's memoirs, no numbers were cited for the weapons requested. Nasser's request for weapons was more than amply satisfied as the Soviet Union had not signed the Tripartite Declaration. On September 27, 1955, Nasser proudly announced the deal in a speech at military exhibition proclaiming that

156-643: A year later, the Free Officers overthrew the king in the July 1952 Revolution , and initiated the expulsion of the British occupying forces. They also immediately set to work on building up a post-colonial army, though seeking American rather than Soviet support. Within two four months of coming into power, Free Officer and future spy chief Ali Sabri was dispatched to Washington in December 1952 to negotiate

195-690: The 2003–2004 Indonesian offensive in Aceh . The AMX-13 gained momentary notoriety in Indonesian social media in September 2020, after an AMX-13 driver lost control when making a turn and ran over a street food vendor cart and four motorcycles. The accident happened on 10 September 2020 at around 11:00 WIB , at an intersection in Cipatat District, West Bandung Regency , during a 4th Cavalry Battalion company-level combat readiness exercise. No one

234-774: The AMX-VCI . The APC chassis was itself the basis of a number of variants. The AMX-13 has made some major TV and film appearances, most notably in the 1984 French war film Les Morfalous , where a Tunisian Army AMX-13/75 is mocked up as a German Panzer IV medium tank serving with the Afrika Korps . Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , Tanks in the Cold War Ateliers de construction d%27Issy-les-Moulineaux The Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (English translation: construction workshops of Issy-les-Moulineaux ) were born from

273-610: 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

312-591: The "fifth goal of your revolution, of building a strong national army" has been achieved through the "unconditional" acquisition of heavy weapons. The news was greeted with shock and rage in the West, where this was seen as major increase in Soviet influence in the Near East. In Britain, the increase of Soviet influence in the Near East was seen as an ominous development that threatened to put an end to British influence in

351-545: The 1955 deal. In 1947-48 a deal was made, but deliveries stopped in 1948. This was in large part due to the difficulty in securing transportation of arms shipments to their desired destination while the region was under the UN weapons embargo during the 1948 Palestine War . Another major deal was signed on October 24, 1951, where Egypt requested 200 tanks, 200 armored vehicles, 60 to 100 MIG-15 planes, 2000 trucks, and 1000 jeeps among other weapons, but were never delivered. Less than

390-797: 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 . 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

429-549: The AMX. After its separation from Renault, AMX was mostly dedicated to the design and realization of prototype tanks and the production of vehicles specific in small series. It was moved to Satory plateau where it was merged with Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX). Models designed but not mass-produced: Models designed and mass produced: This company also fabricated Puteaux SA 18 cannons. Egyptian%E2%80%93Czechoslovak arms deal The Egyptian - Czechoslovak arms deal

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468-633: 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. 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

507-581: The American M4 Sherman tanks. Due to the shortage of tanks, the IDF used them as main battle tanks and employed them to form a tank battalion in the 7th Armored Brigade. IDF reconnaissance units did not use AMX-13s. By 1967, Israel had less than 100 AMX-13s and formed three AMX-13 battalions, all of which fought actively on all fronts during the Six-Day War . The first battalion moved south in

546-667: The Army acquired 130 second-hand but modernized AMX-13/105 from the Netherlands. The AMX-13s first saw combat against the 30 September Movement in 1965, when they were deployed to secure Suharto's control of Jakarta against an alleged coup by other generals'. AMX-13/75 tanks and the VCI variants participated in the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor (known in Indonesia as Operasi Seroja ). Indonesian AMX-13s also participated in

585-808: The Chhamb-Jaurian area and also in the Battle of Asal Uttar . During the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War in Chhamb- Jaurian in Jammu & Kashmir, the 20 Lancers , equipped with AMX-13 tanks was under command of the 10th Infantry Division . Pakistan's surprise attack on 1 September, Operation Grand Slam , fell on 191 Infantry Brigade which was supported by "C" Squadron of the regiment, under Maj Bhaskar Roy. The Pakistani armoured attack comprised two regiments, one of M48 Patton medium tanks and one of M36B2 tank destroyers. The attack began at 0805 hours and

