Panhard 178
| Panhard 178 | |
|---|---|
AMD 35 Panhard 178 in the Musée des Blindés |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 4 (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator / co-driver) |
| length | 4.79 m (including cannon) |
| width | 2.01 m |
| height | 2.31 m |
| Dimensions | 8.2 tons (combat weight) |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | Max. 20 mm |
| Main armament | 1 × 25mm SA-35 cannon |
| Secondary armament | 1 × 7.55mm Reibel machine gun |
| agility | |
| drive | Panhard SK 105 PS |
| Top speed | 72 km / h (road) |
| Power / weight | |
| Range | 300 km |
The Panhard 178 (officially called Automitrailleuse de Découverte Panhard modèle 1935 , 178 was Panhard's internal project number ) or Pan-Pan was a four- wheel -drive armored vehicle designed for the French army before the Second World War . It had a crew of four and was equipped with a 25 mm cannon and a coaxially mounted 7.5 mm machine gun.
After the Armistice of Compiègne in 1940, some vehicles were taken over by the Wehrmacht as armored car P204 (f) . After the war, the revised version Panhard 178B went into production.
history
development
In 1931, the French cavalry developed a plan for the future production of armored combat vehicles. One of the planned classes was the Automitrailleuse de Découverte or AMD , a reconnaissance vehicle for long distances. The specifications were formulated on December 22, 1931, amended on November 18, 1932, and released on December 9, 1932.
A weight of four tons, a range of 400 kilometers, a top speed of 70 km / h at a cruising speed of 40 km / h was required. The turning circle had to be less than twelve meters. The armor should be five to eight millimeters thick. The armament was to consist of a 20 mm cannon and a 7.5 mm machine gun.
Panhard prevailed against competitors Renault , Berliet and Latil and was allowed to build a prototype in 1933. The vehicle was ready in October and was presented to the Commission de Vincennes in January 1934 under the name Panhard 178 .
It had a 13.2 mm machine-gun turret from Vincennes, as the intended turret was not yet finished. After the tests, which took place between January 9th and February 2nd, 1934, the vehicle was accepted by the Commission on February 15th. The vehicle exceeded both the required dimensions and the required weight of four tons. Although some changes were still needed, it was considered the best among the competing designs.
In the autumn, the improved prototype was tested by the cavalry and approved at the end of 1934 under the name AMD Panhard Modèle 1935 . On April 25, 1934, 15 units had been ordered, and another 15 were added on May 20. The unit price was 275,000 francs each, making it more expensive than a light infantry tank of the time. The series has now been equipped with the APX3 tower. The first 19 pieces were delivered in April 1937. After complaints about a lack of reliability, a new test program was carried out between June 29 and December 2, 1937, which resulted in many changes. By September 1, 1939, 219 vehicles had been delivered; by the armistice in June 1940, 527 had been completed. The plans on October 10, 1939 had provided for a monthly production of 60 Panhard 178s until the end of the war.
Calls
At the beginning of the Second World War, 218 vehicles in eleven units were ready for use.
In the spring of 1940 the 21e Escadron d'AMD 35 was sent to Narvik to support Norway during the Weser exercise .
During the western campaign , the Panhard 178 were assigned to the mechanized and motorized forces as reconnaissance units. The three armored divisions of the cavalry, the Divisions Légères Mécaniques , had a nominal strength of 40 armored vehicles and four additional radio and reserve vehicles. The light (motorized) divisions of the cavalry, the Divisions Légères de Cavalerie , had twelve Panhards as well as a radio vehicle and two reserve vehicles in their Régiment de Automitrailleuses (RAM).
Not only the cavalry but also the infantry used the Panhard; in the Groupes de Reconnaissance de Division d'Infanterie (GRDI), the reconnaissance units of the Divisions d'Infanterie Mécaniques , which despite their name were largely motorized infantry units. They were organized in a similar way to the units of the Légères Mécaniques division .
During the western campaign, they were supposed to maintain contact with the Dutch army. After the fall of Fort Eben-Emael , Panhards were used to stop the German tanks. In general, they proved themselves against the lightly armored German armored vehicles, whose 20 mm main armament was not effective against the frontal armor of the Panhards.
Since the Panhard fit well into German tactics, 190 Panhards were used by the Germans as reconnaissance vehicles at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in 1941 as P204 (f) armored scout vehicles. Of these, 107 were lost within that year. On May 31, 1943, 30 Panhards were still in service on the Eastern Front.
After the liberation of France, the 1st Groupement Mobile de Reconnaissance used a number of other types as well as some Panhard 178s.
