Difference between revisions of "AMX-50 Surblinde"
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+ | {{About | ||
+ | |about= French heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}''' | ||
+ | |usage= other versions | ||
+ | |link= AMX-50 (Family) | ||
+ | }} | ||
{{Specs-Card | {{Specs-Card | ||
|code=fr_amx_50_surblinde | |code=fr_amx_50_surblinde | ||
+ | |images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}} | ||
|market=AMX 50 Surblindé (France) | |market=AMX 50 Surblindé (France) | ||
+ | |display_name=AMX-50 Surblindé | ||
}} | }} | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
− | + | <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | |
+ | At the end of WWII, France found itself dependant on foreign military aid, and rushed to develop its military with domestic aircraft, tanks, and other weaponry. One of these systems was a heavy tank comparable to existing tanks such as the Tiger II and IS-2, but with greater mobility and more reliability. The '''{{Specs|name}}''' was thus presented in 1955, a variant of the AMX-50 with increased armour. The project however was abandoned due to lack of funding and cooperation with the United States and West Germany, as well as the accelerated development of deadlier anti-tank weaponry. | ||
− | + | It was introduced in [[Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy"]] as a reward for the World War [[Season 1: Recon under fire]]. As a member of the French AMX-50 family of tanks, it is very similar to the [[AMX-50 Surbaisse|AMX-50 Surbaissé]]. Compared to the Surbaissé, it is lower, has a much better protected turret and hull, and a 20 mm MG 151 cannon on top, which is very efficient against aircraft and lightly armoured vehicles. It is also heavier and doesn't have smoke grenade launchers compared to the Surbaissé. The tank has an armour layout comparable to that of the IS-3, and features a very powerful cannon and decent mobility for a heavy tank, however it does not have access to APHE shells which are common in most tanks around its BR. | |
== General info == | == General info == | ||
=== Survivability and armour === | === Survivability and armour === | ||
− | ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?-'' | + | {{Specs-Tank-Armour}} |
+ | <!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' --> | ||
+ | |||
+ | '''Armour type:''' | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, suspended part of the turret, turret roof) | ||
+ | * Cast homogeneous armour (turret base and front, gun mantlet, driver's hatch, cupola, exhaust pipe cover) | ||
+ | |||
+ | {| class="wikitable" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Hull || 110 mm (48°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 50 mm (71°) ''Driver's hatch'' <br> 100 mm (59°) ''Lower glacis'' <br> 100 mm (40°) ''Front cheeks'' || 75 mm (12°) ''Top'' <br> 60 mm ''Bottom'' || 60 mm (1°) ''Upper plate'' <br> 60 mm (31°) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 mm <br> 5 mm ''Radiator vents'' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Turret || 85 mm (47-52°) ''Turret front'' <br> 100 mm (cylindrical) ''Turret base'' <br> 300 mm ''Barrel base'' || 100 mm (cylindrical) ''Turret base'' <br> 85 mm (cylindrical) ''Barrel base'' <br> 60 mm ''Turret pivot link'' <br> 40 mm (cylindrical) ''Turret pivot underside'' <br> 40 mm ''Suspended part'' <br> 30 mm (72°) ''Suspended part underside'' || 20 mm (1-34°) ''Suspended part'' <br> 40 mm (cylindrical) ''Turret pivot underside'' <br> 30 mm (78°) ''Suspended part underside'' || 20 mm | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Commander cupola || 110 mm (cylindrical) ''Base'' <br> 40 mm (spherical) ''Dome'' || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 40 mm (7-12°) || 40 mm (11-20°) <br> 40 mm (spherical) ''Dome'' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | MG cupola || 40 mm (58-61°) || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 40 mm (spherical) || 40 mm (2-32°) | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | '''Notes:''' | ||
− | + | * Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick. Suspension wheels are interleaved and thus overlap in some areas. | |
+ | * Hull undersides above tracks are 20 mm thick. | ||
=== Mobility === | === Mobility === | ||
− | ''The | + | {{Specs-Tank-Mobility}} |
+ | <!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' --> | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,291|rbMinHp=884}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | The {{PAGENAME}} has a very good speed (around 40 km/h on flat land when fully upgraded) for a super heavy tank, which allows a fast deployment on the battlefield aside medium and modern tanks. The manoeuvrability is also good and allows the player to drive easily in an urban environment. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Modifications and economy === | ||
+ | {{Specs-Economy}} | ||
== Armaments == | == Armaments == | ||
+ | {{Specs-Tank-Armaments}} | ||
=== Main armament === | === Main armament === | ||
− | ''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.'' | + | {{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}} |
+ | <!-- ''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.'' --> | ||