624-605: The Lebanese AMX-13 light tanks is believed to remain operational. In July 2018, six of these withdrawn AMX-13 and various other former Lebanese Army military vehicles were dumped in the sea off the coast of Sidon in southern Lebanon and used as part of an artificial reef . Morocco used some AMX-13s in the Sand War of 1963. Later on, they were engaged in the Western Sahara conflict . They were supplemented by

663-707: The Panhard's performance also represented acceptable trade-offs for its smaller (90 mm) main gun, relative to the AMX-13 (105 mm). 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. The AMX-13

702-505: The Six-Day War with many destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armour, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 (tank) heavy tanks. Subsequently, Israel gradually phased out all of its AMX-13s following the Six-Day War, with most ending up being sold to the then newly established Singapore Army between 1968 and 1969. During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, India deployed AMX-13 Tanks to oppose the initial armour onslaught of Operation Grand Slam in

741-549: The Tripartite Declaration, which sharply restricted how many arms Egypt could buy in the West, as one of the key elements in keeping the peace between Israel and the Arabs, and believed that settling off an arms race would inevitably lead to a new war. Instead of siding with either super-power, Nasser took the role of the spoiler and tried to play off the super-powers in order to have them compete with each other in attempts to buy his friendship. He had let it be known in 1954–55 that he

780-696: The West Bank area through Taluzi and Tubas and occupied Nablus (against Jordan). The second, attacking Egypt, captured the strongpoints protecting the Gaza Strip and the coastal road in the north of the Sinai Peninsula. The third, finally, assaulted the Golan Heights in southwestern Syria. The IDF realised that the AMX-13 tank was too lightly armoured and had a weak main gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass during

819-569: The approval of Congress to sell weapons to Egypt. American public opinion was deeply hostile towards selling arms to Egypt that might be used against Israel, and moreover Eisenhower feared starting a Middle Eastern arms race. Eisenhower very much valued the Tripartite Declaration as a way of keeping peace in the Near East. Signed in 1950 in order to limit the extent that the Arabs and the Israelis could engage in an arms race ,

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858-698: The collapse of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) structure in January 1976, and later again in February 1984 in the wake of the Mountain War . During this period, most of the regular Army's AMX-13s fell into the hands of the competing Christian-rightist Lebanese Front and Muslim-leftist Lebanese National Movement (LNM) militias or were taken way by dissident rebellious Lebanese Army factions. France later delivered an additional 13 AMX-13/90s to

897-470: 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

936-550: The defence of Jaurian under 41 Infantry Brigade. For the defence of Chhamb-Jaurian, the regiment was awarded a theatre honour and Maj Bhaskar Roy was awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his leadership in this action. In the Battle of Assal Uttar, on 8–10 September 1965 in Asal Uttar ( Khem Karan , Punjab, India ), a regiment of AMX-13s — 8th Light Cavalry — along with a regiment each of Centurions and M4 Shermans fought off and defeated

975-400: 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

1014-656: The nationalization of the Renault factories in Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1936. They were specialized in the construction of armoured vehicles for the French Army . The workshops were also known by the acronym AMX where A stands for Ateliers and MX stands for Moulineaux . Armored vehicles designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux had the acronym AMX in front of the name such as AMX-13 , AMX-30 . The models below were not all mass-produced at

1053-610: The oil-rich region. A complementary arms deal would be brokered in Prague and Warsaw - for naval vessels and training - between November 1955 and April 1956 totaling £E 40 million, while the Egyptian Office for Military Procurement would be set up initially in Prague, before relocating to Moscow, presumably after the Czech cover for buying Soviet arms was no longer needed. There is near universal agreement among historians that

1092-646: 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

1131-620: The purchase of heavy weapons. However, the United States only offered light weapons, under condition they were fully paid in cash and only to be used for internal security and defense. While Nasser's first choice for buying weapons was the United States, his frequent anti-Israeli speeches and his sponsorship for the fedayeen who were making raids into Israel had made it difficult for the Eisenhower administration to get

