The Char D2 was a French medium tank of the interwar period .
178-590: In 1930, at a time the Char D1 had not even entered production, the Renault company agreed to build a better armoured version called the Char D2. By not using old-fashioned rivets, it was hoped to save weight. The tank should have the potential to serve as an alternative in the role of battle tank for the heavier Char B1 , should the latter be forbidden by treaty. The failure of the armament limitation talks resulted in
356-569: A 1-centime copper coin with a 1795 design. 2, 5 and 10-centime coins were issued from 1853. The quarter franc was discontinued, with silver 20-centime coins issued between 1849 and 1868 as the smallest silver coin produced in France. The gold coinage also changed. 40-franc coins were last struck in 1839 (with just 23 coins minted). Several new denomination were introduced as gold coinage: 5 gold francs (1856), 10 gold francs (1850), 50 gold francs (1855), and 100 gold francs (1855). A second design for
534-455: A 10 mm protection plate for the suspension units; the lower hull side armour beneath it was probably 16 or 25 mm thick — the exact data have been lost. For its time the Char D1 was relatively well armoured; as a result the hull alone weighs 11 metric tons, rather heavier than a typical light tank of the period. A 74 hp V-4 engine of 6.08 litre renders a top speed of 18.6 km/h;
712-534: A French Mark of fine gold (hence, 3.885 g in a franc). Gold as circulating currency would henceforth continue in the form of Écu d'ors of varying gold content. The gold franc worth one livre tournois was introduced in 1360 to pay the ransom of King John II of France . This coin secured the king's freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name franc à cheval (meaning "free on horse" in French). The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives
890-689: A HE (High Explosive) called the Obus D with a shell weight of 1250 gramme and a muzzle velocity of 490 m/s; and an APHE (Armour-Piercing High Explosive), the Obus B Modèle 1932 , with a shell weight of 1410 gramme, an explosive charge of 142 gramme and a muzzle velocity of 480 m/s. It rendered an armour penetration of just about 25 millimetres at a distance of a hundred metres, barely enough to be effective against light armoured vehicles. The first fifty vehicles, series numbers 2004 - 2053 (the three prototypes used numbers 2001 - 2003), having been delivered between 9 May 1936 and 23 February 1937,
1068-619: A Mark of silver, 11/12 fine (hence 27.03 g fine silver), and valued at 6 livres. A new gold Louis d'Or was also issued at 30 to a Mark of gold, 11/12 fine (hence 7.4785 g fine gold), and valued at 24 livres. The rise in the value of gold at the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and elsewhere as well as King Louis XVI 's reign led to the rise in the Gold-Silver Ratio to 15.5, resulting in
1246-537: A belligerent on 3 September — a number of quick reorganisations took place: on 6 September the battalion was reassigned to GBC 510, on 8 September to GBC 511 and finally from 13 September participated in the Saar Offensive as part of GBC 517, the reserve of the Fifth Army. Moving on their tracks 120 kilometres to the frontline, thirty of the forty deployed tanks broke down: the vibrations caused by driving on
1424-412: A clear improvement over the Char D1, the new matériel had its shortcomings. It was unreliable — engine, transmission, steering and cooling were too weak — and quickly wore out, demanding a large maintenance effort. This implied that the readiness was low for a type representing in the summer of 1937 the majority of 47 mm gun tanks in France, the Char D1 having been phased out to be sent to the colonies,
1602-435: A coil spring and two shock absorbers. In front, and at the back below the sprocket, there was a tension wheel with its own damper; identical to the road wheels proper they brought the total number of such wheels to fourteen. Another change was the fenders with large stowage bins that gave the false impression of being part of the main armour. The production vehicles used far less welded sections than at first intended. To reduce
1780-446: A complete overhaul and could be considered truly battle-ready. The remaining nine tanks of 3rd Company were in the process of being rebuilt and without turret. Nor was there any direct prospect of receiving newer vehicles, as it had been decided to raise another two autonomous companies with these: 346e and 350e Compagnie Autonome de Chars de Combat with ten and twelve vehicles respectively. This decision proved to be ill-founded however: in
1958-481: A decimal unit (1 franc = 10 décimes = 100 centimes) of 4.5 g of fine silver . This was slightly less than the livre of 4.505 g, but the franc was set in 1796 at 1.0125 livres (1 livre, 3 deniers ), reflecting in part the past minting of sub-standard coins. Silver coins now had their denomination clearly marked as "5 FRANCS" and it was made obligatory to quote prices in francs. This ended the ancien régime's practice of striking coins with no stated denomination, such as
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#17327764066802136-568: A different suspension system, with twelve wheels and three large vertical coil springs per side. It allowed for a top speed of 18.5 km/h, making it in 1926 the fastest French tank ever developed. As had been the case for the Renault FT Kégresse, this project was still primarily intended to result in a modification proposal to rebuild existing Renault FTs. In 1926 it transpired that the Char de Bataille project, that later resulted in
2314-461: A fixed 7.5 mm Reibel machine gun low in the nose, that is almost completely hidden behind the armour. The second crew member operates the radio set on the right side of the fighting compartment, the set being an ER ( Émetteur-Récepteur or "emitter-receiver") 51 for the NC31s and an ER52 or 53 for the series vehicles. At the right of the engine deck a very distinctive and robust radio antenna frame
2492-462: A hasty acceptance procedure, but to sabotage. The plan to send the company to Norway was soon cancelled as the reports of the previous winter clearly showed that the Char D2 was unsuited to snow conditions. Due to the events mentioned above, 19e BCC, a few years earlier still an elite armour unit and one of the most modern of France, had at the time of the German invasion of 10 May 1940 been reduced to
2670-409: A lack of really powerfully armed tanks; at that moment the organic strength of SOMUA S35 or Char B1 units was just about three hundred. Adding 49 vehicles — the flamethrower prototype could not be easily turned into a standard tank again — would thus represent a not inconsiderable reinforcement of the battle tank fleet. It was accordingly decided to modify the existing APX 1 turrets of the vehicles into
2848-525: A limited number of armoured divisions for the Infantry Arm could be raised; the Char D2 created the prospect of increasing this. Due to Renault's financial problems, this second, partially improved version, was only realised in early 1940, bringing total production to a hundred. The three prototypes were, among others, fitted with turrets of the Renault FT during a mock-up. The production models of
3026-416: A metalled road ruined the suspension systems. The unit was kept in reserve to repulse a possible counterattack by German armour, that never materialised. During the severe winter of 1940, the battalion remained in battle positions. It soon became clear that the type was ill-suited to conditions of snow and ice: the track profiles were too flat and many vehicles were involved in serious accidents, slipping into
3204-488: A most formidable defensive arm against enemy armour. From 1938, the state Atelier de Rueil , in cooperation with the Chaubeyre factory, constructed a single prototype from one of the original series of fifty, that was finished on 5 December 1939. From the vehicle, the turret had been removed and in the fighting compartment a large fuel reservoir was built with a capacity of two thousand litres. This protruded slightly above
3382-576: A new radiator was fitted. In May 1930, Renault was asked to develop two derived types, the Char D2 and the Char D3 ; the original Char D now received as designation Char D1. In 1931, it was generally expected that Belgium would soon start to replace its ageing Renault FTs. Early 1932 the Belgian company Cockerill , based at Seraing near Liège , approached Renault to inform whether it could take
3560-516: A private board of executives, was created and commissioned to produce the national currency. In 1803, the Franc germinal (named after the month Germinal in the revolutionary calendar ) was established, creating a gold franc containing 290.034 mg of fine gold. From this point, gold and silver-based units circulated interchangeably on the basis of a 1:15.5 ratio between the values of the two metals ( bimetallism ) until 1864, when all silver coins except
