Panhard AML

Panhard AML-245
Panhard AML at the Musée des Blindés, Saumur.
Type	Armoured Scout Car
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Wars	List of Conflicts Algerian War Portuguese Colonial War Six Day War War of Attrition Angolan Civil War Cambodian Civil War Yom Kippur War Falklands War Lebanese Civil War Shaba II Ethiopian Civil War Eritrean War of Independence Salvadoran Civil War Western Sahara War Chadian–Libyan conflict Somali Civil War Iran–Iraq War Gulf War Djiboutian Civil War Rwandan Civil War First Congo War Second Congo War 2003 invasion of Iraq Second Sudanese Civil War Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict 2004 French–Ivorian clashes First Ivorian Civil War Second Ivorian Civil War 2007 Lebanon conflict Internal conflict in Burma Operation Linda Nchi Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
Production history
Designed	1959
Manufacturer	Panhard
Produced	1961 – 1987
Number built	4,000
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	5.5 tonnes (6.1 short tons; 5.4 long tons)
Length	5.11 m (16 ft 9 in)
length	3.79 m (12 ft 5 in) (hull)
Width	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Height	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)
Crew	3 (commander, driver, gunner)

Main armament	90mm GIAT F1 (20 rounds) 60mm Brandt mortar (53 rounds)
Secondary armament	7.62 mm MAS coaxial machine gun (2400–3800 rounds)
Engine	Panhard 1.99 l (121 in³) Model 4 HD flat 4-cylinder air-cooled petrol 90 hp (67 kW) at 4,700 rpm
Power/weight	16.36 hp/tonne (11.9 kW/tonne)
Suspension	Wheeled 4x4
Ground clearance	0.33mm
Fuel capacity	156 litres
Operational range	600 km
Speed	100 km/h

The Panhard AML (Auto Mitrailleuse Légère, or "Light Armoured Car") is a fast, long-ranged, and relatively cheap first-generation armoured car with excellent reconnaissance capability. Designed on a small, lightly armoured 4X4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes - much lighter than a tank - and is therefore more rapidly deployable. 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 90mm (3.54 in) rifled cannon firing conventional high explosive and high explosive anti-tank shells, or a 60mm (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 the Falkland Islands, where they were pitted against British FV101 Scorpions by Argentine forces, as well as in the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990.

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 75mm 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. 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.

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Wikipedia