Panhard AML

The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne deployment. Since 1959, AMLs have been marketed on up to five continents; several variants remained in continuous production for half a century. These have been operated by fifty-four national governments and other entities worldwide, seeing regular combat.

The AML-245 was once regarded as one of the most heavily armed scout vehicles in service, fitted with a low velocity DEFA D921 90 mm (3.54 in) rifled cannon firing conventional high explosive and high explosive anti-tank shells, or a 60 mm (2.36 in) breech loading mortar with 53 rounds and dual 7.5mm MAS AA-52 NF-1 machine guns with 3,800 rounds, all mounted coaxially in the turret. An AML is capable of destroying targets at 1,500 meters with its D921 main gun. In this configuration it is considered a match for second-line and older main battle tanks.

AMLs have appeared most prominently in Angola, Iraq, and Chad, as well as in the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990.

History

During World War II, the French Army and their Free French successors used a wide variety of vehicles for reconnaissance duties, ranging from the compact ''Laffly S15'' to the ''Panhard 178'', which could mount the same 75 mm armament as contemporary heavy tanks, and multi-wheeled designs such as the ''Type 201''. After the war it became less desirable to maintain this plethora of armoured cars. In July 1945 Paris issued a requirement for a postwar design combining those features of previous assets – especially the Type 201 – that had shown potential both during and prior to the Battle of France. This led to the 8x8 Panhard EBR (''Type 212'') which entered service in 1950.Morse, Stan. ''Modern Light Tanks and Reconnaissance Vehicles''. War Machine, 1983, Volume 2 Issue 19 p. 373–374. Similarly, in 1956 the French Ministry of Defense was persuaded to commission a replacement for the Daimler Ferret scout car. Also manufactured by Panhard, the successor was the AML (''Type 245'') which entered service in 1961.

As with much postwar hardware based on the experience of subsequent colonial theatres, the AML was recognized for its outstanding ruggedness, dependability, firepower-to-weight ratio, and adaptability to the numerous minor conflicts waged since 1945. This reputation has led to export success in over forty countries, Africa being one of its biggest markets.

Development

The Panhard AML was birthed as a private venture by the '' Société de Constructions Panhard et Levassor'', a military subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroën. It was derived in part from the Daimler Ferret, offering important similarities in external design. The first prototype appeared in 1959 and the vehicle was put into production in 1960, with more than 4,000 examples constructed by the time production ended.

In the late 1950s, the French Army successfully operated a number of Ferret scout cars in Algeria. Impressive as they were from a conventional standpoint, the rest of France's existing light armour—such as the Panhard EBR and M8 Greyhound—were not suitably equipped for counter-insurgency; battles of the Algerian War often involved short, sharp, skirmishes which required indirect fire support weapons such as mortars rather than solid shot and shell. In addition, the North African conditions demanded a lighter, less sophisticated, vehicle which would be simpler to maintain and operate. As an interim measure France had purchased two hundred Ferrets from the United Kingdom. These were light enough but carried only a single general-purpose machine gun, which was inadequate for offensive purposes. Nevertheless, they were sufficiently successful that there was a possibility of producing the Ferret under licence in France. However, Saviem, Berliet, and Panhard petitioned for bidding on a home-grown vehicle, and in 1956 the Ministère de la Défense issued specifications for an indigenous wheeled armoured car of similar dimensions and layout to the Ferret but mounting a breech-loading mortar. By 1959, this had emerged as the ''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', designated Model 245 "B" by Panhard.
Defence Update (International)
'. Defence Update G.m.b.H., 1984, 1984–85 Volume Collected Issues 48–58. Early prototypes were completed in mid-1959 and by the end of 1961 at least one regiment in Algeria was receiving them. The AML was equipped with a 60mm Brandt gun-mortar and two medium MAS AA-52 NF-1 machine guns. Until Panhard's acquisition by Citroën later in the 1960s, it was manufactured at a single plant near the Porte de Choisy in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.

