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És un cap de la costa de la Marenda, en el terme
comunal de Portvendres, al Rosselló. Està situat a la
zona nord-est del terme de Portvendres.
Dades EXIF: 1/13s f11 ISO100 24mm
Sony A7iii + Tamron 17-28 f2.8
#capbear #colliure #portvendres #argeles
#pyreneesorientales #occitanie #france
#phareducapbear #sunset #sudouest
#languedocroussillon #cotevermeille #total_france
#visitlafrance #francetourisme #tourismeoccitanie
#so_photo #topfrancephoto #mediterranee
#pyreneesorientales #lighthouse_photogroup
#labelleoccitanie #rogervivephoto #phare #cote
#sonya7iii #avecmontamron #benro
The prototype 'Atlantique', the updated version of the original is seen at the Farnborough show in 1982.
This was converted from an existing Atantic, that being a late 50s design, which although being a Bregeut product, had German involvement. This revised version was totally French and so they updated the name too! These new generation Atlantiques used a similar airframe to the originals, but it was the avionics and other equipment that was different.
Farnborough, Hampshire
8th September 1982
Pentax MX, Kodachrome
19820908 21222 01 Farnborough clean
El castell de Montségur, és un antic castell fortificat dels Catars, reconstruït l'any 1206, però remodelat a finals del segle XIII, les restes del qual es troben a la localitat francesa de Montségur, al departament de l'Arieja.
Dades EXIF: 1/1000seg f2.8 ISO100 24mm
DJI Mini2
#montsegur #montsegurcastle #chateaux #ariege #occitanie #france #total_france #so_photo #ariegeledpt #djimini2 #aerialphotography #landscapedrone #dronephotography #chateauxdefrance #medievalcastle #medievalfrance #medievalarchitecture #medievalcastles #monumentfrançais #monumentfrance #monumenthistorique #rogervivephoto
Ja a l'arribar a Fécamp al matí, feia molt vent i el mar estava ben mogut, vam anar a dinar i just abans de seguir ruta vaig anar cap a la zona contrària al port per poder fer algunes fotos de les onades que xocaven al far i feien unes grans esquitxades, algunes persones s'atansaven al far per veure des de primera fila les onades, alguns d'ells es protegien darrere una petita pared.
EXIF: 1/4000s f8 ISO640 215mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + @sigmaphotospain 100-400mm F5-6.3
#fecamp #lighthouse #lighthouses #coast #normandie #normandy #hautenormandie #paysages #landscape #france #total_france #visitlafrance #hello_france #raw_france #francetrip #tourismfrance #francetourisme #oh_my_france #landscapephotograph #sonya7iii #benro #normandietourisme #storm #lighthouse_photogroup #waves #strom #wind
#capbear #colliure #portvendres #argeles
#pyreneesorientales #occitanie #france
#phareducapbear #sunset #sudouest
#languedocroussillon #cotevermeille #total_france
#visitlafrance #francetourisme #tourismeoccitanie
#so_photo #topfrancephoto #mediterranee
#pyreneesorientales #lighthouse_photogroup
#labelleoccitanie #rogervivephoto #phare #cote
#mini2 #djimini2
El far de Ploumanac'h és un far actiu de Côtes-d'Armor, França, situat a Perros-Guirec L'estructura està composta de granit rosat i marca l'entrada al canal que porta al port de Ploumanac'h
Dades EXIF: 15seg f11 ISO100 75mm
Sony A7iii + Tamron 28-75 f2.8
#pharedemenruz #ploumanach #perros_guirec_tourisme #bretagne #magnifiquebretagne #phare #lighthouses #paysage #labellebretagne #france #total_france #lighthouses_around_the_world #landscapephotography #rogervivephoto #sonya7iii #benro #lighthouse_photogroup
#lighthouse #pharesbretons #coast #landscape_captures
It is a village port located in a natural harbor, part of the commune of Perros-Guirec, in the Brittany region of France. In 2015 it was voted "the town most preferred by the French".
És un port de poble situat en un port natural, part de la comuna de Perros-Guirec, a la regió de Bretanya de França. L'any 2015 va ser votat "el poble més preferit pels francesos”.
EXIF: 2,5seg f11 ISO100 41mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + @tamronglobal 28-75 f2.8
@benroesp tripod
#ploumanach #perros_guirec_tourisme #bretagne #magnifiquebretagne #phare #lighthouses #paysage #labellebretagne #france #total_france #lighthouses_around_the_world #landscapephotography #rogervivephoto #sonya7iii #benro #lighthouse_photogroup
#lighthouse #pharesbretons #coast #landscape_captures
Comencen els dies de platja, tots els colors de la gent, tovalloles, para-sols... vistos des d'un altre punt de vista.
The beach days begin, all the colors of the people, towels, umbrellas... seen from another point of view.
EXIF: 1/500s f2.8 ISO100 24mm
@djiglobal Mini 2
#colliure #argeles #pyreneesorientales #occitanie #sudouest #languedocroussillon #cotevermeille #total_france #visitlafrance #so_photo #france #total_france #topfrancephoto #mediterranee #rogervivephoto #djimini2 #aerialphotography #landscapedrone #dronephotography #plage #sun #soleil #beach #djiphotography
All over the world, the only thing they possess is trust in adults.
about Burma
www.flickr.com/groups/helpburmanow/
www.flickr.com/groups/531398@N23/pool/
www.flickr.com/groups/redforburma/pool/
www.flickr.com/photos/goda/1452673751/
www.flickr.com/photos/halfbreedhalf/1454243668/
www.flickr.com/photos/garyisaacs/1454510287/
www.flickr.com/photos/sakuralove/1455502166/
www.flickr.com/photos/seyku09/1454263489/
www.flickr.com/photos/thegolfer/1451574592/
Burma is a very rich country : forest, gaz, gold, copper, precious stones .... and courageous population.
This wealth is mostly exploited by foreign companies from occident to Thailand, India and especially China, an allié of Birman regime. Among them Total, French oil company.
The investments (very heavy ones, considering the kind of exploitations involved) can only go through the Myanmar Investment Commission, half held by the militaries, and the settlement of joint-ventures generating incomes for the share-holders (the miltaries, I recall it). Total pays 200 millions of dollars of royalties to the regime per year to provide France with gaz ....
90% of the population lives under the powerty line
GDP per inhabitant is of 230 dollars per year.
50% of the children do not finish their scolarship
3% of the national income (mostly depending on the companies here above) goes to health
from 45% to 50% of the national income go to military expenses ... thus repression ...
-> almost nothing of the investments done by foreign countries goes to the population (mostly it goes to the repression) and no boycot of these investment would arm them, most of them still living from their agriculture ...
ps ; 25 000 birmans have an e-mail adress - 1% is connected to internet
about Palestine
www.flickr.com/photos/anomalous/1418777708/
All this just makes me shout with anger and rage.
The only thing I will say is that Israeli behaviour as described above is at work in Gaza Bank since the very beginning (i've been there, so I can tell that).
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE is that now they feel enough on the "right" side to expose their action on the public place as something normal, according to Gaza's "hostility", now they feel entrusted to consider themselves as victims. By who ? By the international community who is totally unable to express a firm condamnation of their actions.
Before, Gaza people (mostly craving only for peace and having no desire for weapons and bombs) thought that the world didn't know, that the press was manipulated. Their major wound was feeling that nobody knew about what they were enduring really, that nobody was listening to them, that somehow they didn't exist for the world.
Now, as Israel has officially expressed its intentional politics of destruction of Gaza strip into the face of the world, what will Palestinian think if there is no firm condamnation, how will they react, how CAN they react ? When in front of you you have a powerfull country which only purpose is to destroy you, whatever you do, whoever you are, what solutions do you have to try to survive ?
The international community is able to condamn Iran (I will not talk here about the outrageous hypocrisy of French who first provide the tools to generate a A bomb and all of the sudden realize what they've done) and maybe tomorrow Burmese dictatorship. This is a good thing of course.
But why are they enable to call what happen's between Isreal and Palestine for what it is : a war submitted to international laws that would condamn Isreal actions as being against Human Rights.
Why should Isreal being imunized from the fact of possibly being "bad" ? I just ask. As far as I know, they are human beign as we are and in this respect they are submitted to the same laws. We are able to condamn our own countries when they do something we do not agree with. Why are we unable to do the same against Israel ? I just ask.
My heart is bleeding with an immense feeling of injustice ...
Una altra foto de bosc i tornen a Orlu. El recorregut de l'aigua en ziga-zaga que et fa anar, crec des de la part inferior fins a la part superior de la foto i vas veient els detalls al costat del riu amb els diferents tons de verd i les fulles taronges/marrons ja caigudes dels arbres.
EXIF: 1seg f11 ISO500 26mm
@sonyalpha A7RV + @tamron_france 17-28 f2.8
@kase_filters_global K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje #woodland
Era el segon cop aquesta primavera a Orlu, el primer vaig veure que encara faltava uns dies per tenir un verd interessant i ja després d’uns dies vaig tornar, aquest cop també a explorar noves zones, a vegades hi ha racons que dones per ja explorats i encara queda molt per descobrir i aquest és un dels casos. Sens dubte tornaré a aquest racó, ja que hi ha moltes opcions interessants. Aquí per anar bé hauria necessitat un angular més gran, bastant més del 17mm que tinc, l’opció que em quedava era una panoràmica i és el que vaig fer aquí tot i després deixar-la en format 3:2 que penso és el més equilibrat per mantenir la coherència de la composició que vull.
Us poso el vídeo de l'edició:
youtu.be/IUEDSJ3onSg?si=u6Cvjf3cS5Ofyzi4
EXIF: 1/4seg f11 ISO500 17mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + Tamron 17-28 f2.8
@kase_filters_global K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje #woodland
L'any passat vaig aconseguir venir a Orlu just al moment idoni per fotos de tardor. Aquest lloc del pont junt amb la cascada que hi ha al darrere, penso que és la imatge més coneguda i segurament més interessant del bosc d'aquesta zona, però hi ha molt més, llocs que costa més de trobar, però que són també molt interessants, a veure aquest any que trobarem. Aquesta foto és molt semblant a l'altre que tinc d'aquest lloc de l'any passat, però amb un angle una mica diferent.
EXIF: 1/5seg f8 ISO500 47mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + @tamron 28-75 f2.8
@kasefiltersglobal K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje
Continuem amb la sessió a Orlu, en aquest cas, la cascada que vaig posar fa uns dies, però des d'un altre punt de vista, i clar amb el pas dels dies, uns altres colors. Tinc una gran roca al primer pla amb molta molsa i fulles caigudes i a partir d'aquí seguim el curs del riu per la petita cascada i arribem als verds, taronges i grocs de les fulles. En aquest cas per aconseguir la textura de l'aigua que volia no tenia altre opció que pujar l'ISO i així ho vaig fer, amb les noves funcions de Lightroom cada cop té menys afectes negatius pujar l'iso si cal.
EXIF: 0.6seg f11 ISO800 43mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + Sony 24-105 f4
@kasefiltersglobal K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje #woodland
Aquesta foto és de la primavera passada, habitualment als boscos ens agrada anar a la tardor, però a la primavera també és un bon moment per visitar-los, apareixen les noves fulles i els verds són molt potents i macos. Ja comença a ser hora d’anar a veure com està aquest any.
EXIF: 1/8seg f5.6 ISO100 26mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + Sony 24-105 f4
@kasefilters.de K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje #woodland
La darrera foto d'aquesta sessió a Orlu, en aquest cas seguin el curs del riu des de la cantonada inferior esquerra, passant pel tronc caigut amb molsa, i arribant a la pedra que em fa fer una s per seguir el riu, i arribant al fons on perds de vista el riu i tels els colors del bosc. Tot el terra que es veu al voltant del riu ben taronja/vermell de les fulles molles per la pluja combinat amb el verd de la molsa a les pedres. Podeu veure bé, aquesta sessió i altres a Orlu a la meva web
www.rogervive.com/traveling/orlu
EXIF: 1/4seg f11 ISO800 42mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + Sony 24-105 f4
@kasefiltersglobal K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje
A la península de Quiberon, que és un lloc preciós, de fet com quasi tota la Bretanya, una de les platges més conegudes és la de l'Arche De Port Blanc. És una platja amb un arc de pedra al quant hi pots accedir amb marea baixa, per veure'l des de sota i posar la tovallola per descansar o banyar-te. A part, però de la foto típica de l'arc també hi ha altres opcions, en aquest cas la foto la vaig fer en tornar al pàrquing pel camí que porta a ell des de la platja. Fotogràficament, em va atreure el camí que desapareix en la profunditat de la imatge just on hi ha la lluna i la llum càlida de la posta de sol dona un color daurat a la imatge.
EXIF: 6seg f14 ISO100 56mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + @tamronglobal 17-28 f2.8
@benroesp tripod
#quiberon #morbihan #france #bretagne #sunset #colour #magnifiquebretagne #coast #paysage #labellebretagne #total_france #landscape #landscapephotography #rogervivephoto #paisaje #naturaleza #travelphotography #landscapephotograph #landscape_captures #travelphotographer #travelphotography #presquiledequiberon #bzh #breizh #breton #bretonne #sonyalpha
Va ser una tarda interessant, vam anar uns quants amics fotògrafs a Orlu a veure què veiem, jo havia estat feia 15 dies i encara faltava una mica per tenir colors macos, passats aquests dies, la cosa ja estava més interessant i vam poder fer fotos ja amb els colors de tardor. Un dels varis racons que vam anar parant per fer fotos és on vaig fer aquesta foto amb el riu que no porta gaire aigua, però el destaco posant-lo de baix cap al centre de la foto, pedres als 2 costats i la part alta tot el color dels arbres. No vaig voler fer una molt llarga exposició perquè volia l'aigua amb textura.
EXIF: 0.5seg f13 ISO100 35mm
@sonyalpha A7iii + Sony 24-105 f4
@kasefiltersglobal K9 polaritzador
@benroesp Tripod
#orlu #valleedorlu #pyreneesariegeoises #france #ariege #ariegeledpt #tourismeariege #ariegepyrenees #occitanie #ariege_ig #total_france #lanscape #pirineus #pyrenees #landscapephotography #so_photo #autumncolors #rogervivephoto #foret #forêt #automne #bosque #autumn #autumncolors #autumncolours #otoño #sonyalpha #landscape_hunter #landscape_collection #paisaje
Van Halen on the Oldies station: Love Walks In
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYXqb6x50lA
Contact is all it takes - To change your life to lose your place in time
Alex: (crossing the Greenport High commons with Holly) All I'm saying is, if Stacy tells Kyle that you like him, at least you'll find out if you have a chance with him without confronting him, yourself.
Holly: You never tell a guy you like him, until he tells you first. Everybody knows that.
Alex: (scoffs) Everybody knows that, do they?
Holly: Hey, I know a lot about the way guys think.
Alex: Because you made out with a summer boy last year?
Holly: Well, I did. We even Frenched.
Alex: Ew, and you only saw him that one time, which means you totally Frenched a stranger the first time you met him. You get two "ews" for that.
Van Halen on the Oldies station: Nothing feels the same - All your dreams are strange
Holly: That's all going to change, after this summer.
Alex: You seem awfully convinced that you're going to get Kyle to kiss you.
Holly: Maybe more than that.
Alex: (suspiciously) What does THAT mean?
Holly: (glances around to make sure no one is within hearing distance) I want Kyle to be "the one."
Alex: The one who what?
Van Halen on the Oldies station: So when you sense a change - Nothing feels the same
Holly: (sighs) THE one. You know, my first time?
Alex: But you already Frenched that summer boy.
Holly: (exasperated) OMG! Sex! I'm talking about SEX!
Alex: (smirks) I know. I just wanted you to say it. I don't think those freshman girls expected to hear it, but it's best to get them all nice and jaded their first year.
Holly: (horrified, looks around and spots a couple of shocked girls hurrying back inside the building they'd just exited) You are SUCH a bad friend.
Van Halen on the Oldies station: Some kind of alien - Waits for the opening - Then simply pulls a string
Alex: The bitch, the slut, and the -- I feel like we're missing a third person to make this a truly cutting edge team.
Holly: Fawn Springlon.
Alex: No, she's already a slut. We need something we don't already have.
Holly: I mean, she lost her virginity last year and now she's super popular.
Alex: Because she's a super slut and everybody wants a turn.
Holly: Ew!
Alex: See? Sexually uncritical standards aren't as attractive as Stormy Daniels might lead you to believe.
Van Halen on the Oldies station: Where silence speaks as loud as war
Holly: It's not the same, with me. I'd be sleeping with the guy I love, Kyle Claybourne.
Alex: I will not be the one who denies true love, but I will be the one who extends the condom of caution.
Holly: (gasps) You bought condoms?
Alex: They're hardly illegal commerce.
Holly: No, but word gets around. I've never heard anyone mention you buying condoms.
Van Halen on the Oldies station: Nothing feels the same - All your dreams are strange
Alex: Because I don't buy them in Village Green. I take the bus to Breakwater, and go into the pharmacy wearing my mom's Leeloo wig. (imitating Leeloo) Multi-pack.
Holly: (giggles) Oh, my god. That's awful!
Alex: No, what's awful is that my mom still has that costume even though she wore it to one of my dad's office masquerades, five years ago.
Holly: Huh?
Alex: I try to tell myself she just hates throwing things away, but there was one night when I could have sworn I heard my dad say; " You wanna play it soft. We'll play it soft. You wanna play it hard. Let's play it hard," just like Bruce Willis.
Holly: (mortified) Just drill a hole in my skull and pour in the bleach, please.
Van Halen on the Oldies station: Love comes walkin' in - Love comes walkin' in yeah
(Thank you to Kes M. for playing Holly and to Eclaire for playing Alex!)
DANNEMARIE FRENCH NATIONAL CEMETERY
(La Nécropole Nationale de Dannemarie)
La Nécropole Nationale de Dannemarie contains the bodies of soldiers who died for France during the Battle of the Frontiers in Haute-Alsace in the summer of 1914, or who died from their wounds in the ambulances of Dannemarie.
