AMX-13 (FL11)

This page is about the French light tank AMX-13 (FL11). For other variants, see AMX-13 (Family).

AMX-13 (FL11)

▄Crusader Mk.II

E.B.R. (1951)

AMX-13 (FL11)

▄Crusader Mk.II

E.B.R. (1951)

France

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.3	4.3

Class:

Light tank

Research:26 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

Description

The AMX-13 (FL11) is a rank III French light tank with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB) and 4.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It is the first of many iterations of the famous AMX-13. Although this version lacks the punch of its successors, it certainly offers a good foresight of what this light chassis can do.

The AMX-13 (FL11) is the first tank with the distinctive oscillating French turret design, combining it with a low, sleek-profiled chassis - almost identical to the AMX-13, save for a few small details (e.g. exhaust). The FL11 has a smaller, shorter gun with a double muzzle break, on a smaller turret that doesn't have the large rear counter-weight/storage and the canvas over the turret joint found on later models.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull40 / 20 / 15

Turret40 / 20 / 20

Crew3 people

Visibility79 %

This light tank actually has decent armour at its battle rating, especially in the turret front area where 40 mm sloped at ~60° will defeat some small calibre guns. However, although the turret's front armour is good, this does not mean you can just go hull down and be safe, it will only provide you a chance to survive a shot and reposition (a useful tactic to learn when playing the AMX-13). Everywhere else has only 20 mm of flat armour. The upper front plate is sloped at 66°, which may ricochet long-range shots. With only 10 mm of roof armour, stay away from low-flying aircraft as your own armament does not enable you to engage aerial threats.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret roof - rear, cupola roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (turret base, turret, gun mantlet, cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (38-40°) Turret base 20 mm (66°) Upper glacis 40 mm (cylindrical) Transmission carter 20 mm (51°) Lower glacis	20 mm (32-34°) Turret base 20 mm Sides	20 mm (32-34°) Turret base 15 mm (1°) Top 15 mm (44°) Bottom	20 mm (24°) Front glacis 10 mm Centre 10 mm (5°) Rear 5 mm Vents
Turret	40 mm (spherical) Turret front 60 mm (spherical) Gun mantlet	20 mm (cylindrical)		40 mm (spherical) Turret front 10 (18°) Rear half
Cupola	20 mm (conical) Base 10 mm (spherical) Dome			20 mm (conical) Outer ring 10 mm (spherical) Centre

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 10 mm thick.
• Storage boxes and mudguards are 4 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB68 / 8 km/h

RB and SB61 / 7 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight12.7 t

Engine power

AB515 hp

RB and SB270 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB40.6 hp/t

RB and SB21.3 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	68	8	12.7	418	515	32.91	40.55
Realistic	61	7		239	270	18.82	21.26

With a power ratio of 26.97 HP/ton in AB, or 15.42 HP/ton in RB (stock!), the AMX-13 (FL11) chassis offers mobility that leave almost nothing to be desired (reverse speed is kind of slow with only -6 km/h). With its wide tracks, even soft terrain is not that hard to cross. The only thing to consider while driving this light tank is obstacles as they can significantly reduce your speed, thus making you vulnerable and/or less effective. One could make very good use of such a fast and small vehicle by avoiding contact while making a large flanking manoeuvre, scouting enemies and popping out sometimes to take down enemies from unexpected angles.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB935 → 1 343

RB1 071 → 1 539

SB1 315 → 1 889

Total cost of modifications24 680

44 800

Talisman cost1 100

Crew training22 000

Experts76 000

Aces400

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

60 / 90 / 120 %

142 / 142 / 142 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 100 165 Suspension Research: 930 Cost: 1 700 90 Brake System Research: 930 Cost: 1 700 90 Filters Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 145 Transmission Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 900 155 Engine Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 900 155	Improved Parts Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 100 165 Improved FPE Research: 930 Cost: 1 700 90 Crew Replenishment Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 145	Horizontal Drive Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 100 165 Adjustment of Fire Research: 930 Cost: 1 700 90 75mm_usa_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 930 Cost: 1 700 90 Airstrike Research: 930 Cost: 1 700 90 Elevation Mechanism Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 145 Smoke grenade Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 145 Artillery Support Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 900 155 75mm_us_M89_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 900 155 Improved optics Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 900 155

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm SA49 cannon

Ammunition37 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

7.8 → 6.0 s

Vertical guidance-8° / 15°

The 75 mm SA49 cannon is quite decent at the BR. Its only flaw being a bad firing arc (shell drops fast with distance), which makes long-range engagements inadvisable. Penetration rates are comparable to those of the Russian F-34 cannon or those of the British QF 6-pounder's stock shot. While not being the best gun at the BR, it certainly provides enough firepower to destroy any enemy's flank. Horizontal drive is fast, allowing for fast reaction shots in close range engagements. As for elevation angles, -6° of depression feels a bit lacking while 13° of elevation is clearly the worst thing about this configuration: you cannot engage air targets. One last thing to consider about your main gun: it is mounted on an oscillating turret, which makes stop-and-shoot tactics ineffective. Coaxial armament is the classic French MAC 31 with 100 rounds loaded and ready to turn those soft targets to shreds. A sweet addition to this tank is 4 smoke launchers located on the lower turret part's back, these can be used either to shield you and your allies from incoming fire, to cover your retreat or to hide your team's movements from enemy sight. Smoke launchers at this low BR prepares players to higher-ranking battlefields and tactic opportunities, make sure to master them.

