Heller Military 1/35 AMX 13/155 Tank Kit

At the end of the 1950s, the idea behind fitting a 155mm self-propelled Howitzer to the AMX 13 chassis was to equip the Army with powerful guns whose mobility was comparable with that of faster, lighter armored vehicles. They, therefore, needed the lightest possible tracked vehicle that was still well protected.  In the end the chosen vehicle was the model 51 AMX 13 tank, the reputation of which was unquestionable. Researched and designed by the Land Army's technical division (DTAT), the 155mm self-propelled howitzer was fully developed by three specialist establishments under the supervision of this Government department: Atelier de Construction de Tarbes (A.T.S.) constructed the gun, Atelier de Construction de Roanne (A.R.E.) constructed the chassis and the Etablissement d'Etudes et de Fabrications d'Armement de Bourges (E.F.A.B.) mounted the gun and carried out the test firing. The prototype was presented to the chief of defence in 1964 and adopted in 1969. The "self-propelled 155" joined the artillery regiments in the mid-1970s. It was essentially made up of an unprotected pivoting turret, the "OB 155 Mle 50" (but with an elongated 33 calibre barrel which classified it as a cannon), permanently mounted on a tracked chassis. This was modified to allow the elevation and traversing mechanism to function by removing the rear idler, and to resist recoil by installing two rear spades which dug into the ground at the back. Linked to a RATAC (Radar de Tir de l'Artillerie de Campagne - a lightweight battlefield radar) and a CETAC (Calculateur Electronique de Tir de l'Artillerie de Campagne - a field artillery fire controller), the 155mm self-propelled howitzer was ready to fire in less than a minute. The crew included a gun commander and a driver. A driver and seven men transported in an escort vehicle also formed the gun crew. More than 500 were made (including 222 for the French Army, and the rest for export) and it remained in the service of the French Army until 1990.

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