Established inside the communal cemetery, this war cemetery was expanded from 1922 to 1924, to bring together the bodies exhumed from temporary military cemeteries such as Gildwiller or Moosch. Nearly 400 soldiers are buried there, 250 in individual graves and 139 divided among two ossuaries. Alongside them is a French soldier who died for France during World War II. Among these soldiers are buried Commander Antoine Gillot, one of the first French soldiers to die at the beginning of the Second World War on 8 November 1939, and who was buried in the same grave as his brother, Captain Pierre Gillot, who died in 1917. At the entrance to the war cemetery stands a monument to commemorate the dead.
Total French Burials: 390.
+++++++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA +++++++
The pointe de Pen-Hir (Breton - Beg Penn Hir) is a promontory of the Crozon peninsula in Brittany, to the south-west of Camaret-sur-Mer. On a clear day there are views to the Pointe du Raz and the islands of Sein and Ouessant and to Pointe Saint-Mathieu. The cliffs are as tall as 70 metres (230 ft) high.[1]
It is the site of the Monument to the Bretons of Free France, known as the Cross of Pen-Hir and inaugurated by General Charles de Gaulle in 1960. It is intended to bear witness to the group of Free French Bretons who founded Sao Breiz in Great Britain during the Second World War. It was created in 1949-1951 by architect Jean-Baptiste Mathon and sculptor Victor-François Bazin
« Aux Bretons de la France Libre - MCMXL - MCMXLV - La France a perdu une bataille, mais la France n'a pas perdu la guerre. Dans l'univers libre des forces immenses n'ont pas encore donné. Un jour ces forces écraseront l'ennemi. »
"To the Bretons of Free France - MCMXL - MCMXLV - France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war. In the free world immense forces have not yet given up. One day these forces will crush the enemy."
On the back of the cross is an inscription in Breton, "Kentoc'h mervel eget em zaotra", taken from the motto of Brittany: "death rather than defilement".
Brittany (/ˈbrɪtəni/; French: Bretagne [bʁətaɲ] (About this soundlisten); Breton: Breizh, pronounced [bʁɛjs] or [bʁɛx];[1] Gallo: Bertaèyn [bəʁtaɛɲ]) is a peninsula, historical country, and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown.
Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain, with which it shares an etymology).[2] It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Normandy to the northeast, eastern Pays de la Loire to the southeast, the Bay of Biscay to the south, and the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its land area is 34,023 km2 (13,136 sq mi).
Brittany is the site of some of the world's oldest standing architecture, home to the Barnenez, the Tumulus Saint-Michel and others, which date to the early 5th millennium BC.[3][4] Today, the historical province of Brittany is split among five French departments: Finistère in the west, Côtes-d'Armor in the north, Ille-et-Vilaine in the northeast, Morbihan in the south and Loire-Atlantique in the southeast. Loire-Atlantique now belongs to the Pays de la Loire region while the other four departments make up the Brittany region.
At the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. In 2017, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes (934,165 inhabitants), Rennes (733,320 inhabitants), and Brest (321,364 inhabitants).[5] Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations,[6][7][8][9] retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic.[10]
Etymology
The word Brittany, along with its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents Bretagne, Breizh and Bertaèyn, derive from the Latin Britannia, which means "land of the Britons". This word had been used by the Romans since the 1st century to refer to Great Britain, and more specifically the Roman province of Britain. This word derives from a Greek word, Πρεττανικη (Prettanike) or Βρεττανίαι (Brettaniai), used by Pytheas, an explorer from Massalia who visited the British Isles around 320 BC. The Greek word itself comes from the common Brythonic ethnonym reconstructed as *Pritanī, itself from Proto-Celtic *kʷritanoi (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷer- 'to cut, make').
The Romans called Brittany Armorica. It was a quite indefinite region that extended along the English Channel coast from the Seine estuary, then along the Atlantic coast to the Loire estuary and, according to several sources, maybe to the Garonne estuary. This term probably comes from a Gallic word, aremorica, which means "close to the sea". Another name, Letauia (in English "Litavis"), was used until the 12th century. It possibly means "wide and flat" or "to expand" and it gave the Welsh name for Brittany: Llydaw.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, many Britons settled in western Armorica, and the region started to be called Britannia, although this name only replaced Armorica in the sixth century or perhaps by the end of the fifth.[13]
Breton-speaking people may pronounce the word Breizh in two different ways, according to their region of origin. Breton can be divided into two main dialects: the KLT (Kerne-Leon-Tregor) and the dialect of Vannes. KLT speakers pronounce it [brɛjs] and would write it Breiz, while the Vannetais speakers pronounce it [brɛχ] and would write it Breih. The official spelling is a compromise between both variants, with a z and an h together. In 1941, efforts to unify the dialects led to the creation of the so-called Breton zh, a standard which has never been widely accepted.[1] On its side, Gallo has never had a widely accepted writing system and several ones coexist. For instance, the name of the region in that language can be written Bertaèyn in ELG script, or Bertègn in MOGA, and a couple of other scripts also exist.
History
Brittany has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Palaeolithic. This population was scarce and very similar to the other Neanderthals found in the whole of Western Europe. Their only original feature was a distinct culture, called "Colombanian".[15] One of the oldest hearths in the world has been found in Plouhinec, Finistère.
Homo sapiens settled in Brittany around 35,000 years ago. They replaced or absorbed the Neanderthals and developed local industries, similar to the Châtelperronian or to the Magdalenian. After the last glacial period, the warmer climate allowed the area to become heavily wooded. At that time, Brittany was populated by relatively large communities who started to change their lifestyles from a life of hunting and gathering, to become settled farmers. Agriculture was introduced during the 5th millennium BC by migrants from the south and east. However, the Neolithic Revolution in Brittany did not happen due to a radical change of population, but by slow immigration and exchange of skills.[16]
Neolithic Brittany is characterised by important megalithic production and sites such as Quelfénnec, it is sometimes designated as the "core area" of megalithic culture.[17] The oldest monuments, cairns, were followed by princely tombs and stone rows. The Morbihan département, on the southern coast, comprises a large share of these structures, including the Carnac stones and the Broken Menhir of Er Grah in the Locmariaquer megaliths, the largest single stone erected by Neolithic people.
Gallic era
During the protohistorical period, Brittany was inhabited by five Celtic tribes:[18]
The Curiosolitae, who lived around the present town of Corseul. Their territory encompassed parts of Côtes-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan départements.
The Namnetes, who lived in the current Loire-Atlantique département (in today's administrative région of Pays de la Loire), north of the Loire. They gave their name to the city of Nantes. The south bank of the river was occupied by an allied tribe, the Ambilatres,[19] whose existence and territory remain unsure.[18]
The Osismii, who lived in the western part of Brittany. Their territory comprised the Finistère département and the western extremity of Côtes-d'Armor and Morbihan.
The Redones (or Rhedones), who lived in the eastern part of the Ille-et-Vilaine département. They gave their name to the city of Rennes (Roazhon in Breton language, in the center of the département) and to the town of Redon (in the south of the département, bordering the département of Loire-Atlantique in the administrative région of Pays de la Loire, where its suburb town of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon is located; however the city of Redon was founded around AD 832 under the initial name of Riedones, long after the Redones people were assimilated to Bretons; the cultural link between Riedones and the former Redones people is highly probable but difficult to recover and the name of Riedones may have been written from a local usage preserving the name of the former people in the vernacular oral language from a reading of an ancient Greek orthography).
The Veneti, who lived in the present Morbihan département and gave their name to the city of Vannes. Despite confusion by the classical scholar Strabo, they were unrelated to the Adriatic Veneti.
Those people had strong economic ties to the Insular Celts, especially for the tin trade[citation needed]. Several tribes also belonged to an "Armorican confederation" which, according to Julius Caesar, gathered the Curiosolitae, the Redones, the Osismii, the Unelli, the Caletes, the Lemovices and the Ambibarii.[20] The last four peoples mentioned by Caesar were respectively located in Cotentin (Lower-Normandy), pays de Caux (Upper-Normandy), Limousin (Aquitany) and the location of the Ambibarii is unknown. The Caletes are sometimes also considered as Belgians and ″Lemovices″ is probably a mistake for ″Lexovii″ (Lower-Normandy).[citation needed]
Gallo-Roman era
The region became part of the Roman Republic in 51 BC. It was included in the province of Gallia Lugdunensis in 13 BC. Gallic towns and villages were redeveloped according to Roman standards, and several cities were created. These cities are Condate (Rennes), Vorgium (Carhaix), Darioritum (Vannes) and Condevincum or Condevicnum (Nantes). Together with Fanum Martis (Corseul), they were the capitals of the local civitates. They all had a grid plan and a forum, and sometimes a temple, a basilica, thermae or an aqueduct, like Carhaix.
The Romans also built three major roads through the region. However, most of the population remained rural. The free peasants lived in small huts, whereas the landowners and their employees lived in proper villae rusticae. The Gallic deities continued to be worshiped, and were often assimilated to the Roman gods. Only a small number of statues depicting Roman gods were found in Brittany, and most of the time they combine Celtic elements.[21]
During the 3rd century AD, the region was attacked several times by Franks, Alamanni and pirates. At the same time, the local economy collapsed and many farming estates were abandoned. To face the invasions, many towns and cities were fortified, like Nantes, Rennes and Vannes.[21]
A French map of the traditional regions of Brittany in Ancien Régime France. The earlier state of Domnonia or Domnonée that united Brittany comprised the counties along the north coast
Immigration of Britons
Toward the end of the 4th century, the Britons of what is now Wales and the South-Western peninsula of Great Britain began to emigrate to Armorica.[citation needed]
The Romano-Britons
The history behind such an establishment is unclear, but medieval Breton, Angevin and Welsh sources connect it to a figure known as Conan Meriadoc. Welsh literary sources assert that Conan came to Armorica on the orders of the Roman usurper Magnus Maximus,[a] who sent some of his British troops to Gaul to enforce his claims and settled them in Armorica. This account was supported by the Counts of Anjou, who claimed descent from a Roman soldier[b] expelled from Lower Brittany by Conan on Magnus's orders.[citation needed]
The Refugee-Britons
Regardless of the truth of this story, Brythonic (British Celtic) settlement probably increased during the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries.[citation needed]
Scholars such as Léon Fleuriot have suggested a two-wave model of migration from Britain which saw the emergence of an independent Breton people and established the dominance of the Brythonic Breton language in Armorica.[22] Their petty kingdoms are now known by the names of the counties that succeeded them—Domnonée (Devon), Cornouaille (Cornwall), Léon (Caerleon); but these names in Breton and Latin are in most cases identical to their British homelands. (In Breton and French, however, Gwened or Vannetais continued the name of the indigenous Veneti.) Although the details remain confused, these colonies consisted of related and intermarried dynasties which repeatedly unified (as by the 7th-century Saint Judicaël) before splintering again according to Celtic inheritance practices.[citation needed]
Resistance
The area was finally consolidated in the 840s under Nominoe in resistance to Frankish control.[23] Among the immigrant Britons, there were some clergymen who helped the evangelisation of the region, which was still pagan, particularly in rural areas.[citation needed]
The Brythonic community around the 6th century. The sea was a communication medium rather than a barrier.
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
The army recruited for Flavius Aetius to combat Attila the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains included Romans, Visigoths, Franks, Alans and Armoricans, amongst others. The Alans were placed front and centre, opposite the Huns. The Armoricans supplied archers who attacked the Huns' front lines during the main battle and thwarted Attila's night assault on the Roman camp with a hail of arrows "like rain". After the battle was won, Aetius sent the Alans to Armorica and Galicia.
Riothamus
The late 5th century Brittonic leader Riothamus received correspondence from the eminent Roman jurist Sidonius Apollinaris and was called "King of the Britons" by Jordanes. Some suggest that he was a Breton, though others believe that he was from Britain, pointing to the passage that he arrived in the land of the Biturges "by way of Ocean", which would hardly have been efficient or required for a Breton. Both historians describe Riothamus's losing battle against King Euric of the Visigoths at Déols around the year 470.
In response to a plea from the Roman Emperor Anthemius, Riothamus had led twelve thousand men to establish a military presence in Bourges in central Gaul, but was betrayed by Arvandus, the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, and subsequently ambushed by Euric's army.[c] After a long battle, the Armorican survivors escaped to Avallon in Burgundy, after which they are lost to history. According to Breton king-lists, Riotham survived and reigned as Prince of Domnonia until his death sometime between 500 and 520, though this may have been a different person.
Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Brittany
At the beginning of the medieval era, Brittany was divided among three kingdoms, Domnonea, Cornouaille and Broërec. These realms eventually merged into a single state during the 9th century.[24][25] The unification of Brittany was carried out by Nominoe, king between 845 and 851 and considered as the Breton Pater Patriae. His son Erispoe secured the independence of the new kingdom of Brittany and won the Battle of Jengland against Charles the Bald. The Bretons won another war in 867, and the kingdom reached then its maximum extent: It received parts of Normandy, Maine and Anjou and the Channel Islands.
Viking occupation
Brittany was heavily attacked by the Vikings at the beginning of the 10th century. The kingdom lost its eastern territories, including Normandy and Anjou, and the county of Nantes was given to Fulk I of Anjou in 909. However, Nantes was seized by the Vikings in 914. At this time Brittany was also called Lydwiccum.[26]
The Duchy of Brittany
Nantes was eventually liberated by Alan II of Brittany in 937 with the support of his god-brother King Æthelstan of England.
Alan II totally expelled the Vikings from Brittany and recreated a strong Breton state. For aiding in removing the problem, Alan paid homage to Louis IV of France (who was Æthelstan's nephew and had returned from England in the same year as Alan II) and thus Brittany ceased to be a kingdom and became a duchy.
Norman allies
Several Breton lords helped William the Conqueror to invade England and received large estates there (e.g. William's double-second cousin Alan Rufus and the latter's brother Brian of Brittany). Some of these lords were powerful rivals.
Internal disputes
Medieval Brittany was far from being a united nation. The French king maintained envoys in Brittany, alliances contracted by local lords often overlapped and there was no specific Breton unity. For example, Brittany replaced Latin with French as its official language in the 13th century, 300 years before France did so, and the Breton language didn't have formal status.
The foreign policy of the Duchy changed many times; the Dukes were usually independent, but they often contracted alliances with England or France depending on who was threatening them at that point. Their support for each nation became very important during the 14th century because the English kings had started to claim the French throne.
The Breton War of Succession, a local episode of the Hundred Years' War, saw the House of Blois, backed by the French, fighting with the House of Montfort, backed by the English. The Montforts won in 1364 and enjoyed a period of total independence until the end of the Hundred Years' War, because France was weakened and stopped sending royal envoys to the Court of Brittany.
English diplomatic failures led to the Breton cavalry commanders Arthur, Comte de Richemont (later to become Arthur III, Duke of Brittany) and his nephew Peter II, Duke of Brittany playing key roles on the French side during the deciding stages of the war (including the battles of Patay, Formigny and Castillon and the Treaty of Arras).
Brittany importantly lost the Mad War against France in 1488, mostly because of its internal divisions that were exacerbated by the corruption at the court of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Indeed, some rebel Breton lords were fighting on the French side.
Union with the French Crown and modern period
Main article: Union of Brittany and France
Anne of Brittany is regarded in Brittany as a conscientious ruler who defended the duchy against France.
As a result of the Mad War, the Duke Francis II could not have his daughter Anne married without the king of France's consent. Nonetheless, she married the Holy Roman Emperor in 1490, leading to a crisis with France. Charles VIII of France besieged Rennes and had the marriage cancelled. He eventually married Anne of Brittany. After he died childless, the duchess had to marry his heir and cousin Louis XII. Anne unsuccessfully tried to preserve Breton independence, but she died in 1514, and the union between the two crowns was formally carried out by Francis I in 1532. He granted several privileges to Brittany, such as exemption from the gabelle, a tax on salt that was very unpopular in France.[27] Under the Ancien Régime, Brittany and France were governed as separate countries but under the same crown, so Breton aristocrats in the French royal court were classed as Princes étrangers (foreign princes).
From the 15th to the 18th century, Brittany reached an economic golden age.[d] The region was located on the seaways near Spain, England and the Netherlands and it greatly benefited from the creation of a French colonial empire. Local seaports like Brest and Saint-Brieuc quickly expanded, and Lorient, first spelled "L'Orient", was founded in the 17th century. Saint-Malo then was known for its corsairs, Brest was a major base for the French Navy and Nantes flourished with the Atlantic slave trade. On its side, the inland provided hemp ropes and canvas and linen sheets. However, Colbertism, which encouraged the creation of many factories, did not favour the Breton industry because most of the royal factories were opened in other provinces. Moreover, several conflicts between France and England led the latter to restrain its trade, and the Breton economy went into recession during the 18th century.
The Centralisation Problem
Two significant revolts occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries: the Revolt of the papier timbré (1675) and the Pontcallec conspiracy (1719). Both arose from attempts to resist centralisation and assert Breton constitutional exceptions to tax.[28]
Breton exodus
Many Bretons crossed the Atlantic to support the American War of Independence.[29] These included many sailors such as Armand de Kersaint and soldiers such as Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie.
Since 1789
The mutineers of Fouesnant arrested by the National Guard of Quimper in 1792
The Duchy was legally abolished during the French Revolution, in 1789, and divided into five departments. Brittany also lost all its privileges. Three years later, the area became a centre of royalist and Catholic resistance to the Revolution during the Chouannerie. During the 19th century, Brittany remained in economic recession, and many Bretons emigrated to other French regions, particularly to Paris. This trend remained strong until the beginning of the 20th century. Nonetheless, the region was also modernising, with new roads and railways being built, and some places being industrialised. Nantes specialised in shipbuilding and food processing (sugar, exotic fruits and vegetables, fish...), Fougères in glass and shoe production, and metallurgy was practised in small towns such as Châteaubriant and Lochrist, known for its labour movements.
The region remained deeply Catholic, and during the Second Empire, the conservative values were strongly reasserted. When the Republic was re-established in 1871, there were rumours that Breton troops were mistrusted and mistreated at Camp Conlie during the Franco-Prussian War because of fears that they were a threat to the Republic.[30]
A Royal Air Force attack on Saint-Malo in 1942
During the 19th century, the Breton language started to decline precipitously, mainly because of the Francization policy conducted under the Third Republic. On one hand, children were not allowed to speak Breton at school, and were punished by teachers if they did. Famously, signs in schools read: "It is forbidden to speak Breton and to spit on the floor" ("Il est interdit de parler Breton et de cracher par terre").[31]
The Amoco Cadiz oil spill in 1978 significantly affected the Breton coast
At the same time, the Celtic Revival led to the foundation of the Breton Regionalist Union (URB) and later to independence movements linked to Irish, Welsh, and Scottish and Cornish independence parties in the UK, and to pan-Celticism. However, the audience of these movements remained very low and their ideas did not reach a large public until the 20th century. The Seiz Breur movement, created in 1923, permitted a Breton artistic revival[32] but its ties with Nazism and the collaborationism of the Breton National Party during World War II weakened Breton nationalism in the post-war period.
