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| Panhard VCR | |
|---|---|
 Mexican Panhard VCR in 2018 | |
| Type | Armored personnel carrier |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1979–present |
| Used by | SeeOperators |
| Wars | Iran–Iraq War Gulf War Iraq War War in Iraq (2013-17) |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Panhard |
| Produced | 1979 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 7.9 t |
| Length | 4.88 m |
| Width | 2.5 m |
| Height | 2.13 m |
| Crew | 3+9 |
| Armor | 12 mm |
Main armament | 12.7 mm MG orHOT missile |
| Engine | Peugeot PRV V-6 145 hp |
| Power/weight | 18.35 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | 6×6 wheel |
Operational range | 700 km |
| Maximum speed | 90 km/h |
ThePanhard VCR (Véhicule deCombat àRoues, French for Wheeled Combat Vehicle) is a lightarmored personnel carrier (APC) designed byPanhard for the export market and later used by several countries. AfterIraq ordered French turrets in September 1974 capable of launching antitank guided missiles(ATGM), the Panhard VCR was developed at the request of the Iraqis for vehicles with which to mate these ATGM-launcher turrets.[1] This resulted in the largest order of VCRs, 100, for Iraq.[2]
The VCR is a 6×6 wheeled APC designed in the late 1970s and is based on the earlier4×4 M-3 APC which had been a huge success for Panhard on the export market, with over 1,200 built. Production of the VCR began in 1979. The center pair of wheels can be raised when the vehicle is operated on roads (when down all six wheels drive). The engine is located in the front to the right, with the driver in the front-center of the vehicle. The VCR has 8 mm of steel armor on all sides except the front which has 12 mm. This gives protection against 12.7 mm AP rounds in the front and against 7.62 mm AP rounds on all other sides.[3]
The basic VCR is the APC version, the VCR/TT (Transport de Troupes), designed such that various weapons can be mated with the basic vehicle in a series of variants. The basic weapons option was either a 7.62mm light machine gun or a12.7 mm heavy machine gun, on a ring mount located on the left-front roof. The VCR can also be fitted with a ring mount with a one-man armored turret with a 7.62 mm machine gun or a one-man armored powered turret mounting a 20-mmautomatic cannon located at the front-center of the vehicle roof. One option that led to the first large export order from Iraq for a hundred VCR vehicles was a tank-destroyer version of the VCR/TT fitted with an antitank missile turret for launching theHOT wire guided ATGM (antitank guided missile). The ATGM variant was known as the VCR/TH (Tourelle HOT). The VCR/TH mounts four HOT missiles on the turret ready to fire with ten reloads inside the vehicle. There was a less expensive version of the VCR/TH offered that mounted theMCT cupola which fires the shorter rangeMILAN antitank missile, but there were no orders for this version. Besides the three crew, the basic VCR/TT can transport nine infantrymen.
Other versions included:
Argentina: 24[4]
Iraq: 100 VCR-TH delivered between 1979 and 1981, 44 a gift from UAE in 2005
Mexico: 46[4]
United Arab Emirates: 82
| External images | |
|---|---|
| Panhard VCR/TH HOT Turret Version | |
 Panhard VCR/TH with HOT turret | |
| First VCR/TH at proving ground |
| External images | |
|---|---|
| Panhard VCR/TT "Hydrojet" | |
| Panhard VCR/TT "Hydrojet" at proving grounds | |
| VCR/TT open water testing |
