AMX-40
Contents
Description
The AMX-40 is a special export prototype that was designed by GIAT in the late Cold War as an export tank to replace its predecessors, the AMX-32 P1 and AMX-32 P2. GIAT opted to produce another prototype, the AMX-40 main combat tank, after the previous AMX-32s failed to attract any buyers. The AMX-40's development began in 1980 as a completely new design. It was designed to be a low-cost tank aimed at militaries with limited defence resources, with a weakly armoured hull and good mobility typical of past French main battle tanks, as well as a powerful 120 mm GIAT CN120-25 G1 tank gun. The first prototype was completed in 1983 and displayed at the Eurosatory that year. Two more prototypes were built in 1984, and the fourth and final one was built in 1985. However, towards the end of the Cold War, a large number of surplus main battle tanks became available on the market, and the project was declared a failure and cancelled in 1990 due to lack of interest.
Introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X", the AMX-40 lineage can be traced back to the original AMX-30. Despite being a new design, it inherits many concepts and ideologies from the AMX-32 P1 and AMX-32 P2, which are part of the huge AMX-30 main battle tank family. The AMX-40 offers enhanced survivability on battlefields of greater lethality due to its improved frontal protection compromising composite armour. Overall, it feels like a substantially enhanced AMX-32 P2. Players can be a little more aggressive with this tank since its protection has been improved. However, this does not ensure immunity because most of the opponents at this rank can still penetrate its overall armour.
General info
Survivability and armour
The frontal armour of the AMX-40 consists mainly of a composite armour section at the front of the hull with a 35 mm thick (Rolled Homogeneous Armour) upper glacis plate and spaced turret armour. Despite the presence of both spaced and composite armour throughout the front of the vehicle, the vehicle struggles to resist the ammunition fired at it from its BR contemporaries save for the occasional bounce from the steep armour angles present on the upper glacis plate and the roof of the turret. The AMX-40 contains 4 crew members where half are seated on the left half of the vehicle and the other two are situated on the right half. This provides a moderate level of survivability since shots that connect too far left or right of the centre of the tank will likely only knock out two of the four crew, potentially granting the driver another opportunity. The vehicle's cannon breech is also quite large which grants it more survivability in its ability to absorb shrapnel. In addition to this, the AMX-40 features a blow-out panel for the rear turret ammunition, which is capable of storing up to 19 rounds. This grants the tank increased survivability, as side shots that explode the blow-out ammunition generally do not destroy the vehicle upon detonation.
Overall the armour of the AMX-40 is for the most part, sufficient at protecting it from autocannon and SPAAG fire. Besides that, drivers of the AMX-40 will quickly find that its armour is inadequate at protecting it from its contemporaries and it is suggested that drivers instead make use of the above average mobility of the vehicle to ensure a degree of survivability.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola) - abbreviated as RHA
- High hardness rolled armour (front glacis - composite armour)
- NERA (front glacis - composite armour)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 35 mm (80°) Upper glacis 50 mm (80°) Driver hatch 50+102 mm (8°) + 20 mm (5°) Lower glacis - Top 50 mm (46°) + 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis - Bottom |
30 mm Top 30 + 25 mm Bottom - Front 30 + 6 mm Bottom - Rear 15 mm (64-66°) Belly |
15 mm Radiator vents 30 mm Lower plate 15 mm (53-58°) Lower glacis |
35 mm (10°) Front glacis 15 mm Rear 5 mm Radiator vents |
| Turret | 35+38 mm (cylindrical) Turret front 15 mm + 38 mm (cylindrical) Optics port - gunner side 50+35+35 mm Gun mantlet 50+25 mm Gun mantlet - MG port 50 mm (cylindrical) Turret ring |
15-35 mm (12-22°) Gun mantlet - Gunner side 25+35 mm (4°) Gun mantlet - Right side 38+84 mm (3-23°) Turret - Front 16+29 mm (18-23°) Turret - Centre & rear 50 mm (cylindrical) Turret ring |
16 mm | 35 mm (20°) Gun mantlet 38 mm (8°) Front 20 mm Centre 15 mm (8°) Rear |
| Cupola | 35 mm (cylindrical) | 35 mm Outer ring 20 mm Centre | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 15 mm thick.
