- Yes
- No
Hello everybody. I’d like to suggest a M24 (FL10) for France’s Ground Forces in War Thunder. As part of efforts to modernize the French Army’s M24 Chaffee fleet, a Chaffee hull was paired with the FL10 turret. Although initial tests were conducted, the project was ultimately canceled after a critical safety issue was discovered in the turret design. As a result, the initiative was shelved, leaving only a single prototype of the M24 (FL10).
History
BackgroundThe largest user of the Chaffee outside the United States was France, with the French Army receiving over 1,200 M24s for service in Indochina and Metropolitan France. Initial deliveries of M24s to French units in Indochina began in the late 1950s. French-operated M24s played a notable role in Indochina against the Viet Minh, as their light weight and mobility allowed them to traverse marshes, swamps, and rice paddies, which was inaccessible to the French-operated Stuarts. Additionally, the M24 had access to excellent ammunition options, excelling in high-explosive firepower compared to the Stuart.
The M24s were used in various crucial tasks, including convoy security, infantry support, static defense, patrolling, and offensive armor/infantry sweeps against enemy forces. Following France’s withdrawal from Indochina, many M24s were transferred to the newly formed Army of the Republic of Vietnam. France retained a significant number of M24s, and they were again deployed to Algeria during the Algerian War of Independence, where they served in infantry support roles until the war’s end.
Putting AMX-13’s FL10 Turret on M24 Chaffee HullAt the time, the French Army operated the largest fleet of M24 tanks outside the United States, and French companies explored various modernization options for the M24 fleet. For instance, during the Algerian War around 1960, France deployed a number of AMX-13 tanks equipped with Chaffee turrets. These hybrid vehicles, known as AMX-13 Chaffees or AMX-13-M24, were highly favored by French tank units. The M24 Chaffee turret provided superior high-explosive firepower, making it particularly effective against anti-colonial guerrilla forces.
In May 1959, the French Army decided to explore the reverse approach by mounting the AMX-13’s FL10 turret onto the M24 Chaffee hull. Collaborating with DEFA, a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, they converted a single M24 Chaffee into a prototype with the FL10 oscillating turret. Trials were completed, and the results indicated that modernizing the M24 fleet with FL10 turrets was both cost-effective and feasible. However, the project was discontinued due to a significant safety flaw related to the turret’s design. The CN 75-50 gun in the FL10 turret used an automatic loading system for standard rounds, but high-explosive (HE) shells had to be manually loaded by the commander. This process was extremely hazardous in the confined space of the turret, especially given the sensitive fuzes on the HE rounds. The Chaffee’s smaller hull exacerbated the issue, making it nearly impossible for the crew to safely perform the task. A single mistake could result in a catastrophic accident. Consequently, the French Army abandoned the M24 (FL10) project and opted for the safer and more practical AMX-13-M24, which combined the AMX-13 hull with the M24 turret. A contract for 150 conversions to the AMX-13-M24 standard was issued in March 1960.
Specifications
M24 (FL10)General Characteristics
- Crew: 3 or 4 (driver, commander, gunner, bow gunner/radio operator)
- Note: It remains unclear whether the bow gunner/radio operator position was retained in the M24 (FL10) configuration.
- Dimensions
- Nearly identical to the standard M24 Chaffee, with the exception of the FL10 turret and gun assembly.
- Powertrain
- 296-hp Twin Cadillac 44T24 8 cylinder petrol engine
- Transmission: 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
- Combat Weight: ~19 tons
- Note: This weight is an estimate based on rough calculations and may vary slightly.
- Performance
- Power-to-Weight Ratio: ~15.6 hp/ton
- Speeds:
- Forward: ~56 km/h (35 mph)
- Backward: ~23 km/h (14 mph)
Armament & Armor
- Main Gun
- 75 mm SA50 cannon
- Horizontal guidance: 360°
- Vertical guidance -6° to +10°
- Ammunition: 12 ready rounds in the turret + additional rounds stored in the hull (exact quantity unknown)
- Ammunition Types:
- POT-51A (APCBC)
- OE Mle 1951 (HE)
Armor Penetration Chart
- Secondary Guns
- Coaxial 7.5 MAC 31 machine gun
- Ammunition: 33 magazines with 150 rounds each (4,950 rounds total)
- Armor
- Hull:
- Front: 25 mm
- Sides: 25 mm
- Rear: 19 mm
- Turret:
- Front: 40 mm
- Sides: 20 mm
- Rear: 20 mm
Images
Given that France was the largest operator of M24 Chaffees outside the United States, I believe the M24 (FL10) would be an excellent addition to the French Ground Forces in War Thunder. Its gameplay would resemble that of the E.B.R. (1954), though the M24 (FL10) would be a tracked vehicle. Additionally, since the E.B.R. (1954) is a premium vehicle, the M24 (FL10) could serve as a researchable option in the tech tree.
- M24 Chaffee in Action - Armor No. 25 (1988)
- M24 Chaffee Light Tank 1943–85 (2003)
- AMX-US (AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee) - Tank Encyclopedia
- The French AMX-13 Tank - TankNutDave.com
- M24 Chaffee - Wikipedia