The AML was immediately successful, but as the Algerian conflict diminished so did the need for a light mortar carrier deployed in anti-guerrilla operations. A more primary concern was the conventional threat posed by Soviet airborne fighting vehicles in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion. Meanwhile, South Africa, an AML customer which had considered adopting the British Alvis Saladin, also charged Panhard technicians to look into the development of an AML variant with equal or superior fire support capability. This and the adoption of a highly effective 90 mm rifled cannon led to all new AML-245 "C"s being refitted with the H-90 turret sporting the new gun. It fired fin-stabilised, shaped charge, projectiles boasting a muzzle velocity of 760 m/s and more than capable of penetrating 320 mm of rolled homogeneous armour. In consequence, the later AMLs could even engage main battle tanks. In addition to its high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shells the H-90 also carries fin-stabilised high-explosive (HE) projectiles, the total number of rounds stored being 20, compared with the 53 of the original 60 mm mortar version.

To provide a complete family of wheeled armoured cars, Panhard used AML components to engineer a small personnel carrier, the ''Véhicule Transport de Troupes'', better known as the Panhard M3. The M3 consisted of a boxy, all-welded, hull with an engine relocated behind the driver in order to provide a large troop compartment at its rear. Its wheelbase was also increased from the AML's 2.5m to a higher 2.7m. and the track from 1.62 to 2.5m. In spite of this, maintenance alongside the AML fleet is rather simplified, given that both vehicles share a 95% interchangeability in automotive parts. The export success of the AML and M3 led directly to the development of the Panhard ERC 90 Sagaie and Panhard VCR, respectively, which were six-wheeled and could carry a wider range of heavy weapon systems.

Mass production of the AML likely ceased at some point prior to the early 1980s. However, AMLs continued to be sold from French Army surplus stocks as late as 1999, when the final export orders were placed by Yemen and Tunisia. They were also marketed by a number of other second-hand suppliers, including South Africa, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

Specifications

Fitted with coil spring suspension and drum brakes, the AML lacks hydraulic assist on either brakes or steering; only front wheels steer. Consequently, the steering wheel requires considerable strength to turn while the vehicle is in motion—while stationary it remains effectively locked. Much like the Ferret, rear wheel drive is transmitted directly to epicyclic hub reduction gears, also known as bevel boxes. The motor and gearbox have been harnessed via a centrifugal clutch with electromagnetic control, eliminating the need for a clutch pedal. This type of clutch is automatically engaged by gripping the knob of the gearshift lever, which is located behind the driver's seat in the hull floor.''Automotive Industries''. Philadelphia: Chilton Company, 1968, Volume 139 pp. 39—41. The gearbox assembly consists of two separate gearboxes, one for high and the other for low gear. The low-range gearbox is designed for off-road use and has a reverse gear and a top gear, while the high-range box is for operation on roads and has three low gears and one overdrive. There is a hydraulic dual-circuit handbrake operating on the gearbox output shaft.

An AML's crankshaft is carried in three ball bearings to reduce motor friction. Powerplant design was inspired by the Panhard EBR and incorporates an air-cooled 1.99 litre four cylinder engine developing 67 kW (90 hp). The Panhard engine was somewhat underpowered for the five to six tonne armoured car,Copley, Greogory. Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy journal. Alexandria: 1989. Vol.17, Collected Issues; pg. 37 and remained prone to mechanical failure in humid climates. Under temperate conditions it was capable of providing good operational service up to 26,000 kilometres before needing replacement.''Pakistan Army Journal''. Inspector General Training and Evaluation Branch, General Headquarters: Pakistani Army, 1986. Volume 27, Collected issues 1-3. AMLs may also be fitted with a variety of liquid-cooled engines, although as demonstrated by its Eland Mk7 counterpart this requires a costly reconstruction of the rear hull to accommodate the new cooling apparatus.