3738-439: A rather ineffective force. Its first company had been reassigned and even the latter's old vehicles were non-operational because the cannon-machinegun connector boxes of their sights had to be removed to be fitted to the new tanks as these had been delivered without any. Of the tanks of the other two companies, 21 had been rebuilt with the longer gun, fifteen of 2nd Company and six of 3rd Company, but only five of these had been given
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#17327764066803916-543: A ravine. Due to their increased use, including in training exercises, the Char D2s were largely worn out by this time. The battalion eagerly awaited the replacement of their 44 old vehicles by the second production series. The decision in March to upgrade the existing tanks came as a severe disappointment as it implied that the number of operational vehicles would at first decline even further as they were gradually removed from
4094-635: A reserve of this size was insufficient given the poor reliability, a Cavalry unit, 5e Chasseurs , was allowed to appropriate twenty tanks for its own use, without any proper authorisation for this. In May 1940, during the Fall of France , it was decided after the German success of Fall Gelb , to reinforce mainland France with the North-African battalions. Predictably, the readiness of the Char D1s had in
4272-432: A severe reduction of the projected manufacture, now in the form of an interim tank. Organisational difficulties with Renault caused the actual production of a first series of fifty to be delayed to the years 1936 and 1937. A second series of fifty was ordered in 1938, despite indications that the type was mechanically unreliable, as a possible cheaper addition to the expensive Char B1. With the latter type, in case of war, only
4450-589: A single NC prototype to Sweden , in that country named the Stridsvagn fm/28 . In 1929 he obtained an order of ten vehicles for Japan, there called the Renault Otsu-Gata ("Type B"); and 24 more were according to some sources delivered to Poland, fitted with 25 mm side armour, bringing the weight from 7.5 to 9.5 metric tons. In 1930, Japan received the Renault NC tanks ordered. In addition, in
4628-606: A standing figure of the king on its obverse, pictured under a canopy. Its value in money of account was one livre tournois, just like the franc à cheval , and this coin is universally known as a franc à pied . In accordance with the theories of the mathematician, economist and royal advisor Nicole Oresme , Charles struck fewer coins of better quality gold than his ancestors. In the accompanying deflation, both prices and wages fell, but wages fell faster and debtors had to settle up in better money than they had borrowed. The Mayor of Paris, Étienne Marcel , exploited their discontent to lead
4806-511: A trench of 210 centimetres could be crossed, an obstacle eighty centimetres high or a slope of 50% climbed. The hull had a fixed 7.5 mm machine-gun low in the glacis on the right side. The commander was the sole occupant of the APX1 turret, acting also as gunner and loader for the 47 mm SA34 gun, which had a limited anti-tank capacity, and the optionally coaxial 7.5 mm Châtellerault machine-gun. The gun could fire two types of ammunition:
4984-399: A very forward position. The ST1 turrets were therefore again removed from the first ten vehicles. On 23 December 1930, a first order of 70 main production series vehicles was made, followed on 12 July 1932 by a second order of 30; the last order on 16 October 1933 was of 50 vehicles, for a total of 150, delivered between January 1932 and early 1935, at a price of 375,000 FF per hull. Including
5162-518: A very large fleet of Renault FT light infantry support tanks. Although many of these were sold to other nations, over 2800 remained. In contrast to the United Kingdom, which greatly reduced its armoured forces and scrapped redundant AFVs after the war, France maintained a large number of active or reserve armoured units (with an organic tank strength of about 1260) and all of the remaining Renault FTs were kept in working order. This implied that in
5340-474: Is fitted, its point the highest of the vehicle at 2.4 metres. It impedes a full rotation of the turret to the right, limiting the total movement to about 345°. The radio operator also assists in the loading of the gun, by handing over rounds taken from the munition load of 76 to the third crew member, the commander, located in the turret. As the ST1 turret type had been rejected, a new one had to be developed. Until it
5518-442: The 4e Division Cuirassée (4 DCR), that was to be commanded by Charles de Gaulle. However, neither of these units at first was able to operate in a coherent whole with other divisional subunits: 345e CACC between 17 and 20 May fought independently, attacking towards Montcornet on the flank of the German penetration, destroying several enemy columns swerving too much to the south; 19e BCC was in no condition to fight and kept away from
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5696-415: The 6th Colonial Infantry Division [ fr ] 's defence of the village of Souain , a position blocking 8. Panzerdivision . The 3rd company of the 67 BCC repulsed the first German attacks, destroying four enemy tanks. When it executed a flanking attack, following the official tactical doctrine prescribing that the best way of defence was to use the "shock effect" of an armoured counterstroke, it
5874-514: The Atelier de Rueil presented to the Commission de Vincennes an advanced prototype of a tail destined for the Char D2, fitted with a towing hook and inbuilt jack. On 2 September the tail was attached by means of rivets and tested from 11 September. Within three days the tail was sent back, however: it had been forgotten that due to its novel construction the Char D2 possessed no real girders at
6052-577: The Balkans . Of the tanks not surrendered, the exact fate is unknown but at least one, possibly the exemplar that had fallen into a ravine, was later in the war used for clandestine research by Vichy armour engineers of the Service du Camouflage du Matériel (CDM). Apart from the two slightly different versions of the Char D2, and its Char D3 sister project, which resulted in just a single prototype, there were two important technological projects related to
6230-550: The Bastille Day parade, which was always used to publicly present new types. Some exemplars were adorned in the most complex factory camouflage scheme, using eight different hues outlined in black, among which such surprising colours as deep purple, lilac and sky blue. On 1 October 1937 the 1st Battalion of the regiment ( 1/507 ) was established as a Char D2 unit with an allotment of 45 tanks: each company had four sections of three tanks and two command vehicles; three were part of
6408-670: The Char B1 , was evolving into a far heavier tank than at first intended. It would be impossible to procure this heavier design in sufficient numbers and therefore specifications were made in the Infantry Plan 1926 for a new Char léger d'accompagnement d'infanterie , a "light infantry support tank". Renault immediately tried to offer his NC1, now called the Renault Modèle 26/27 , as the logical candidate for this role. Renault also tried to open foreign markets. In 1928 he sold
6586-516: The Euro replaced the franc on 1 January 1999, the franc was worth less than an eighth of its original 1960 purchasing power. After revaluation and the introduction of the new franc, many French people continued to use the term "old francs" ( anciens francs ) for large sums, for example for the prices of houses, apartments, and cars. This was common until the introduction of the euro and even later. Many people, old and young – even those who had never used
6764-625: The Habsburg Netherlands . The loose enforcement of monetary standards in the Dutch provinces resulted in a significant 1 ⁄ 3 rd reduction in the value of the French livre by 1549, with debasements continuing into the 17th century. The French ounce (30.594 g) of fine silver was raised in value from 1 to 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 Livre Parisis (or from 25 to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2 sols Tournois). The écu au soleil of 3.2754 g fine gold
6942-474: The Jacquerie revolt which forced Charles V out of the city. The franc fared better. It became associated with money stable at one livre tournois. A certain degree of peace achieved at the start of the 15th century helped settle the value of French currency. After 1422 the gros of 1 sol Parisis was minted at 96 to a French Mark, 3 ⁄ 4 fine (hence 1.912 g per gros), while the Écu of 20 sols Parisis
7120-658: The Livre Tournois , would eventually become the preferred accounting system under a more centralized French kingdom. The emergence of the Livre Tournois as France's preferred accounting system occurred during the reign of King Louis IX with the issuance of the silver Gros tournois with 58 issued to a French Mark of silver of fineness 23 ⁄ 24 (hence 4.044 g fine silver in a gros), and valued at 1 sol (12 deniers) in France's Touraine region though valued less than 1 sol Parisis. The new coin's reputation and handling convenience versus those of debased deniers assured
