Brandt Mle CM60A1

Brandt Mle CM60A1
Muzzle of a Brandt Mle CM60A1 gun-mortar (left) on an HE-60-7 turret
Type	Mortar
Place of origin	France
Production history
Designer	Edgar Brandt
Designed	1959
No. built	1,600+
Variants	Brandt 60 mm LR Gun-mortar
Specifications
Caliber	60 millimetres (2.4 in)
Elevation	-15° to +80°
Traverse	Depends on mounting; up to 360°
Effective firing range	300 metres (330 yd) - direct fire
Maximum firing range	2,000 metres (2,200 yd) - indirect fire

The Brandt Mle CM60A1, also known as the Brandt HB 60LP, MCB-60 HB, or simply as the Brandt 60mm LP Gun-Mortar, is a 60mm (2.36 in.) gun-mortar. Unlike conventional infantry mortars, it was not designed to be mounted on a bipod and a baseplate, but rather in the turrets of armoured fighting vehicles. The CM60A1 could be fired at a very low angle of elevation, giving it the dual purpose of direct fire artillery. Its hydraulic recoil mechanism reduces peak loads, allowing it to be mounted in very light armoured cars such as the Panhard AML-60 or wheeled armoured personnel carriers like the Panhard M3.

The Brandt Mle CM60A1 was developed as a result of French counter-insurgency experiences during the Algerian War. France had initially favoured the deployment of swift, lightly armoured cars against the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), including the M8 Greyhound and Panhard EBR. However, these vehicles had been designed for conventional combat on European battlefields and proved poorly suited to Algerian conditions; their heavy anti-tank armament also risked collateral damage and was of limited usefulness in fighting off guerrilla raids. The French Army wanted a much lighter, more efficient vehicle that was easier to maintain and initially adopted the Daimler Ferret for this purpose. Nevertheless, Ferrets could only be armed with a single general-purpose machine gun, and were regarded as inadequate for offensive purposes. A number of French defence contractors took up the challenge of creating yet another new vehicle of similar dimensions to the Ferret but carrying a mortar, which was regarded as more effective than a large gun system at breaking up ambushes and suppressing dispersed FLN positions. The result, the Panhard AML-60, entered service in 1961. AML-60s were fitted with an HE-60-7 turret developed by the Compagnie Normande de Mécanique de Précision (CNMP), which mated the CM60A1 mortar to twin co-axial machine guns or a single co-axial 20mm autocannon. This turret could store about 43 mortar projectiles. The CM60A1 was unique in that it was the first turret-mounted, breech-loading, dual-purpose mortar to be mass produced. Its turret mount gave it continuous traverse, and unlike muzzle-loading infantry mortars it could engage targets of opportunity at close range that could not otherwise be suppressed with indirect fire.