- Yes
- No
Built in 1949 as part of a program for adapting different turrets for the upcoming AMX-13 light tank. Several of these prototypes were designed as spaag though this particular machine was built on the AMX-12 chassis. It was armed with 4 German MG 151/20 machine guns that were left over from the war and were the only medium machine guns the French had at the time. These were installed in a special S 232 enclosed turret. The French had experimented with a quad mount for the 151 with the end result being a version called the PM 512 de La Précision Moderne being mounted on 20 GMC 6x6 trucks. The use of the MG 151/20 was eventually abandoned in favour of the 20 mm Hispano.
The vehicle was tested at Toulon in May 1950 with a second prototype undergoing tests from September to August in 1951. These were mostly to test the viability of the spaa in armoured units. Despite preforming well in tests and being considered an improvement over the spaa that had been previously fielded by the French the vehicle was not accepted for service. The main reason was that while the enclosed turret provided protection to the crew it lacked any radar. This meant that the guns had to aim by sight and it simply wasn’t possible to do against the fast moving jets of the time.
Specifications
Mass 14.124 kg
Length
4.876 mm
Width 2.524 mm
Height 2.247 mm
Crew 3
Ammunition in game
Default: IT · IT · APHE · HEI
Universal: IT · HEI · HEI · AP-I
Air targets: AP-I · HEI · HEI · HEI · HEI · IT
Armoured targets: APHE · APHE · APHE · IT
Tracers: FI-T · FI-T · FI-T · IT · IT
Stealth: HEI · HEI · HEI · APHE · AP-I
Default (turret): IT · HEI · APHE · AP-I
Armoured targets (turret): AP-I · AP-I · APHE · IT · AP-I
Universal (turret): IT · HEI · HEI
References
French SPAAs - Les Vehicules Blindes Francais 1945-1977 - Album on Imgur
8.3. Launet DCA.pdf (irsem.fr)
Touzin , Pierre. Les Vehicules Blindes Francais 1945-1977
Tank Blog : Tank#6 Finally the Frechies--------- AMX 13 Light Tank
Lone Sentry: German MG-151 Type 15- and 20-mm Aircraft Weapons (WWII Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 30, July 29, 1943)
MG 151 - Manual (DE) - Indagini Balistiche