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Panhard E.B.R. Mle 1951 (HMG) 
Hello everyone! Today I would like to suggest the Indonesian Panhard EBR with a roof mounted machine gun. This suggestion is mainly to complement the Indonesian Ground Forces Sub-tree suggestion as well as the Expanded Indonesian Ground Vehicles List.
The Panhard EBR is a French 8x8 Armored Reconnaissance vehicle derived from the Type 201. It features a symmetrical hull layout with two driver position, an oscillating turret as well as four retractable inner wheels that can be lowered for improved off-road performance. In the 60s, Indonesia adopted the EBR with a unique mount above the main gun for a Madsen Saetter Heavy Machine Gun. The vehicle had a short service life and was retired in the early 70s, with only two vehicles remain as museum display pieces.
In-game the vehicle would perform almost the same as the EBR (1951) in the French tree, albeit with the added roof-mounted Machine Gun. It would be a Rank III-IV Vehicle with a BR of around 5.3-5.7 in Ground Realistic. It would provide a fast light tank option for Indonesia in the Japanese Tree
Is the vehicle spotted in France the same as the one in Indonesia?
While the Indonesian EBR rarely has the MG mounted, the mount itself remains even in modern times. As such we can identify whether they’re the same type of vehicle from the mount. The left picture is the vehicle in France, the right is the vehicle in Indonesian Service
with added highlights, we can see that its the exact same mount
How to identify the roof mounted MG?
The side profile of the MG almost matches identically to the Madsen-Saetter, take a look at this comparison
Heres the two images overlaid on one another
The easiest way to identify it compared to the .30 cal version is through the front barrel (marked in green), specifically looking at the gap size between the gas piston and the front sight (marked in red).
The .30 cal version’s gas piston is much closer to the front sight than it is on the .50 cal version. Here’s a look at the Mk2 (left) & Mk3 (right) .30 cal variant
Now on the .50 cal version the gap is noticably larger
This same gap can be seen on the MG mounted on the vehicle
A. Background
Details
The story of the Panhard EBR began with the Model/Type 201. The Panhard 201 was developed in the late 1930s with its signature feature being four inner metal wheels and four standard wheel, with the metal wheel being able to be raised for better speed on the road or lowered for better performance off the road. The vehicle also has a low center of gravity, with the engine located in the center of the hull below the turret. As a result the design the hull is symmetrical, with driving stations at the front and rear. Of course the vehicle could not be fully mass-produced as development came to an abrupt end when France fell in 1940
Because of the advancing Germans, the prototype had to be evacuated to what was then French North Africa, with the vehicle eventually getting lost in the Sahara and the design drawings being destroyed to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. However the Idea itself is not forgotten. Thus, when armored vehicle development resumed following the liberation of France in 1944, the French army issued a requirement for a new wheeled reconnaissance vehicle. Panhard then designed a new armored car based on the Type 201, which eventually became the Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance (EBR).
Panhard Type 201
The Army specifications for the E.B.R. was issued in July of 1945, with Panhard starting to work on the design in January 1946. The first two prototypes of the new armored car (named Type 212) were ordered three months later and were completed in July 1948. The type 212 was adopted as the E.B.R.75 Modelé 1951, with its production started in August 1950 and continuing until the 60s. The E.B.R. is longer and slightly wider than the type 201, but it has a similar symmetrical hull with a driver at either ends and the engine mounted on the center hull below the floor. It also has eight driven wheels, with the four inner metal wheels being able to be lifted for road operations, the same as the type 201. The engine (12H 6000) has a horsepower of 200 at 3,700 revs/min, which gives the 13-ton vehicle a max road speed of 100km/h.
The vehicle uses a complex dual-gearbox system with 16 speeds in both forwards and reverse, though it’s limited to specific ratios depending on whether it’s operating on or off-road. Power is distributed through a lockable central differential to side-mounted de Lavaud free-wheel differentials, which prevent tire scrub when the middle wheels are raised for use on roads. Each of the eight wheels features a 90-degree spiral bevel gear drive and a double helical gear train housed inside the suspension arm, which was designed to maintain a constant velocity ratio regardless of the arm’s movement.The front and rear wheels are sprung conventionally by two concentric coil springs and telescoping damper attached to the wheel arm. Meanwhile, the four inner metal wheels has a hydro-pneumatic unit which has a cylinder with nitrogen separated from the hydraulic fluid by a floating cylinder and with a second piston connected to the wheel arm which acts as a spring, damper and ram for lowering/raising the wheel.
E.B.R. 75 FL-11
The hull of the EBR is of welded steel armor plates ranging in thickness from 10-40mm. A unique design feature of the EBR is the mounting of a single 7.5mm machine gun in the lower front and rear of the hull. These MGs were to be operated by the drivers but its rarely fitted. What’s more notable feature of the EBR is the oscillating turret. The original EBR 75 Mle 1951 and the further development, the type 1954 uses the FL-11 truret mounting a medium velocity 75mm gun and a coaxial 7.5mm Machine gun. Some Type 1954, Type 54-10, and Type 1955 were then fitted with the same FL-10 turret as the AMX-13 light tank, which mounted a more powerful high velocity 75mm gun with an autoloader. All french EBR would eventually receive the FL-11 turret mounting a new 90mm smoothbore gun, with it primarily firing HEAT munnitions.
