Conclusions from evaluating the AMX-13

A letter to the French military attaché in Stockholm, dated 1954-10-22, summarizing the conclusions from the Swedish evaluation of the AMX-13.

Summarizing the summary, the tank is found to have:

• surprisingly good firepower considering its small size
• excellent mobility (with some modifications, the mobility is good even in severe winter conditions)
• good reliability and ease of maintenance
• low specific fuel consumption (i.e. good mpg)
• bad crew comfort; the interior is found to be highly cramped
• severely lacking armor protection, although the mobility and small size compensates for this to some degree

The evaluation further suggests that the small size would be even more advantageous if the gun depression was increased 3-4 degrees and that a zoom function for the tank commander’s optics would be desirable. It also criticizes the design choice to have the engine’s cooling air pass below the fighting compartment, on the grounds that this seems dangerous if the tank is exposed to napalm or radioactively contaminated dust.

Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/1