The Panhard 178B was used in France and in the colonies such as Syria , Tahiti and Indochina. The last deployment was in 1960 in Djibouti by the 15th Escadron Blindé d'Infanterie de Marine . Syria still used it in February 1964 during the uprisings in Damascus .
technology
Armor
The Panhard 178 was built as light as possible for use as a reconnaissance vehicle for long distances. The vehicle was therefore relatively small, only 479 cm long, 201 cm wide and 231 cm high. The engine compartment, in which an ISK4 V4 engine with 110 hp was installed, was also very low, which gave the vehicle its characteristic silhouette with the outstanding fighting compartment. The use of a large turret with 26 mm frontal armor and 13 mm side armor and a hull with 7–20 mm thick riveted and screwed armor plates represented a compromise to save weight. Nevertheless, the vehicle weighed 8.2 tons.
mobility
Mobility was relatively good for a French AFV at the time. A maximum speed of 72.6 km / h, a range of approximately 300 kilometers made possible by a tank with a capacity of 145 liters. The fording depth and the ability to cross were both 60 centimeters. The climbing ability was 30 centimeters, for this purpose two small auxiliary wheels were attached under the vehicle floor. The control could be handed over immediately to the passenger, who sat facing the engine, in order to escape with the vehicle in an emergency in reverse at up to 42 km / h.
Radio technology
The co-driver also served as a radio operator for the platoon and company commanders' vehicles. For this purpose, the vehicle was equipped with the radio systems ER29 for communication over short distances or with the ER26 for communication over medium distances. In order to communicate over long distances, every twelfth vehicle was equipped as a special radio vehicle instead of armament with an ER27 radio system, which had a range of 100 kilometers. In addition, there were two ER26 radios with a range of 60 kilometers. 150 of the radio vehicles were ordered, but only 24 were built.
Turret and armament
The APX3 tower was relatively large and could accommodate two people. That was unusual for a French AFV at the time. In the electrically powered APX3, the commander sat on the right, the gunner on the left. There was sufficient viewing equipment, including an MK.IV corner mirror per man.
A newly developed 20 mm cannon was provided for the armament. When this was not realized, the use of a 37mm Modèle 16 cannon (a standard cannon for tanks) was considered. However, this was not used because of its inadequate armor-piercing properties. Instead, the 25 mm SA 35 was selected, a shortened version of the L / 47.2. To compensate for the shorter tube length, a stronger propellant charge was used, which allowed a muzzle velocity of 950 m / s. With a tungsten bullet, the cannon had a penetration capacity of around 50 millimeters, but the light bullet could easily be deflected by inclined armor. Since German tanks had a lot of vertical armor, they were vulnerable up to 800 meters away. However, the enemy vehicles were often only destroyed after several hits, as the light projectile could not set the vehicle on fire after penetrating the armor. 150 grenades were carried. The secondary armament was an optional coaxial Reibel machine gun with 3750 cartridges, 1500 of which were armor-piercing. A machine gun that was used on the tower for anti-aircraft defense was carried as a reserve.
variants
Panhard 178
From October 14, 1936, the prototype of the Panhard 178 was tested in Morocco , which resulted in the acceptance of the version for desert missions on January 15, after various changes were made, including the installation of a lighter tower.
Later four vehicles for Indochina were equipped with the APX5 turret of the AMR 35 ZT2. Another 32 were ordered for North Africa, but apparently never came for delivery.
The Panhard 178 was also designed as a Voiture spéciale 207 in autumn 1939 for anti-tank defense with a rear-facing 47 mm SA-37 cannon . This was a project by the French army to improve anti-tank defense. Due to the lack of availability of the APX3 turret, Renault planned two alternative turrets, an open one for the 25 mm cannon and a newly constructed octagonal turret for the 47 mm SA 35 cannon.
After 1941, the Germans modified 43 vehicles into railway protection vehicles that could run on rails and also had larger radio antennas.
Under the terms of the armistice, the Vichy regime was allowed to keep 64 Panhards for police duties. The cannons were removed in favor of an additional machine gun. After April 1941, 45 new turrets for the 47mm SA-35 cannon were secretly made. Some were mounted on the chassis. These vehicles were hidden in 1942 when France was fully occupied. Some of them were used by the Resistance in the summer of 1944.
In 1944, 34 Panhards, captured by the Germans during the occupation of Vichy France in 1942, were equipped with 50 mm L / 42 or L / 60 cannons in an open tower and used for occupation tasks.
Panhard 178B
Late in 1944, a new tower was designed by Fives Lille , the FL1 . It was cylindrical and equipped with a 47mm SA-35 cannon and a machine gun. The design with a new tower, a new four-cylinder engine and the EM3 / R61 radio was called Panhard 178B and produced in Firminy. A first order of 150 pieces was placed on January 5, 1945. A total of 414 vehicles were built.
See also
literature
- Pierre Touzin : Les véhicules blindés français, 1900–1944. EPA, 1979.
- Pierre Touzin: Les Engins Blindés Français 1920–1945, Volume 1. SERA, 1976.
- Leland Ness: Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles: The Complete Guide. Harper Collins, London, New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-00-711228-9 .
- Pascal Danjou: L'Automitrailleuse de Découverte AMD 35 Panhard 178. Editions du Barbotin, Ballainvilliers 2004.
- François Vauvillier: Produire l'AMD 35 Panhard: une affaire d'équipe. In: Histoire de Guerre, Blindés & Matériel , N ° 82, 2008, pp. 36–45.