AML hulls are assembled from only 13 welded pieces, with a driver seated at the front of the hull and the turret to his immediate rear. Above both doors the hull widens into a circular flange onto which the turret is bolted. This makes the turret basket extremely cramped, and little space is available above an AML-90's turret ring due to the massive gun breech and somewhat haphazard ammunition stowage. There are optical ring sights in front of both turret seats for quick laying of the main armament. AML turrets have a two-man crew, with the commander seated on the left and the gunner on the right. Depending on the variant, either may operate the roof-mounted searchlight. Seven periscopes are provided for the turret crew and three for the AML's driver. One of the three driving periscopes may be substituted with an infrared or image intensification periscope for night operations.

On either side of the hull below the turret ring is an access door, one for the driver on the right and one intended for emergency purposes on the left. The left hull door, on which a spare wheel and tyre or fuel cans may be mounted, opens to the rear while the right hull door opens to the front. The engine housing at the rear of the hull is accessed through two access panels, and is insulated from the crew compartment by a removable bulkhead. Two sand channels resembling those on the Ferret are bolted to the hull front for crossing ditches and other obstacles.

The AML uses nitrogen inner tubes (in this case Hutchinson V.P.-P.V.s) adopted from the EBR, providing run flat capability on 41 cm (16 in.)-diameter wheels; its 280 mm (11 in.) wide Michelin tyres can be deflated to reduce ground pressure to as low as . These have been replaced in some Anglophone armies by the Dunlop Trak Grips also favoured in Bedford and Alvis military vehicles.

Service history

Europe

France

French military doctrine recognised two separate fields of armoured vehicle deployment, the first consisting of primary tasks such as manoeuvre and combat, while the second included other tasks such as rearguard defence, liaison, and deception. The latter was to be the responsibility of a mobile reserve which provided interior security during wartime – designated ''Défense Opérationnelle du Territoire'' (DOT) armoured cavalry regiments. Initially equipped with AMLs and jeeps modified for scouting purposes, these units worked closely with the French police and National Gendarmerie. Their goal was to intercept hostile special forces or airborne units which specialised in deep penetration behind the front line. Secondary tasks included counter-insurgency, passive observation, and guarding static installations.

Each DOT troop came to include three AML platoons. As they were expected to remain faithful to the traditional mission of reconnaissance where observation had priority over combat, a number of the AML-60s seem to have been stripped of their main armament, necessitating crew dependence on the vehicle's secondary automatic weapons. Nevertheless, to counter the mechanised threat posed by Soviet and other Warsaw Pact airborne forces, which often deployed with their own armour such as the ASU-57, BMD-1, and ASU-85, AML-90s were favoured as well. DOT regiments came to hold a generic pool of sixteen AML-90s and thirty-four other AMLs of varying configuration.

As the AML was readily air transportable, it came to form the materiel strongpoint of the French Foreign Legion's rapid deployment force. The Legion AMLs saw combat overseas, either as part of single deployments by the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment or to provide fire support for other Legion regiments. Crews perfected unique airfield assaults in which AML-90s were unloaded directly from Transall C-160s onto the objective, with infantry joining them by parachute. They could also deploy from Breguet 941 and Nord Noratlas aircraft. These vehicles first saw combat against BTR-152s manned by FROLINAT rebels in Chad during Opération Tacaud, successfully engaging an insurgent mechanised column approaching Salal around April 1978. On 18 May another sixteen AMLs, supported by a company of French infantry, routed FROLINAT elements advancing on Ati. In the subsequent months, additional AML-90s rushed in by the Régiment d'infanterie-chars de marine (RICM) repelled a major offensive near Abéché by the Chadian Democratic Revolutionary Counciln T-55 tanks and EE-9 Cascavel armoured cars.