7298-541: The Louis d'or , and periodically issuing royal edicts to manipulate their value in terms of money of account, i.e. the Livre tournois . The franc became the official currency of France in 1799. Coinage with explicit denominations in decimal fractions of the franc also began in 1795. Decimalization of the franc was mandated by an act of 7 April 1795, which also dealt with the decimalization of weights and measures . France led
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7476-470: The Republican U.S. federal government and World War Foreign Debts Commission that France's war debts be repaid within 25 years at a minimal 4.25 percent interest per year. The currency devaluation contributed to French demands for high reparations payments from Germany . After a brief return to the gold standard between 1928 and 1936, the currency was allowed to resume its slide, until in 1959 it
7654-568: The ST2 , at the time seen as a possible standard turret for all heavier tanks, was considered but finally a choice was made to use the APX1 , originally developed for the Char B1, costing ₣ 200,000. This turret brought the unit price to ₣ 610,000. The fifty vehicles were only delivered from May 1936. Due to this delay a planned second order, to be made in 1935, of a hundred, to bring total production to 150
7832-786: The Vichy regime added. After the Liberation , the US attempted to impose the use of the US occupation franc , which was averted by General De Gaulle . After World War II, France devalued its currency within the Bretton Woods system on several occasions. Beginning in 1945 at a rate of 480 francs to the British Pound (119.1 to the U.S. dollar ), by 1949 the rate was 980 to the Pound (350 to
8010-461: The 1-ounce silver coins coming out of Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, leading to the 1641 currency reform under King Louis XIII . Henry III exploited the association of the franc as sound money worth one livre tournois when he sought to stabilize French currency in 1577. By this time, inflows of gold and silver from Spanish America had caused inflation throughout the world economy and
8188-404: The 100 gold franc coin was released in 1878 depicting standing genius writing the constitution. The pictured example (1889) was issued as a proof and only 100 coins were struck. The last gold 5-franc pieces were minted in 1869, and silver 5-franc coins were last minted in 1878. After 1815, the 20-franc gold coin was called a " napoléon " (royalists still called this coin a " louis "), and so that
8366-608: The 1420s also resulted in the 1434 realignment of the Flemish monetary system with the French livre. The new Flemish Guilder (Pound) of 20 Stuiver (shilling) contained 32.6 g fine silver and was approximately par with the Livre Parisis of 20 sols (38.24 g). Such parities between the French livres to the Flemish and English currencies would persist up to the 1560s and would facilitate the issue of identical coin denominations across these countries. The Great Bullion Famine of
8544-432: The 5-franc piece were debased from 90% to 83.5% silver without the weights changing. This coinage included the first modern gold coins with denominations in francs. It abandoned the revolutionary symbols of the coinage 1795, now showing Napoleon in the manner of Roman emperors , first described as "Bonaparte Premier Consul" and with the country named as "République Française". After his coronation in 1804 coins changed
8722-539: The 507e RCC depot at Vannes , of two the condition is unknown, and one fell into a ravine. The Germans captured at least 21 Char D2s: nine that were turned in by the French and twelve that had been abandoned but not destroyed by their crews. They gave the type the administrative designation Panzerkampfwagen 733 (f) but, although some German units had temporarily taken Char D2s into service immediately after capture, apparently never officially assigned it to any unit. Some turrets were fitted to an armoured train operating in
8900-452: The APX 1A version, a process that had already taken place to bring the original 34 Char B1 tanks up to Char B1 bis standard. The APX 1A retained the original protruding diascopes. From 9 March the turrets of the older vehicles were sent to the Atelier de Rueil in batches of fifteen, themselves divided into three smaller groups of five, so as to be rebuilt; at the same time it was planned to give
9078-665: The Allies on 10 November. The remaining Char D1s were concentrated into the Light Mechanized Brigade [ fr ] and fought during the Battle of Kasserine Pass . On this occasion even a Panzerkampfwagen IV was destroyed by Char D1 fire, which was quite a feat given the poor anti-armour capacity of the 47 mm SA34 gun. Pictures show that in this period the radio frame had been removed. In March 1943, all seventeen surviving Char D1s were phased out in favour of
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#17327764066809256-554: The Army again differed: five (series numbers 2054–2058) on 27 March; eight (N° 2059-2062 and 2065–2068) on 22 April; ten (N° 2069–2078) on 6 May; twelve (N° 2079–2090) on 25 May and finally two (N° 2063 en 2064) on 6 June. Of the remainder of thirteen vehicles (N° 2091–2103) it is unknown whether they were ever handed to the forces: they were sent south when the Renault factory had to be evacuated on 12 June. The second production series featured several improvements. The most important of these
9434-646: The British Valentine tank . Today not a single Char D1 survives; the only extant related vehicle is one "NC27" in Sweden. To ensure adequate coordination between tanks and artillery during modern manoeuvre warfare, good radio connections are essential. Plan 1934 of the Infantry, outlining future tank design, therefore foresaw the production of a special radio tank, the Char Observatoire that
9612-582: The Char B1 bis being built at a rate of three per month and the SOMUA S35 even yet having to enter mass production. On 26 June 1938 the tanks were individually named after great French military victories during a special ceremony, being baptised with bottles of champagne. De Gaulle would use the Austerlitz , Rocroi and finally the Yorktown as his personal tank during parades, having a cushion fixed on
9790-614: The Char D into licence production, purely for the Belgian market. Louis Renault in turn on 25 March 1932 asked permission from the French Ministry of Defence to allow Cockerill to produce a French tank, arguing that the close military ties between the two nations favoured such an undertaking. On 13 April the Ministry answered that Renault seemed to have forgotten to indicate to which type exactly his request pertained, though this matter
9968-534: The Dollar). This was reduced further in 1957 and 1958, reaching 1382.3 to the Pound (493.7 to the Dollar, equivalent to 1 franc = 1.8 mg pure gold). In January 1960 the French franc was revalued, with 100 existing francs making one nouveau franc . The abbreviation "NF" was used on the 1958 design banknotes until 1963. Old one- and two-franc coins continued to circulate as new centimes (no new centimes were minted for
10146-635: The French Franc was introduced in 1795. Emperor Charlemagne's monetary system was introduced in 781 AD to the Frankish Carolingian Empire and spread over the centuries to much of Western Europe , with a Livre (pound) of silver divided into 20 Sols or Sous (shillings) and the Sol divided into 12 Deniers (penny). Only the denier existed as a coin for the next 500 years, with the sou and livre functioning as accounting multiples of
10324-531: The French kings would struggle to implement fixed standards for the livre over a decentralized realm of Frankish feudal rulers, many of whom claimed the right to issue currency within their own domains, and often resorting to currency debasements in moments of stringency. While monetary values as proclaimed by French kings would eventually be identified as the Livre Parisis , other regions almost always got by with currencies of lower standard. One such currency,
10502-532: The League of Nations altogether, making the limitation talks irrelevant, from which then France retired also. Existing plans to produce 750 Char D2s, 150 per year for the period 1935–1939, (six hundred to equip twelve battalions and 150 as a matériel reserve) were immediately reduced. On 14 January 1934 the High Command confirmed only the plan of a first production order of fifty. All these decisions were taken on
10680-489: The Mark, 23 + 1 ⁄ 8 karats fine (3.2754 g fine gold), and was valued at 25 Sols Parisis. The close of the 15th century saw the beginnings of a more centralized French currency system and the discontinuation of competing currency systems within France. The Livre Parisis of 1 French ounce approximately matched the silver content of 1 ⁄ 6 th pound sterling (1 troy ounce of sterling silver). It would also become