Brittany lost 240,000 men during the First World War.[33] The Second World War was also catastrophic for the region. It was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940 and freed after Operation Cobra in August 1944. However, the areas around Saint-Nazaire and Lorient only surrendered on 10 and 11 May 1945, several days after the German capitulation. The two port towns had been virtually destroyed by Allied air raids, like Brest and Saint-Malo, and other towns, such as Nantes and Rennes, had also suffered.
In 1956, Brittany was legally reconstituted as the Region of Brittany, although the region excluded the ducal capital of Nantes and the surrounding area. Nevertheless, Brittany retained its cultural distinctiveness, and a new cultural revival emerged during the 1960s and 1970s. Bilingual schools were opened, singers started to write songs in Breton, and ecological catastrophes such as the Amoco Cadiz oil spill or the Erika oil spill and water pollution from intensive pig farming favoured new movements to protect the natural heritage.
Government and politics
See also: Politics of France
Traditional subdivisions
Brittany as a political entity disappeared in 1790, when it was divided into five départements. The Breton départements more or less correspond to the nine Catholic dioceses that appeared at the beginning of the Middle Ages. They were often called "pays" or "bro" ("country" in French and Breton) and they also served as fiscal and military districts.[34] Brittany is also divided between Lower Brittany ("Basse Bretagne" and "Breizh Izel"), corresponding to the western half, where Breton is traditionally spoken, and Upper Brittany ("Haute Bretagne" and "Breizh Uhel"), corresponding to the eastern half, where Gallo is traditionally spoken. The historical Breton dioceses were:
Upper Brittany:
The Pays nantais, around Nantes, corresponding to the Loire-Atlantique département.
The Pays rennais, around Rennes, forming part of the Ille-et-Vilaine département.
The Pays de Dol, around Dol-de-Bretagne, corresponding to the northern part of the Ille-et-Vilaine département.
The Pays de Saint-Brieuc, around Saint-Brieuc, forming part of the Côtes-d'Armor département.
The Pays de Saint-Malo, around Saint-Malo, divided between Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-d'Armor and Morbihan.
Lower Brittany:
The Pays vannetais, around Vannes, corresponding to the Morbihan département.
The Cornouaille, around Quimper, divided between Finistère and Côtes-d'Armor.
The Léon, around Saint-Pol-de-Léon, corresponding to the northern part of the Finistère département.
The Trégor, around Tréguier, forming part of the Côtes-d'Armor département.
During the French Revolution, four dioceses were suppressed and the five remaining ones were modified to have the same administrative borders as the départements.
Capital cities
The Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, permanent residence of the last dukes
Brittany has several historical capital cities. When it was an independent duchy, the Estates of Brittany, which can be compared to a parliament, met in various towns: Dinan, Ploërmel, Redon, Rennes, Vitré, Guérande, and, most of all, Vannes, where they met 19 times, and Nantes, 17 times. The Court and the government were also very mobile, and each dynasty favoured its own castles and estates. The dukes mostly lived in Nantes, Vannes, Redon, Rennes, Fougères, Dol-de-Bretagne, Dinan and Guérande. All these towns except Vannes are located in Upper Brittany, thus not in the Breton speaking area.
Among all these towns, only Nantes, Rennes and Vannes, which were the biggest ones, could really pretend to the capital status. The dukes were crowned in Rennes and they had a large castle there; it was however destroyed during the 15th century. Vannes, on its side, was the seat of the Chamber of Accounts and of the Parliament until the union with France. The Parliament was then transferred to Rennes, and the Chamber of Accounts to Nantes. Nantes, nicknamed "the city of the Dukes of Brittany", was also the permanent residence of the last dukes. The Château des ducs de Bretagne still stands in the city centre. Nowadays, Rennes is the only official capital of the region of Brittany. It is also the seat of an ecclesiastical province encompassing Brittany and the Pays de la Loire region.
Present subdivisions
See also: Administrative divisions of France, Brittany (administrative region), and Loire-Atlantique
The region Brittany comprises four historical Breton départements. Loire-Atlantique, in light blue, is part of the Pays de la Loire region.
During the French Revolution, Brittany was divided into five départements, each made up of three or four arrondissements. The arrondissements are further divided in cantons, which are themselves made up of one or several communes. The communes and the départements have a local council elected by their citizens, but arrondissements and cantons are not run by elected officials. The cantons serve as an electoral district for the election of the département councils and arrondissements are run by a subprefect appointed by the French president. The president also appoints a prefect in each département.
Because the départements are small and numerous, the French government tried to create wider regions during the 20th century. For the Breton nationalists, it was an occasion to recreate Brittany as a political and administrative entity, but the new region had to be economically efficient. Nantes and its département, Loire-Atlantique, raised concerns because they were off-centered, more integrated with the Loire Valley than with the Breton peninsula. The French government and local politicians also feared that Nantes, because of its population and its former Breton capital status, would have maintained a harmful competition with Rennes to get the regional institutions and investments.
Several drafts for French regions had been proposed since the 1920s, and the definitive regions were drawn in 1956. The new Brittany had four départements, and Loire-Atlantique formed the Pays de la Loire region together with parts of Anjou, Maine and Poitou. In 1972, the regions received their present competencies, with an elected regional council. Since then, the region of Brittany has had its own council and administrative bodies.
Reunification
See also: Bretagne Réunie
This Loire-Atlantique road sign reads "welcome to historical Brittany".
When the region of Brittany was created, several local politicians opposed the exclusion of Loire-Atlantique, and the question still remains.
The obstacles to reunification are the same as in 1956: having Nantes in Brittany could harm the position of Rennes and create an economic imbalance between Lower and Upper Brittany. Moreover, the Pays de la Loire region could not exist without Loire-Atlantique, because it would lose its political and economic capital. Without Loire-Atlantique, the other départements would not form an efficient region any more, and would have to integrate neighbouring regions such as the Centre-Val de Loire and Poitou-Charentes.
However, several institutions have backed the reunification, such as the regional council of Brittany since 2008 and the Loire-Atlantique council since 2001. Some politicians like Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French prime minister and former mayor of Nantes, favour instead the creation of a "Greater West region", which would encompass Brittany and the Pays de la Loire region. Polls show that 58% of the Bretons and 62% of the inhabitants in Loire-Atlantique favour the reunification.[35]
Political tendencies
Main article: Politics of Brittany
Until the end of the 20th century, Brittany had been characterised by a strong Catholic and conservative influence. However, some areas such as the industrial region around Saint-Nazaire and Lorient and the surroundings of Tréguier are traditional Socialist and Communist strongholds. Left-wing parties, mainly the Socialist party and the Greens, have become more and more powerful after the 1970s and they have formed a majority in the Regional Council of Brittany since 2004. The Loire-Atlantique and Ille-et-Vilaine councils have also been held by the left since 2004.
The Socialist party has held the Côtes-d'Armor council since 1976, and the Finistère council since 1998. On its side, Morbihan remains a right-wing stronghold. The local parties have a very small audience, except the Union Démocratique Bretonne which has seats at the Regional Council and in other local assemblies. It advocates more autonomy for the region and its positions are very close to the Socialist parties. It also has a strong ecological orientation. The audience of far-right parties is lower in Brittany than in the rest of France.[36]
Geography and natural history
The Pink Granite Coast around Trégastel
Brittany is the largest French peninsula. It is around 34,030 km2 (13,140 sq mi) and stretches toward the northwest and the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered to the north by the English Channel, to the south by the Bay of Biscay and the waters located between the western coast and Ushant Island form the Iroise Sea.
The Breton coast is very indented, with many cliffs, rias and capes. The Gulf of Morbihan is a vast natural harbour with some forty islands that is almost a closed sea. In total, around 800 islands lie off the mainland; the largest being Belle Île, in the south. Brittany has over 2,860 km (1,780 mi) of coastline; it represents a third of the total French coastline.
The region is generally hilly because it corresponds to the western end of the Armorican Massif, a very old range that also extends in Normandy and the Pays de la Loire region. Because of this continuity, the Breton border with the rest of France is not marked by any strong geographical landmark, apart from the river Couesnon, which separates Brittany from Normandy.
A bog around the Monts d'Arrée
The Armorican Massif reaches its maximum elevation outside of Brittany, in neighbouring Mayenne, at 417 m, and slopes towards the west before straightening on its western extremity, with the Montagnes Noires and the Monts d'Arrée. The highest hill in Brittany is the Roc'h Ruz in the Monts d'Arrée, at 385 m (1,263 ft). It is closely followed by several neighbouring hills culminating at around 384 m above sea level.[37]
Coastal areas are usually named Armor or Arvor ("by the sea" in Breton), and the inland is called Argoat ("by the forest"). The best soils were primitively covered by large forests which had been progressively replaced by bocage during the Middle Ages. The Breton bocage, with its small fields enclosed by thick hedgerows, has almost disappeared since the 1960s to fit the modern agricultural needs and methods, particularly mechanisation.
Several forests still exist, such as the Paimpont forest, sometimes said to be the Arthurian Brocéliande. The poor and rocky areas are covered by large heathland and moorlands, and Brittany has several marshes, like the Brière, included in a regional natural park. Another regional park encompasses the Monts d'Arrée and the Iroise seacoast. The Iroise Sea is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Geology
The Pointe du Raz, one of the westernmost extents of both Brittany and Metropolitan France
The Breton peninsula appeared during the Cadomian Orogeny, which formed its northern coastline, between Guingamp and Fougères. The southern part emerged during the Hercynian orogeny. At the same time, an intense volcanic activity left large quantities of granite. Between the Cadomian and Hercynian periods, the region was submerged several times and the sea left fossils and sedimentary rocks, mostly schist and sandstone. Because of the absence of limestone, soils in Brittany are usually acid.
The Armorican massif straightened and flattened several times during the formation of the Pyrenees and the Alps. Changes in sea levels and climate led to a strong erosion and to the formation of more sedimentary rocks. Metamorphism is responsible for the distinctive local blue schist and for the rich subsoil of the Groix island, which comprises glaucophane and epidote.[38]
During the Quaternary glaciations, Brittany was covered by loess and rivers started to fill the valleys with alluvial deposits. The valleys themselves were a result of a strong tectonic activity between the African and the Eurasian plate. The present Breton landscape did not acquire its final shape before one million years ago. The Breton subsoil is characterised by a huge amount of fractures that form a large aquifer containing several millions square meters of water.[38]
Climate
Brittany lies within the north temperate zone. It has a changeable, maritime climate, similar to Cornwall. Rainfall occurs regularly but sunny, cloudless days are also common. In the summer months, temperatures in the region can reach 30 °C (86 °F), yet the climate remains comfortable, especially when compared to the French regions located south of the Loire. The temperature difference between summer and winter is about fifteen degrees, but it varies depending on the proximity of the sea. The weather is generally milder on the seacoast than inland but rainfall occurs with the same intensity on both. The Monts d'Arrée, despite their low elevation, have much more rainfall than the rest of the region. The south coast, between Lorient and Pornic, enjoys more than 2,000 hours of sunshine per year.[39]
Flora and fauna
An ocean sunfish exhibiting its characteristic horizontal basking behaviour several miles off Penmarch
Brittany's wildlife is typical of France with several distinctions. On one hand, the region, due to its long coastline, has a rich oceanic fauna, and some birds cannot be seen in other French regions. On the other hand, the species found in the inland are usually common for France, and because Brittany is a peninsula, the number of species is lower in its western extremity than in the eastern part.
A variety of seabirds can be seen close to the seaside, which is home to colonies of cormorants, gulls, razorbills, northern gannets, common murres and Atlantic puffins. Most of these birds breed on isolated islands and rocks and thus are hard to observe. The inland is home to common European species including pheasants, barn swallows, woodcocks, common swifts, partridges...[40]
A Breton horse
Like Cornwall, Wales and Ireland, the waters of Brittany attract marine animals including basking sharks, grey seals, leatherback turtles, dolphins, porpoises, jellyfish, crabs and lobsters. Bass is common along the coast, small-spotted catsharks live on the continental shelf, rattails and anglerfish populate the deep waters. River fish of note include trout, Atlantic salmon, pikes, shades and lampreys. The Breton rivers are also home to beavers and otters and to some invasive American species, such as the coypu which destroys the ecosystem and accelerated the extinction of the European mink.[41]
Among the invertebrates, Brittany is notably home to the escargot de Quimper, the freshwater pearl mussel and the white-clawed crayfish.[42] The larger Breton mammals died out during the modern period, including the wolf. Today, mammals of note include roe deer, wild boar, foxes, hares and several species of bat.[43]
Brittany is widely known for the Breton horse, a local breed of draft horse, and for the Brittany gun dog. The region also has its own breeds of cattle, some of which are on the brink of extinction: the Bretonne Pie Noir, the Froment du Léon, the Armorican and the Nantaise.
The Breton forests, dunes, moorlands and marshes are home to several iconic plants, such as endemic cistus, aster and linaria varieties, the horseshoe vetch and the lotus maritimus.[44]
Education
See also: Education in France
A battalion of the Saint-Cyr-Coëtquidan military academy
Brittany has the same education system as the rest of France. As in other French regions, formal education before the 19th century was the preserve of the elite. Before 1460, Brittany did not have a university, and Breton students had to go to Angers, Poitiers or Caen. The University of Nantes was founded under the duke Francis II, who wanted to affirm the Breton independence from France. All the traditional disciplines were taught here: arts, theology, law and medicine. During the 17th century, it had around 1,500 students. It declined during the 18th century, mostly because Nantes was flourishing with the Atlantic slave trade and paid no attention to its cultural institutions.
A mayor eventually asked the university to be relocated to Rennes, more devoted to culture and science, and the faculties progressively moved there after 1735.[45] The transfer was interrupted by the French Revolution, and all the French universities were dissolved in 1793.
Napoleon reorganised the French education system in 1808. He created new universities and invented two secondary education institutions: the "collèges" and the "lycées" which were opened in numerous towns to educate boys and form a new elite. A new University of Rennes was progressively recreated during the 19th century. In the meantime, several laws were promoted to open schools, notably for girls. In 1882, Jules Ferry succeeded in passing a law which made primary education in France free, non-clerical (laïque) and mandatory. Thus, free schools were opened in almost every villages of Brittany. Jules Ferry also promoted education policies establishing French language as the language of the Republic, and mandatory education was a mean to eradicate regional languages and dialects. In Brittany, it was forbidden for the pupils to speak Breton or Gallo, and the two were strongly depreciated. Humiliating practices aimed at stamping out the Breton language and culture prevailed in state schools until the late 1960s.[46] In response, the Diwan schools were founded in 1977 to teach Breton by immersion. They have taught a few thousand young people from elementary school to high school, and they have gained more and more fame owing to their high level of results in school exams.[47] A bilingual approach has also been implemented in some state schools after 1979, and some Catholic schools have done the same after 1990. Besides, Brittany, with the neighbouring Pays de la Loire region, remains a stronghold for Catholic private education with around 1,400 schools.[48]
During the 20th century, tertiary education was developed with the creation of the École centrale de Nantes in 1919, the University of Nantes in 1961, the ESC Bretagne Brest in 1962, the University of Western Brittany in 1971, the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne in 1977 and the University of Southern Brittany in 1995. The Catholic University of the West, based in Angers, also opened classes in several Breton towns. In 1969, the University of Rennes was divided between the University of Rennes 1 and the University of Rennes 2 – Upper Brittany. After the Second World War, the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the foremost French military academy, settled in Coëtquidan.
Economy
RMS Queen Mary 2, once the world's largest passenger ship, was built in Saint-Nazaire.
Brittany, apart from some areas such as Lorient, Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, has never been heavily industrialised. Today, fishing and agriculture remain important activities. Brittany has more than 40,000 farms, mostly oriented towards cattle, pig and poultry breeding, as well as cereal and vegetable production. The number of farms tends to diminish, but as a result, they are merged into very large estates. Brittany is the first producer in France for vegetables (green beans, onions, artichokes, potatoes, tomatoes...). Cereals are mostly grown for cattle feeding. Wine, especially muscadet, is made in a small region south of Nantes. Brittany is the first region in France for fishing. The activity employs around 9,000 people, and more than 60 firms work in fish and seafood processing.[49]
A fishing trawler from Le Guilvinec
Although relatively new, the Breton industry has been constantly growing since 1980. Food processing (meat, vegetables...) represents a third of the industrial jobs, but other activities are also important for the local economy. Shipbuilding, both commercial and military, is implanted in Saint-Nazaire (Chantiers de l'Atlantique), Lorient and Brest; Airbus has plants in Saint-Nazaire and Nantes; and Peugeot has a large factory in Rennes. Brittany is the second French region for telecommunication and the fifth for electronics, two activities mainly developed in Rennes, Lannion and Brest. Tourism is particularly important for the seacoast and Brittany is one of the most visited regions in France.[49] In April 2019, The Guardian's travel section included two Brittany locations in its list of 20 of the most beautiful villages in France. The two were Rochefort-en-Terre with "its covered market, 12th-century church, medieval castle, 19th-century chateau, and 16th- and 17th-century mansions" and Locronan, where "East India Company's offices still stand on the village square, as well as 17th-century merchants' dwellings".[50]
The unemployment rate in Brittany is lower than in other French regions and it is usually around 6 or 7% of the active population.[51] Because of the global financial crisis started in 2007, unemployment rose to 8.7% in the Region Brittany and 8.4% in Loire-Atlantique in late 2012. However, these figures remain under the French national rate (9.9% at the same period).[52][53] Some industries, such as construction, industry, catering or transport, usually have difficulties finding employees.[51]
In 2009, Region Brittany's gross domestic product reached 82 billion euros. It was the seventh richest region in France and it produced 4.4% of the national GDP. The Breton GDP per capita was around 25,739 euros in 2009.[54] It was lower than the French result, 29,897 euros, but higher than the European one, 23,500 euros. The GDP of the Loire-Atlantique département is around 26 billion euros, and the GDP of the five historical Breton départements would be at around 108 billion euros.[55]
Demographics
See also: Demography of France
Rennes, the most populated city in Region Brittany and the second in historical Brittany, behind Nantes
In 2017, the population in Region Brittany was estimated to 3,318,904 and Loire-Atlantique had around 1,394,909 inhabitants, thus historical Brittany's population can be estimated at 4,713,813, the highest in its history.[56] The population in Region Brittany had grown by 0.9% between 1999 and 2000, and the growth rate reached more than 1% in Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan. The region around Rennes and the south are the more attractive areas, whereas the population is declining in the centre and in the westernmost parts. While most of the metropolitan areas are growing, the cities themselves tend to stagnate or regress, such as for Brest, Lorient, Saint-Brieuc and Saint-Malo. In 2017, Ille-et-Vilaine had 1,060,199 inhabitants, it was followed by Finistère 909,028 inhabitants, Morbihan 750,863 inhabitants, and Côtes-d'Armor, with 598,814 inhabitants.[57]
The largest cities in Region Brittany as of 2017 were Rennes, with 216,815 inhabitants, Brest 140,064, Quimper 62,985, Lorient 57,149, Vannes 53,352, Saint-Malo 46,097 and Saint-Brieuc 44,372. All the other communes had under 25,000 inhabitants.[57] Brittany is also characterised by a great number of small towns, such as Vitré, Concarneau, Morlaix or Auray. Loire-Atlantique has two major cities, Nantes, with 309,346 inhabitants and an urban area encompassing 972,828, and Saint-Nazaire, with 69,993 inhabitants.[57] Loire-Atlantique's population is more rapidly growing than Region Brittany's and it is the 12th most populated French département.[58] Nevertheless, since the 1990s, Rennes has consistently ranked as one of France's fastest growing metropolitan areas.
