Editing Panhard AML (section)

===AML-90===
Formally known as the ''AML H-90'', or by its manufacturer's code ''AML-245C'', the AML-90 was designed for carrying out [[rearguard]] duties and substituting for the heavier tanks and armoured fighting vehicles deployed in a more linear fashion at the front.<ref name="Knox2" /> Its major feature was its DEFA low-pressure 90&nbsp;mm rifled gun, which permitted the anti-tank and reconnaissance elements of French territorial units to be combined into a new component capable of knocking out the heaviest vehicle likely to be ranged against it, the Soviet [[ASU-57]] and [[ASU-85]].<ref name="Orange" /> This was a direct response to Soviet airborne doctrine—Moscow's tacticians then attached great significance to the deployment of [[Soviet Airborne Forces|paratroopers]], with their own artillery and armour, deep behind enemy lines.<ref name="Glantz">{{cite journal|title=The Soviet Airborne Experience |last=Glantz|first=David|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a153124.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002070433/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a153124.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=October 2, 2016|location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas|publisher=Combat Studies Institute|year=1984|access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref>

The DEFA D921 was the first 90&nbsp;mm low-pressure gun to be mass-produced in France.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3">{{cite book |last=Ogorkiewicz|first=Richard|title=Technology of tanks, Volume 1|edition=1991|pages=70–71 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-7106-0595-5|date=July 1991}}</ref> It was specifically designed for vehicles weighing under ten tonnes in mind, and the successful mating of such a large calibre weapon on the five tonne AML chassis was then considered a major engineering achievement.<ref name="Auto" /> This made an AML-90 exceptionally well-armed in proportion to its weight, and offered the advantage of easier recoil loads over conventional tank cannon.<ref name="Tank" /> The weapon was developed by the ''Etablissement d'Etudes et de Fabrications d'Armement de Bourges'' (EFAB) in the 1950s and partly modelled after the [[Mecar]] series of lightweight 90&nbsp;mm KEnerga guns from Belgium.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" /> Unlike the Belgian guns however, the DEFA D921 lacked a smoothbore barrel, instead utilising shallow rifling with a rather slow twist to impart a low rate of spin to the discharging projectile.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" /> Its ammunition was also fin-stabilised, but improved on the Mecar ammunition by incorporating the fins as a direct extension of the individual shell, making it much shorter.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" />

As mounted on the AML-90, the D921 has an elevation of +15° and a depression of −8°.<ref name="Jane3" /> It is provided with a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun to the left of the main armament. The turret is traversed by rotating the gunner's handwheels, which are not power assisted. Cranking the turret through a full 360° takes approximately twenty-five seconds.<ref name="Jane3" /> A total of 20 90&nbsp;mm shells and 2,400 rounds of machine gun ammunition are carried. The 90&nbsp;mm high-explosive anti-tank round possesses a muzzle velocity of {{convert|750|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}} and will penetrate {{convert|320|mm|in|abbr=on}} of armour at an incidence of 0°, or {{convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on}} of armour at 60°.<ref name="Jane2" /> The high-explosive round has a muzzle velocity of {{convert|650|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Jane3" /> These rather low velocity performances, although suitable for close combat, make hit probability poor at extended ranges and proved to be a serious handicap when fighting tanks.<ref name="Grove">{{cite web|title=Ratel teen tenk en|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://www.samagte.co.za/weermag/hc/grove.html |url-status=dead|location=Port Elizabeth|publisher=International Veterans' Association/South African Forces Club|date=2011
|access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728040847/http://www.samagte.co.za/weermag/hc/grove.html|archive-date=28 July 2012}}</ref> Combat experience during the [[South African Border War]] and the [[Six-Day War]] proved that the AML was decisively outranged by both the [[T-34]]/85<ref name="Grove" /> and the [[M48 Patton]], respectively.<ref name="Geller">{{cite book |last=Margolis|first=Jonathan|title=The secret life of Uri Geller|edition=2013|pages=147–148 |publisher=Watkins Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-78028-761-4|year=2013}}</ref> Its rather austere fire control, with optical ranging based on the crew commander's estimates, was also problematic.<ref name="Jane3" /> The vehicle is unable to fire on the move, since its transmission cannot absorb the recoil of such a large gun while in forward motion and suffers excessive wear as a result.<ref name="JCH">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-dY-AQAAIAAJ&q=HEAT+gelaai South African Journal for Contemporary History, Volume 31]''. Sun Media (Bloemfontein), 2006. pp. 361–362.</ref> Nevertheless, during at least three conflicts the AML proved capable of knocking out main battle tanks, often by attacking from the flank or rear.<ref name="Davis" /><ref name="T-54" /><ref name="Heitman2">Heitman, Helmoed-Römer. ''South African Arms and Armour – A concise guide to armaments of the South African Army, Navy, and Air Force.'' Struik Publishers 1988. {{ISBN|0-86977-637-1}} p 44–45.</ref> The heaviest armour destroyed by an AML-90 was likely a Libyan [[T-62]] during the [[Toyota War]], in March 1988.<ref name="Davis" />

The D921 recoils approximately 58&nbsp;cm<ref name="Jane3" /> and is then returned to the firing position by a hydropneumatic recuperator.<ref name="Hesom">{{cite book |last=Hesom |first=Ross|title=From Boys to Men: A Victim of Conscription|edition=2009|pages=147–148 |publisher=Brelan Books|isbn=978-0-9812079-0-2|year=2009}}</ref> It is fitted with a double-baffle muzzle brake which reduces the magnitude of the firing impulses and consequently, the average recoil forces. However, the deflection of propellant gases rearward and the resulting overpressure may cause whiplash to the crew.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" /> During runout the breech is opened and an empty shell casing ejected; the breech then remains open for reloading.<ref name="Mannall" />