Despite the intensity of these clashes, only three French AMLs were lost in Chad between 1978 and 1979, most likely to RPG-7s. The Foreign Legion's AML squadrons continued to see action during Operation Manta and the extended Opération Épervier, being organised into anti-tank support groups for three battalion-sized task forces. Their speed and mobility proved instrumental in destroying much heavier Libyan main battle tanks. However, the French crews could only make up for their inferiority in firepower by outflanking the tanks first or attacking from the rear, and by the mid 1980s the threat posed by large Libyan armoured formations was considered so severe a squadron of AMX-10RCs had to be deployed as well.

A single RICM AML platoon was deployed to assist in the 1979 overthrow of the Central African Empire during Operation Caban, likely shifted from Marine contingents stationed in Chad or Gabon. The armoured cars were landed at the airport in concert with French paratroopers during a textbook airborne assault; however, the defending Central African troops surrendered without offering resistance. AMLs did not see action again until Operation Épaulard I, when twenty AML-60s and AML-90s were deployed for infantry support purposes. As the French infantrymen lacked heavy weapons of their own, they remained dependent on the AMLs for suppressing hard targets; this persuaded the French Army of the need for infantry fighting vehicles in overseas operations. The AML-90s were later used by the RICM against the Rwandan Patriotic Front during the Rwandan Civil War.

The Mobile Gendarmerie operated over a hundred AML-60s and AML-90s, which were allocated to nineteen separate squadrons. The AML was superseded in service with the Mobile Gendarmerie by the VBC-90 at the end of the 1980s.

The last AMLs were withdrawn from active service in the French Army in 1991, being superseded by the Panhard ERC and the AMX-10RC. France retained about three hundred of these AMLs in storage as part of its strategic reserve as late as 1995. A small number were also used to simulate OPFOR armoured vehicles at the Centre d'entraînement aux actions en zone urbaine (CENZUB) until 2012, when they were finally decommissioned.

Portugal

Franco-Portuguese military relations experienced a significant improvement during the 1960s, with the establishment of a French strategic missile tracking site on Flores Island in the Azores. The Portuguese government was compensated with French arms, which it acquired under especially generous terms. Following the outbreak of the Portuguese Colonial War, Lisbon began ordering AML-60s for deployment to its three African territories: Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. The armoured cars were purchased on long-term credit, with the French government granting payment facilities ranging from ten to twenty years, at six per cent annual interest. About 50 AML-60s were delivered to the Portuguese Army between 1965 and 1968 to complement the ageing EBR already in service. They were circulated largely among reconnaissance platoons in Africa, which utilised them for convoy escort purposes. Severe maintenance problems were soon encountered in the corrosive tropical environment, compounded by excessive dust, which caused transmission and engine damage. Most AMLs stalled during their initial convoy support missions and had to be towed behind other vehicles.
African Armed Forces Journal
': Article "Eland Mk 7 Diesel: African Design". Military Publications (Pty) Ltd, Volume 1994, Collected Issues September to December 1994 p. 28. These issues were later rectified by the installation of custom Volkswagen air intakes. Around the early 1970s, all Portuguese AML-60s in Angola were retrofitted with liquid-cooled, four-cylinder General Motors engines and pressure plate clutches, giving them a resemblance to the Eland Mk7. The new engines were adopted because they were cheaper to replace and Portugal found it easier to source their associated parts.

In 1974, a squadron of AML-60s seconded to the Portuguese Army's School of Cavalry at Santarém took part in the Carnation Revolution, which heralded the collapse of the country's ruling '' Estado Novo'' regime and its colonial empire. The following year, when Portugal withdrew from Angola under the terms of the Alvor Agreement, 5 AML-60s were abandoned in that country and subsequently taken into service by Angolan factions. About 36 of the remaining AMLs were redistributed to the ''Regimento de Cavalaria N.º 3'' (3rd Cavalry Regiment) and ''Regimento de Cavalaria N.º 6'' (6th Cavalry Regiment), while the others were held in reserve.

