Mobile and inexpensive
In 1957, the General Staff of the French Army (l'Etat-Major de l'Armée, EMA) expressed a desire to acquire a wheeled armored personnel carrier with protection against nuclear weapons, with the mobility of a GBC truck and inexpensive.
The variant of the EBR (Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance) armored car in its transport version was rejected by the troops due to its high cost. The Directorate for the Study and Production of Arms (La Direction des Études et Fabrications, DEFA) has put forward a requirement for an armored personnel carrier: the transport of 12 soldiers. In July 1957, the Simca 3-ton vehicle was selected, which was also of interest to the Office as a standard truck. The low price would obviously be supported by high volumes of orders. The Arms Research and Production Directorate also notes that Berliet produced at its own expense a prototype of an armored personnel carrier based on the GLC 6x6 3.5t chassis, which was tested by the Army's Technical Department.
Lorraine was selected as the armored corps in September 1957. The French General Staff demanded to speed up work on the vehicle, and the Arms Research and Production Directorate borrowed one of the Simca test trucks from STA.
At the same time, Lorraine made a life-size model of an armored vehicle from thin sheet metal and plywood, which was presented in February 1958. Then the armored hull was sheathed with mild steel. The hull was completed in July 1958. The first tests of the Simca-Lorraine armored truck were carried out at Col d'Aspin in July 1958. On September 19, 1958, it was decided to install a Lagos engine and a Lorraine armored steel body on a Simca truck.
Access to the transport compartment was carried out through two rear doors, equipped, like the body itself, with loopholes. A machine gun was installed on the roof. The body could also be fitted to a Berliet truck. At the end of 1958, the Arms Research and Production Directorate asked the General Staff to approve the second option. The permit was obtained in February 1959. STA tested the Simca truck with an armored body from May 25, 1959 to October 1 of the same year. Then this car was abandoned. On July 2, 1959, two cars Simca and Berliet were presented at the Lorraine exhibition in Bagneres de Bigorres. The interior of the Berliet was subsequently redesigned. This new car was introduced on May 13, 1960. STA tested it from November 1960 to July 1961. The chassis was a GBC 8 KT. The Berliet-Lorraine armored truck obviously had a different chassis. It can be recognized by the covering mudguards. The armored corps has not changed. You can see how the diamond-shaped loophole protrudes. On the port side, another similar bulging loophole was installed. Both of these loopholes-hatches made it possible to fire in all directions, forward or backward, the upper part of the hatch opened upward.
Ultimately, it was proposed that the armored personnel carrier be put into service, as well as a preliminary order. It was very well suited for transporting troops or cargo, but due to its size, it was not suitable for warfare. In January 1962, the General Staff ordered 10 copies of the armored personnel carrier. STA conducted a second test of the car in the same month.
Unfortunately, the order was canceled at the end of February 1962.
Commentary on translation
I was prompted to translate and place this article (see text above) by the opinions of some authors of articles and commentators who mistakenly take this armored vehicle for MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected) - a vehicle protected from mines and ambushes. Unfortunately, the articles on "VO" are guilty of these mistakes. Apparently, the authors are misled by the V-shaped bottom inherent in some MRAPs. The V-shaped bottom existed on armored cars before, and the presence of such a bottom does not yet turn an armored car into an MRAP. For example, an American armored car of the 1920 model.
As can be clearly seen in the Berliet-Lorraine photo, the seats and backs are rigidly fixed to the armored body, and even a small explosive effect will lead to injury to the fighters or even their death. On MRAP, the seats and backrests of seats or armchairs are mounted on shock-absorbing elements that dampen the energy of the explosion, or even suspended from the roof of the armored car. MRAP is equipped with a double bottom that dampens the energy of the explosion and / or special foot rests, otherwise fighters who put their feet directly on the floor will at best get fractures. MRAP has a large ground clearance between the armored body and the roadway for better energy dissipation of the explosion.
We do not observe this in the described truck. MRAP does not have protruding hatches on the sides of the vehicle, as the blast wave will cause damage to those behind them. In Berliet-Lorraine, not only protruding, as in an ancient fortress, loopholes, but also hatches that swing up and down. And most importantly, the French directory from which the article was translated, like other foreign sources, does not mention mine protection when describing this machine. Moreover, they clearly describe the purpose of the machine: nuclear weapons protection, GBC truck mobility and low price … Therefore, the authors of MRAP are Africans, and the authors of the title are Americans. This is the materiel.