In 1851, Brittany had around 2.7 million inhabitants and the demographic growth stayed low until the second half of the 20th century, mainly because of an important emigration. Brittany had 3.2 million inhabitants in 1962 and the growth was mainly due to Loire-Atlantique and the steady growth of Nantes. Without the Loire-Atlantique's figures, the Breton population only numbered 2.4 million in 1962, nearly unchanged from its population of 2.3 million in 1851.[59][60] After the 1960s, the whole region has had a strong demographic growth because of the decline of the traditional emigration to richer French regions. Instead, Brittany has become attractive, particularly for families, young retired persons and active people over 35 years old.[61]
Regional identity
Breton women wearing the Bigouden distinctive headdress, one of the symbols of Breton identity
Breton political parties do not have wide support and their electoral success is small. However, Bretons have a strong cultural identity. According to a poll made in 2008, 50% of the inhabitants of the Region Brittany consider themselves as much Breton as French, 22.5% feel more Breton than French, and 15.4% more French than Breton. A minority, 1.5%, considers themselves Breton but not French, while 9.3% do not consider themselves to be Breton at all.[62]
51.9% of the poll respondents agreed that Brittany should have more political power, and 31.1% thought that it should stay the same. Only 4.6% favoured independence, and 9.4% were undecided.[62]
A 2012 poll taken in the five departments of historical Brittany showed that 48% of the respondents considered themselves belonging first to France, 37% to Brittany, and 10% to Europe. It also showed that Breton identity is stronger among people younger than 35. 53% of them considering themselves to belong first to Brittany. 50% of the older respondents considered themselves belonging first to France. Primary Breton identity is at its lowest among the respondents over 65: 58% consider themselves to belong first to France, with European identify secondary. 21% of the respondents over 65 considering themselves to be European first. Breton self-identification is stronger among people who vote left-wing. It is stronger among employees than employers.[63]
Regional languages
Lower Brittany (in colours), where the Breton language is traditionally spoken and Upper Brittany (in shades of grey), where the Gallo language is traditionally spoken. The changing shades indicate the advance of Gallo and French, and retreat of Breton from 900 AD.
Main article: Linguistic boundary of Brittany
French, the only official language of the French Republic, is spoken today by the vast majority in Brittany, and it is the mother tongue of most people. Nonetheless, French was not widely known before the 19th century, and two regional languages exist in Brittany: Breton and Gallo. They are separated by a language border that has constantly moved back since the Middle Ages.
The current border runs from Plouha on the English Channel to the Rhuys Peninsula on the Bay of Biscay. Because of their origins and practice, Breton and Gallo can be compared to Scottish Gaelic and Scots language in Scotland[citation needed]. Both have been recognised as "Langues de Bretagne" (languages of Brittany) by the Regional Council of Brittany since 2004.
Breton
Main article: Breton language
Bilingual road signs can be seen in traditional Breton-speaking areas.
Breton is a Celtic language derived from the historical Common Brittonic language, and is most closely related to Cornish and Welsh. It was imported to Western Armorica during the 5th century by Britons fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. Breton remained the language of the rural population, but since the Middle Ages the bourgeoisie, the nobility, and the higher clergy have spoken French.
File:WIKITONGUES- Iain William speaking Breton.webmPlay media
A Breton speaker, recorded in Canada.
Government policies in the 19th and 20th centuries made education compulsory and, at the same time, forbade the use of Breton in schools to push non-French speakers into adopting the French language. Nevertheless, until the 1960s Breton was spoken or understood by many of the inhabitants of western Brittany. During the 1970s, Breton schools were opened and the local authorities started to promote the language, which was on the brink of extinction because parents had stopped teaching it to their children.
Having declined from more than one million speakers around 1950 to about 200,000 in the first decade of the 21st century, of whom 61% are more than 60 years old, Breton is classified as "severely endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. However, the number of children attending bilingual classes has risen 33% between 2006 and 2012 to 14,709.[64][65]
The Breton language has several dialects which have no precise limits but rather form a continuum. Most of them are very similar to each other, with only some phonetic and lexical differences. The three main dialects spoken in the western end of Brittany are:
the 'Cornouillais, around Quimper,
the Léonard, around Saint-Pol-de-Léon, and
the Trégorrois, around Tréguier, are grouped into the KLT group (Kerne-Leon-Treger),
in opposition to the Vannetais, spoken around Vannes, which is the most differentiated Breton dialect.
According to a 1999 INSEE survey, 12% of the adults of Brittany speak Breton.[66]
Gallo
Main article: Gallo language
Signs in Gallo are very rare and the writing systems they use are unknown by most of the speakers.
Gallo is spoken on the eastern half of Brittany. It is not itself a Celtic language. Like French, it is also descended from Latin (and is classified in the Langues d'oïl branch), but has some Celtic influences, particularly in its vocabulary, whereas French has influences from both Celtic (Gaulish) and Frankish (the Germanic language which arrived after Latin in much of the rest of France).
Unlike Breton, Gallo does not have a long promotion history and it is still often perceived as a poor rural dialect. Moreover, because of its linguistic relationship with Gallo, French imposed itself more easily as the main language in Upper Brittany than in Breton speaking areas. Gallo was simply felt to be an incorrect way of speaking French rather than a separate language. Gallo transmission from parents to children is extremely low and efforts to standardise and publish books in Gallo did not reverse the decline of the language and its lack of prestige.[67]
Gallo is also threatened by the Breton language revival, because Breton is gaining ground in territories that were not previously part of the main Breton-speaking area, and most of all because Breton appears as the national language of Brittany, thus leaving no place for Gallo.[67]
Gallo had never been written before the 20th century, and several writing systems were created. They are however rarely known by the population and signs in Gallo are often unreadable, even for fluent speakers. In Loire-Atlantique, where Gallo is not promoted at all by the local authorities, many people do not even know the word "Gallo" and have no idea that it has writing systems and publications.[67]
The Gallo community is estimated at between 28,300[68] and 200,000[67] speakers. The language is taught on a non-compulsory basis in some schools, high-schools and universities, particularly in Ille-et-Vilaine.[67]
Religion
Sculpted "calvaries" can be found in many villages in Lower Brittany.
Bretons are mainly Catholic and the Christianisation occurred during the Roman Gaul and Frank era. During the Briton emigration to Brittany, several Christian missionaries, mostly Welsh, came in the region and founded dioceses. They are known as the "Seven founder saints":
Paol Aoreliann, at Saint-Pol-de-Léon,
Tudwal, at Tréguier,
Brieg, at Saint-Brieuc,
Maloù, at Saint-Malo,
Samsun of Dol, at Dol-de-Bretagne,
Padarn, at Vannes,
Kaourintin, at Quimper.
Other notable early missionaries are Gildas and the Irish saint Columbanus. In total, Brittany numbers more than 300 "saints" (only a few recognised by the Catholic Church) and, since the 19th century at least, it has been known as one of the most devoutly Catholic regions in France, together with the neighbouring Pays de la Loire region. The proportion of students attending Catholic private schools is the highest in France. The patron saint of Brittany is Saint Anne, the Virgin's mother, but Ivo of Kermartin, a 13th-century priest, called Saint-Yves in French and Sant-Erwan in Breton, can also be considered as a patron saint. His feast, 19 May, is Brittany's national day.
A chapel and a calvary in Locronan, Finistère
Many distinctive traditions and customs have also been preserved in Brittany. Among them, the "Pardons" are one of the most traditional demonstrations of popular Catholicism. These penitential ceremonies occur in some villages in Lower Brittany on the feast day of the parish's saint. The penitents form a procession and they walk together to a shrine, a church or any sacred place. Some Pardons are reputed for their length, and they all finish by large meals and popular feasts.
A sculpted Ankou in Ploudiry
There is a very old pilgrimage called the Tro Breizh (tour of Brittany), where the pilgrims walk around Brittany from the grave of one of the seven founder saints to another. Historically, the pilgrimage was made in one trip (a total distance of around 600 km) for all seven saints. Nowadays, however, pilgrims complete the circuit over the course of several years. In 2002, the Tro Breizh included a special pilgrimage to Wales, symbolically making the reverse journey of the Welshmen Sant Paol, Sant Brieg, and Sant Samzun.[69]
The most powerful folk figure is the Ankou or the "Reaper of Death". Sometimes a skeleton wrapped in a shroud with the Breton flat hat, sometimes described as a real human being (the last dead of the year, devoted to bring the dead to Death), he makes his journeys by night carrying an upturned scythe which he throws before him to reap his harvest. Sometimes he is on foot but mostly he travels with a cart, the Karrig an Ankou, drawn by two oxen and a lean horse. Two servants dressed in the same shroud and hat as the Ankou pile the dead into the cart, and to hear it creaking at night means you have little time left to live.[70]
As official religious statistics are forbidden in France, there are no official figures about religious practices in Brittany. However, successive polls show that the region tends to be more and more nonreligious. Catholic religion has started to decline after the Second World War, during the urbanisation of Brittany. A poll conducted in 2006 showed that Morbihan was the only département to have a strong Catholic population, around 70% of its inhabitants belonging to that religion. Loire-Atlantique and Côtes-d'Armor were among the least Catholic French départements, with only 50% of Catholics, while Ille-et-Vilaine and Finistère were at around 65%. Other religions are almost non-existent, apart from Islam which gathers between 1 and 3% of the inhabitants in Ille-et-Vilaine and Loire-Atlantique.[71]
Culture
Architecture
Josselin Castle
Brittany is home to many megalithic monuments; the words menhir and dolmen come from the Breton language. The largest menhir alignments are the Carnac stones. Other major sites include the Barnenez cairn, the Locmariaquer megaliths, the Menhir de Champ-Dolent, the Mane Braz tumulus and the Gavrinis tomb. Monuments from the Roman period are rare, but include a large temple in Corseul and scarce ruins of villas and city walls in Rennes and Nantes.
Brittany has a large number of medieval buildings. They include numerous Romanesque and French Gothic churches, usually built in local sandstone and granite, castles and half-timbered houses visible in villages, towns and cities. Several Breton towns still have their medieval walls, such as Guérande, Concarneau, Saint-Malo, Vannes, Fougères and Dinan. Major churches include Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral, Tréguier Cathedral, Dol Cathedral, Nantes Cathedral and the Kreisker chapel. Most of the Breton castles were rebuilt between the 13th and the 15th century, such as the Château de Suscinio, the Château de Dinan, the Château de Combourg, the Château de Largoët, the Château de Tonquédec, the Josselin Castle and the Château de Trécesson. The most impressive castles can be seen along the border with France, where stand the Château de Fougères, the Château de Vitré, the Château de Châteaubriant and the Château de Clisson.
A traditional house in Plougoumelen
The French Renaissance occurred when Brittany lost its independence. The Renaissance architecture is almost absent in the region, except in Upper Brittany, close to the border with France. Major sites include the Château des ducs de Bretagne, the last permanent residence of the dukes, which displays the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance style. The Château de Châteaubriant, a former fortress, was transformed into a vast palace in the Italian style.
An Art Deco villa in Bénodet
In Lower Brittany, the medieval style never totally disappeared. However, local innovations permitted some changes and the birth of a particular style. Its most distinctive feature is the parish close, which displays an elaborately decorated church surrounded by an entirely walled churchyard. Many villages still have their closes, they date from the 16th and 17th centuries and sometimes include an elaborately carved calvary sculpture.
During the 17th and the 18th centuries, the main seaports and towns obtained a typical French look, with baroque and neoclassical buildings. Nantes, which was at the time the biggest French harbour, received a theatre, large avenues and quays, and Rennes was redesigned after a fire in 1720. At the same period, the wealthy ship-owners from Saint-Malo built many mansions called "Malouinières" around their town. Along the coast, Vauban and other French architects designed several citadels, such as in Le Palais and Port-Louis. In rural areas, Breton houses remained simple, with a single floor and a longhouse pattern. They were built with local materials: mostly granite in Lower Brittany and schist in Upper Brittany. Slates and reeds were usually used for roofing. During the 19th century, the Breton architecture was mainly characterised by the Gothic Revival and Eclecticism. Clisson, the southernmost Breton town, was rebuilt in an Italian Romantic style around 1820. The Breton lighthouses were mostly built during the 19th century. The most famous are Ar Men, Phare d'Eckmühl, La Vieille and La Jument. The lighthouse on the Île Vierge is, with 77 meters, the highest in Europe.
At the end of the 19th century, several seaside resorts were created along the coast and villas and hotels were built in historicist, Art Nouveau, and later in the Art Deco styles. These architectures are particularly present in Dinard, La Baule and Bénodet. Architecture from the 20th century can be seen in Saint-Nazaire, Brest and Lorient, three cities destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt afterwards, and in the works of the Breton nationalist architects like James Bouillé and Olier Mordrel.
Fine arts
The Beautiful Angèle by Paul Gauguin
Until the 19th century, Catholicism had been the main inspiration for Breton artists. The region has a great number of baroque retables, made between the 17th and the 19th century. Breton sculptors were also famous for their ship models that served as ex-votos and for their richly decorated furniture, which features naïve Breton characters and traditional patterns. The box-bed is the most famous Breton piece of furniture. The Breton style had a strong revival between 1900 and the Second World War and it was used by the Seiz Breur movement. The Seiz Breur artists also tried to invent a modern Breton art by rejecting French standards and mixing traditional techniques with new materials. The leading artists of that period were the designer René-Yves Creston, the illustrators Jeanne Malivel and Xavier Haas, and the sculptors Raffig Tullou, Francis Renaud, Georges Robin, Joseph Savina, Jules-Charles Le Bozec and Jean Fréour.
Brittany is also known for its needlework, which can be seen on its numerous headdress models, and for its faience production, which started at the beginning of the 18th century. Quimper faience is known worldwide for its bowls and plates painted by hand, and other towns, such as Pornic, also maintain a similar tradition. The potteries usually feature naïve Breton characters in traditional clothing and daily scenes. The designs have a strong traditional Breton influence, but Orientalism and Art Deco have also been used.
Because of its distinct culture and natural landscape, Brittany has inspired many French artists since the 19th century. The Pont-Aven School, which started to emerge in the 1850s and lasted until the beginning of the 20th century, had a decisive influence on modern painting. The artists who settled in Pont-Aven wanted to break away from the Academic style of the École des Beaux-Arts and later from Impressionism when it began to decline. Among them were Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac, Marc Chagall, Paul Sérusier and Raymond Wintz. Before them, Brittany had also been visited by Academic and Romantic painters like Jean Antoine Théodore de Gudin and Jules Achille Noël who were looking for dramatic seascapes and storms.
Music
Main articles: Music of Brittany and Breton dance
The Lann-Bihoué bagad
Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Numerous festivals were created, along with smaller fest-noz (popular
Myanmar or Burma?
The ruling military junta changed the country's name from Burma to Myanmar, Rangoon became Yangon, in 1989, one year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising (human rights groups say at least 3,000 people were killed). The United Nations recognised the name change, as did such countries as France and Japan, but not the United States and the United Kingdom.
Are Sanctions effective?
Europe and the United States first imposed sanctions on Burma almost 20 years ago hoping to have the military relinquish power, but the generals continue to find abundant alternative sources of investment: China and India particularly, Russia and Asia too, all competing for diplomatic, military and economic influence. Despite international sanctions, Chevron (US) and Total (France) are major companies still doing business with the regime.
What next?
There is repressed anger throughout Burma, particularly about the brutal treatment of the monks, but fear, fear of the regime, fear of being the next to be taken, pervades every aspect of Burmese life. The UN, as ever, is "trying" but how succesful can they be - China vetos every UN resolution critical of the Junta. Can China be persuaded to "influence" its Burmese trading partner? Probably not, unless Western governments are prepared to be tough on China to exert its influence. Boycott the Olympics? Doubtful they'll do it. So the poor people of Burma will be left alone, again, to continue to fight the evil regime.
Beyond Rangoon John Boorman's 1995 movie (fictional) based on real life events. However, this is the current reality. View this large; be sickened by this regime.
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A total French dessert, recipe from the amazingly creative Bruno Albouze at his website: www.brunoskitchen.net/blog/post/fraisier-cake.
Excellent recipe, but next time I will cut the genoise cake recipe in half. There was too much genoise, and not enough soaking syrup. My cake came out a tad dry.
I used red candy melts for the heart.
Boulevard de Clichy 26/10/2022 10h15
A cliché photo taken on Boulevard de Clichy. The famous Moulin Rouge, the famous cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche. Moulin Rouge is southwest of Montmartre, in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it has a red windmill on its roof. It is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering predominantly musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France..
