Editing AMX-13 (section)

==Development==
The tank was designed at the [[Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux|Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux]] (AMX) in 1946 to meet a requirement for an air-portable vehicle to support paratroopers. The prototype ran from 1948. The compact [[chassis]] had [[torsion bar suspension]] with five road wheels and two return rollers; the engine runs the length of the tank on the right side, with the driver on the left. It features an uncommon two-part FL-10 [[oscillating turret]], where the gun is fixed to the turret and the entire upper turret changes elevation. The turret is set to the rear of the vehicle and holds the commander and gunner.

[[File:AMX-13 drum magazine.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Cylinder (firearms)|Revolver style]] [[Drum magazine|magazine drums]] in the [[bustle rack]] of the AMX-13 prototype, at the time known as the ''AMX-12t'', during trials at [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], 19 December 1950]]
The original 75&nbsp;mm [[SA 50]] gun was loaded by an automatic loading system fed by two six-round magazines located in on either side of the automatic loader in the turret's bustle. The 12 rounds available in the drum magazines meant that the crew could engage targets quickly; however, once those rounds were expended, the vehicle commander and gunner could either manually refill them from within the turret or retreat to cover and reload shells from outside the vehicle through hatches above.

[[File:Swedish Tank Trials French AMX-13 1952.jpg|thumb|Early variant of the AMX-13 trialled in Sweden, 1952]]
Production began at ARE (Atelier de Construction Roanne) in 1952, with the first tanks delivered the following year. In 1964, production was transferred to [[Creusot-Loire]] at Chalon-sur-Saône, as ARE switched to the production of the [[AMX-30]] [[main battle tank|MBT]], and the numbers produced declined significantly.

After 1966, AMX-13s in French service were up-gunned with a 90&nbsp;mm [[CN-90-F3]] L/52 medium pressure gun firing more effective [[high-explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT) munitions; this variant was designated AMX-13/90.<ref name="trade">{{cite web |url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2013-06-20 |archive-date=2010-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414022558/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The F3 was similar to the DEFA D921/F1 low-pressure gun developed for the [[Panhard AML|Panhard AML-90]], and even utilized the same ammunition, though it possessed a significantly higher muzzle velocity.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3">{{cite book | last = Ogorkiewicz| first = Richard|title = Technology of tanks, Volume 1| year = 1991|edition= 1991|pages= 70–71 | publisher = Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd| isbn= 978-0-7106-0595-5}}</ref> By the late 1960s, an export model of the AMX-13 was also available with an even larger 105&nbsp;mm [[CN-105-57|CN-105 L/57]] gun in a FL-12 turret.<ref name="trade"/>

Although there were many variants on the turret, the basic chassis was almost unchanged until 1985, when changes including a new [[diesel engine]], fully [[automatic transmission]] and new [[hydropneumatic suspension]] were introduced. Production halted with the AMX-13 Model 1987. After-sales support and upgrades are still{{When|date=July 2022}} offered through GIAT Industries (now Nexter).

The AMX-13 tank was phased out of service with the French Army in the 1980s. Current French armoured vehicles with a similar role are the [[ERC 90 Sagaie]] and the [[AMX 10 RC]].

===Additional characteristics===
[[File:AMX-13 150808 06.jpg|thumb|Close view of oscillating turret]]

*Ground clearance: {{convert|370|mm|abbr=on}}
*Fording: {{convert|600|mm|abbr=on}}
*Vertical obstacle {{convert|650|mm|abbr=on}}
*Trench: {{convert|1.6|m|abbr=on}}
*Gradient 60%
*Side slope: 60%
*NBC system: None
*Night vision: Optional