75 mm SA49					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	37	-8°/+15°	±180°	N/A	24.8	34.3	41.6	46.0	48.9	7.80	6.90	6.36	6.00
Realistic					15.5	18.2	22.1	24.4	26.0

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
M72 shot	AP	91	88	78	67	57	49
M48 shell	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
M61 shot	APCBC	104	101	90	78	68	59

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M72 shot	AP	619	6.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°
M48 shell	HE	463	6.3	0	0.1	666	79°	80°	81°
M61 shot	APCBC	618	6.79	1.2	14	63.7	48°	63°	71°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
M89	259	3	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the AMX-13 (FL11)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
37	32 (+5)	21 (+16)	13 (+24)	5 (+32)	1 (+36)	No

Note:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 950 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

6.5 → 5.0 s

Fire rate551 shots/min

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,950 (150)	551	N/A	N/A

The small calibre of the MAC 31 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

Usage in battles

The AMX-13 (FL11), in line with most light tanks, shines best as a flanker and scout, due to its almost non-existent armour. Some shots against lower tiers can be bounced off by the sloped upper glacis plate and turret front, but anywhere else will get penetrated with ease. A sub-par gun without APHE ammunition means frontal engagements are mostly out of the question.

Scout and flank, as any other light tank should. The AMX-13 (FL11) cannot stand up to direct assaults from the enemy; it has irrelevant armour, decent speed, a useable gun with lacking depression (especially facing forward), and only 3 crew. The bad reverse speed also makes it unable to retreat behind cover once discovered, so caution in engagements is advised. It is also worth noting that the low velocity and high drop rate of its shells allow the FL11 to engage from behind slopes without having to reveal itself.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent penetration
• Fairly small and has a low profile: easy to hide, helps scouting
• Good mobility
• Has smoke launchers
• Poorly aimed shots may bounce off the 40 mm sloped turret
• Unlike most light tanks, impervious to HMG from the front
• Engine in the front protects crew in head on engagements
• Has access to the same APCBC shot with HE filler as the M4 Shermans

Cons:

• Light armour
• Long reload time
• Low velocity cannon: long-range shots are hard to land
• Unstable cannon pitch up when firing, makes it difficult to stay on target
• Unstable cannon pitch up when braking, makes it difficult and slow to acquire targets right after stopping
• Mediocre gun depression (especially facing forward)
• Bad reverse
• Bad elevation and no top-mounted MG makes it vulnerable to aircraft
• Turret area is filled with ammo

History

Development

In 1952, the First Indochina War had been raging for six years. The French Army was facing a better and better armed enemy and their cavalry units were still equipped with WW2 tanks like the M24 or the M5A1. The French government decided to send the latest developed French tank, the AMX-13, in Indochina. However, the AMX-13 needed to undergo modifications for the South-Eastern theater. The large FL-10 autoloader turret and the long 75 mm gun made the AMX-13 unadapted for the logistical constraints of the colonial conflict (limited air transport capabilities and combat in constricted urban environments).

That's why a new turret was installed (the FL-11 equipping the Panhard EBR reconnaissance armoured car) which was smaller, lighter and sporting a shorter 75 mm gun. The new turret made the tank less tall and shorter in overall length. However, the new turret was cramped, which was detrimental to the manual reloading of the gun. No major modification was brought to the hull: the only noticeable difference was the shift from 4 track return rollers to 2.

The production started in 1954 with an order for 20 units but only 5 were produced. By that time, the First Indochina War had come to an end and the need for such an urban combat vehicle had disappeared.

Combat usage

The 5 AMX-13 (FL11) were allocated to the 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment in Oujda, Morocco. They never saw combat action and were sold in 1956 to the Moroccan Army following the country's independence. The light tanks stayed in the Moroccan arsenal until 1973. It is unclear if they ever saw combat under Moroccan flag.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the AMX-13 (FL11) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #148 - Metal Beasts section at 03:38 discusses the AMX-13 (FL11).

The Shooting Range #77 - Pages of History section at 05:19 discusses the AMX-13.

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• AMX-13 (Family)

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• M24 (Family)

External links

• [Wikipedia] AMX-13
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] AMX-13 Avec Tourelle FL-11

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