One of the 5 Quick restaurants is located here as well with old and new logo. The other Paris Quick restaurants are at the Champs-Élysees, Sébastopol, 14ème (new) and Place de Clichy. In total France has 171 Quick restaurants as we speak (*02/2023)
Boulevard de Clichy
The Boulevard de Clichy is a famous street of Paris in the 9ème and 18ème arrondissement, which lends its name to the Place de Clichy, resulted from the fusion, in 1864, of the roads that paralleled the Wall of the Farmers-General, both inside and out. It extends from the Place de Clichy to the Rue des Martyrs, nearly a kilometre away. During its tenure, the street has been known as the Boulevard des Martyrs, then the Boulevard Pigalle, and, finally, the Boulevard de Clichy. It is equally well known as the Boulevard Clichy.
The street has a length of 935 meters and a width of 42 meters. Served by métro lines 2, 12 and 13 and it passes through 3 quartiers: Saint-Geroges, Grandes-Carrières and Clignancourt.
[ Source + more Info: Wikipedia - Boulevard de Clichy ]
Daniel Yergin, Vice-Chairman, IHS Markit, USA, H.R.H. Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Total, France, Maria Fernanda Suarez, Minister of Mines and Energy of Colombia and Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional), Malaysia speaking in the Future of Fossil Fuels session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Congress Centre - Situation Room. Copyright by World Economic Forum/Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Renault UE Chenillette
Type Prime mover
Place of origin France
Service history
Used by France France
Nazi Germany
Thailand
Romania
Taiwan Republic of China
Iron Guard
Production history
Designer Renault
Manufacturer Renault, AMX, Berliet, Fouga, Malaxa
Produced 1932 - March 1941
No. built 5,168 France, 126 Romania
Variants UE 2, Şeniletă Malaxa Tip UE
Specifications
Weight 2.64 t (5,800 lb)
Length 2.80 m (9 ft 2 in)
Width 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Height 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in)
Crew two
Armor 9 mm (0.35 in)
Main
armament
7.5 mm MAC for the last UE 2 production run
Engine Renault 85
38 hp (28 kW)
Payload capacity 350 kg (770 lb) in cargo bin;
950 kg (2,090 lb) with trailer
Suspension leaf spring
Ground clearance 30 cm (12 in)
Fuel capacity 56 L (12 imp gal)
Operational
range
100 km (62 mi)
Speed 30 km/h (19 mph)
The Renault UE Chenillette was a light tracked armoured carrier and prime mover produced by France between 1932 and 1940.
In 1930 the French Infantry decided to develop a light armoured vehicle able to tow and supply small cannon and mortars. In 1931 the Renault company was given the contract for production of its Renault UE, combined with the Renault UK trailer. In 1937, from a number of competitors, the Renault UE2 was chosen as an improved type for large-scale production. Of both types combined over five thousand were built, including licence production in Romania, and they were part of the standard equipment of all French infantry divisions. Most Renault UE vehicles in French service were unarmed; those in 1940 captured by Germany were used for a variety of purposes, including being armed with machine-guns, antitank-guns and rocket artillery.
Development
Since 1922 it had been the policy of the French Infantry to mechanise as many units as possible. Budgetary restraints made it unrealistic to fully equip them with armoured personnel carriers; but the mass production of smaller armoured vehicles in the roles of munition and supply carrier and weapon carrier for machine guns and mortars seemed feasible. For some years the decision to produce these types was delayed, but after in 1929 an experiment with an automotive trailer guided by a walking soldier had completely failed, it was decided to develop a single vehicle for both missions. In the spring of 1930 several possibilities were considered, among them a standard 3.5 ton truck and the existing Citroën-Kégresse half-tracks. Brandt, as such an arms producer having no experience in vehicle development, had already started cooperation with the British Vickers company to build a weapon carrier for its Brandt Modèle 1927 mortar; it proposed to produce the British Carden-Loyd Mark VI carrier under licence and presented a smaller and a larger vehicle, together with matching trailers, imported from Britain, for the supply and weapon carrier task respectively. On 24 July 1930 the Commission de Vincennes rejected the truck and half-tracks as being too heavy and opted after some satisfactory testing for the smaller weapon carrier of the Vickers type. On 7 October it was decided to develop such a vehicle under the name of Type N. Orders for prototypes were in December 1930 made with three companies: Renault, Citroën and Brandt. Renault however indicated he had no intention to pay licence rights, unless the French state would fully compensate him; the three companies were thus invited to build a "similar" vehicle, not an exact copy. The orders were for armoured tractors and matching tracked trailers and for a heavier trailer to carry again the tractor, to be pulled by a truck while the smaller trailer trailed behind.
In the summer of 1931 the prototypes were ready for trials. Citroën had received orders for six tractor prototypes: three fully tracked vehicles and three of the half-track type. The first prototype to be ready, not at all resembling the Carden-Loyd carrier, was in the form of a very small half-track fitted with a Kégresse track and manned by only a driver protected by an armoured hood with vision slits, sitting on the left side of the vehicle, with the engine to his right. Only the nose of the vehicle was armoured. It was presented to the Commission de Vincennes on 24 July 1931 and tested till 29 July. The commission noted that the cooling system failed and that there was no possibility to decouple the trailer from inside the driver's cabin. On 31 July the other two half-tracks were delivered together with the first two trailers. The matériel was rejected as being too vulnerable. Citroën discontinued the development of the fully tracked vehicles but rebuilt one of the half-tracks prototypes into the prototype of the larger AMR Citroën Kégresse P 28 half-track, fifty of which would be built.
On 10 and 17 December 1930 Brandt had obtained an order for six complete sets: tractor, trailer and tractor-carrying trailer. To honour its commitments to Vickers, it let the trailers and one tractor be built in Britain. To conform to the idea of production in France, Brandt delegated the task to build a new tractor type to the Latil company, as it had too little experience itself. The Latil prototype, presented on 7 August 1931 was very much on lines of the British type and strongly resembled the later Universal Carrier: fully tracked and with most of the vehicle covered by an open rectangular superstructure to ensure as large a carrying capacity as possible. Only a small driver's and engine section on the front was armoured on top. On 17 July the commission considered the type ready for troop trials.
The first prototype to be ready was that of Renault, that also had received orders for six sets. It was tested between 15 and 23 April 1930. Certain defects were found and remedied, after which the prototype was again tested from 3 June. A second prototype, fitted with a rubber track, was tested between 28 April and 12 May. This other track type was shown to be too weak. The project had as factory designation Renault UE, a chronological letter code without further meaning; the smaller trailer was the Renault UK. The Vickers suspension with double track guides was imitated. For Renault this new suspension type, that he patented despite its obvious Vickers ancestry, offered the solution for severe problems he had experienced trying to adapt his existing suspension models, using single track guides, to a high velocity vehicle without increasing the chance that the track would be thrown at higher speeds. Renault hoped to further develop the UE into a light tank by adding a turret; accordingly the hull resembled a tank chassis rather than a dedicated supply vehicle.
In October 1931 the Conseil Consultatif de l'Armement, under strong pressure by the Infantry to reach a quick decision, chose the Renault vehicle for production, even though the trial process hadn't been completed. On 9 December an order of fifty was made for the Chenillette de ravitaillement d'Infanterie Modèle 1931 R. On 26 March 1932 a preseries of fifty tractor-carrying trailers was ordered, the first was delivered in June. Further orders followed, mass-production commencing in the second half of 1934. The series vehicles differed from the first in having a towing sign plate fitted on the top, new towing hooks and an elongated stowage box on the left side. Orders reached a total of 793 on 1 January 1936 and of about 1,200 by June 1936 — 700 of which had been delivered by June 1936, 920 by October 1936, 976 on 1 January 1937. In December 1936 the military branch of Renault was nationalised as the AMX company which continued production to a total of about 2,200, later joined by Berliet which would build another 100 and Fouga which would produce 300 for a grand total for the Modèle 31 of about 2600.
Description
A Renault UE Chenillette de ravitaillement d'Infanterie Modèle 1931 R in the Musée de l'Armée in Paris. It has the straight mudguards, Restor lights and typical "pig-tail" hooks of the early production vehicles
The calottes
The bin
The driver's cabin
The Chenillette ("small tracked vehicle") or tracteur blindé ("armoured tractor") as Renault preferred to call it, is indeed a very small vehicle: just 280 centimetres long, 174 cm wide and having its highest point at 125 cm; the roof is only 103 cm high. Its cargo carrying capacity is rather limited. There is a rectangular armoured bin at the back, 145 cm long (its length corresponds to the width of the vehicle as a whole), 60 cm wide and 36 cm high, able to hold a load of about 350 kg (lower than the original specification of 500 kg); unloading is made easier by the possibility to tilt the bin; the back plate then hinges downwards, forming a slope on which cargo can slide to the ground. The main cargo is carried by the tracked trailer, a close copy of the British type, with a length of its bin of again 145 cm, a width of 110 cm and a height of 35 cm; weighing itself 775 kg, it can hold a load of about 600 kg — whereas the specification had asked for only 400 kg. The tracks can be removed for road transport; there are two road wheels per side.
The bin forms the back compartment of the vehicle; the larger front compartment is for the crew and engine. The four-cylinder 38 hp engine is positioned in the centre, with the driver to its left and the commander to its right. The gear box (six speeds forward, two reverse), differential and transmission are placed in front of the engine. These mechanical parts are placed under two projections on the otherwise very steeply sloped armour of the glacis; these can be retracted for maintenance of the mechanical parts. Each crew member, sitting below a hatch that is the only way of entrance or exit, has a fuel tank behind its seat, together having a total capacity of 56 litres, allowing for a range of a hundred kilometres. The exhaust pipe runs in front of the commander to the right ending in a silencer on the right side of the vehicle; in later production vehicles an armoured cover was added; as it tended to overheat a later variant of this cover had cooling slits.
To reduce the height of the vehicle it has been made impossible for the crew members to retract their heads under the roof. To protect these vital parts two hemispherical armoured hoods (calottes) have been fitted. These have vision slits but to improve the field of vision the front section of these hoods can like a visor be pivoted backwards over the back section. As otherwise a bar between the roof and the glacis would have hindered entrance, the forward hinging glacis hatches have an extension forming the roof section that fits around the front part of the hood; if the hood is retracted and the hatch opened, a larger entry space is thus available. An interesting feature of the vehicle is the internal communication system used. When the hoods are closed, the two crewmen, separated by the engine between them, cannot directly communicate; neither internal nor external radio communications are possible, as there are simply no radio sets fitted. A system of white, blue, green and red lights, that can be made to shine continuously or flicker, is used by the commander to direct the driver when buttoned up, based on a predetermined signal code:
Forward: continuous white light.
To the left: continuous blue light.
To the right: continuous green light.
Backwards: flickering white light.
Slow down: flickering red light.
Stop: continuous red light.
Decouple the trailer: alternating white and red light.
Tilt the bin: alternating green and white light.
The suspension system closely resembles the Vickers type. There are 18.4 cm wide tracks with 131 small links and three bogies per side, sprung by small leaf springs, carry each two small road wheels. The prototype had an armoured plate protecting this assembly but it was omitted on the production vehicles to save weight, leaving only two elongated beams to brace the whole. Likewise the sprocket was simplified: the prototype's had been a closed disk, the production type had six circular holes; later vehicles were fitted with a wheel with six spokes. There are two return rollers. In all the suspension system is flimsy and vulnerable. This is compensated by limiting the official maximum speed to thirty kilometres per hour, although the combination of a weight of just 2.64 metric tons with an engine power of 38 hp would allow for a higher speed; during testing 36 km/h was attainable. This also reduces the chance of accidents while towing the trailer; fully loaded the road speed is reduced to 25 km/h, the cross-country speed to ten km/h. The wading capacity is thirty centimetres; the trench crossing capacity 120 centimetres. The turning circle is three metres; a slope of 50% can be climbed.
The value of the Chenillette as an armoured fighting vehicle was limited. In French service, the Modèle 31 carried no armament, although some later vehicles had attachment points for a removable AA-machine-gun to be fitted — but this had to be operated from outside the vehicle in an awkward crouched position due to its low height. For the crew to use personal weapons through the hatches while sitting inside the hull was highly impractical. Consideration had been given to arming it with a machine-gun, but the Direction de l'Infanterie feared that if such a weapon were mounted, the UE would be misused as a light tank rather than being dedicated to its correct tactical resupply role. Likewise the armour protection was minimal. The vertical plates had a thickness of nine millimetres, the other plates, all riveted, were six millimetres thick, just enough to stop normal rifle bullets and shell fragments.
Development of the Renault UE2
Renault UE2 with Renault UK trailer at the Musée des Blindés at Saumur; the upward bend of the front mudguard would make it be described as a Modèle 37; the internal mechanical parts are those of a late production vehicle.
From 1935, in reaction to the German rearmament, the French Infantry embarked on a major expansion and modernisation programme. Part of this was the project to replace the Chenillette Modèle 31 with an improved type, which however should remain within the weight limit of the earlier vehicle or 2.6 metric tons. Interest from the side of the French industry was high and during 1937 five companies proposed prototypes: Lorraine, Hotchkiss, Fouga, Berliet and Renault.
Lorraine de Dietrich, a company specialised in locomotive construction, presented a tractor and trailer to the Commission de Vincennes on 23 April 1937. The prototype was tested between 28 April and 10 June. Though at four tons heavier than specified, the type is approved by the commission on 8 July, with the period of testing extended to 23 August. Compared to the Modèle 31, the Lorraine chenillette is much more a dedicated supply vehicle, the larger size of which allows for a superior carrying capacity, crew comfort and range, while its suspension with two bogies and four large road wheels ensures a good tactical mobility. On 8 September the commission concludes that there are no objections to series production; already the prototype had on 25 August been presented to the Commission de l'Infanterie at Mourmelon for tactical evaluation. Clearly the Infantry favoured this type but eventually it was decided to use all production capacity for the longer Lorraine 37L, as there was a lack of heavier movers; a first order of a hundred made early 1939 was in September changed into one for the other type.
On 3 November 1937 Hotchkiss presented the prototype of a tractor; on 10 December of a trailer. On both elements however the manufacturer had not done any testing, the vehicles having been transported to Vincennes as soon as they were finished. Therefore, the commission delayed its trials until 27 December to allow Hotchkiss to make final adjustments on the base area. The tractor was tested until 10 February 1938. The type closely resembled the general outline of the Renault UE. The main difference was the presence of two bins instead of one, able to tilt sideways, positioned over the back of the mudguards. This doubled the carrying capacity. Instead of the small hoods, two very large armoured covers, retractable to the back, served as both entrance hatch and visor. The engine, differential and steering system were judged to be acceptable. The suspension system however was considered to be too weak, not having been reinforced to match the larger cargo mass to avoid surpassing the specified total weight. It consisted of two bogies, each with two small road wheels, sprung by narrow horizontal coil springs. A large tension wheel trailed on the ground, which lowered ground pressure to compensate for the larger weight of the bins but also increased track resistance and vibration. The cross-country speed was just 15 km/h. As even during testing when fully loaded entire bogies collapsed, the prototype was rejected.
The Fouga aircraft company submitted a prototype tractor and trailer on 2 February 1939. It was tested until 8 May. This vehicle also closely resembled the Renault UE, but had a higher roof, making hoods unnecessary and enlarging the cargo space. Its suspension had two bogies per side with each two road wheels, sprung by leaf springs. The type, its submission too late because a choice had already been made for a rivalling type, was rejected because its mechanical parts were not easily accessible and the vibration level was too high.
Berliet obtained an order for a prototype on 4 December 1936. A tractor and trailer were however only presented to the Commission de Vincennes on 6 March 1939, testing starting immediately. The type again resembled the Renault UE but was somewhat higher. It had three bogies per side with two road wheels each, sprung by horizontal coil springs. The weight was 3.05 metric tons, its stop speed 36 km/h, the range 143 kilometres. The first report of the commission was favourable and trials are resumed on 24 April, lasting till 20 May. It transpired that the tractor could attain a top speed of 30 km/h even when pulling the trailer. The commission concluded on 8 June that the Berliet chenillette was superior to the Renault UE in speed, range and mechanical reliability and saw no objection against taking it into production. This however was eventually rejected by the Army in order to concentrate all production facilities into a single type, which had already replaced the UE: the UE 2.
Renault had been further developing the Renault UE from 1931 onwards. Some features had been introduced to the production series, some expressed into new prototypes; others had remained mere paper projects. Renault always strongly lobbied to attain official, and thus financed, state orders for his development projects and on 20 December 1934 he had managed to obtain one for an improved Renault UE, the Renault UE 2. One by one during 1935 and 1936 improved components were submitted to the Commission de Vincennes to be tested and modified according to the wishes of the Army. These included: reinforced pistons; a new gear box with four speeds forward and one reverse; a reinforced differential; longer front mudguards of which the back part bent upwards to form a continuous plane with the glacis, a semi-automatic attachment system for the trailer and a night light at the lower left back of the vehicle. These changes were not very fundamental — the commission was not even aware this was supposed to end in a new type — but Renault used this very fact as an argument to select the UE 2 as the replacement vehicle: the improvements could be introduced without interrupting production, whereas the switch to a completely different design might cause a fatal delay in the rearmament process. This proved to be a decisive consideration for the Army and November 1937 a choice was made for the Renault UE2 to become the type for mass production: the Chenillette de ravitaillement d'Infanterie Modèle 1937 R. An order was placed with AMX — the nationalised former Renault factory — on 3 December. Other manufacturers were employed also: in fact Fouga had already obtained an order on 2 December; Berliet would be given one on 16 March 1938.
These manufacturers however did not immediately take the Modèle 37 into production; they in fact made the Modèle 31 to complete the first production batches; only in the summer of 1939, when the French economy went into full gear to prepare for increased war production, was the gradual transition to the UE 2 really made, though some new features, such as the mudguards, appear already in the summer of 1936; from the summer of 1937 instead of the original Restor headlights the armoured type of Guicherd was fitted. The Army did not discern between the two UE types and eventually in the statistics subsumed all chenillettes received under the denominator Modèle 31. On 1 September 1939 2848 Renault UEs of both models had been manufactured. In 1940 a production of 300 vehicles per month was aimed at. To ensure such a high output Renault bought the SUP factory at Pontlieue, to start another UE 2 assembly line there. On 1 April 1940 AMX had built 1080 Renault UE2s, Fouga 260 and Berliet 310. In May monthly deliveries reached the total number of 509, made possible by emptying the factory matériel stocks; on 1 June 4977 Renault chenillettes of both models had been built, 4557 delivered; total production destined for France was about 5148, on the assumption that about 2300 vehicles had been produced after 1 September. In the seventies it was still assumed that the production realised before December 1937 — mistakenly equated to that of the Modèle 31 — was not included in this number; total production was thus overestimated at about 6200.
