This is a very interesting Panhard turret. It can be found on the little known French Panhard 203 (a tank that was never deployed in combat) but also on the little known Panhard 401-Panhard MVT (a tank that was never deployed in combat).
A turret is an autonomous defense system designed and used mostly on tanks and other armored vehicles. The most famous turret is the “armored cupola,” which is a rotating cupola that covers the vehicle’s machine-gun or autocannon. There are other kinds of turrets, including pintle-mounted turrets and casemate turrets.
This is a panhard variant design from the early 1960’s. The turret is able to move in both directions, making it a perfect fit for a tank. The turret itself is composed of five rotating sections, each one being implemented as a gear set. They are connected by ball bearings, and a universal joint is used to connect each section to the rear axle of the tank.
201 Panhard
The Panhard 201 40P was a strange-looking French armored vehicle from the interwar period, and a distant cousin of the later EBR series. It is most known for being the first armored vehicle to use an oscillating turret, which France would utilize in subsequent vehicles, notably the AMX-13 and the aforementioned Panhard EBR. At about 1.7 to 2.0, the Panhard 201 40P would fit into rank II of the French tree, just before the Crusader.
Background
The French Army was concerned about highly armored vehicles for use by the cavalry in the late 1930s. The tank forces possessed vehicles like the Char B1, but in 1938, a competition for a highly armored automobile was launched, and the Panhard firm chose to participate. It embarked on a new project, to be known as the Panhard 201, under the direction of Louis Delagarde.
If approved, the Panhard 201 may replace the increasingly outdated Panhard 178, commonly known as the AMD 35, in game, just as it could in real life. After being seized in Belgium, this one is being examined by German soldiers.
Given the amount of time they had to develop it and the year it was created, the Panhard company’s design was really innovative. It was unlike any other French armored vehicle at the time.
Development
For starters, it featured an 8-wheel layout, bulletproof wheels, and an extended hull that resulted in a sloping frontal hull armor with 60mm of protection, which was excellent for an armored car at the time. The oscillating turret design was maybe the oddest but also most distinctive feature. The turret functioning is described as follows by Wikipedia:
The commander/gunner was stationed in a tiny turret in the hull’s center. The oscillating turret idea was invented by this unique turret. It was made up of two half-cylinders placed one into the other, with the bottom cylinder tilted diagonally and the top half held in its trunnions by its raised sides. Turret traverse was accomplished by simultaneously turning the two half cylinders. The vertical movement of the top half cylinder pivoting relative to the bottom side of the turret was used to raise the cannon.
Mobility was increased to 80 km/h thanks to the 85 hp engine and its relatively low weight of 9 t. Armament was a 25mm SA 35 cannon, the same as on the preceding Panhard 178, and mobility was increased to 80 km/h thanks to the 85 hp engine and its relatively light weight of 9 t.
The prototype Panhard 201 40P.
The Panhard firm submitted a prototype to the French Army in 1939, after it had been finished. The car, as well as its appearance and features, left a lasting impression on them. 600 of these vehicles were ordered on May 1, 1940, with the aim of replacing the Panhard 178 with the Panhard 201, but owing to the fall of France that same year, this never happened. The single prototype was evacuated to Morocco, but its fate is unclear; it’s conceivable that it came into German hands and was destroyed, or that it was just lost in the sands of time and Northern Africa.
The Collapse of France is effectively signaled by German soldiers marching through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but not by the fall of the French people.
Despite the fact that it was never produced, the Panhard 201 was not a total failure. The oscillating turret idea and overall design would enable the Panhard firm to develop the EBR series after WWII, as well as the AMX-13, which is still in service in six nations today.
The Panhard EBR SA 49 was the Panhard 201’s postwar replacement.
Specifications
- 9 tons of weight
- 4.34 m in length
- 2.0 m in width
- 1.80 m / 1.80 m / 1.80 m / 1.
- Crew: 2
- 25mm SA 35 main armament
- 17.5 mm Reibel machine gun as secondary armament
- Gasoline engine with 85 horsepower
- 9.4 horsepower per ton
- 84-wheel suspension
- Range of operation: 100 kilometers (390 mi)
- 80 km/h top speed (62 mph)
Sources
Pictures
https://preview.redd.it/2ysct72a5vf71.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0e4b4d2f93340413b7806936fd0dcab073c47b7
https://preview.redd.it/9sxcv52a5vf71.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=17b08d16a05bda354540a3b6a0575fd8eeb11423
https://preview.redd.it/vwej372a5vf71.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47d201921fc3e5e8c946d046a5198fe977a1eaa5
https://preview.redd.it/khf7rb2a5vf71.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbd3a41f50ef48fd6085137a38941cc5579eec67
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The Panhard 201 was an armored fighting vehicle developed in France at the end of World War I. The vehicle was designed to be mounted on a variety of wheeled and tracked chassis, such as the Panhard et Levassor AMX. The vehicle was armed with a 37mm cannon and two 7.92mm machine guns, and had a top speed of around 16 km/h.. Read more about irish army panhard aml 90 and let us know what you think.
Related Tags
This article broadly covered the following related topics:
- panhard armored car
- panhard ebr
- panhard ebr 75 wot
- panhard ebr wot
- panhard aml-60-20