The Portuguese government entered into negotiations with a local subsidiary of Opel in 1982 to upgrade its entire AML fleet with liquid-cooled engines and pressure plate clutches, exempting those which had already received similar modifications during their service in Angola. Opel upgraded one AML for evaluation purposes before the programme was abandoned. Another, more successful, project entailed the addition of Portuguese PRC-239 wireless radio sets and communications equipment. The AML-60s were retired from 1989 onwards and replaced by the Véhicule Blindé Léger.

Middle East

Israel

An order of 29 AML-90s placed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1960 marked the first sale of AMLs to a foreign power, ushered in a new era of French arms sales to Tel-Aviv, and helped cement Panhard's success on the export market. The IDF armoured cars had been received by the end of 1963 and were first displayed publicly on the eve of Yom Ha'atzmaut, 1966. Israeli units were primarily impressed by their high mobility and ergonomic nature, which was deemed ideal for airborne operations. Nevertheless, the AML-90's envisaged deployment by new Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelons also purchased from France did not materialise, as the helicopters could not handle its 5,500 kg combat weight.

At least 9 AML-90s were in service with the 41st Reconnaissance Company of the Harel Brigade during the Six-Day War under a Major Amnon Eshkol, participating in the capture of Ramallah in June 1967.Nachum Baruchy: ''The Hare'l (10th) Armoured Brigade In The Six Day War''. Ariel Publishing, Jerusalem. 2010 (In Hebrew). Baruchy States that the 10th Brigade had one company (9 vehicles) of Panhard AML's. The AMLs were initially posted at Mevaseret Zion following the fall of East Jerusalem. They were among the first IDF armour to cross into the West Bank during the conflict, probing for Jordanian resistance. Major roads had been blocked by tank barriers although these could be easily bypassed in nimbler armoured cars. The much more cumbersome Super Sherman and Centurion tanks tasked with leading the IDF's spearhead towards Tell el-Ful failed to reach their objective; most were forced to turn back in the face of difficult terrain. Joined by the surviving seven Shermans and eight M3 half-tracks, Major Eshkol's AML-90s later helped defeat a Jordanian counterattack with M48 Pattons.

In the War of Attrition, Israeli AMLs faced Jordanian M48s again on the Damia Bridge during the Battle of Karameh. Originally tasked with screening the IDF Centurions as they crossed the bridge, the lightly armoured AML-90 was at a unique disadvantage when confronted by entrenched Pattons. Moreover, the Jordan River was in flood and vehicle crews were unable to exploit their manoeuvrability in the muddy farmland. Several AMLs were knocked out by tank fire or towed anti-tank guns. They were withdrawn from service not long afterwards.

The Arab–Israeli conflict marked some of the highest armour-to-armour kill ratios achieved with the AML platform to date, including the destruction of at least 13 Egyptian and Jordanian tanks.
Armed Forces
'. Contributions by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies. Allan Limited and the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies., 1986. Especially notable were several T-54 kills credited to an AML-90 platoon in the Sinai Peninsula: as late as the 1980s, military scholars continued to maintain that the 90 mm DEFA cannon lacked the muzzle velocity to penetrate the thick steel hull of a T-54/55. More well-documented cases have since verified this was possible, though only with multiple shots or a direct hit on the turret rim near the driver's hatch. Israeli AML crews also sustained losses of their own during this engagement, and some AML-90s may have been captured intact by the Egyptian defenders.