- A first internal wall of 8 mm RHA separates the crew compartment from the engine compartment.
- A second internal wall of 35 mm RHA separates the turret from the bustle ammo rack.
- Composite armour is located on the front lower glacis:
| Composite armour | Front (Slope angle) |
|---|---|
| Hull | Lower glacis: 50 mm (8°) High hardness rolled armour 300 mm NERA 102 mm (8°) RHA |
- Spaced armour is located on the turret front and sides:
| Spaced armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides |
|---|---|---|
| Turret | Gun mantlet: 35 mm RHA 140 mm Air 35 mm RHA Turret front: ' 38 mm (cylindrical) RHA 140 mm Air 84 mm (22°) RHA |
Gun mantlet - Right side: 25 mm (4°) RHA 50 mm Air 35 mm (4°) RHA Turret front: 38 mm (23°) RHA 140 mm Air 84 mm (23°) RHA Turret centre & rear: 16 mm (18-23°) RHA 140 mm Air 29 mm (18-23°) RHA |
- The values in the table above are not to be added to the armour values present in the first table as they only describe the layout of spaced armour.
- The spaced armour does not cover the MG port.
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 | 78 | 31 | 43.7 | 2,015 | 2,480 | 46.11 | 56.75 |
| Realistic | 71 | 28 | 1,150 | 1,300 | 26.32 | 29.75 | |
This tank has very good speed, both forward and reverse with all options.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 120 mm GIAT CN120-25 G1 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 40 | -7°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 23.8 | 32.9 | 40.0 | 44.2 | 47.1 | 8.71 | 7.70 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
| Realistic | 14.9 | 17.5 | 21.3 | 23.5 | 25.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| OCC 120 G1 | HEATFS | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| OFL 120 G1 | APFSDS | 394 | 393 | 388 | 382 | 376 | 370 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| OCC 120 G1 | HEATFS | 1,050 | 14.3 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.15 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| OFL 120 G1 | APFSDS | 1,650 | 3.8 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 (+0) | 20 (+20) | 16 (+24) | 11 (+29) | 6 (+34) | 1 (+39) | No |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Racks 3 to 6 are first stage ammo racks. They total 19 shells and get filled first when loading up the tank.
Machine guns
| 20 mm 20F2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 1,000 (500) | 740 | 0°/+20° | N/A |
The 20 mm 20F2 coaxial autocannon is not just an anti-aircraft gun: with 57 mm penetration at flat angle, it will shred anything from armoured cars and SPAA to lightly armoured medium tanks' sides. In case a vehicle cannot be penetrated, use the autocannon to disable them before using your 120 mm cannon: target the gun barrel or the tracks. The 20 mm can also deal with low-flying aircraft with the extra 20 degrees of elevation. The only drawback is that the autocannon is coaxial, meaning the turret must rotate to track the targets.
| 7.62 mm A-A-F1N | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 2,200 (100) | 900 | -10°/+40° | ±120° |
The small calibre of the A-A-F1N 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
AMX-40 should be used as a better AMX-30. It should be used almost the same way since the lack of armour but high speed makes it almost the same.
Urban combat:
Flanking - The AMX-40 is one of the most mobile MBTs at its battle rating and has nice agility when traversing. Speed should be the main feature of combat, "Hit n' Run" should be used, engage to disable or destroy and escape as fast as you can, use smoke if needed.
Front line - Although not recommended due to the low armour, it can withstand some ATGMs and HEATFS as well as autocannons from IFV and SPAA. Stabilizer makes a huge upgrade to the tank as it can poke and shoot from corners without stopping at all, making engagements much quicker than with AMX-30s. Composite armour will sometimes stop powerful rounds, do not expect to stop a round with this as it is not meant to stop high calibre APFSDS or even HEATFS. It will stop low calibre APFSDS (25 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm) at relative close ranges and anti tank grenades and rockets (PG-9).
