AMX-30

The AMX-30 is a French main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966, when the first five tanks were issued to the 501st Regiment de Chars de Combat. The production AMX-30B weighed 36 metric tons and sacrificed armor protection for increased mobility and speed, since French designers judged that adequate protection against contemporary anti-tank threats would have cost too much maneuverability. It carried a 105mm gun firing the Obus G high-explosive anti-tank round, whose outer shell was separated from the main charge by ball bearings so the round could be spin-stabilized by the gun barrel without spinning the shaped-charge warhead inside. Mobility came from a 720-horsepower HS-110 diesel engine, though a troublesome transmission affected the tank's performance.