Panhard EBR
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| Panhard EBR | |
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| Type | Armoured car |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| Used by | French Army, Portuguese Army |
| Wars | Portuguese Colonial War |
| Production history | |
| Number built | 1200 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 13 t |
| Length | 6.15 m |
| Width | 2.42 m |
| Height | 2.24 m |
| Crew | 4 |
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| Primary armament |
90mm or 75mm gun |
| Secondary armament |
3 x 7.5mm MGs most common, sometimes 4 x 7.5mm MGs |
| Engine | 12-cylinder engine 200 hp |
| Suspension | 8x8 wheel |
| Operational range |
630 km |
| Speed | 100 km/h |
The Panhard EBR (Panhard Engin Blinde de Reconnaissance) is a light armoured car designed by Panhard for the French Army and later used across the globe, notably by the Portuguese Army during the Portuguese Colonial War in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.
The EBR is an 8x8 wheeled reconnaissance vehicle designed before the Second World War, but with production only commencing afterwards, with over 1200 vehicles being manufactured after 1954. While being lightly armoured, the EBR was armed with the 90mm FL-11 or 75mm cannon known as the FL-10 or L/48 and supported by up to four 7.5mm machine guns, one co-axial, one operated by the driver, one by the co-driver and one by the commander, though the latter was not found on all EBRs. The EBR was run by a crew of four, and driven by a 12 cylinder engine.
Designed in 1951 by Panhard, OBE adopts an original configuration: the ability to move in 2 directions thanks to the provision of symmetrical front / rear, and the presence of 2 drivers positions. The armoured hull is mounted on a 8-wheel drive, with 4 inner metal wheels, which can be raised for driving on the road, allowing it to reach speeds of 100 km / h.
The 1954 model improves armaments with a lengthened 75mm barrel, allowing muzzle-speeds of 1000 m/s. Finally, the 1963 version further strengthens firepower with a 90 mm gun.
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[edit] Particulars
France has, since 1935, engaged in the manufacture and use of a prolific line of wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles armed with weapons with an anti-tank capability. This being the result of reforms initiated by the Light Mechanized Divisions (DLM).
French tactical doctrine required reconnaissance elements to cover and range over a large and extensive battlefield, especially within the context of the slow and high maintenance tanks of the time. Also of note is the way that tanks are best deployed, massed and concentrated, which prevents their dispersion for safety and for screening.
So it is a particular trait with French reconnaissance vehicles to be heavily armed. From the prewar MD 178 armed with an anti-tank gun of 47 mm, (which was for the period a significant caliber for such a small vehicle) to the direct successor of the EBR, the AMX 10 RC, also used for wheeled reconnaissance, and armed with a powerful 105mm gun with automatic firing, fire power equal to a main battle tank of the 1980's. A pattern repeated in the AML 90 and the ERC 90 Sagaie.
These reconnaissance systems are not only aimed at discovery and investigation (missions that can be fulfilled by lighter vehicles with lighter weapons), but also with security missions upon the battlefield (for example flank-security and offensive protection) which requires a substantial fire power not only to destroy the enemy advance elements, but also to oppose armoured incursions.
[edit] Characteristics
- Crew: 4 men (1 vehicle commander, 1 gunner, 1 driver, 1 rear driver)
- Length: 6.15 m
- Width: 2.42 m
- Height: 2.24 m
- Weight with combat: 13 tons
- Horsepower: 200 hp
- Range: 630 km
- Road speed: 105 km / h
- Tanks: 380 l
- Fuel Consumption: 50l / 100km
[edit] Weaponry
- Main armament (version 1951): 1 Canon 75mm SA 49 (Vo 600 m / s)
- Main armament (version 1954): 1 Canon 75mm SA 50 (Vo 1000 m / s)
- Main armament (version 1963): 1 Canon 90mm model F2 (Vo 750 m / s)
- Secondary armament: 3 machine guns of 7.5 mm, (MAC 34 "REIBEL" shipper magazines of 149 cartridges 1 inert.
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] References
- Duncan Crow & Robert J. Icks, Encyclopaedia of Armoured Cars
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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