Support - Despite being an MBT, it can also be somewhat used as an IFV due to the 20 mm autocannon which can penetrate the sides of MBTs and/or destroy modules such as tracks, barrels or set engines on fire, sometimes firing the main gun is not even needed. Be aware that Soviet and Russian MBTs will stop penetration of your 20 mm HVAP-T due to the side armour. When engaging them, focus on firing at tracks and barrels, use your main gun to destroy them.
The OFL 120 G1 has penetration of a 105 mm APFSDS, it is only able to penetrate the frontal plate of the T-72A. Tanks like T-72B, T-72B3, T-80B and T-80U will completely stop your round. Aim for the tank's sides.
Rural combat:
Sniping - The AMX-40 has pretty decent optics and thermal sight, with addition of OFL 120 G1 APFSDS, which make the AMX-40 suitable for sniping. Use your speed to your advantage and move once you destroy a target or two to keep you safe from potential revenge attacks with CAS, use smoke grenades to cover your escape or when you have been hit.
Pros and cons
The AMX-40 is carried by its mobility and is average in most other aspects. It generally has the traits and playstyle of a light tank. Like many light tanks, its mobility means it does not suffer in uptiers as much as most other MBTs, although its firepower does fall off somewhat. As a whole, the AMX-40 is the heart of the France 9.7 lineup, and is the only vehicle in France 9.3/9.7 range that is appreciably above average in capability.
Pros:
- Amazing mobility. Among MBTs its Power/Weight ratio is only surpassed by the Leopard 2K and the Type 90 family, and matched by the PT-16/T14 mod. This is far and away the most important trait of the AMX-40, allowing a very aggressive playstyle.
- Good firepower.
- OFL 120 G1 apfsds has 394mm rha-equivalent penetration at 10m and 0°, 214mm at 2000m and 60°.
- Coaxial 20mm autocannon can break tracks and penetrate lightly armored vehicles.
- The autocannon is mounted in a separate slot in the mantlet, giving it an additional +20° of elevation (not technically coaxial), allowing it to engage helicopters in some situations.
- Decent survivability.
- Crew is fairly well spaced out, getting one-shot is common but not universal.
- Trolly frontal armor can bounce main-gun rounds if lucky.
- Carefully aimed shots will rarely fail to penetrate, but the armor can be effective if you can force an opponent to rush a shot.
- Spaced armor extends along the whole side of the turret.
- First-stage ammo stowage is protected by blowout panels. (It is recommended to always take 20 rounds into battle; no meaningful survivability gains are made by taking fewer than 20 rounds)
- 12 Smoke grenades (3 pops of 4) and access to ESS makes it the only French tank that can perform the thermal fakeout trick.
- Decent fire control system.
- Commander override and full Hunter-Killer targeting.
- First generation thermals (500 x 300) for the gunner's sight. Fixed 10x zoom is problematic.
- First generation night vision (800 x 600) for the commander's sight and driver's optics.
Cons:
- Fixed 10x zoom on the gunner's sight. Too much zoom can make aiming at closer ranges very awkward and claustrophobic. 10x can also be too little to aim at weakspots beyond 2000 m, but that is a very common max zoom level around this BR.
- Mediocre armor; generaly poor protection against both kinetic and chemical threats.
- Cannot stop any contemporary main-gun kinetic rounds, requiring a ricochet to be effective.
- Any penetrating hit to the mantlet (which comprises the entire turret face) will destroy the breech.
- Despite having composite armor in the hull, chemical protection is only 300mm rha-equivalent , less than the 400mm+ of most HEAT rounds at its BR.
- Larger calibre autocannons (namely the 3UBM22 apfsds used by the 2S38) can penetrate all of its frontal armor.
- Only 30mm of side hull armor.
- High-profile cupola, with the commander's head hurtbox extending well above the roof of the tank.