Armed Renault Chenillettes
In the early 1930s, the French Cavalry was in need of a small scouting vehicle. On 27 November 1931, the Section Technique de la Cavalerie asked Renault to rebuild one of his six chenillette prototypes into an armed tankette. Prototype N° 77982 was therefore turned into a Automitrailleuse légère de contact tout terrain in the winter of 1932, by being fitted with a small rectangular superstructure holding in its front a ballmount with machine-gun to be operated by the commander; the hood was placed on top of it. This type was rejected by the Cavalry for being too slow; further developments would however result in the AMR 33 light cavalry tank of which the Renault UE was the direct ancestor.
Renault was always very intent on procuring foreign orders, but generally without much success. To improve the attractiveness of his Renault UE he also offered a version with a machine-gun. In March 1936 the government of China placed an order for ten Renault UEs armed with machine-guns, together with twelve Renault ZB tanks. Though the tanks eventually reached China in 1940, the chenillettes were held up in Haiphong from 1938 because France gave in to Japanese pressure; they appear to have been confiscated in 1940 by the French authorities of Indo-China. Including these export vehicles, total French Renault UE production was thus about 5158.
During the Battle of France, in May 1940 the swiftly deteriorating situation led to an order being issued to arm all available tracked chassis and send them to the front. This included the available FT-17 hulls from which the turret had been removed to turn them into utility vehicles, the Renault ZT 4s that had not yet received their turrets, and also the Renault UE Modèle 37s produced from that moment. On 25 May the Direction d'Infanterie requested that Renault produce a prototype on the lines of his Chinese UEs, with a machine-gun armed superstructure. Another existing 200 vehicles were to be refitted with a simpler external MAC 31 "Reibel" machine-gun mount. It is unknown how many of both types were in fact built or modified; at least one vehicle with a superstructure is still extant.
On 31 May for trial purposes a 25 mm Hotchkiss gun was fitted on a single vehicle; this led to an order on 10 June for 150 of such tank destroyers; none were produced.
Şeniletă Malaxa Tip UE
In 1937 Romania, then still a French ally, bought about ten UEs and obtained a licence to build the Renault UE. Late 1939 production started, in the Malaxa factory in Bucharest, of the Şeniletă Malaxa Tip UE, using many components delivered by the French AMX factory. The Romanian UEs are externally identical to the French-built UE 2. During the Legionnaires' Rebellion, the Iron Guard acquired two vehicles, but little is known about their service. It had been intended to produce 300 tractors, but in March 1941, after 126 vehicles had been built, production had to end due to a lack of French-supplied parts. Germany then delivered fifty captured Renault UEs to Romania. In the Romanian army the type was deployed in the anti-tank companies, towing the 47 mm Schneider Modèle 1936 — a heavier gun than in the French army, which had considered the Renault UE to be much too light to move guns of this calibre — and as a munition and fuel carrier in the Motorised Cavalry Regiments. After 1943 of the fifty surviving vehicles 33 were used for training; seventeen were from January 1944 until March rebuilt by the Malaxa factory, which reinforced them to allow them to tow the even heavier German 50 mm L/60 anti-tank gun. The Romanian vehicles, including the ten imported, bring the total Renault UE production to about 5294.
Projects
One of the six Renault UE prototypes had a rubber track; in 1932 this line of development was taken further by rebuilding a vehicle into the Renault UE Neige ("snow") or Renault UE N. For better traction this type had a more robust suspension with a broader rubber track, powered by a stronger six-cylinder engine.
In the mid-thirties Chaubeyre produced the prototype of a smoke-laying vehicle, the generator using a thousand litres tank placed on a Renault UK trailer. The system was to be controlled from the commanders position of the main vehicle.
After the larger orders had been made in 1937, both AMX and the Renault design bureau, that had not been nationalised, tried to introduce further modifications to improve the production series. Several of these would indeed be incorporated into the UE 2 production run, but these were of a minor nature; there were however much more fundamental changes proposed, aimed at solving the structural suspension problems, that were the reason Berliet and Fouga still tried to obtain approval of their chenillette projects, even after a choice had been made for the Renault UE2: they hoped that eventually the Renault UE would be abandoned altogether. To be able to present immediate alternatives, should the occasion arise, AMX and Renault developed stronger suspension systems.
In February 1938 Renault presented stronger tracks and more resistant road wheels, with an improved device to keep the axles waterproof, to the Commission de Vincennes. These were tested from 12 February until 6 July and again from 21 September until 21 November.
In July 1938 a prototype of a lengthened chenillette was presented by Renault. It had a fourth bogie in the suspension to reduce track pressure and a third return wheel. To save weight and better dampen shocks the number of leaves in the leaf springs was reduced from six to three. The tracks were obviously longer too, with 156 instead of 131 links. The bin was also "longer" at 72 centimetres, but less "wide" with 123 cm. Internally a new centrifugal ventilator type was fitted. The total length increased to 335 cm, the weight to 3.67 metric tons. Trials took place between 13 July 1938 and 8 February 1939, during which the vehicle was again modified. The top speed without trailer transpired to be reduced to 32.7 km/h; unsurprisingly the trench crossing ability was improved to 160 cm. As the air outlets had been placed higher, the wading capacity was improved to 45 cm. However, the main purpose: ameliorating suspension reliability, was not really achieved. Tracks were still thrown, track guides bent, springs broke and entire bogies were sheared off, just as with the series model.
On 22 November 1938 AMX presented its new track fitted only to the right side of a trials vehicle so that direct comparisons could be made with the old track type. After 1500 kilometres the normal track was completely worn out and the AMX track was now fitted to a second vehicle; after testing had resumed on 9 January 1939 only after 3700 km on 21 March the new track was worn. The commission concluded that the new type was clearly superior in durability, but that this was caused by the use of chrome steel that made it 70% more expensive, too pricy for the French Army.
On 27 September 1939 AMX presented its new suspension system. It resembled that of the Renault R35, with two bogies, horizontal springs — be it here of the oil type — and five road wheels per side. The prototype also had a new Chausson radiator and more comfortable suspended crew seats. The new type however was not tested immediately; only after also Renault had presented another prototype, this time with seven road wheels — an extra wheel having been inserted in the space created by moving the bogie assembly twenty centimetres backward — both types were simultaneously compared between 7 and 23 February 1940. It was shown that the AMX suspension, though much sturdier, had a negative influence on the performance: speed and range fell with about 15%, mostly due to an incorrect weight distribution. The new seats, though clearly adding to crew comfort, were too high, preventing a soldier of normal length from closing the hood. However the new Renault suspension offered no clear advantages over the older model in terms of vibration level and crew fatigue, so both models were in the end rejected as possible modification projects of existing vehicles; AMX's type on 11 April 1940 was judged not to be acceptable for future production.
Employment
The Renault UE was employed at the start of World War II by the French Army, and was subsequently pressed into German Army service, as well as being used in limited numbers by Free France and Romanian forces.
French use
The chenillette was mainly allocated to the standard Infantry Regiments, the first on 10 September 1932. There were six chenillettes present in the Compagnie Hors Rang (the company not subordinated to any battalion, and serving as the regimental supply, maintenance and replacement unit) and three in the Compagnie Régimentaire d'Engins, the regimental heavy weapons support company. Their primary official function was that of a supply vehicle to provide frontline positions with ammunition and other necessities while under artillery fire. The light armour was sufficient to stop small shell fragments and rifle or machine-gun fire at ranges greater than 300 meters. The Renault UE could carry or tow approximately 1000 kg of supplies; this included 350 kg in the cargo bin and 600 kg in the trailer. Typical loads included 81 mm Brandt mortar ammunition, ammunition for the 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun or rifle and machine-gun ammunition. To indicate they were towing, the tractors would erect a small rectangular steel plaque on the roof showing a yellow triangle on a contrasting blue field. The remainder of the vehicle was normally painted a dull bronze green overall, not using the intricate three- or four-colour schemes typical of French armour of the time. The more exposed forward positions would be supplied by the tractors only; their bins, though small, could still hold a load of 150 25 mm rounds or 2,688 machine-gun rounds. Mortar and gun teams were expected to move their own weapons if the move was less than 1,000 meters, otherwise, they were loaded, two each, in UEs for longer movements; likewise four machine-guns would be loaded. The 25 mm gun could optionally be towed. As the tractors were too small to accommodate the weapon crews, these had to move behind, following the vehicles on foot; the piece commander during this procedure sat next to the chenillette driver to indicate the desired new position of his mortar or gun. This was in fact the only occasion that within the Infantry Regiments a second crew member was really present: the driver normally formed the entire crew, although an assistant driver was allocated. A chenillette was thus never permanently attached to an individual weapon system; each 25 mm gun e.g. had its own horse-team to pull it for normal transport. For longer distance moves, the chenillette would be normally loaded on a truck, with the Renault UK trailer and (on good roads) possible mortars or guns towed behind. The larger trailer was officially never part of such a tow; it was in short supply, with just one available for four tractors each (two in each regiment) and only used to remove these if they had broken down. In practice it was not uncommon to transport the smaller trailer on the truck, while using the larger to move the tractor, as the prescribed procedure lowered the convoy speed to 15 km/h.
Each Infantry Regiment in total had nine Renault UEs; the Compagnie Divisionnaire Antichar (CDAC), the division antitank company, also had three chenillettes, making for a total of thirty Renault UEs in the normal Infantry Division.
In the Mechanised Infantry Divisions Renault UE strength was much higher however. Their Compagnies Divisionnaires Antichar had twelve chenillettes, one for each 25 mm gun — and in this case each individual gun had its own tractor. In their CREs six Renault UEs were present, again one allocated to each 25 mm gun; and their battalions had in their Compagnies d'Accompagnement two Renault UEs to serve their organic two Brandt mortars and two 25 mm guns. The Mechanised Infantry Regiments thus had eighteen chenillettes each, the MIDs in total 66. These are the official standard numbers; actual strengths (and uses) varied, also dependent on the replacement of the 25 mm gun by the 47 mm Brandt that was considered too heavy to be towed by a chenillette. In total the French Army had an organic strength of about 2500 Renault UEs; as the number of vehicles produced became after September 1939 much higher, Modèle 31s, mostly completely worn out, were gradually phased out. These older vehicles were sometimes unofficially appropriated by engineer and artillery units. Depot strength on 10 May was 1278.
Being in principle an unarmed vehicle, the Renault UE was allowed to be employed by Vichy France. The type served in various conflicts involving the French colonies, used both by the government forces and the Free French. In May 1943, there was an attempt by the Free French to add the British Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun, mounted on the rear of the vehicle with a gun shield. The relative size of the gun and the vehicle meant that it had to be operated from rear, as there was no room for the crew to operate it in the vehicle. After disappointing trial runs, the prototype was reverted to its original role as an artillery tractor.[1] After D-Day some vehicles were used by the French irregular and regular forces in France. After the war some units for a few years still made use of the type. Some vehicles were taken into use by the army of Syria.
German use
During the Fall of France, about 3000 UE and UE2s had been captured by the German Wehrmacht. Most were employed unmodified, after an overhaul by the AMX (Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux) factory under guidance of the German MAN-company, as tractors for the 37 mm, 50 mm and, ultimately, 75 mm and 76.2 mm anti-tank guns: the Infanterie UE-Schlepper 630(f), which also was used to tow light and even heavy infantry guns. They might also function in their original primary role of munition carrier, as Munitionsschlepper Renault UE(f), some of these had an armoured roof fitted above the bin, to protect the ammunition load against overhead shell airbursts. Chenillettes were however also modified into self-propelled guns:[2] a German 37 mm PAK was fitted just in front of the bin. There was no room for the crew in such a small vehicle: the gun had to be operated while standing behind it. Nevertheless, of this Selbstfahrlafette für 3.7 cm Pak36 auf Renault UE(f) about 700 would be built in 1941. A late modification from 1943 was the UE fitted with four Wurfrahmen 40 launchers for 28/32 cm rockets: the Selbstfahrlafette für 28/32 cm Wurfrahmen auf Infanterie-Schlepper UE(f), forty of which would be built in two versions, one with the launch frames at the sides of the hull, the other with a raised platform on the back. Other modifications included: the Mannschaftstransportwagen Renault UE(f), a personnel carrier produced in two versions; the Gepanzerte-MG-Träger Renault UE(f), simply a Renault UE fitted with a machine-gun in a superstructure above the commander's seat; the Schneeschleuder auf Renault UE(f), a snow plough, fifty of which were modified in 1942; the Schneefräser auf Renault UE(f), also a vehicle intended to combat heavy snow conditions on the Eastern Front, but in the form of a snow miller; the Fernmeldekabel-Kraftwagen Renault UE(f), a telephone cable-laying vehicle and the Panzerkampfwagen-Attrappe auf UE(f), a dummy tank for training purposes, resembling a Soviet T-34. More complicated rebuilds were the Sicherungsfahrzeug UE(f), an airfield security vehicle produced for the Luftwaffe which, besides the 7.92 mm MG 34 casemate on the right, had a special high armoured superstructure fitted on the left back in which a guard could sit armed with a 13 mm machine-gun and the Kleiner Funk- und Beobachtungspanzer auf Infanterie-Schlepper UE(f), a special radio and artillery observation vehicle, forty of which would be modified by the Baukommando Becker in France to eventually serve with the 21st Panzer Division.
Italian use
Germany later delivered many UEs to its allies, such as Italy. The Italian army obtained 64 UE and UE2s in 1941 and used them as ammunition carriers. Some were used in Sicily, where in 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily several were captured and used by the US Army.[3]
Polish use
The Polish 1st and 2nd Grenadier infantry divisions which were established in France in 1939-40 were issued with UE 2s. In addition the Polish Independent Highland Brigade was issued with UE 2s. Seventeen units left over from the Polish Independent Highland Brigade's cancelled mission to Finland ended up in Britain where they were used by the Perth Reconnaissance Battalion and later for driver training by the Polish 3/16th Tank Brigade.[4]
Thai use
The Royal Thai Army captured a small number of Renault UEs during the Franco-Thai War.
Chinese use
The National Revolutionary Army used some Renault UEs during Second Sino Japanese War.
La Rocco Tower is surrounded by the sea at half tide, but at low tide it can easily be reached from the shore.
It was severely damaged during or shortly after World War Two, but not through its use as a target for German gunnery practice, as is commonly believed. In the 1970s public demand, orchestrated by the then Rector of St John, the Rev Peter Manton, led to the States of Jersey deciding to repair and restore the tower.
This history is based on an article by Paula Thelwell in the Jersey Evening Post in August 2019
La Rocco Tower was built between 1796 and 1801 to guard St Ouen's Bay from attack by the French at a time when France and Great Britain were sworn enemies.
It was one of 30 coastal towers proposed by Sir Henry Seymour Conway to be built around the coastline when he was appointed Governor of Jersey. His target was not met, because La Rocco was the 23rd and last built to Conway's design. It was the largest and most heavily armed of the series.
It was originally named Gordon's Tower, after the Lieut-Governor of the time, Lieut-General Andrew Gordon, but that found little favour with islanders.
The tower's military role declined in the second half of the 19th century and in 1923 the States bought the site from the Crown for £100, to provide a landmark for shipping, and under an obligation to maintain it in good condition.
During the Occupation the Germans fortified St Ouen's Bay, which they believed was the most likely beach for an Allied landing. They adapted La Rocco Tower and laid landmines around it. The accidental detonation of some of these in 1943 caused significant damage, in particular a breach of the southern part of the gun platform, that allowed the sea to get in.
Legend also has it that the tower was further damaged by German soldiers at gun emplacements around the bay using it for target practice.
In the 20 years after the Liberation constant pounding by rough seas left the structure on the verge of collapse. This would have suited the States, who had decided to let it fall into the sea. But the then Rector of St John, the Rev Peter Manton, was having nothing of that and devoted 12 years from the mid-1950s to saving the tower.
He was of the opinion that the terms of acquisition obliged the States to restore it.
Estimates of the costs were obtained and in April 1967 the Public Works Committee were told that it would cost between £50,000 and £90,000. There was no appetite among politicians to foot the bill from the public purse.
By then La Rocco was in a parlous state. Half of the terrace had been swept away and sea erosiion had reached the foundations of the tower itself. Simply to undertake essential repair work before a full restoration could begin would cost £35,000.
Ronez Quarries
Then Ronez Quarries stepped in, saying that they had new equipment that was capable of doing the work and their proposal would save money.
It would involve working on spring high tides to pump concrete through a pipe across the beach at a rate of 50 tons an hour. Once the sea had receded this would be supplemented by lorry loads of concrete being driven across the sand from Le Braye.
A crane and derrick would be installed to lift the original granite blocks that lay scattered, some up to 400 feet away and up to 12 feet under the sand, up to the tower's platform to be put back in place.
Ronez estimated that if the project began in April 1968, the concreting would take four weeks, with a further three months for stonemasons to undertake the essential granite work to again protect the structure from the pounding surf of St Ouen's Bay.
The States offered to pay half the cost if the remainder could be raised by public subscription, and an appeal committee was set up. It had representatives of the Rotary Club of Jersey, Lions Club of Jersey, the Association of Jersey Architects, La Société Jersiaise and the National Trust for Jersey, joined by Mr Manton. He said at the time:
"This is our heritage and we want future generations to come to enjoy it unscarred, unblemished and unsullied, so that they can truly say that we were worthy of our stewardship."
The appeal was organised by the Evening Post and Channel Television . The Natonal Trust guaranteed £5,000 to set the ball rolling and by January 1968 the appeal had raised £14,000 and a huge community effort raised more so that work could start on schedule in April. Crowds of islanders lined the shore of the bay to watch Ronez battle against the elements.
