- Yes
- No
AMX-30B1
History:
The AMX-30 was a medium tank produced by France in the early 1960s and was France’s main battle tank for many years. The first prototypes, designated the AMX-30A, were presented in 1963, and serial production began in 1966, now designated the AMX-30B. Over the years while the tank was being produced it received a number of modifications mainly to its vision systems but the most important would be the replacement of the coaxial 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun with a 20 mm CN-20-F2 machine gun, in 1975 this 20 mm machine gun would be installed on a newly manufactured AMX-30B and a program was started to replace the old machine gun with the new one on earlier production AMX-30Bs although it was not possible to replace all of the machine guns and many AMX-30Bs retained the original in French service.
The last production batch of the AMX-30B was built in early 1980 for France and a foreign customer, this customer was Chile, which had ordered 50 of these tanks in the early 1970s. However, due to the military dictatorship that began in 1973, France refused to complete the order and it wouldn’t be until 1981 that it would deliver 21 tanks to the South American country. For this reason, Chile was one of the last countries to receive the AMX-30B, and for this reason it received the last production batch.
The Chilean tanks being the last produced had the 20 mm machine gun instead of the 12.7 mm that was used by most of the countries to which the tank was exported, another feature that it shared with the special variant AMX-30S used by some Arab countries like Saudi Arabia was that it had a laser rangefinder which gave the Chilean tank a special name, it was called AMX-30B1.
The AMX-30B1 was an improved export version that, as mentioned before, featured a laser rangefinder for the tank commander. It was a kit that GIAT provided to its export customers in the 1980s. The system, designated APX M409 and APX M427, was developed by French companies CILAS and SOPELEM and originally designed to be installed on the Arab variant designated AMX-30S (Sahara). The M409 could be easily identified as a small box above the commander’s cupola, while the M427 was located internally inside the tank and was used as a day/night vision device by the commander and for measurement using the laser rangefinder. M409 sight with M427 lower part is connected into M426 prism head.
Its main functions were to provide optical vision for the commander both day and night. For night missions, it could work in conjunction with the tank’s infrared equipment, so that at night the laser rangefinder could also measure distance. The neodymium laser provides accurate data within a range of 400 meters to 10 km. The system can display the distance of up to two targets simultaneously with an accuracy of ±5 m. Once the distance is measured, it automatically adjusts the point of impact of the shot. Another of its features is that it allows fire control of the tank’s 20 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns.
Only two countries used this laser rangefinder system, Saudi Arabia with its AMX-30S and Chile with its AMX-30B1. There were many differences between the Arab and Chilean tanks mainly in the transmission and engine power, the Arab tank had been modified to operate in the desert and sand so the gearbox was limited and the engine power was only 620 hp which allowed it to reach 60 km / h, the Arab tank also retained the 12.7 mm machine gun of earlier versions, however the Chilean AMX-30B1 did not have these disadvantages, it retained the original transmission and the power of 720 hp which allowed it to reach 65 km/m, it also had the more powerful 20 mm machine gun so with the addition of the laser rangefinder it was the transition vehicle between the AMX-30B and the AMX-30B2.
In Chile the history of these tanks begins in the 70s because at that time Chile had territorial conflicts with its neighbors which was about to escalate into war on some occasions, for this reason Chile sought to renew its obsolete armored material receiving some offers that would materialize with the purchase of Israeli M-50 and M-51 Super Sherman tanks and Brazilian EE-9 Cascavel armored vehicles, these purchases would balance the war scenario somewhat, but it would not be enough.
Chile had ordered 50 French AMX-30B tanks in the early 1970s, but for political reasons, France decided not to go through with the sale. It wasn’t until 1980 that the purchase of the tanks was finalized, and they were sent to Chile in 1981, but only in the amount of 21 tanks. Having been sent so late, these tanks corresponded to the last production batch, so they had a series of improvements, mainly in the form of a laser rangefinder for the commander, and were therefore called AMX-30B1. It is unknown if France officially called them this, but in Chilean service they were called this way, as can be seen in the official books of the Chilean army. Later in 1998 France would send 21 more AMX-30B tanks that were ex-French so they did not come with the laser rangefinder and therefore were only the B model and not the B1, and 10 AMX-30D were received, thus completing in some way the initial order that had been made in the early 70s. These tanks were part of the 2nd and 3rd Tank Squadrons in the 6th Dragones Regiment in Punta Arenas and were later assigned to the 5th Lanceros Regiment until they were decommissioned in 2007 and replaced by the Leopard 1V.
Both the Chilean AMX-30B1 and AMX-30B had the coaxial 20mm machine gun, in addition Chile kept the original French 7.62mm commander’s machine gun and it was not replaced by another model as happened in other countries where the AMX-30B was exported. Chilean tanks also had HE ammunition and the famous HEAT ammunition used in the AMX-30B also known as Obus G capable of penetrating 400mm of armor at zero incidence and 200 mm at 60° at any distance allowing it to penetrate any tank of the time, this ammunition was expensive and difficult to manufacture so it was not very popular for use in other tanks.
Specifications:
- Crew:
- 4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
- Armament:
- Primary: 105 mm CN-105-F1 cannon, 47 rounds
- Reload: 6.7 s
- Vertical guidance: -8° / 20°
- Secondary: 20 mm CN-20-F2 automatic cannon (coaxial) 1000 rounds, 7.62 mm AN F1 machine gun 2100 rounds, 4 x 76mm smoke grenade launchers
- Primary: 105 mm CN-105-F1 cannon, 47 rounds
- Dimensions:
- Length: 9.5 m with gun, 6.6 m hull
- Width: 3.1 m
- Height: 2.8 m
- Weight: 36.0 t
- Maneuverability :
- Engine: Hispano-Suiza HS-110 diesel, 720 hp at 2400 rpm
- Max. speed: 65 km/h
- Accessories:
- Night vision device
- Laser Rangefinder
Photos:
Sources:
- https://www.ejercito.cl/descargas/desktop/MTc2
- https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/archivos2/pdfs/MC0067618.pdf
- AMX-30 (1972) | War Thunder Wiki
- Armies & Weapons, No.54/55, May-June 1979
- Défense & Armement, N° 37, Janvier 1985, pp.49-50
- International Defense Review, 1987-5, pp.636-637
- Jane’s Weapon Systems 1977
- Jane’s weapon systems. 1979-80
- AMX30 Main Battle Tank Enthusiasts’ Manual: 1960-2019 (AMX30B, AMX30B2 and derivatives)