10858-426: The NC31s the series numbers were 1,000-1,160. The factory designation was still Renault NC. The series vehicles had many improvements: a Cleveland differential ; a 74 hp instead of a 65 hp engine; the exhaust pipes were placed to the right, no longer crossing the engine room and there were support rollers fitted to prevent resonance in the top track run. Finally, the fuel tank was enlarged to 165 litres and
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#173277640668011036-622: The Republic: the old gold and silver coins were taken out of circulation and exchanged for printed assignats , initially issued as bonds backed by the value of the confiscated goods of churches, but later declared as legal tender currency . The withdrawn gold and silver coins were used to finance the French Revolutionary Wars and to import food, which was in short supply. As during the " Mississippi Bubble " in 1715–1720, too many assignats were put in circulation, exceeding
11214-609: The Schneider company; they were of the ST1 type ( Schneider Tourelle 1 ). As this turret was much wider than the Renault FT turret used on all previous NC models, Renault broadened the hull accordingly; the typical tapering nose point of the Renault FT was abandoned. The ten hulls were delivered between May and November 1931: after an interval of ten years after the delivery of the last Char 2C in 1921, French tank series production for
11392-521: The adoption of the gros tournois to the rest of Western Europe. Towards the reign of King Philip IV le Bel came pressures to further debase the denier, which occurred in 1317 when the Gros Tournois was raised to 15 deniers Tournois or 12 deniers (1 sol) Parisis , thus commencing the fixed parity of 4 deniers Parisis to 5 deniers Tournois . While French kings would continue to prescribe coin values in multiples of 4 and 12 deniers Parisis until
11570-565: The auspices of the League of Nations , imposing an upper weight limit of twenty metric tonnes for armoured fighting vehicles. The Direction de l'Infanterie proposed on 23 January 1930, in a letter to the ministry of defence, to build a better armoured tank, using 40 mm plate, that nevertheless would be swifter at 22 km/h by fitting a 120 hp engine. The weight however should rise only from 14 to 15.5 metric tonnes, made possible by using welded instead of riveted armour plate. On 14 April
11748-411: The back hatch, to use the reserve machine gun as an AA-weapon. Analogous to the Char B1 bis designation for the similarly improved second Char B1 version, some internal unit documents in 1940 began to refer to the second series as the "Char D2 bis", but this was never an official name. Other changes included: an improved greasing system; reinforced ball bearings for the road wheels; a different form for
11926-428: The back to secure the rivets; when they had to carry the entire weight of the tank, the rivets tore themselves from the armour plate. A second type, weighing 210 kilogrammes, and now securing via an intermediary welded plate and bolts, was ready on 5 February and approved for production; the French defeat prevented any being fitted to the tanks. There are no surviving Char D2 vehicles. Char D1 The Char D1
12104-650: The basis of experience gained with the riveted prototype, though it was well understood that from it no firm conclusions could be drawn on the quality of the intended welded type. Meanwhile, two welded prototypes had been ordered in December 1932. These were finished in August 1933, but only delivered in November. From December 1934 till the summer of 1935 the Commission de Vincennes used the three available prototypes to test different engine configurations. The riveted hull
12282-400: The battalion could only bring into the field seventeen tanks and failed miserably: the intended accompanying French infantry fled in panic when the tanks completed their approach march behind them, mistaking the rare type for German armour. When the Char D2s advanced to the German positions disregarding the lack of infantry support, seven vehicles were disabled by German antitank-guns. To bring
12460-655: The battalion strength to be rebuilt. On 26 April the situation deteriorated even further when the order came to split off one of the companies. On 7 May it would be turned into an autonomous tank company, the 345e CACC ( Compagnie Autonome de Chars de Combat ) under command of Captain Jean-Charles Idée, to be part of the CEFS ( Corps Expeditionnaire Français de Scandinavie ), the French Expeditionary Corps of Scandinavia, that had been built up during
12638-416: The battalion up to strength again to function as an armour reserve during the expected main German operation against France as a whole, Fall Rot , on 2 June the 346e CACC was made an organic company of 19e BCC, but using thirteen older vehicles and (also poorly trained) reserve crews, assigned on 14 May to replace 1st Company, from the battalion. On 8 June 350ème CACC was formed with twelve new vehicles; it
12816-413: The central battalion reserve. The five remaining tanks were used in the central driver school. From 5 September Charles de Gaulle commanded the unit, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel until 25 December 1937, when he was promoted full colonel. De Gaulle, France's foremost armour specialist of the day, used the type to test his ideas about tank tactics, especially in the field of radio communication. Though
12994-503: The condition of the first fifty vehicles was so poor that the best way to keep the single battalion equipped with the type operational was a complete replacement of the older with the newer vehicles. The first batch could then be rebuilt into flamethrowers . After the start of the Second World War Édouard Daladier on 27 September 1939 decided that the type would not be among the few chosen for further mass production but that
13172-543: The conversion of francs to euros was carried out at a rate of 6.55957 francs to 1 euro. The French Franc traces its origins to the Carolingian monetary system of the 8th century AD, and more specifically to the Livre Tournois , an offshoot of the same system which emerged in the 13th century. Here is a table of changes to the value of the Livre Parisis and the Livre Tournois in terms of silver or gold until
13350-422: The currency returned to being simply the franc. Many French residents, though, continued to quote prices of especially expensive items in terms of the old franc (equivalent to the new centime ), up to and even after the introduction of the euro (for coins and banknotes) in 2002. The French franc was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1998 and 2002,
13528-707: The deadlock was broken by a new agreement: Renault would first build a prototype with a riveted hull, the Renault UZ , which was delivered in April 1932. First the type was tested in Rueil ; in May 1933 field tests were carried out by 503e RCC . The type was accepted for production, which decision was affirmed by the Conseil Consultatif de l'Armement on 12 December 1933. At that moment however, Germany had just left
13706-465: The denier. The first livre and denier weighed 407.92 g and 1.7 g, respectively, of the finest silver available. Livres and deniers issued c. 1000 under the Capetian dynasty contained 305.94 g and 1.27475 g fine silver, respectively. The French Mark of 8 ounces was a unit of weight equal to 244.752 grams, and equal in weight to 192 deniers or 16 sols of this period. In subsequent centuries
13884-532: The designation NC28 . Of the two prototypes, the first was fitted with the twin machine gun turret of the SRA Char de Bataille prototype. Also a new suspension system was tested incorporating the special chenille légère ("light track") designed by Colonel Balland, which was optimised for high speeds. As this vehicle was a derivative of the NC1, it was later indicated with the designation NC2 , creating confusion with
14062-509: The earlier project of that name; many later books assumed they were one and the same vehicle. The Army made a choice in March 1929 for the second prototype, the NC3 gun tank, and ordered a pre-series of ten vehicles in December 1929. These had the Renault factory designation NC31 , after the intended year of delivery. Renault merely had to build the hulls at a price of 400,000 FF each; the cast turrets were, as usual in France, separately ordered with
14240-416: The early 1930s a single tank was delivered to Greece. All of these vehicles were described by postwar writers under the name NC27 , but this was not a contemporary designation. In 1928, Renault succeeded in his attempt to get his Renault NC accepted as the basis for further light infantry tank development; he was granted an order to build two prototypes. The Army called this project the Char D , Renault used
14418-698: The early twenties France had the strongest and most modern armoured force in the world, but this very fact led to a state of complacency. Development of new tank models was not seen as urgent, and budgetary restraints would for the immediate future prohibit any further tank production. When in 1922 General Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne concluded an official study containing guidelines for long term tank design, no provisions were made for any new light infantry tank. The remaining Renault FT vehicles, though having shown themselves to be very effective in trench warfare, were not well adapted in their present state of technological development to peacetime conditions. The main problem
