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AMD 35/Panhard 178

Armored Car

Specifications

Country of Origin/Used by:	France and Germany
First Produced/Service Dates:	1935
Manufactured by:	Panhard et Levassor
Crew:	4
Armament:	Main: 25mm Cannon; Co-Axial: 7.5mm Machine Gun (A spare MG was also carried)
Engine:	4 Cylinder Gasoline
Miscellaneous Info:	The Automitrailleuse de Decouverte (Armored "Exploration" Scout Vehicle) Model 1935 (AMD 35) was one of the most successful early WWII era armored cars used by any nation.  The AMD 35 is also referred to as the Panhard 178, which was actually an internal company designation.  As with most other successful military vehicle designs, the "Pan-Pan" was also built in other "official" variants including the Armee du Nord ("Tropicalized"), Camouflage de Materiel (CDM), "Colonial-Type" (for use in Indochina), Command Vehicle (Radio) and Special Command Vehicle (with an armored casemate). Not surprising, the Panhard hull was also utilized for many "one-off" (or a very small number) conversions as well. These "small-batch" armored cars used a myriad of weapons from small caliber machine guns all the way to anti-tank cannons. Also, many mounted armored superstructures instead of turrets.  Not only were the turrets of vehicles removed to build these vehicles, but there was a fairly large number of vehicles never fitted with turrets as they were unfinished at the time of France's capitulation.   In addition, Germany used many captured French vehicles during WW II and designated them PanzerSpahwagen P.204 (f). Like France, Germany also modified some vehicles to Radio Vehicles [designated PzSpw.204 (Fu)] as well as some to Railway Protection Vehicles.  The Germans also used a few turretless hulls and fitted them with non-standard weapons/mounts.  These include at least one with an armored superstructure fitted with a 5cm Kwk 38 L/42 Cannon and a few others mounting German machine guns/turrets; some even from Luftwaffe aircraft such as the JU-87 Stuka and HE-111.  The uparmed Panhard 178B was the final incarnation of this design, serving with the French during the immediate post-WWII War era.
Data Sheet Available:	Panhard 178 Armored Car Datasheet by David Haugh

Photos

Reference	Source/Provider
French Panhard 178 Prototype Photo	David Haugh - Content Editor
French Panhard 178 Photos	David Haugh
French Panhard 178 Photos (Taken at Musee' des Blindes - Saumur, France)	Christophe Jacquemont - Washington, D.C. USA
French Panhard 178 Exterior Photos (Taken at Musee' des Blindes - Saumur, France)	Dennis Trowbridge - Bristol, UK
French Panhard 178 Interior Photos (Taken at Musee' des Blindes - Saumur, France)	Dennis Trowbridge
French Panhard 178 Photo	Wikipedia via Josef Gierse
French Panhard 178 Photo	Wikipedia via W. Hanske
French Panhard 178 Photo	Wikipedia via Pp Pachy
French Panhard 178 (Radio) Command Vehicle Photo	David Haugh
French Panhard 178 Special Command Vehicle Photo	David Haugh
Vichy French Panhard 178 Photo (with no cannon, but with two machine guns)	David Haugh
German Panzerspahwagen P. 204 (f) Photos	David Haugh
German SS PanzerSpahWagen P.204 (fu) Radio Car Photo	David Haugh
German Panzerspahwagen P. 204 (f) Radio Cars and Vehicle with 5cm 38 KwK L42 Cannon Photo	David Haugh
German Panzerspahwagen P. 204 (f) with 5cm 38 KwK L42 Cannon Photo	David Haugh
German Panzerspahwagen P. 204 (f) Railway Protection Vehicle Photo	German Bundesarchiv
German Panzerspahwagen P. 204 (f) Railway Protection Vehicle Photos	David Haugh
Panhard 178/PzSpahWagen P.204 (f) Line Drawings	David Haugh

References Available

Online

Printed

Reference	Author
AMD 35 Panhard 178 (Wydawnictwo Militaria #244 Tank Power Vol. 23)	Janusz  Ledwoch
AMD 35 Panhard 178 -Trackstory #14 (Editions du Barbotin)	Pascal Danjou
A Photo History of Armoured Cars in Two World Wars	George Forty
Captured Armored Cars and Other Vehicles In Wehrmacht Service in World War 2	Werner Regenberg
Encyclopedia of Armoured Cars	Duncan Crow & Robert J. Icks
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two (Revised)	Peter Chamberlain and Hilary Doyle
"French Protection" (May 2017 Issue of Classic Military Vehicle Magazine)	Sheldon Rogers
"Long Hard Road, The" (October 2016 Issue of Airfix Model World Magazine) [Covers a build of the 1/35 ICM Panzerspahwagen P204(f) Model Kit]	Bill Curtis
Panhard 178 - Focus #6 (Editions du Barbotin)	Pascal Danjou
Panhard 178-Trackstory #2 Jim Pearsall's Review at IPMS/USA	Editions du Barbotin
Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90 and Eland) (Haynes Publishing)	Simon Dunstan
Panhard Armoured Cars - AFV Weapons Profile #39	R.M. Ogorkiewicz

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