+ | {{main|SA46 (120 mm)}} | ||
− | === | + | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%" |
− | '' | + | |- |
+ | ! colspan="5" | [[SA46 (120 mm)|120 mm SA46]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || Reloading rate (seconds) | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer | ||
+ | ! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced | ||
+ | !Autoloader | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! ''Arcade'' | ||
+ | | rowspan="2" | 50 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+10° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.4 || 26.9 || 32.6 || 36.1 || 38.4 || rowspan="2" | 6.00 | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! ''Realistic'' | ||
+ | | 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0 | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Ammunition ==== | ||
+ | {{:SA46 (120 mm)/Ammunition|120 mm Obus de rupture, 120 mm Obus explosif}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== [[Ammo racks]] ==== | ||
+ | [[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]] | ||
+ | <!-- '''Last updated: 2.7.0.173''' --> | ||
+ | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! Full<br>ammo | ||
+ | ! 1st<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 2nd<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 3rd<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 4th<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 5th<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 6th<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 7th<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! 8th<br>rack empty | ||
+ | ! Visual<br>discrepancy | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | '''50''' || 47 ''(+3)'' || 43 ''(+7)'' || 39 ''(+11)'' || 34 ''(+16)'' || 29 ''(+21)'' || 23 ''(+27)'' || 19 ''(+31)'' || 1 ''(+49)'' || Yes | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | '''Notes''': | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded. | ||
+ | * The visual discrepancy concerns the crossed out shell: it is modeled but can't be fired. | ||
+ | * Rack 8 (autoloader magazine) is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 18 shells. | ||
+ | ** This rack gets filled first when loading up the tank and is also emptied first. | ||
+ | ** As the {{PAGENAME}} is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible. | ||
+ | ** Once the autoloader magazines have been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the autoloader. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing. | ||
+ | ** Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 7 into rack 8. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks. | ||
+ | ** The depletion order at full capacity is: 8 - 1 - 2 up to 7. | ||
=== Machine guns === | === Machine guns === | ||
− | ''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.'' | + | {{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}} |
+ | {{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}} | ||
+ | <!-- ''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.'' --> | ||
+ | {{main|MG 151 (20 mm)|MAC 31 (7.5 mm)}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! colspan="5" | [[MG 151 (20 mm)|20 mm MG 151]] | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Pintle || 500 (250) || 700 || -5°/+80° || ±180° | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! colspan="5" | [[MAC 31 (7.5 mm)|7.5 mm MAC 31]] | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | ! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Coaxial || 3,000 (150) || 551 || N/A || N/A | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |} | ||
== Usage in battles == | == Usage in battles == | ||
Line 32: | Line 141: | ||
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
− | ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' | + | <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' --> |
'''Pros:''' | '''Pros:''' | ||
− | * | + | * Powerful 120 mm gun, a shot can penetrate a target protected by 300 mm of armour |
+ | * Loading time is short and steady, thanks to the autoloader | ||
+ | * Very mobile for a super-heavy tank, being able to reach to 51 km/h on flat terrain | ||
+ | * 20 mm cannon to ward off low-flying aircraft | ||
'''Cons:''' | '''Cons:''' | ||
− | * | + | * One shot in the turret can make the tank explode: up to 18 shells are stored at the back of the turret |
+ | * No smoke grenades | ||
+ | * Shells lack explosive filler, one-hit knock-outs from the side are rare | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
− | ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the | + | <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> |
+ | |||
+ | === Start of the project === | ||
+ | In July 1945, in the aftermath of liberation, the general staff of the French armed forces expressed the need for a heavy tank of national design. In view of the rise of tensions with the USSR and with the balance sheets drawn from the last world conflict, the French Army presented a precise specification of what was to be the future main tank of the army. The tank was to be comparable on several points to already existing machines. Indeed, it was requested armament of a minimum power equivalent to the gun of 88 mm German Tiger II. It was also asked for a shield equivalent to that of the Panther and mobility close to that of the T-34. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === The AMX-50 Surblindé === | ||