14596-646: The end of the 15th century, the rest of France would gradually choose to recognize their increased values in multiples of 5 and 15 deniers Tournois. The start of the Hundred Years' War against England in 1337 would increase the pressure to further debase the French livre. An attempt in 1343 to reverse earlier depreciations of circulating deniers and reinstate the old 1317-era gros tournois (forte monnaie, or strong money) caused financial havoc especially with borrowers who received depreciated coins and who then had to repay debts in forte monnaie. Lower valuations for
14774-480: The end the situation forced a reunion of all Char D2 units into one battalion. On 15 May the Germans achieved a decisive breakthrough near Sedan ; the French command reacted to the crisis by ordering all available surplus armour matériel reserves to be organised into ad hoc-units, in order to engage the advancing enemy forces. Both 19e BCC and 345e CACC were that day assigned to a newly to be raised armoured division,
14952-464: The enemy — and decided to accept the weight penalty, choosing the alternative ST2 that was simply a larger turret that had more room at the back, weighing three metric tonnes. Nevertheless, a single pre-series vehicle was fitted with the ST3 for trials and afterwards used in this configuration by the driver school. This ST2 turret had a very complex geometry with many shot traps . This was partly caused by
15130-451: The events led the Army to conclude that it should rid itself as soon as possible of the troublesome matériel. Even though some modifications were implemented, such as a changed antenna base that did not obstruct turret rotation, early 1937, when newer types were available, all Char D1s in mainland France were phased out, with the exception of the NC31s. The Char D1s were thereafter shipped to the typical destination of French army ordnance that
15308-480: The first reports regarding the operational use of the type were rather alarming in that they clearly indicated an unreliable vehicle. Despite hesitations the order was actually made in June 1938. However, production at first failed to materialise due to severe financial and social problems with Renault. This aggravated the reliability problems for the existing vehicles as also insufficient spare parts were manufactured. At
15486-465: The first series had the APX-1 turret, armed with a short 47mm SA34 tank gun. The second series used the much more powerful 47mm SA35 tank gun; from March 1940 this was retrofitted to a number of the older vehicles, despite a parallel project to rebuild them as flamethrower tanks. In 1937 the type equipped one tank battalion, which was considered an elite unit, as part of Charles de Gaulle 's regiment. It
15664-410: The first two years). The one-centime coin never circulated widely. Inflation continued to erode the franc's value: between 1950 and 1960, price levels increased 72 per cent (5.7% per year on average); between 1960 and 1970, it increased 51 per cent (4.2%). Only one further major devaluation occurred (11% in August 1969) before the Bretton Woods system was replaced by free-floating exchange rates. When
15842-538: The franc entirely between 1 January and 1 March 2002. In August 1795, the Monetary Law replaced the livre ("pound") with the franc , which was divided into 10 décimes ("tenths") and 100 centimes ("hundredths"). Copper coins were issued in the denominations of 1 centime, 5 centimes, 1 décime, and 2 décimes, designed by Augustin Dupré . After 1801, French copper coins became rare. The 5-centime copper coin
16020-462: The franc's strength: war expenditure, inflation and postwar reconstruction, financed partly by printing ever more money, reduced the franc's purchasing power by 70% between 1915 and 1920. After a brief appreciation of the franc during the Depression of 1920–1921 , it depreciated a further 43% between 1922 and a balancing of the budget in 1926. This devaluation was aggravated by the insistence of
16198-410: The frontline, not participating in the counterattacks of 17 and 19 May by 4 DCR near Laon . On 17 May 346e CACC was raised with ten new tanks and crews taken from the 106e Bataillon de Chars , a training unit instructing in the use of the Char B1 bis. The men received a crash course how to operate the other tank type but it was soon perceived that they could not possibly acquire the necessary skills in
16376-494: The home market was thus resumed. The ten pre-series hulls were tested by the 503e Régiment de Chars de Combat . Many shortcomings were discovered by the Commission de Bourges , the French Infantry matériel commission. Steering was difficult, the suspension too weak and the exhaust pipes overheated the engine compartment. Nevertheless, the type was accepted for mass production — the commission had little choice in this as
16554-426: The hull roof, and containing a mixture of benzol and light oil. Beneath it a fuel pump was installed, able to pump 1800 litres per minute through a nozzle fitted in the front of the hull. The range was about fifty metres. During tests, the results were quite impressive and on 28 March 1940 fifty conversion sets were ordered. These were to be of a different model with a smaller nine hundred-litre fuel reservoir and using
16732-429: The hulls a complete factory overhaul; due to a lack of spare parts this revision was delayed and less thorough than originally intended. Turrets and hulls were thus separated, making it difficult to put the tanks together again in an emergency situation. The first five vehicles left on 11 March, taken from the 2nd Company of 19e BCC. Part of the first main batch were also a command tank and a replacement vehicle. On 12 April
16910-408: The idea, with the argument that, apart from the secrecy problem, it was best to keep the employment in France. Renault protested that Belgium would not import tanks anyway, in view of its balance of payments difficulties and that "if we don't do it, Vickers will", but on 29 June had to report Cockerill that the plans could not proceed; he suggested that Belgium simply import his tanks, but in fact it
17088-457: The idler and sprocket to reduce the chance that tracks would be thrown; shorter mudguards; a thinner antenna; a new Vertex distributor and a Vlet starter engine using compressed air to reduce the demand on the battery. Rebuilding the original production series as flamethrowers was considered, and a single prototype had already been created of this modification; on 27 September 1939 a first batch of fifteen had been ordered and on 23 April 1940 it
17266-532: The intended cast ST2 turrets were not yet ready. The ST2 turret was armed with a short 47mm SA34 tank gun with a coaxial 7.5mm machine gun. The hull carried a 7.5mm MG in the bow. The type did not serve as an infantry support tank as originally intended, but as France's major battle tank of the early 1930s; it was quickly phased out in 1937 because of its mechanical unreliability and relegated to colonial units in North Africa . After World War I, France possessed
17444-521: The king's title as Francorum Rex (" King of the Franks " in Latin) and provides another reason to call the coin a franc. John's son, Charles V , continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, at Flanders. Conquests led by Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to return to sound coinage and he revived the franc à cheval . John II , however,
17622-444: The kings of France, who weren't getting much of this wealth, only made things worse by manipulating the values assigned to their coins. The States General which met at Blois in 1577 added to the public pressure to stop currency manipulation. Henry III agreed to do this and he revived the franc, now as a silver coin valued at one livre tournois. This coin and its fractions circulated until 1641 when Louis XIII of France replaced it with
17800-403: The large protruding diascopes at the sides, but also a result of forcing the commander to operate in three height levels: he had to stretch himself to observe his surroundings via the cupola, had a forward observation hatch that he could look through while standing in a normal position and had to crouch to operate the 47 mm SA34 gun to the right of him and the coaxial 7.5 mm machine gun to
17978-536: The left side of the hull. Only one vehicle was experimentally modified this way. After the war it has long been assumed that the surviving pictures of this vehicle showed a presumed command tank, the Char Colonel . French Franc The franc ( / f r æ ŋ k / ; French : franc français , [fʁɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ] ; sign : F or Fr ), also commonly distinguished as the French franc ( FF ),