Saudi Arabia

In 1964, the Royal Saudi Army issued a requirement for an armoured car proven in desert warfare and equipped with a large semi-automatic cannon.
Records of Saudi Arabia, 1961–1965: 1965
'. Burdett, Anita (editor). British Foreign Office, 1997, Volume 6 p. 57. . Bids were accepted from three companies—Alvis, Cadillac Gage, and Panhard—which offered the Saladin, V-100 Commando, and AML, respectively, but the debate over which of the three to adopt was hamstrung by political considerations early on. Saudi Arabia remained inhibited from seeking American assistance in devising suitable defence programmes by the criticism and hostility of other Arab states. Under these circumstances, only arms transactions with French or British firms could be entertained. Despite longstanding diplomatic contacts, the French presence in Riyadh was rather limited compared to that of the United Kingdom, and the latter was in a better position to provide long-term logistical support for armoured cars to the Saudi military. Alvis was initially awarded a contract for 83 Saladins with a ten-year option on spare parts. Final negotiations for the delivery of the Saladins were underway when Sultan bin Abdulaziz abruptly cancelled the purchase in favour of Panhard.''Middle East Economic Digest (1968)''. Collard, Elizabeth, Volume 12 pp. 131—173.

The $95 million Panhard deal proved instrumental in breaking existing preconceptions that the Arabian arms market was well protected by the UK. Gaullist circles heralded it as a major business and political success. In an interview in Beirut, Sultan bin Abdulaziz merely asserted that AMLs were selected as part of King Faisal's policy to strengthen the army with a greater infusion of modern arms.''Middle East Record (1968)''. Israel Universities Press, 1973, Volume 4 p. 684. Saudi Army officials had preferred the heavier Saladin and appreciated its worthiness in desert conditions, but conceded the AML-90 was much cheaper. Panhard undertook the order amid much protest by pro-Israel lobbyists in France, who urged restraint in shipping arms to Arab bloc states likely to use them against Tel-Aviv. The sale was also challenged as a violation of Charles de Gaulle's Middle Eastern embargo, although the French government insisted it did not classify armoured scout cars as the same "heavy war materiel" covered by sanctions.

Saudi AML-90s of the 20th Armoured Brigade were blooded near Daraa during the Yom Kippur War, having been airlifted to assist its Syrian defenders in Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft loaned from Iran. The airlift was carried out on October 14, 1973; six Iranian C-130s were needed to convey the vehicles and about 2,000 motorised infantrymen from Saudi Arabia to Syria. AML crews were generally assigned to static guard duty, patrolling the Damascus-Daraa road and keeping lines of communications clear between the multinational Arab forces. At least one AML-90 was captured by the Golani Brigade, likely while attempting to reconnoiter an IDF position after dark. The captured vehicle was later displayed by Israeli officials to the international press as proof of direct Saudi military involvement in the Syrian war effort.

On October 16, the 7th Brigade, 71st Tank Battalion of the IDF's 36th Armoured Division reported clashing with the Saudi armoured cars as they performed reconnaissance for Iraqi forces near Tel Antar. The Saudis quickly disengaged. At some point between this skirmish and the evening of October 17, all the Saudi AMLs—almost a composite light armoured battalion—launched an unsuccessful attack on IDF positions at the village of Tel Merai. Thereafter the remaining armoured cars and their crews were integrated with the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade. On October 19, they participated in a joint offensive with that unit but were halted by accurate tank fire from the IDF's 17th Reserve Armour Brigade and forced to retreat.

The Israelis claimed to have destroyed most of the Saudi AMLs at Tel Merai. Saudi accounts acknowledge the loss of only 4 AMLs; furthermore, the Saudis claimed to have knocked out 5 Israeli tanks and damaged 5 more.

Saudi Arabia ordered between 200 and 220 AMLs from France in 1968, with deliveries completed by 1970. Some sources have claimed a second order was placed in 1978 for another 250. The Saudi Army has since retired much of its Panhard fleet and exported surplus stocks to various nations.
Africa Analysis
'. Africa Analysis Collected Edition, 1996, 1995–96 Volume Collected Issues 238–262. During the Gulf War, an estimated 200 AML-90s were phased from service. Upon learning that the Senegalese units participating in Operation Desert Shield were also familiar with the Panhard type, General Khalid bin Sultan ordered a number retained for their use. The armoured cars were hurriedly serviced, then donated to Senegal. Large quantities were also accepted by Morocco and Niger