+ | In 1955, an AMX 50 Surblindé (over-armoured) is produced, able to measure itself against the most powerful machines then in service. A variant of the [[AMX-50 Surbaissé]] with a reinforced armour, the front armour shape is inspired by Soviet tanks IS-3 or T10. The weight of this prototype reached about 60 tons. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Abandonment of the project === | ||
+ | The tests carried out indicated a tank superior to its American and Soviet counterparts that were M26 Pershing and IS-3 respectively. But the Americans did not want to finance a project that would not be adopted. It was, therefore, necessary that the two countries, France and West Germany, adopt the tank so that its development continues. If France seemed ready to accept the project, it was not the case of West Germany which was inspired by the doctrines of the former general Heinz Guderian, a supporter of lighter and faster tanks. In addition, the development of new technologies and capabilities in the field of missiles and hollow-shell shells would render the massive tank armour obsolete and unsuitable for future large-scale conflict. | ||
== Media == | == Media == | ||
− | ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' | + | <!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' --> |
+ | |||
+ | ;Skins | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=fr_amx_50_surblinde Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.] | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
− | ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:'' | + | <!-- ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:'' |
+ | * ''reference to the series of the vehicles;'' | ||
+ | * ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' --> | ||
− | + | ;Related development | |
− | * | + | |
+ | * [[AMX-50 (Family)]] | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
− | ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:'' | + | <!-- ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:'' |
+ | * ''topic on the official game forum;'' | ||
+ | * ''other literature.'' --> | ||
− | * | + | * [[wt:en/news/6186-development-amx-50-surblind%C3%A9-french-powerlifter-en|[Devblog] AMX-50 Surblindé: French Powerlifter]] |
− | |||
− | |||
+ | {{TankManufacturer AMX}} | ||
{{France heavy tanks}} | {{France heavy tanks}} |
Latest revision as of 02:36, 17 April 2024
This page is about the French heavy tank AMX-50 Surblinde. For other versions, see AMX-50 (Family). |
Contents
Description
At the end of WWII, France found itself dependant on foreign military aid, and rushed to develop its military with domestic aircraft, tanks, and other weaponry. One of these systems was a heavy tank comparable to existing tanks such as the Tiger II and IS-2, but with greater mobility and more reliability. The AMX-50 Surblindé was thus presented in 1955, a variant of the AMX-50 with increased armour. The project however was abandoned due to lack of funding and cooperation with the United States and West Germany, as well as the accelerated development of deadlier anti-tank weaponry.
It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy" as a reward for the World War Season 1: Recon under fire. As a member of the French AMX-50 family of tanks, it is very similar to the AMX-50 Surbaissé. Compared to the Surbaissé, it is lower, has a much better protected turret and hull, and a 20 mm MG 151 cannon on top, which is very efficient against aircraft and lightly armoured vehicles. It is also heavier and doesn't have smoke grenade launchers compared to the Surbaissé. The tank has an armour layout comparable to that of the IS-3, and features a very powerful cannon and decent mobility for a heavy tank, however it does not have access to APHE shells which are common in most tanks around its BR.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, suspended part of the turret, turret roof)
- Cast homogeneous armour (turret base and front, gun mantlet, driver's hatch, cupola, exhaust pipe cover)
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 110 mm (48°) Front glacis 50 mm (71°) Driver's hatch 100 mm (59°) Lower glacis 100 mm (40°) Front cheeks |
75 mm (12°) Top 60 mm Bottom |
60 mm (1°) Upper plate 60 mm (31°) Lower glacis |
30 mm 5 mm Radiator vents |
Turret | 85 mm (47-52°) Turret front 100 mm (cylindrical) Turret base 300 mm Barrel base |
100 mm (cylindrical) Turret base 85 mm (cylindrical) Barrel base 60 mm Turret pivot link 40 mm (cylindrical) Turret pivot underside 40 mm Suspended part 30 mm (72°) Suspended part underside |
20 mm (1-34°) Suspended part 40 mm (cylindrical) Turret pivot underside 30 mm (78°) Suspended part underside |
20 mm |
Commander cupola | 110 mm (cylindrical) Base 40 mm (spherical) Dome |
40 mm (7-12°) | 40 mm (11-20°) 40 mm (spherical) Dome | |
MG cupola | 40 mm (58-61°) | 40 mm (spherical) | 40 mm (2-32°) |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick. Suspension wheels are interleaved and thus overlap in some areas.
- Hull undersides above tracks are 20 mm thick.