18156-459: The left. The lower level had its own extension, where extra room had been found in the front of the turret to bring the machine gun forward, while retracting the main gun, thus improving balance even further. Needless to say, the army was very critical of this general arrangement, but it could not be rejected as deliveries were already greatly delayed: the first replacement turrets were fitted only in early 1936. The ST2, weighing 1788 kg, brought
18334-545: The limited time available, so the company was in fact put to the disposal of 19e BCC, that kept the new crews in reserve and used their new tanks as replacements for broken down older vehicles. After already having been officially placed under its command on 18 May, on 21 May 345e CACC was actually reunited with 19e BCC as its 1st Company, to boost the number of operational tanks of the battalion; other measures taken to that effect included putting turrets on four vehicles of 3rd Company and fitting new sight connector boxes to some of
18512-471: The livre had to be accepted subsequently as the war raged on. In 1361 the gros tournois of 15 deniers Tournois (1 sol Parisis) was minted at 84 to a French Mark of silver, 23/24 fine (hence, 2.79 g fine silver in a gros). At the same time gold flowing from Southern Europe started to become an important medium of exchange in the North, so gold francs worth 1 livre Tournois (16 sols Parisis) were minted at 63 to
18690-423: The main series had already been ordered — provided that changes were made. The strangely squeezed ST1 turret, the first ten of which were delivered from November 1930, was rejected though as being unacceptably cramped and unbalanced. To prevent that each time the gun was loaded, the breech had to be lowered into the fighting compartment or otherwise the round could not be shoved in, the main armament had been placed in
18868-477: The matériel. Under the armistice conditions, France was in principle allowed to keep its remaining (in fact 106) Char D1s in North-Africa. However pure tank units, such as the tank battalions, had to be disbanded and only 62 tanks were divided among 2 and 4 Chasseurs d'Afrique , about forty and twenty respectively plus two tanks for driver training. This posed a problem for 5e Chasseurs that still possessed
19046-496: The meantime only worsened. It was decided to concentrate all 43 operational vehicles available into 67 BCC, the first unit to be shipped to France. As Italy had not yet declared war, the battalion reached France in relative safety in early June. On 9 June the main attack of Fall Rot began and on 11 June the German Panzerdivisionen attained a breakthrough . To cover the retreat, 67 BCC on 12 June reinforced
19224-478: The mid-15th century resulted in yet another debasement during the reign of King Louis XI , with the Livre Parisis reduced to 1 French ounce (30.594 g) fine silver or 2.620 g fine gold. The silver gros was minted at 69 to the French Mark, 23 ⁄ 24 fine (3.4 g fine silver) and was valued at 1 ⁄ 9 th the Livre Parisis (or 2 + 2 ⁄ 9 sols). The gold écu au soleil was minted at 72 to
19402-461: The ministry of defence decided on 10 April 1937, confirmed by the Conseil Consultatif de l'Armement in May 1937, to place a second order of fifty vehicles. This was done in the context of an ongoing discussion whether or not to proceed with the production of the expensive and obsolescent Char B1; continued production of the Char D2 kept all options open. Renault gave the assurance that his factory could manufacture two hundred units per year. During 1937
19580-532: The model for Germany when it started issuing the 1-ounce silver Guldengroschen divided into 21 Groschen (gros, shillings) or 252 Pfennige (pence). A considerable acceleration in the debasement of the French, English and Dutch currencies occurred during the reign of the Valois-Angoulême kings in the 16th century amidst the huge influx of precious metals from the American continent arriving through
19758-413: The modern equipment was supposed to show to foreign powers that France was still a force to be reckoned with. For the regiments receiving the new tank, it was a grave disappointment however. The main reason for this, besides the fact that the obsolete Renault FT turrets had to be used for the first four years, lay in its very poor mechanical reliability. In March 1934, when 110 vehicles had been delivered, it
19936-421: The more modern SOMUA S35 but sales of that type had been denied, priority being given to the needs of the French army. Negotiations, complicated by issues of technology transfer and a possible licence production, failed at first; however, early 1939 directing the second production batch to Poland was considered, but this was eventually forbidden by the French supreme commander Maurice Gamelin . He had learned that
20114-524: The name franc already being used in Switzerland and Belgium , whilst other countries minted local denominations, redeemable across the bloc with 1-to-1 parity, though with local names: e.g., the peseta . In 1873, the LMU went over to a purely gold standard of 1 franc = 0.290322581 grams of gold. The outbreak of World War I caused France to leave the gold standard of the LMU. The war severely undermined
20292-464: The new vehicles would never be destined for 19e BCC, not even in a later phase. On 29 April the company received its replacement tanks, but these transpired to be, though brand-new, in a very poor mechanical condition and broke down almost immediately. The causes were never investigated; conforming to the pervading Fifth Column atmosphere of the day, the malfunctioning was not attributed to the structurally deficient quality control at Renault combined with
20470-444: The obverse legend to "Napoleon Empereur", dropping his family name in the manner of regnal names . In 1807, the reverse legend changed to name France as " Empire Français ". In analogy with the old Louis d'or these coins were called Gold Napoleons . Economically, this sound money was a great success and Napoleon's fall did not change that. Succeeding governments maintained Napoleon's weight standard, with changes in design which traced
20648-418: The old franc – still quoted prices in old francs, confusing tourists and people abroad. For example, lottery prizes were most often advertised in amounts of centimes, equivalent to the old franc, to inflate the perceived value of the prizes at stake. Multiples of 10NF were occasionally referred to as "mille francs" (thousand francs) or "mille balles" ("balle" being a slang word for franc) in contexts where it
20826-476: The old vehicles of 1st Company; two of the latter's old tanks were cannibalised to provide spare parts. By these measures the battalion was able to commit itself to battle; it fought for the first time near Amiens on 24 May and was able to field a peak strength of 24 vehicles the next day. Soon readiness again declined; on 27 May, the day of the large counterattack by 4 DCR to reduce the Somme bridgehead of Amiens,
21004-521: The original turret to place the nozzle in. On 23 April, the order was given to rebuild all fifty vehicles of the first series, in batches of fifteen, but in fact these were, as said, already being rebuilt in an up-arming programme. The second programme was that of a trench-crossing tail. In the First World War such tails, fitted to the back of a tank, had shown themselves quite useful for overcoming trenches and anti-tank ditches. The climbing tail
21182-585: The plan was approved and in May Louis Renault was contacted, who agreed to develop this type as the Char D2 , together with a colonial tank, the Char D3 , which would closely resemble its sister project. To introduce the new welding technique entailed hiring foreign experts, which was very expensive. Renault insisted that the costs would be paid in advance by the French Army, which however had no corresponding budget available. On 8 December 1931
21360-700: The political fall of the French Convention . Then followed the economic failure of the Directoire : coins were still very rare. After a coup d'état that led to the Consulate , the First Consul progressively acquired sole legislative power at the expense of the other unstable and discredited consultative and legislative institutions. In 1800 the Banque de France , a federal establishment with
21538-662: The political history of France. In particular, this currency system was retained during the Bourbon Restoration and perpetuated until 1914. France was a founding member of the Latin Monetary Union (LMU), a single currency employed primarily by the Romance -speaking and other Mediterranean states between 1865 and the First World War. The common currency was based on the franc germinal, with
21716-400: The price, Renault opted to implement a novel construction technique, using large flat screws, serving both as bolts and, applied heated, as rivets, attaching the main armour plates to each other by means of thin connecting steel strips. This way no internal girders, forming a real chassis, were needed. The armour plates were 40 mm thick. Like with the Char D1 there was a crew of three, but