Rebuilding the 35-foot high, 6-foot wide walls, repairing the forecourt and pouring concrete into the tower's base to reinforce the foundations were no light tasks. The foundations go down 20 feet and the largest blocks of granite winched up from the beach weighed as much as six tons.
For some workmen, getting to work meant a dinghy ride to the tower two hours before high tide to be ready for the concrete to be pumped from the shore. A six-man gang worked on the site, supported by another four when concrete pumping was in progress.
They began work at 6.30 am and regularly worked 13-hour days to make the most of the time the rising and falling tides - and occasional storms - permitted.
The initial emergency repair work was just the first phase of the project, which took three more years to complete.
Because of the tower's exposed location, staff from the Department of Public Building and Works could undertake the final repairs only from spring to early autumn.
In May 1971 a ceremony was held to mark the completion of the first phase to fully secure the tower's defensive wall against the sea. A plaque set into the wall marks this occasion.
The last phase of the restoration was undertaken between April and September the following year.
On 1 November 1940 a Dornier Do 17P (Werknummer 4086) of 2(F),/Aufklarungs Gruppe 123 crashed just after take off from Jersey Airport. It appears that the aircraft suffered an engine failure causing it to bank left towards Corbiere and crashed on the rocks at the base of La Rocco Tower with three of the crew killed instantly and the fourth shortly after the crash.
They were:
Leutnant Wilhelm Gohringer born 26 January 1916
Feldwebel Kramer born 3 September 1915
Uffz Karl Grunmuller born 12 August 1918
Gefr Benno Pfiffner born 16 May 1917
The tower seems to have been left alone until around the end of 1942, when it became a good ranging point for the various newly installed 10.5cm coastal defence guns from Corbiere to L’Etacq, with the tower still bearing impact marks today. Luckily only training shells with a low explosive yield were used.
There are also accounts of machine gun fire being brought to bear on the tower with apparently spectacular sparks and noise from the ricocheting rounds. When the German commander of the Channel Islands (von Schmettow) heard of this he issued an order that the tower was not to be used for target practice as it was an historic monument.
German soldier Horst Herrmann, who was stationed at Corbiere and the southern end of St Ouen’s Bay from September 1943, had the duty while serving at Wn Les Brayes to check a pole mounted detonation cable that connected the position to a redundant French 27cm shell that had been buried in the bulwark below La Rocco Tower. The purpose of this shell was to destroy the tower should it fall into Allied hands during an invasion.
The soldiers were required to check the tower if conditions had been favourable the night before for commandos to have landed. Herrmann was normally the first to climb the steps leading to the tower's bulwark and he was always worried that, if British commandos had landed on the tower the night before, one would be waiting at the top of the steps to put a knife in his throat.
During a live firing exercise at Strongpoint Corbiere, Herrmannt was being instructed in aiming a casemated 10.5cm coastal defence gun. He was seated at the gun operating the elevation and traverse wheels, while aiming at the chosen target rock in front of the tower as seen from La Corbiere. Having already experienced the shockwave and noise created by the gun being fired inside the bunker, het was ready to flinch at the point of firing.
The soldier firing the gun was just as nervous and his sweaty hands momentarily slipped on the firing lanyard while pulling, which resulted in Herrmann flinching too early. As he did so he altered the gun’s angle before it actually fired. He looked through the gun sight, not to see the target rock being hit, but what looked like “a puff of dust” rising from the top of the tower.
The shell had hit the southern machicolation at the top of the tower (which caused it to collapse post-war). Herrmann and the other soldiers with him kept this incident quiet as they were under strict orders not to hit the tower as it was viewed as an historic monument not to be fired at.
Herrmann was lucky that the shell being fired was only a training shell. Had a high explosive shell been used, a sizable chunk could have been taken out of the tower.
At some point in 1944 a Halifax bomber was returning from a patrol over the Bay of Biscay. The pilot was a headstrong and fearless Canadian who decided to pass over Jersey on the way back to base in England. While high over St Ouen’s Bay he spotted what looked to be the conning tower of a U-boat and decided to dive to attack.
As the Halifax dived Germans anti-aircraft guns at many positions in St Ouen’s Bay opened up and started strafing it. The Halifax crew got quite a shock. It is said the bombs were released before they realized that what they were attacking was in fact a tower in the bay and not a U boat, and the Halifax bomber was lucky to get away unscathed.
There is also an account of a German soldier firing his machine gun at an allied bomber from either Kempt or Lewis Tower with the four engined bomber so low that it was level with his position.
In the winter of 1944-45 several sea mines washed up on Jersey’s coastline and it is believed one hit and detonated against the southern bulwark of La Rocco Tower, causing damage to the masonry. By 1967 the constant pounding by rough seas had destroyed about half of the bulwark and the tower itself was on the verge of collapse. But thanks to the former Rector of St John, the Rev Peter Manton the tower was saved from destruction and the bulwark reinstated.
After the Liberation the 27cm shell placed under the bulwark was removed by the British Army. As these shells are notoriously unstable it was carried down a gully on the seaward side of the tower on a low spring tide and lowered in to the deepest accessible part of the gully. It was not rediscovered until 1995, still sitting in the gully, and was detonated in place by the local bomb disposal officer.
It has become local folklore that the tower was constantly shelled for target practice, causing the mostly post-war damage, which was the result of an Allied device damaging the tower's southern bulwark. If they wanted to, the Germans could have obliterated the tower in a morning. Once a 27cm shell was installed in 1943, the tower was not to be fired at as an impact could have caused the 27cm shell to detonate, taking the tower with it.
The Battle of Jersey was fought on 6 January 1781, after a successful landing of a French force attempting to remove the threat the island posed to shipping during the American Revolutionary War
France had sided with America during the War of Independence and Jersey was used as a base for privateering by the British. The French invasion ultimately failed, and its commander, Baron Phillipe de Rullecourt, died of wounds sustained in the fighting.
This was the last time the French invaded Jersey after numerous attacks over the centuries after the island ceased to be part of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204. Perhaps because it was the last, and also because the battle in which the French were defeated was named Battle of Jersey, this invasion has been given undue historical importance, because it was actually one of the least severe ever suffered by islanders.
And although some apparently very detailed reports of the events of 6 January 1781 have been written, what actually happened on the day, and when, and how many people took part, is clouded in mystery. This article is based on a variety of sources (see below) and attempts to unravel some of the mystery.
Only 25 km off the coast of France, and placed on the principal supply route to the French naval base at Brest, Jersey was a location of strategic importance during any war between Britain and France. Large numbers of privateers operated out of the island, causing chaos among French mercantile shipping. Jersey privateers were even operating in support of the Royal Navy off the coast of America. The French government were determined to neutralise this threat. Furthermore, at the time of the Great Siege of Gibraltar, contemporary British newspapers reported that the attack on Jersey was an attempt to distract British attention from Gibraltar and divert military resources away from the siege.
Over 50 plans of invasion were drawn up over a short period, only to be shelved. England had command of the seas in the area and France was weak internally during the earlier part of the 18th century. In 1779 Louis XVI sided with the American colonies in the War of Independence and in April of that year a semi-official expedition, commanded by the Prince of Nassau, made an entirely unsuccessful attempt to land in St Ouen's Bay. Not a single man was embarked in adverse weather conditions, as defence forces guarded the shoreline in case any of the French should land.
Despite the misgivings of the French military, who believed that an attack on Jersey would be a futile waste of resources, with any success being short-lived, the government approved a plan put forward by Baron de Rullecourt. He was a 36-year-old adventurer and a colonel in the French Army. King Louis XVI had promised de Rullecourt the rank of General and the Cordon rouge as soon as he had control of Saint Helier, the island's capital. The second Commander was an Indian, named Prince Emire, who had been taken by England in wars in India, had been sent to France with other French prisoners and whom the French had since retained in their service. A member of the British force wrote of him: "He looked quite barbarian, as much as his discourse; if our fate has depended on him, it would not have been of the most pleasant; he advised the French General to ransack everything and to put the town to fire and to blood."
But, aware of the military importance of Jersey, the British government had ordered the island to be heavily fortified. Gun batteries, forts and redoubts had been constructed around the coast. The Militia had some 3,000 men in five regiments, including artillery and dragoons. They were supplemented by regular army units: the 95th (Yorkshire) Regiment of Foot, five companies each of the 83rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Glasgow Volunteers) and 78th Highlanders, and around 700 'Invalids' (semi-retired reservists) — the total amounting to about 9,250 troops of all types. A naval force, the 'Jersey Squadron' was also based in the Island but was on a cruise against the Dutch at the time of the invasion.
Although the chain of defensive towers, the building of which had already been commissioned, had only just begun, there were many other fortifications. After 1779 guard houses had been built at various strategic points.
De Rullecourt probably knew the strength of the opposition he would face. There was good intelligence in France of Jersey's defences and it is believed that de Rullecourt had himself visited Jersey the previous summer, disguised as a contraband dealer. But his force was to prove far from adequate for the job.
Officially the expedition was a private affair; however, funding, equipment, transport and troops were provided by the government. In order to conceal their involvement, the government went so far as to order the 'desertion' of several hundred regular troops to De Rullecourt's forces. They assembled in Le Havre towards the end of 1780 and began their march to Granville on 19 December, stealing livestock en route and arriving on the 27th.
A fleet of about 30 small boats, ranging from three to 70 tons, had been assembled in Granville by Regnier. De Rullecourt embarked his troops immediately but the fleet was becalmed for two days and then had to take shelter off Chausey as a storm hit the area. It sailed again on 1 January and got within 12 miles of Jersey before being forced back to Chausey by another gale. The troops disembarked and took two days to recover before setting off for Jersey again on the 5th.
Reports vary, but the total force may have consisted of some 2,000 soldiers in four divisions. But it seems that fewer than half of these landed. Even had all of them landed, they were poorly equipped, hungry, short of ammunition and ill-equipped to fight in an island with a much larger garrison and militia force.
However, timing was in de Rullecourt's favour: All the commanding officers of the garrison regiments were in England on extended Christmas leave and the senior regular officer was the young Major Francis Peirson, only 24. In addition, 6 January was still celebrated as 'Old Christmas Night' in Jersey. Few would have expected an invasion either at this time or in the place chosen, but de Rullecourt has a further ace up his sleeve, having recruited a fugitive Jerseyman, Pierre Journeaux, as his pilot. Journeaux had fled to France some years earlier after being involved in a murder.
He brought the invasion fleet through a narrow, winding channel close to the shore and the French were able to land undetected. The first 800 men landed at La Rocque, and passed a guardhouse without being noticed. The guards were subsequently put on trial, and it was found they had abandoned their post to go drinking. The first division of the French stayed there most of the night. The second division of 400 men, was entirely lost in the rocks. The boats that contained the third division, consisting of 600 men, were separated from the rest of the fleet and were unable to join it. They may never have joined up with the main fleet because after the earlier abortive attempt to reach Jersey, some vessels appear to have returned to Granville while others sheltered at Chausey. The fourth division, consisting of 200 men, landed early the next morning at La Rocque. The total of the French troops unloaded was, therefore, possibly 1,000, half the number of soldiers that France had expected to take into battle. Other reports suggest that only 800 actually made it ashore.
By 5 o'clock in the morning de Rullecourt was ready to move off. He expected the disembarkation of troops to continue, but some of his men and artillery never made it before the tide fell. He marched to St Helier leaving sufficient troops to guard the boats and passed through St Clement without raising an alarm.
Between six and seven in the morning, about 500 men set up camp in the market while most of the town was asleep. About seven o'clock a French patrol detained the island's Governor, Moyse Corbet, in Government House (then situated at Le Manoir de La Motte). De Rullecourt convinced Corbet that thousands of French troops had already overwhelmed Jersey and threatened to burn the town and slaughter the inhabitants if the garrison did not capitulate. Corbet, unable to ascertain the true situation, surrendered. He was taken to the Royal Court building in the Royal Square and was persuaded to order Elizabeth Castle and 24-year-old Major Francis Peirson's troops at Saint Peter's Barracks to surrender as well.
Major Corbet sent orders to all the troops in the island to bring in their arms and "lay them down" at the Court House, and at the same time sent word of the capitulation to Captain Alyward, who commanded the forces at Elizabeth Castle. The French left the town intending to take possession of that stronghold, Baron de Rullecourt, advancing at the head of the column, holding Major Corbet by the arm.
But they were no sooner on the beach, than the castle troops fired at them. Captain Alyward refused to listen to any suggestion of surrender and sent word to Rullecourt that if the French advanced they must take the consequences. The Baron continued to advance, and immediately met with a well-directed shot that wounded one of his officers and killed a good many privates.
After this Rullecourt sounded a halt and sent his aide-de-camp with another message, which was received by Captain Mulcaster, chief engineer, who blindfolded the aide-de-camp, took him to the top of the castle, and showed him the strength of the fortress, then dismissed him with words to the effect that the greater the force brought in opposition the greater would be the slaughter of the French.
De Rullecourt, in a rage, returned to the town. Meanwhile events were unfolding elsewhere. Major Peirson of the 95th, who, young though he was, took charge of affairs. He refused entirely to acknowledge the surrender, remarking, so it is said, that if he lost his commission for seeming disobedience ha would soon gain for himself another.
The British troops and Militia assembled on Mont ès Pendus (now called Westmount) and Major Peirson soon had 2,000 men at his disposal, with which he resolved to descend the hill and attack. The French, who were camping in the market, had seized the town's cannons and had placed them at the different openings of the market, to stop the British troops from forcing them. However, the French did not find the howitzers. The British learned through different people who had been to observe the French troops that their number did not exceed 800 or 900 men.
The 78th Regiment of Foot was detached and sent to take possession of Mont de la Ville (now the site of Fort Regent), from where the British could stop a retreat of the French. Once Major Peirson believed that the 78th had reached their destination, he gave the orders to his troops to descend to the plain and attack the French. However, the British were stopped at the plain, where de Rullecourt sent Corbet to offer capitulation terms and to tell the British that if they did not sign, the French would ransack the town within half an hour. Given their superiority in numbers, the British there refused, as did the 83rd Regiment of Foot, and the part of the East Regiment in Grouville. When de Rullecourt received their answer he was heard to remark: "Since they do not want to surrender, I have come to die."
The attack began. The British forces in the Grande Rue included the 78th Regiment, the Battalion of Saint Lawrence, the South-East Regiment and the Compagnies de Saint-Jean. The 95th Regiment of Foot with the rest of the militia advanced down the other avenues. The British had too many troops for the battle, a British soldier later saying that a third of the number would have been more than enough to destroy the French army. Many British soldiers, confused and having nothing to shoot at, unloaded most of their shots in the air.
The French resistance was of short duration, most of the action lasting a quarter of an hour. The French only fired once or twice with the cannons that they had at their disposal. The British had a howitzer placed directly opposite the market in the Grande Rue, which at each shot "cleaned all the surroundings of French" according to a member of the British service. Major Peirson and the 95th Regiment advanced towards the Avenue du Marché; just as the British were about to win Major Peirson was killed by a musket ball in the heart, but his saddened troops continued to fight. When de Rullecourt fell wounded, many French soldiers gave up the fight, throwing their weapons and fleeing; however, others reached the market houses, from where they continued to fire.
De Rullecourt, through Corbet, told the British that the French had two battalions and an artillery company at La Rocque, which could be at the town within a quarter of an hour. The British were not intimidated, knowing that the number of French troops there was less than 200. The remaining French soldiers dispersed themselves throughout the countryside to reach their boats, though several were caught doing so. The British took 600 prisoners on that day, who were subsequently sent to England. The British losses were around 30 dead. De Rullecourt was wounded and died the next day.
It became notorious that there were traitors among the British. De Rullecourt possessed a plan of the fortifications, the towers, the cannons and so on, saying that without good friends in Jersey, he would not have come. The French knew the exact number of British troops and militia, the names of the officers commanding them, and more. In the papers found in the General's trunk was the name of one Mr Le Geyt, a Jerseyman who was later seized, as was another suspect.
There was a second battle at Platte Rocque where de Rullecourt had left the rearguard to protect his landing place and allow for a retreat if things went badly. This rearguard was attacked and routed by local troops.
Lieut-Governor Moyse Corbet immediately came under sustained criticism for his actions during the French invasion. The island's Attorney-General Thomas Pipon wrote to the Governor two days after the Battle complaining about the behaviour of the Major Corbet and advising him that the island had lost confidence in its Commander.
Corbet himself wrote to his counterpart in Guernsey with an immediate report for onward transmission to London giving his version of events. He then exacerbated the situation still further by ordering that the island's Militia should be placed under the control of the officers of the Regular Garrison. This caused all the Militia colonels to resign, threatening the collapse of the Militia itself, and Moyse was forced to reverse his decision.
Corbet was arrested and sent to London, where he faced a court martial, was convicted and sacked. He retired on pension and probably never returned to Jersey, the island of his birth.
Some of the earliest, and probably most reliable, accounts of the Battle are contained in letters written immediately after by members of the English garrison and the Militia, who fought in it. Two members of the garrison forces who participated in the Battle wrote detailed accounts, as did the sons of Lieut-Bailiff Charles Lempriere, one of whom was wounded in the Battle.
A detailed account was written by Charles Poingdestre, an Advocate of the Royal Court and attorney of Charles de Carteret, Seigneur of Trinity, who was living in Southampton at the time.
In February 1781 the States wrote a letter of appreciation of the father of Major Francis Peirson.
After the battle, thirty coastal round towers were built to improve the defence system of the island.
On 6 January 1831 on the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Jersey the island Militia was granted the 'Royal' prefix by King William IV, becoming the Royal Militia, Island of Jersey.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
From the back label:
A dark ruby rich beer rich in fruitcake flavours, with a wonderful balance of malt and hop flavours.
Brewer: Adnams , Sole Bay Brewery, Southwold, Suffolk
Alcohol: 6.3% volume.
The beer is brewed to commemorate the Battle of Sole Bay.
The naval Battle of Sole Bay took place 7th. June 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The battle ended inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
A fleet of 75 ships, 20,738 men and 4,484 cannon of the United Provinces, commanded by Lt. Admirals Michiel de Ruyter, Adriaen Banckert and Willem Joseph van Ghent, surprised a joint Anglo-French fleet of 93 ships, 34,496 men and 6,018 cannon at anchor in Sole Bay off Southwold, Suffolk.