1170-639: The regular Lebanese Army between 1978–1981 and again in 1984. Captured AMX-13s were employed by the Lebanese Arab Army (LAA), Army of Free Lebanon (AFL), Kataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF), Tigers Militia , Lebanese Forces (LF), South Lebanon Army (SLA), Amal Movement , and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Nearly all AMX-13s eventually were returned by the demobilized militias to the Lebanese Army between 1990 and 1993. Currently, none of

1209-472: 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

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1248-476: The similar Austrian SK-105 Kürassier light tank during that war. AMX-13/75 Modèle 51 (SM1) some were upgraded in 1995 with Detroit Diesel DDA GM6V-53T, ZF 5WG-180 Automatic Transmission, and hydropneumatic "Dunlopstrut" Suspension. Based on Singapore SM1 upgrade packages but without the upgraded gunner sight. The AMX-13 was the basis of a family of APCs beginning with the AMX-VTT and culminating with

1287-476: The three nations which dominated the arms trade in the non-Communist world, namely the United States, the United Kingdom and France had signed the Tripartite Declaration, where they had committed themselves to limiting how many arms they could sell in the Near East, and also to ensuring that any arms sales to one side was matched by arms sales of equal quantity and quality to the other. Eisenhower viewed

1326-553: Was Israel's first modern tank and was purchased at a time when France was the only country willing to openly sell arms to Israel. By 1956, Israel had ordered 180 AMX-13 light tanks as part of an agreement to reinforce Israel's military and to maintain the balance in Israel's favour after the Egyptian–Czechoslovak arms deal . Besides buying whole AMX-13s, Israel also purchased a quantity of SA 50 75mm tank guns for upgunning some of

1365-705: Was an agreement between the USSR and Egypt led by Gamal Abdel Nasser , announced in September 1955, to supply Egypt with more than $ 83 million worth of modern Soviet weaponry, through Czechoslovakia . The deal was a major turning point in the Cold War and greatly impacted the Arab–Israeli conflict . During British occupation as a 'protectorate' , and under a complacent monarchy , the Egyptians made several attempts to purchase heavy arms from Czechoslovakia years before

1404-531: Was considering buying weapons from the Soviet Union as a way of pressuring the Americans into selling him arms he desired. Nasser's hope was that faced with the prospect of Egypt buying Soviet weapons, and thus coming under Soviet influence, the Eisenhower administration would be forced to sell Egypt the weapons he wanted. Khrushchev who very much wanted to win the Soviet Union influence in the Middle East,

1443-645: Was injured and the owners of the cart and vehicles were given compensation totalling 15.4 million rupiah. The Lebanese Army was an important user of the AMX-13 in the Middle East , purchasing 42 AMX-13/75s and 22 AMX-13/105s from France in 1972. During the Lebanese Civil War , the Lebanese AMX-13s saw extensive service in the hands of the regular Lebanese Army and various armed groups in and outside Beirut between 1975 and 1990, following

1482-901: Was more than ready to arm Egypt if the Americans proved unwilling. And so, in June 1955, a secret Egyptian military delegation headed by the Director of the Bureau of the Commander in Chief, Hafez Ismail , went to Prague to negotiate a £E 30 million (US$ 83.3 million then) arms deal. It is thought to have included 100 T-34 tanks and IS-3 Stalin tanks, 80 MIG-15 jet fighter planes, 30 Ilyushin IL-28 bombers, large quantities of self-propelled guns, armored personnel carriers, artillery equipment, several naval vessels, small arms and munitions, representing

1521-412: Was strongly resisted. During the initial phases of the attack, Roy destroyed six Pattons, and three recoilless guns and captured a jeep. A second attack was launched by Pakistani armour at 1100 hours and contested by the AMX-13s of 20 Lancers, which despite being outgunned and outnumbered, destroyed a total 13 tanks that day and prevented the encirclement of 191 Infantry Brigade. The regiment later fought in

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