21894-626: The problem of how to combine low weight with low cost by applying weak components of inferior steel quality: other Renault designs as the AMR 33 , AMC 35 and Char D2 suffered from comparable problems. In 1935 a large maintenance programme was started to improve the Char D1's mechanical reliability; but when in March 1936 the elite units had to hurry to the German border in reaction to the Rhineland Crisis , it became painfully obvious how poor their readiness still was. The new ST2 turret only worsened
22072-413: The project had been seen as more of a cheaper alternative to the Char B than as a pure light infantry tank; the political situation of the early thirties would force the Char D1 completely into the role of Char de Bataille or "battle tank". In 1932, the Char D1 was the most — indeed the only — modern tank matériel available to the French Army. Therefore, it was out of the question to delegate this type to
22250-478: The radio-telegraphy operator sat to the right of the driver instead of the commander, and the antenna, of the ER52 set, has been moved to a position next to him. To make room a hull machine-gun was absent. This new configuration had been demanded to create a roomier fighting compartment. Two command vehicles, series numbers 2016 and 2049, had a second antenna on the left to serve their ER51 long range set. The engine power
22428-404: The range is ninety kilometres; it can climb a 110 cm obstacle and a 50% slope, cross a 220 cm trench and wade through 90 cm of water. The type thus had a relatively good mobility for the early thirties. In the hull are two crew members. The first is the driver who, as with the Renault FT, is seated below large double hatches that form the nose plates. He can operate, via a steel cable,
22606-485: The reduced 24-livre Louis contained 6.88 g fine gold. The livre tournois was swapped in 1795 for the French Franc (or franc germinal), worth 4.5 g silver or 9 ⁄ 31 g = 0.29032 g gold (ratio 15.5), at a rate of 1 franc = 1 + 1 ⁄ 80 livres or 1 livre, 3 deniers. The decimal "franc" was established as the national currency by the National Convention of Revolutionary France in 1795 as
22784-405: The reduction in the gold content of the 24-livre Louis d'Or from 1/30th to 1/32nd of a Mark, 11/12 fine. While the silver standard remained unchanged, assays of the period indicate that coins contained approximately 1.5% less bullion than officially specified. The 1795 swapping of livres to francs at the rate of 1.0125 livres = 1 franc suggest that the 6-livre ecu contained 26.67 g fine silver while
22962-421: The remaining D1s were left in various villages as an attempt to strengthen their defense. Only four tanks remained on 14 June: three were disabled by their crew and the last one destroyed by an aerial attack. Of the 43 Char D1s participating in the campaign, 25 were completely destroyed; eighteen were captured by the Germans and given the designation Panzerkampfwagen 732 (f) . There is no documented German use of
23140-487: The role of mere infantry support. It now should function as the Char de Bataille , with the main task of fighting enemy armour, as was shown by the choice for a 47 mm gun and the presence of radio sets. The ten NC31s were used for driver training; the other vehicles were allocated to three battalions, one each in 507, 508 and 510 RCC, the elite tank units. As the threat of war steadily increased, first through Soviet military build-up and then because of Germany's rearmament,
23318-464: The same time the Char D1 was ordered, a plan was made to develop a more modern tank. The Char D1 had already departed from the pure infantry support concept and evolved from a light into a medium tank, capable of fighting enemy armour; this made it the obvious candidate to be quickly changed into a lighter alternative for the Char B1 battle tank, needed because the latter type was in danger of being forbidden by an expected armaments limitation treaty under
23496-656: The same time the production process of another Renault tank type, the AMC 35 , was faltering. Interest in the AMC 35 project was more or less kept alive by a foreign buyer, i.c. Belgium , and something similar happened for the Char D2. In August 1938 a commission arrived from Poland , investigating whether the Char D2 could be produced for that country, using an export credit of a billion franc that Poland had obtained in September 1936 to procure French weaponry. Initially Poland had favoured
23674-424: The second batch of fifteen was sent. Remarkably, this process did not lead to an official cancellation of the flamethrower project which — be it only on paper — proceeded. In April 1937 the elite 507e RCC ( Régiment de Chars de Combat ) based at Metz was the first unit to receive the Char D2. After sufficient crews had been trained three tank companies were raised, which on 14 July of the same year participated in
23852-625: The second order would nevertheless have to be completed to indeed allow a replacement; a first batch of fifteen flamethrowers was ordered. This also implied that funds were made available to recommence manufacture at Renault. Plans foresaw a delivery of five vehicles in February 1940, eight in March and then ten units each month until the last seven would be delivered in July. In fact in February six vehicles were produced, in March seventeen; six in April; thirteen in May and eight in June. Actual deliveries to
24030-615: The silver écu . Nevertheless, the name "franc" continued in accounting as a synonym for the livre tournois . In the 17th century King Louis XIII abolished its unpopular coinage of francs and ecus in favour of Spanish-modelled coins. It also abolished the Livre Parisis system in favour of exclusive use of the Livre Tournois. The Spanish dollar was the model for the Louis d'Argent – 9 to a French Mark (244.752 g) of silver, 11 ⁄ 12 fine (hence 24.93 g fine silver), and valued at 3 livres tournois. The Spanish doubloon or two-escudo coin
24208-443: The situation: the glass of the diascopes was discovered to shatter by mere driving; there was no AP-shot available, except for about twenty tanks equipped with the naval 47 mm gun, fitted because the regular SA34 was in short supply; the munition racks hadn't yet been changed to hold the larger rounds. The SA34 was too weak a gun anyway; but the turret was too small to be adapted to the much more powerful 47 mm SA35. Analysis of
24386-411: The square hole of the extension, providing more room for the commander, who, when operating the gun, would still enjoy some protection against small arms fire, without the weight penalty of a larger turret. The matériel commission judged this system, though ingenious, to be hugely impractical — it made the turret more vulnerable in precisely those situations where it was most likely to be hit: when fighting
24564-580: The suspension of the Kégresse half-track , fitted with a special rubber steel-reinforced track. In 1925 42 vehicles were rebuilt this way and deployed in 1926 during the Berber insurrection in Morocco. The modification allowed for a top speed of 17 km/h but field experience showed that the track was liable to suddenly snapping at top speed with often catastrophic consequences and the modification project
24742-560: The total weight to fourteen metric tons and, costing 100,000 FF per piece, the total vehicle price to 475,000 FF. The Char D1 was thus neither particularly light nor cheap, causing the Hotchkiss company to propose a design better conforming to the role of mass-produced light infantry tank, which proposal would eventually result in no less than three production types: the Hotchkiss H35 , Renault R35 and FCM 36 . However, even in 1926
24920-539: The turret hatch he had to sit on, to accentuate his already great physical height; his legs were so long he had to let them rest on the shoulders of the driver. When war threatened, France mobilised. According to the mobilisation plans the tank regiments were to be split up and their battalions rearranged into autonomous tank brigades, the Groupements de Bataillons de Chars , that would serve as an armour reserve at army (group) level. Accordingly, on 27 August 1939 1/507
25098-578: The twenty clandestine vehicles; only 86 vehicles had been reported. When the Italian armistice control commission visited, these tanks were successfully hidden behind the stable for mad horses. During Operation Torch , the tanks of the 2 Chasseurs d'Afrique fought near Oran against American M3 Stuarts of 1st Armored Regiment ( 1st Armored Division ) and M3 Gun Motor Carriages of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion . One M3 GMC and one Stuart were destroyed but 14 D1s were lost. The French troops rejoined
25276-549: The type. The first was the design of a flamethrower tank. This was not originally motivated by a desire to acquire a weapon able to destroy enemy pillboxes, the normal function of such systems, but inspired by the experience gained during the Spanish Civil War that tanks were quite vulnerable to attacks by portable flamethrowers. From this, it was deduced that an entire flamethrower tank, supporting an entrenched position strengthened by anti-tank obstacles, should present