In regards to the Machine gun, the story of the Madsen-Saetter began in the early 1950s. Dansk Industri Syndikat A/S (DISA) began to look for a more modern weapon of the same general class as the original Madsen light machine gun, Eventually a design was created by Eric Larsen-Saetter. This was a conventional MG with a belt-fed magazine. But the problem with the MG is that it entered production too late to win any significant part of the market, with the design patented in 1952, and the final gun pattern finally developed in the 60s after a long delay. The machine gun market at this time was already filled with many strong contenders such as the FN MAG 58, the MG 42/59, and the M60. The only major sales happened with Indonesia, which also obtains a license to manufactre and produce the licensed variant of the machine guns.
The .50 cal version of the Madsen-Saetter MG was attempted during the early 1960s to produce a 12.7mm Heavy Machine gun, but it didnt enter into mass production. This variant uses the same basic system and design as the .30 caliber machine gun, but with the exception of a different mounting. The .50 Cal version can be used for special mounts used on armored cars & tanks, as well as for anti-aircraft & anti-personnel use.
Panhard EBR 1951 with the HMG in France
The EBR first arrived in Indonesia alongside the arrival of other French armored vehicles obtained in 1962. The EBR was put into service with the 2nd Cavalry Batallion Turangga Ceta, in the IV Military Regional Command, Semarang. The vehicle unfortunately has a very short service life in Indonesia, with the actual number of vehicle itself isn’t known. The vehicle was eventually retired in the early 70s.
What is unique of the Indonesian version is that it uses the original FL-11 turret with a machine gun mount located right above the gun mantlet. Because of the scarcity of the vehicle’s documentation, we only have 1 known photograph of the vehicle with the HMG in Indonesian service. With other images of the EBR without the HMG, but still having the same MG mount above the main gun. It could be that the MGs were mounted only for testing, and they were eventually returned, as they were never seen again in Indonesia, but of course it’s only speculations since we don’t know exactly what happened to them.
Fleet of French-Made AMX tanks in Indonesia
Currently only two known vehicles remain in Indonesia. With one lacking the MG mount located outside the Cavalry Museum in Bandung, and another EBR with the MG mount being a static display at the Satria Mandala Museum in Jakarta.
The vehicle as a display piece in the Satria Mandala Museum in Jakarta
B. Specifications
Details
General Specifications
- Crew: 4
- Length (w/o gun): 6.16 m (5.55 m)
- Width: 2.42 m
- Height: 2.25 m
- Combat Weight: 13.5 t
- Engine: 12H6000
- Horsepower: 200hp
- Max Road Speed: 100 km/h
Schematics
Armament
- FL-11 Turret
- 1x 75mm SA49 Cannon
- 1x 12.7mm Madsen Saetter Roof MG
- Caliber: 12.7mm
- Operating System: Gas operated, full-auto only
- Weight: 28kg
- Barrel Length (Overall): 100 cm (162.56 cm)
- Mag Feed: 50-round belts, box mag left side of receiver
- Muzzle velocity: same as standard .50cal
- Cyclic Rate: 1000 rpm
- 1x 7.5mm MAC 31 Coaxial MG
- 2x 7.5mm MAC 31 Hull MG (Front & rear)
Systems
- 4x smoke grenades
- -10/+15° elevation
- 7-8 second reload
- 56 rounds stowage
C. More Images
Details
VIDEOS
IMAGES
The vehicle in-service with only the MG mount
The vehicle as a display piece in the Satria Mandala Museum in Jakarta, the HMG is missing but the mount remains
A small line of EBR with the HMG pointed upwards
D. Sources
Details
- Ogorkiewicz, R. M. (1972). AFV Weapons Profile 039: Panhard Armoured Cars. Windsor, Berks: Profile Publications.
- Smith, W. H. B. (1969). Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms (9th ed.). Stackpole Books.
- PANHARD Type 54-11.Display plaque. Satria Mandala Museum. Jakarta. Indonesia
- PANHARD EBR (FRANCE). Display plaque. Cavalry Museum. Bandung. Indonesia
- https://www.indomiliter.com/panhard-ebr-ranpur-berkemudi-ganda-kavaleri-tni-ad/
- https://www.airspace-review.com/2019/10/11/mengenal-panser-kanon-fsv-generasi-awal-milik-yonkav-tni-ad-bagian-1/
- Panhard Racing Team: L’EBR 75
- Madsen-Saetter - Modern Firearms
- Madsen-Saetter machine gun - Wikipedia
- Engin blindé de reconnaissance — Wikipédia
- Redirecting...
Thank you for reading! Any suggestions or corrections would be highly appreciated!Additionally, you can check out more Indonesian suggestions below!