The Duke of York and Vice Admiral Comte Jean II d'Estrées planned to blockade the Dutch in their home ports and deny the North Sea to Dutch shipping. The Dutch had hoped to repeat their successful raid on the Medway and a frigate squadron under Van Ghent sailed up the Thames in May but discovered that Sheerness Fort was now too well defended to allow the Dutch to pass. The Dutch main fleet came too late, mainly due to coordination problems between the five Dutch admiralties. This delay allowed the English and French fleets to join forces.
The Dutch fleet followed the Allied fleet north, who unaware of this, put in at Sole Bay to refit. On 7th. June the Allies were caught by surprise and got into disarray when the Dutch fleet, having the weather with them, suddenly appeared on the horizon in the early morning. The French fleet, either through accident or design, steered south followed by Lt. Admiral Adriaen Banckert's fifteen Dutch ships. The French ship 'Superbe' was heavily damaged and her captain, des Rabesnières, was killed by fire from Vice Admiral Enno Doedes Star's 70 gun ship 'Groningen'. Total French casualties were about 450.
This left the Dutch vanguard and centre to fight it out with the English, and the latter were hard pressed, as they had great difficulty beating upwind to bring their ships out. The Duke of York had to move his flag twice, finally to 'HMS London', as his flagships 'HMS Prince' and 'HMS St. Michael' were taken out of action. 'HMS Prince' was crippled by Lt. Admiral De Ruyter's flagship 'De Zeven Provinciën' in a two hour duel. De Ruyter was accompanied by the representative of the States General of the Netherlands, Cornelis de Witt who bravely remained seated on the main deck, although half of his guard of honour standing next to him were killed or wounded.
Lt. Admiral Aert Jansse van Nes on the 'Eendracht' first duelled Vice Admiral Edward Spragge on 'HMS London' and then was attacked by the 86 gun 'HMS Royal Katherine'. The latter ship was then so heavily damaged that Captain John Chichely struck her flag and was taken prisoner. The Dutch prize crew however got drunk on the brandy they found aboard and allowed the ship to be later recaptured by the English.
The flagship of Admiral Edward Montagu, 1st. Earl of Sandwich, 'HMS Royal James', was first fiercely engaged by Lt. Admiral Van Ghent's ship 'Dolfijn'. Van Ghent was however killed by shrapnel. Then Captain Jan van Brakel's 60 gun 'Groot Hollandia' attacked 'HMS Royal James', incessantly pounding the hull of the ship for over an hour and bringing her into such a condition that Lord Sandwich considered striking his flag but decided against it because it was beneath his honour to surrender to a mere captain of low birth. He then ordered sloops from other ships to board the 'Groot Hollandia' who's upper deck soon swarmed with Englishmen. Van Brakel was forced to cut the lines and retreat between friendly vessels to drive the boarding teams off. 'HMS Royal James' now drifted away, sinking, and was attacked by several fire ships. She sank two, but a third, 'Vrede', commanded by Jan Daniëlszoon van den Rijn, its approach shielded by Vice Admiral Isaac Sweers 82 gun 'Oliphant', set her on fire. She burnt with great loss of life, Sandwich himself and his son-in-law Philip Carteret drowned trying to escape when his sloop collapsed under the weight of panicked sailors jumping in. His body washed ashore, only recognisable by the scorched clothing still showing the shield of the Order of the Garter.
During the battle the wind shifted, giving the English the weather, and in the late afternoon the Dutch started to withdrew.
Losses were heavy on both sides. The Dutch lost 1,800 men, one Dutch ship, the 'Jozua', was destroyed and another, the 'Stavoren', captured, a third Dutch ship had an accident during repairs immediately after the battle and blew up. The English and French lost two ships and some 2000 men. The people of Southwold had to deal with around 800 injured sailors, not to mention the many bodies which washed up along the shoreline for many weeks afterwards.
The battle ended inconclusively at sunset. Both sides claimed victory, the Dutch with the more justification as the English-French plan to blockade Dutch ports was abandoned.
The fleets met again at the Battle of Schooneveld in 1673.
Daniel Yergin, Vice-Chairman, IHS Markit, USA, H.R.H. Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Total, France, Maria Fernanda Suarez, Minister of Mines and Energy of Colombia and Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional), Malaysia speaking in the Future of Fossil Fuels session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Congress Centre - Situation Room. Copyright by World Economic Forum/Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary
Steve Sedgwick, Anchor, CNBC, United Kingdom, Nur Bekri, Minister of the National Energy Administration of the People's Republic of China, Christiana Figueres, Convenor, Mission 2020, Switzerland, Oleg V. Deripaska, President, RUSAL, Russian Federation, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Total, France, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola, Spain. speaking during the session: Energy’s Clean Transition at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 18, 2017
Copyright by World Economic Forum / Greg Beadle
Found on the French website 'collection-appareil'
According to this advertisement a ICA Tropica would have cost in 1923 French Francs:
9x12 with f 4.5 15cm Tessar: 1.316 Fr
10x15 with f 4.5 16,6cm Tessar: 1.548 Fr
13x18 with f 4.5 21cm Tessar: 1.810 Fr
My guess is that the French Franc at that time was about todays Euro 0,80. But if you would have a more exact figure, please let me know......See also the Wiki site about the value.
In order to appreciate purchasing power in that era, one should know how much a franc was of the total French GDP and how much several standard goods costed, and what was the earming power of a worker.
Further....it seems to me that the weights of the cameras are incorrect, like in the different catalogues. The picture of the camera in the advert, is the one made for 10x15cm plates.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
A historically interesting snapshot of which brands it was expected that motorists would be familiar with—although it should be said, a few of these (e.g. Gainsborough) were regional enough that it would be somewhat harder for people living in different areas of the country.
New Year 1974 also incidentally marks a particular peak in some of the US oil companies' chains in the UK: within a year, Arco (and its subsidiary Gainsborough) would sell its UK network to Total (French), and VIP (owned by Armand Hammer's Occidental Oil) would be sold to Elf (also French). Esso's Cleveland brand was already being phased out when this quiz was produced, and Murphy Corporation's Murco brand was quickly replacing EP. By the end of the decade, Conoco's Jet would have taken over Tenneco's Globe.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Second World War, France’s armored force consisted, almost entirely, of US-built vehicles, such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M24 Chaffee (among others). France received these vehicles as aid as part of the Marshall Plan and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA). These aid pacts also financed the reconstruction of France’s economy and armed forces from 1948 until the late 1950s. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and NATO was born, resulting in the United States extending the MDAA. This resulted in France receiving newer vehicles, such as the M47 Patton II tank.
In total, France would operate around 1,250 M24s which were identical to their US counterparts. It was a small tank at 5.45 meters (16 ft 4 in) long, 2.84 meters (9ft 4in) wide, and 2.61 meters (9ft 3in) tall. It weighed 16.6 tonnes (18.37 tons), utilized a torsion bar suspension, and was armed with a 75 mm gun. The tank had a 5-men crew: Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Bow Gunner. The ‘Chaffee’ was named after WWI US Army General, Adna R. Chaffee Jr.
In 1956, the French Army and the Direction des Etudes et Fabrications d’Armements (Directorate of Studies and Manufacture of Armaments, DEFA, an institution within the French Military) were looking into affordable methods of modernizing their fleet of aging M24 Chaffee light tanks, which had been operated since WWII. One method was to somehow combine France’s new domestic light tank, the AMX-13, with the M24.
Initially, this led to the mating of the AMX-13’s FL-10 oscillating turret to the hull of the Chaffee, as the most logical step to improve the M24s. While cheap and feasible, this configuration never went further than trials. This was largely due to a perceived safety issue with the High-Explosive (HE) rounds fired by the CN 75-50 cannon. Inside the FL-10 turret, the CN 75-50 gun was fed via an automatic loading system, which was reloaded externally. If an alternate shell-type needed to be fired, HE, for example, it had to be loaded into the breach manually by the Commander. This was a tricky task in the tight confines of the turret on the standard AMX, made worse by the notoriously sensitive fuze of the HE rounds. This process would be even more dangerous on the smaller hull of the Chaffee. As a result, the inverse of this mounting was decided upon, mounting the Chaffee’s turret on the AMX-13’s hull.
The officially designated AMX-US was a result of this, even though there were many other unofficial names, including ‘AMX-13 Chaffee’ – as it was known by troops – or ‘AMX-13 Avec Tourelle Chaffee (with Chaffee Turret)’. By 1957, work on the inverse of mounting the Chaffee turret to the AMX hull had begun, what was regarded as a safer and easier alternative, and it was also a convenient way of recycling useful Chaffee turrets by separating them from their worn hulls. It also created a vehicle lighter than the regular Chaffee, meaning it was easier to transport.
The M24 turrets went through very little modification for their installation, retaining all the same main features. The only modification necessary was the introduction of an adapter or ‘collar’ to the AMX hull’s turret ring. This was needed as the Chaffee turret had quite a deep basket. The collar granted the basket clearance from the hull floor for uninterrupted, full 360-degree rotation.
The Chaffee turret was a standard design with a typical 3-man crew of the time: Gunner, Loader, and Commander. The Commander sat at the left rear of the turret under a vision-cupola, the gunner sat in front of him. The loader was located at the right-rear of the turret under his own hatch. Armor on the turret was 25 mm (.98 in) thick on all sides, with the gun mantlet being 38 mm (1.49 in) thick.
The AMX-US was operated by a four-man crew, as opposed to the three-man crew of the standard Mle 51, due to the three-man turret of the Chaffee. Armament consisted of the 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 which had a concentric recoil system (this was a hollow tube around the barrel, a space-saving alternative to traditional recoil cylinders). Variants of this gun were also used on the B-25H Mitchell Bomber, and the T33 Flame Thrower Tank prototype. The shell velocity was 619 m/s (2,031 ft/s) and had a maximum penetration of 109 mm. The elevation range of the gun was around -10 to +13 degrees. Secondary weapons were also retained. This included the coaxial .30 Cal (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 Machine Gun, and the .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on the rear of the turret roof.
Apart from the adaptor or ‘collar’, the AMX hull went through no alterations. It retained the same dimensions, and forward-mounted engine and transmission. The tank was powered by a SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine developing 250 hp, propelling the tank to a top speed of around 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle ran on a torsion bar suspension with five road-wheels, two return rollers, a rear-mounted idler, and a forward-mounted drive-sprocket. The driver was positioned at the front left of the hull, behind the transmission and next to the engine.
Trials with what would be designated the ‘AMX-US’ were undertaken between December 1959 and January 1960. The vehicle was well received, with an order for 150 conversions being placed by the French military in March 1960. Conversion work was carried out at a plant in Gien, North-Central France.
The AMX-US saw brief service in the War in Algeria – otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence or Algerian Revolution. One known operator was the 9e Régiment de Hussards (9th Hussar Regiment) based in Oran. They served well, but a few were lost in combat, but there is no evidence to suggest they served in any other location with the French military, such as in France or West Germany based regiments.
After the conflict in Algeria, the vehicles were returned to France, but they did not last long in active service after this. Many vehicles were being repurposed into driver trainers. For this, the vehicles were disarmed, with the 75 mm gun and mantlet removed from the turret face and a large plexiglass windscreen was installed in its place.
About fifty surplus AMX-US were sold as scout tanks to Israel, because the AMX-13, which had been procured and operated by the IDF since 1956 in great numbers, was used as a battle tank, so that no IDF reconnaissance unit used the AMX 13. The AMX-US was a perfect and cheap alternative to fill this operational gap, and the vehicles, delivered in 1963, took actively part in the 1967 Six-Day-War.
During these battles, the IDF soon realized that the AMX-13 tank in general was too lightly armored and lacked firepower, and this was even more true for the AMX-US with its vintage WWII gun. Losses were heavy at places like Rafah Junction and Jiradi Pass with many tanks destroyed by heavier Arab-fielded Soviet armor, such as T-55 MBTs and IS-3 heavy tanks. After that, both the AMX-13 and the AMX-US were gradually phased out by the IDF, either sold to other nations (e. g. Thailand), broken up for spares or preserved and stored in depots.
In 1975, a handful of these mothballed AMX-US were, together with other outdated Six-Day-War M50 Sherman veterans, re-activated and handed over to the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA was a Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War, opposing Muslim militias supported by Syria. The SLA received a total of 15 AMX-US, plus 35 M50s, and all these tanks were painted in a characteristic light blue-grey color. The SLA kept these tanks operational and active for a surprisingly long period, the last confirmed appearance of an SLA AMX-US in battle was in 1988. Even after the retirement of the last operational specimen, the SLA still used the AMX-US for training and security duties.
In 2000, nearly ten years after the end of the civil war, the SLA disbanded, and the surviving former IDF tanks were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands – spelling the end to the AMX-US long career, of which four were returned and subsequently scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (Commander, Loader, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 15 tons
Length: 4.88 m (16 ft) overall
Width: 2.51 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.30 m (7 ft 5 in)
Suspension: Torsion arms; Tracked chassis, 5 roadwheels, drive sprocket front, idler rear,
3.00 m length, 0.35 width, 2.16 m track
Ground clearance: 0.37 m (1 ft 2½ in)
Fording depth: 2 ft (0.6 m) unprepared, 6.9 ft (2.1 m) with snorkel
Grade: 60%
Side slope: 60%
Trench crossing: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Vertical wall climb: 0.65 m (2 ft 1½ ft)
Fuel capacity: 480 l (127 gal)
Engine:
1× water-cooled Renault SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder gasoline with 250 hp
Transmission:
Hydramatic automatic transmission; 8 speeds forward, 4 reverse
Armor:
Hull: 10 - 40 mm (1.57 in)
Turret: max. 38 mm (1.49 in)
Performance:
Speed: 60 km/h (40 mph) maximum, road
Operational range: 350 km (217 mi) on streets with internal fuel only
Power/weight: 17 hp/t
Armament:
1× 75 mm Lightweight Tank Gun M6 in Mount M64 with 48 rounds
1× co-axial 0.30 Cal. (7.62 mm) Browning M1919 machine gun, 2.200 rounds
1× 0.50 Caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, 440 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model is the result of recycling: After a T-34 conversion, which used an AMX-13 turret, I was left with the chassis of a 1:72 Heller kit. The latter is a rather simple and primitive affair, with many wrong details and a very weak running gear. From another, even older conversion project I also had an almost complete turret from a Hasegawa M24 Chaffee left over. When I stumbled in literature over the French AMX-US hybrid I decided to use these leftover bits to create one!
The AMX-13 chassis was taken OOB, because I did want to invest too much energy into this build, despite its many flaws. Its running gear is rubbish, the vinyl tracks featureless, and overall the detail level is rather soft. From a distance it looks like an AMX-13, but any closer inspection reveals the model's simplicity and toy-likeness. The Chaffee turret was also built with the original parts – but I had to replace the gun barrel and find a replacement for the gunner’s hatch.
Nevertheless, some scratch work had to be done. The biggest challenge was the AMX-US’ characteristic turret adapter ring, which markedly raises the M24 turret above the AMX-13 hull. My solution became a manually bent a piece of soft styrene profile - it’s not perfectly circular, but that’s not obvious when the turret is in place, and it looks the part. Furthermore, some small bits were added to hide flaws and distract. These include vertical bars in the exhaust opening, shallow storage boxes on the fenders (hiding the wacky distance ring) and tarpaulin/cammo net packs (created from paper tissue and nylon stockings drenched with white glue). The commander cupola’s hatch was left open and a figure (an ESCI German WWII tank commander) added, to make the model appear livelier. Since the M24’s AA machine gun had been gone, I had to replace it with one from an ESCI Merkava, its mount was moved in front of the cupola.
Painting and markings:
Initially, I just had the French army as potential operator for the AMX-US but found that rather boring due to the very limited livery options: any French tank from the era would have carried a dark olive-green livery, even those operated in North Africa! Some French M24s had been operated in South-East Asia in a sand/green/brown/green jungle scheme, but the time frame would not match well. So, I checked other AMX-13 operators and took liking in an IDF vehicle. However, while looking for potential liveries I came upon the SLA. The AMX-US, had it been handed over to the IDF, could have been among these donor tanks, and their unique (if not spectacular) light blue livery made them outstanding. I am not certain whether the blue tone was intended as serious camouflage or just as an IFF measure? However, among typical light rocks and mountains of the Lebenon and in dusty/hazy air, the bluish tone actually works quite fine, better than expected.
While a uniform livery is not complex, finding a suitable tone for the model took a while. Real life color pictures (of dubious quality) show a wide range of light blue and/or grey tones, ranging from a bright sky blue over pale grey (like FS 36375) to a medium bluish grey (FS 35237), frequently with severe signs of weathering/sun-bleaching which makes some tanks appear almost white. Some M50s also had olive drab or dark grey patches or patterns added on top as additional camouflage.
After testing several options I chose RLM78 (Modelmaster 2088) as basic tone. Odd choice, but it turned out to be light enough, is a rather blue tone (with a slight hint of green), but still dull enough to look like a military tone. An overall washing with a mix of grey, black and red brown followed, and then the model received a thorough, overall dry brushing treatment with various shades of light blue grey, including Modelmaster RLM76, FS 36320 and Revell 75, for a worn and bleached appearance.
The markings had to be completely improvised, though, and were created with Corel Draw on an ink jet printer and with white and clear decal paper. They include the SLA’s cedar tree emblem and the Arabic tactical codes. The white “X” markings were created with generic decal stripes.
After the model had been sealed with matt acrylic varnish, sand and dust residues were created with watercolors, and some beige mineral pigments were dusted into the running gear and over the upper surfaces.
A quick build and a good use of leftover parts from other projects, melded into a plausible result. The SLA livery adds a weird twist to this model, even though it is – in the end – just a mix of real-world elements: the AMX-US existed, and the SLA operated light blue tanks! Life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
(FLTR) David G. Victor, Professor, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA; Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability, Patrick Pouyanne, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Executive Committee, Total, France, Rowsch N. Shaways,Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq, Iraq, Ignacio Sanchez Galan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola, Spain; Chairman of Energy Utilities Community, Alex Molinaroli, Chief Executive Officer, Johnson Controls, USA and Ulrich Spiesshofer, Chief Executive Officer, ABB, Switzerland are seen on the podium during the session 'The New Energy Context' in the congress centre at the Annual Meeting 2015 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 21, 2015.
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM/swiss-image.ch/Photo Remy Steinegger