- Large profile, can be difficult to hide. Coupled with mediocre turret armor, this makes it relatively vulnerable when using hull-down tactics.
- Lacks the reversible gearbox of most AMX-30 variants. The reverse speed is still good, but moving backwards for extended periods of time to avoid having to turn around is no longer a viable strategy.
- Mediocre reload time (6.7 seconds max+aced, 7.1 seconds max+experted). Won't out-reload a T-72 type autoloader without an aced crew, and faces lots of (5.0/5.3) and (6.0/6.4) second reloads in an uptier.
- Mediocre gun handling compared to contemporary NATO-style tanks, significantly reducing the margin for error when brawling.
- 25°/s horizontal when spaded on an aced crew.
- 6°/s vertical when spaded on an aced crew.
- Gun cannot depress over the rear arc due to engine deck.
- Unlike the other tanks with auxiliary 20mm autocannons around its BR (MBT/KPZ-70 and Leopard 2K), its autocannon is not in a separate roof-mounted turret, significantly reducing its effectiveness against aircraft.
- Current barrel health values are too high to reliably destroy them with the 20mm. (Time of writing is update 2.39 "Dance of Dragons")
- Somewhat unfavorable matchmaker, with common uptiers into the 10.3 and 10.7 premiums where its gun begins to face penetration issues.
History
Development of the AMX-40 began as a private venture of the French GIAT company in the early 1980s, with the aim to create a new export vehicle, in anticipation of increased demand for military equipment from middle eastern countries. GIAT engineers decided to base the new vehicle off the AMX-32, which itself was an improved export version of the successful AMX-30 main battle tank. However, compared to his predecessors, the AMX-40 was to feature vastly improved firepower, mobility and protection. As a true first in the French postwar tank development history, the AMX-40 would receive a two-plane stabilizer for its 120 mm smoothbore cannon. Although the tank's turret and cannon were mostly adopted from the AMX-32, increases in weight from new components led to the fact that the hull of the vehicle had to be redesigned from scratch.
The work on the first prototype was nearing completion in 1983 and the vehicle was first shown off at the Eurosatory exhibition in the same year. Following testing in 1984, two further prototypes were constructed, featuring a number of improvements over the first one. By now, the French Ministry of Defense had started to back the promising project and GIAT soon afterwards transferred all three prototypes for comprehensive troop assessments. A final, fourth prototype was constructed in 1985. Each prototype was unique, featuring a number of external and internal differences with the main one usually concerning powerplant options.
In the late 1980s, the vehicle's development stagnated as active development was largely replaced with an active marketing campaign, in an effort to find a potential buyer for the new vehicle. Despite France's best efforts to market the vehicle, even going as far as showing off some of the prototypes in a competition in summer of 1986 in Saudi Arabia, a buyer couldn't be found. Spain was the only country showing some interest in potentially buying the AMX-40, but in the end, nothing came out of it either. By failing to find a buyer, domestic interest in the AMX-40 also faded and eventually resulted in the project being closed in 1990. Ultimately, the four constructed prototypes of the AMX-40 can only be considered as transitional designs, bridging the gap between the old second generation French MBTs, like the AMX-30 and the upcoming modern designs, such as the Leclerc.
- From Devblog
Media
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- Videos
See also
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
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 medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M4 Derivatives | M4A1 (FL10) · M4A4 (SA50) |
| AMX-50 | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) · AMX-50 (TO90/930) |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 · AMX-32 (105) · AMX-40 |
| Leclerc | Leclerc · Leclerc S2 · Leclerc SXXI · Leclerc AZUR |
| Other | D2 · S.35 · Lorraine 40t |
| Germany | Panther "Dauphiné" |
| USA | ▄M4A1 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▄M4A4 · ▄M26 |
- Ground vehicles
- France ground vehicles
- Seventh rank ground vehicles
- Medium tanks
- Ground vehicles with composite armour
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Ground vehicles with dozer blade
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Multi-weapon ground vehicles
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
