Char de dépannage DNG/DCL

The Char de dépannage DNG/DCL is an armoured recovery vehicle built upon the chassis of the Leclerc battle tank.

Char de dépannage DNG/DCL
DCL during the military parade of 14 July 2006 in Paris
TypeArmoured recovery vehicle
Place of originFrance
Service history
Used byFrance
UAE
Production history
DesignerNexter
Designed1991
ManufacturerNexter
Produced1994-2000s
No. built66
Specifications
Mass59 tonnes [1]
Length9.15 m
Width3.40 m
Height2.60 m
Crew3
Armourcab armored to protect against small-arms fire up to 14,5 mm
Main
armament
1× 12.7 mm machine gun
20× smoke dischargers
EngineMTU MT 883 Ka-500 V12 turbocompressed diesel engine
1500 hp
Power/weight25.4 hp/tonne
TransmissionRenk HSWL 295TM
SuspensionOleopneumatic suspension
Operational
range
700 km
Maximum speed 65 km/h

The DCL comes as a replacement for the AMX-30 D in the role of a recovery and repair tank for battle tanks over 50 tonnes. Nexter designates it DNG (Dépanneur Nouvelle Génération, "next generation repair"); the French Army uses the term DCL (Dépanneur du Char Leclerc, "Leclerc tank repair").

The main role of the DCL is tugging disabled tanks out of a battle zone; its secondary roles include repairing damaged tanks, and helping in military engineering. For these roles, it is fitted with a crane which allows removing a tank turret, and a bulldozer blade.

20 DCL are currently in service in the French Army. One is deployed in South Lebanon in support of the 13 Leclerc tanks of the UNIFIL.

46 DCL are in service in the United Arab Emirates.

Equipment[2]
  • Main winch: 180m long, 35 tonnes tugging
  • Secondary winch: 230m, 1.3 tonne
  • Crane: 30 tonnes lifting
  • 3.4 metre bulldozer blade
  • Diesel generator
  • 20 DREB smoke generators
  • 1 x 12.7 mm machine gun

Notes and references
  1. http://www.military-kits.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=16
  2. (in French) - Page du DCL Archived December 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine sur le site officiel de l'armée de terre
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.