Panhard VCR

The Panhard VCR, short for Véhicule de Combat à Roues or Wheeled Combat Vehicle, is a light armoured personnel carrier that the French firm Panhard designed for the export market. It grew out of an Iraqi request: after Iraq ordered French turrets in 1974 that could launch antitank guided missiles, Panhard developed a carrier to mate with them, and Iraq's order of 100 vehicles became the largest. The VCR is a 6x6 wheeled vehicle based on the earlier 4x4 M3, with the centre pair of wheels able to be raised for road travel, and production began in 1979. Its steel armour protects the crew against 12.7 mm armour-piercing rounds from the front and 7.62 mm rounds from other sides. The basic troop carrier, the VCR/TT, was adapted into missile-carrying, recovery, ambulance and command variants, and a 4x4 amphibious version with waterjets was built for Argentina.