- Yes
- No
- Researchable vehicle
- Foldered with AMX-50 TOA100.
- As an event vehicle.
- As a GE/Pack premium.
- As a squadron vehicle.
- I said no.
Hello. Today, I’d like to suggest a variant of the AMX-50 - AMX-50 TO100.
HISTORY.
Back in 1945, AMX introduced the “Project 141” vehicle, later dubbed the “M4”, and 2 prototypes have been ordered. At first, the tanks were classified as “medium”, were meant to have a 90mm cannon, and were built under the rather heavy influence of King Tiger and Panther tank designs. The armor, to keep the vehicle’s weight under 30t was reduced - no - sacrificed down to just 30mm, which was later increased as per the army’s request. At the same time, it was decided to replace the conventional turret of the tank with an oscilating one, made by FAMH, with an autoloader of course.
But, why use an autoloader?
For starters, it would make the loader’s job much easier, and second - at this time, it was pretty obvious that the soviets would greatly outnumber NATO/west forces, and, as such, the capability of a singular tank being able to engage multiple soviet tanks at once was rather alluring.
In 1949, the first prototypes have been delivered, featuring an oscilating turret with a 90mm cannon, coupled with an autoloader of a revolver-type design (im.1). The turret was called “TO90”. During winter of the same year, the tank received a new 100mm cannon (im.2), with the turret now called the “TO100”.
During autumn of 1950, the first AMX-50 hull was delivered - made to have better armour than the M4 hull. It also removed the middle-plate in-between upper and lower front plates. The radiator fans in the rear were also in the hull, instead of sticking out. The turret used on the AMX-50 hull was TO100.
Next, there were three other turrets mounted on the AMX-50 hull; TOA100, assembled for a parade; TO90/930, more popularly known as the turret mounted on Char25t; and the last, TOA120, used on the AMX-50-120.
Above is the AMX-50 TOA100 we have in-game (on the left) and AMX-50 TO100 (on the right), during a parade in Paris, 1950. The TOA100 turret can be found on Lorraine 40T aswell (image below.)
Did you know? You can distinguish the AMX M4 and AMX-50 hulls by: Looking at the rear roof, and looking at the part between UFP/LFP. If the vehicle has two fans sticking out the top of it’s rear, coupled by a flat part in-between the UFP and LFP, then it’s an AMX M4. If the vehicle has fans that do not stick out, with the UFP/LFP now connected, then it’s an AMX-50.
FIREPOWER.
The firepower remains the same as found on AMX-50 TOA100; a 100mm SA47 cannon capable of ripping through your enemies like butter. But things get more interesting in the reload department; where you’ll be pleasantly surprisde by an incredible autoloader, capable of storing 9 rounds in the box/revolver, 1 on the lifting arm, 1 on the loading tray, and 1 in the breech, making up for a total of 12 shots ready-to-fire every 4 seconds!
ARMOR.
The armor saw some improvements with the TO100 - while the hull remained the same, the turret has been upgraded. It features over 120mm of armor, which is pretty solid for an oscilating turret. Not to mention, it’s at an angle meaning ricochets are more likely to happen, and the collar could provide an additional bit of armor. In essence - it’s an AMX-50 hull with a Somua SM turret.
MOBILITY.
Despite the increased turret armor, your mobility will still be pretty good - 51KM/H forward and 19KM/H reverse, coupled with an incredible 1000HP/T engine power for a tank weighing nearly 50t, that’s some nice agility there! Do keep in mind though; you are no Lorraine 40T, meaning, more tanks are likely to outrun you - therefore, you need to be more careful playing this in early-game flanks.
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion, I feel like the addition of this marvelous variant of AMX-50 would be highly welcomed in the french community, considering that many have wanted this for years now. It’d be a great upgrade over the TOA100, featuring an autoloader with a larger shell capacity, aswell as better turret armor, while keeping it’s great mobility.
EXTRA PICTURES + SOURCES.
AMX 50 — Википедия
AMX-50 Heavy Tank Project