Mobility
Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
Arcade | 55 | 7 | 70 | 1,291 | 1,908 | 18.44 | 27.26 |
Realistic | 52 | 6 | 884 | 1,000 | 12.63 | 14.29 |
The AMX-50 Surblinde has a very good speed (around 40 km/h on flat land when fully upgraded) for a super heavy tank, which allows a fast deployment on the battlefield aside medium and modern tanks. The manoeuvrability is also good and allows the player to drive easily in an urban environment.
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Main armament
120 mm SA46 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Autoloader |
Arcade | 50 | -6°/+10° | ±180° | N/A | 19.4 | 26.9 | 32.6 | 36.1 | 38.4 | 6.00 |
Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 |
Ammunition
Penetration statistics | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
120 mm Obus de rupture | APBC | 301 | 298 | 286 | 272 | 258 | 245 |
120 mm Obus explosif | HE | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 |
Shell details | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
120 mm Obus de rupture | APBC | 1,067 | 23.1 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
120 mm Obus explosif | HE | 762 | 22.84 | 0 | 0.1 | 4.65 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
7th rack empty |
8th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50 | 47 (+3) | 43 (+7) | 39 (+11) | 34 (+16) | 29 (+21) | 23 (+27) | 19 (+31) | 1 (+49) | Yes |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- The visual discrepancy concerns the crossed out shell: it is modeled but can't be fired.
- Rack 8 (autoloader magazine) is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 18 shells.
- This rack gets filled first when loading up the tank and is also emptied first.
- As the AMX-50 Surblinde is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
- Once the autoloader magazines have been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the autoloader. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 7 into rack 8. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
- The depletion order at full capacity is: 8 - 1 - 2 up to 7.
Machine guns
20 mm MG 151 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Pintle | 500 (250) | 700 | -5°/+80° | ±180° |
7.5 mm MAC 31 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Coaxial | 3,000 (150) | 551 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful 120 mm gun, a shot can penetrate a target protected by 300 mm of armour
- Loading time is short and steady, thanks to the autoloader
- Very mobile for a super-heavy tank, being able to reach to 51 km/h on flat terrain
- 20 mm cannon to ward off low-flying aircraft
Cons:
- One shot in the turret can make the tank explode: up to 18 shells are stored at the back of the turret
- No smoke grenades
- Shells lack explosive filler, one-hit knock-outs from the side are rare
History
Start of the project
In July 1945, in the aftermath of liberation, the general staff of the French armed forces expressed the need for a heavy tank of national design. In view of the rise of tensions with the USSR and with the balance sheets drawn from the last world conflict, the French Army presented a precise specification of what was to be the future main tank of the army. The tank was to be comparable on several points to already existing machines. Indeed, it was requested armament of a minimum power equivalent to the gun of 88 mm German Tiger II. It was also asked for a shield equivalent to that of the Panther and mobility close to that of the T-34.
The AMX-50 Surblindé
In 1955, an AMX 50 Surblindé (over-armoured) is produced, able to measure itself against the most powerful machines then in service. A variant of the AMX-50 Surbaissé with a reinforced armour, the front armour shape is inspired by Soviet tanks IS-3 or T10. The weight of this prototype reached about 60 tons.
Abandonment of the project
The tests carried out indicated a tank superior to its American and Soviet counterparts that were M26 Pershing and IS-3 respectively. But the Americans did not want to finance a project that would not be adopted. It was, therefore, necessary that the two countries, France and West Germany, adopt the tank so that its development continues. If France seemed ready to accept the project, it was not the case of West Germany which was inspired by the doctrines of the former general Heinz Guderian, a supporter of lighter and faster tanks. In addition, the development of new technologies and capabilities in the field of missiles and hollow-shell shells would render the massive tank armour obsolete and unsuitable for future large-scale conflict.
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX) | |
---|---|
Light tanks | |
AMX-13 | AMX-13-M24 · AMX-13 (FL11) · AMX-13 · AMX-13 (SS.11) · AMX-13-90 · AMX-13 (HOT) |
Armoured cars | AMX-10RC |
Medium tanks | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) |
MBTs | |
AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 Super |
AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 (105) · AMX-32 · AMX-40 |
Heavy tanks | AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé |
Tank destroyers | ELC bis · AMX-50 Foch |
SPAAGs | AMX-13 DCA 40 · AMX-30 S DCA |
Export | AMX-13 |
France heavy tanks | |
---|---|
B1 | B1 bis · B1 ter |
2C | 2C · 2C bis |
ARL-44 | ARL-44 (ACL-1) |
AMX-50 | Somua SM · AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé |
USA | ▄M4A3E2 |