25454-478: The value of the "national properties", and the coins, due also to military requisitioning and hoarding, rarefied to pay foreign suppliers. With national government debt remaining unpaid, and a shortage of silver and brass to mint coins, confidence in the new currency declined, leading to hyperinflation , more food riots , severe political instability and termination of the First French Republic and
25632-600: The winter to assist Finland against the USSR in the Winter War . Finland already having been defeated, it was now redirected to assist Norway against the German invasion during Operation Weserübung . By drawing lots it was decided that the First Company ( 1/19 BCC ) would be sent. The company would be equipped with fourteen tanks of the second production series, leaving its old tanks behind. This seemed to imply that
25810-608: The world in adopting the metric system and it was the second country to convert from a non-decimal to a decimal currency, following Russia 's conversion in 1704, and the third country to adopt a decimal coinage, also following the United States in 1787. France's first decimal coinage used allegorical figures symbolizing revolutionary principles, like the coinage designs the United States had adopted in 1793. The circulation of this metallic currency declined during
25988-408: Was a currency of France . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced (in decimal form ) in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was redenominated in 1960, with each new franc ( NF ) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before
26166-439: Was an Interwar French light tank . The French plan of 1926, calling for the creation of a Light Infantry Support Tank , led to the development of the existing Renault NC1 prototype into the Char D1. One hundred and sixty vehicles of this type were produced between 1931 and 1935. There was a pre-series of ten vehicles and later 150 standard vehicles were built. Until 1936 the vehicles were fitted with Renault FT turrets because
26344-546: Was called a sou , referring to "sole" (fr. Latin: solidus ), until the 1920s. An Imperial 10-décime coin was produced in billon from 1807 to 1810. During the Consulship period (1799–1804) silver francs were struck in decimal coinage. A five-franc coin was first introduced in 1801–02 ( L'AN 10), half-franc, one-franc, and gold 40-franc coins were introduced in 1802–03 (L'AN 11), and quarter-franc and two-franc coins in 1803–04 (L'AN 12). The 5-franc silver coin
26522-424: Was called an écu , after the six-livre silver coin of the ancien regime , until the 1880s. Copper coins were rarely issued between 1801 and 1848, so the quarter franc was the lowest current denomination in circulation. But during this period, copper coins from earlier periods circulated. A Napoleon 5-centime coin (in bell metal ) and Napoleon and Restoration 1-décime coins were minted. Most pre-decimal silver
26700-425: Was cancelled. It had been assumed that the lighter Char D2 could be quickly produced as an interim type, to speed the formation of the first Infantry armoured division of the Infantry. In essence the Char D2 was an improved Char D1. The different turret type used, increased its height somewhat to 266.6 centimetres; the hull was 175.5 centimetres high. The length of the hull, without tail, was 546 centimetres; its width
26878-550: Was clear that the speaker did not mean 1,000 new francs. The expression "heavy franc" ( franc lourd ) was also commonly used to designate the new franc. All franc coins and banknotes ceased to be legal tender in January 2002, upon the official adoption of the Euro . From 1 January 1999, the value exchange rate of the French franc against the Euro was set at a fixed parity of €1 = 6.55957 F. Euro coins and notes replaced
27056-412: Was decided to modify all vehicles. Nevertheless, there was a parallel plan, irreconcilable with the flame thrower project, to up-arm them all. In September 1939 two of the five vehicles used at the central driver school (ECC) were experimentally fitted with the longer gun, leaving three tanks to be employed for training. In the winter of 1940 it became apparent that France would have for the immediate future
27234-513: Was equipped with a 120 hp petrol engine; the other two with diesel engines. These were rejected in favour of the petrol engine even though its combination with the intended welded hull had not yet been tested. Nevertheless, on 29 December 1934 the order of fifty hulls was granted to Renault, at a price of 410,000 French Francs per piece. The turrets were produced separately. First the ST3 turret ( Schneider Tourelle 3 ) had been tested in 1933; then
27412-416: Was increased considerably to 150 hp by installing a Renault V-6 9.5 litres motor, but as the weight increased to 19.75 (just below the twenty tonne limit) instead of the intended 15.5 metric tonnes, the gain in maximum speed was only to 23 km/h. The gear box had four speeds. Four fuel tanks together holding 352 litres allowed for a range of a hundred kilometres. The wading capacity was 120 centimetres,
27590-516: Was indeed the British Vickers company of which the models would be taken into licence production by Belgium. The Char D1's Renault FT ancestry can still be seen from the sloping engine deck and the profile of the side armour plates; it is also still a rather narrow vehicle, only 2.16 metre wide. Its length is 5.76 metre with tail. The riveted hull armour is thirty mm thick on all vertical surfaces, ten mm on top and bottom. The NC31 introduced
27768-402: Was itself hit in the flank by 37mm anti-tank fire and lost seven vehicles without any gain . Further German attacks were beaten off, again destroying some enemy tanks . The 2nd company was engaged by German infantry near Suippes . The 6th Colonial Division ordered a withdrawal to the south during the night. During this retreat, the 67 BCC lost most of its tanks. The 3rd company was ambushed and
27946-411: Was joined to 19e BCC on 19 June. On that day this battalion was already in a dismal state, having had to cover the retreat of 4 DCR during the collapse of the French front. The large distances covered and the lack of time to carry out maintenance led to a quick reduction of the number of operational tanks. On 23 June, two days before the armistice, having again become separated from 350e CACC, the battalion
28124-487: Was minted at 64 to a French Mark, 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 karats or 15 ⁄ 16 fine (hence 3.585 g per écu). The gros and the écu compared favourably with England's 2-pence coin of 1.8 g silver and 40-pence ( 1 ⁄ 6 th of a pound) half-noble coin of 3.48 g gold, resulting in an approximate exchange rate of 1 pound sterling to six Livres Parisis. Peace in the Burgundian Netherlands after
28302-468: Was not able to strike enough francs to pay his ransom and he voluntarily returned to English captivity. John II died as a prisoner in England and his son Charles V was left to pick up the pieces. Charles V pursued a policy of reform, including stable coinage. An edict dated 20 April 1365 established the centrepiece of this policy, a gold coin officially called the denier d'or aux fleurs de lis which had
28480-526: Was not, as its name might suggest, itself an artillery observation vehicle, but had to transmit information, gathered by the real observation vehicles of the Renault YS type, to the artillery units. In early 1937 at 507 RCC, Charles de Gaulle 's regiment, a single Char D1, with series number 1016, was rebuilt as such. Its turret was removed and replaced with an octagonal superstructure on the right side, making room for an extra ER51 long-distance radio set on
28658-413: Was obsolete but too valuable to be scrapped: the colonies. In 1937 they arrived in North-Africa, there to form three new battalions, 61, 65 and 67 BCC, to counter Italy's threat of invading and capturing Tunisia. As the organic strength of each battalion was 45, and one tank had been used to build a radio tank, fourteen Char D1s were allocated to the matériel reserve. Remarkably, in view of the fact that even
28836-430: Was quite relevant "given the secret character presented by certain of your matériel". Three days later Renault admitted that he had referred to the Char D, "older matériel obviously being incapable of interesting that nation". In that case, the ministry replied on 21 April, it regrettably had to withhold its permission: no types more modern than the Renault FT or NC could be destined for licence production. The main objection
29014-648: Was raised in value from 25 to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2 sols Parisis (or 31 + 1 ⁄ 4 to approximately 47 sols Tournois). This 50% advance was also seen in England in 1551 when it raised its troy ounce of sterling silver from 40 to 60 pence, and in the 17th century when Germany raised its one-ounce silver Thaler from 1 to 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 silver gulden. The 16th century saw the issuance of larger silver coins, first in testoons (9 g fine silver, valued at 11 sols Tournois in 1549), and later on in silver francs (12.3 g fine silver, valued at 1 Livre Tournois in 1577). These French coins, however, were much less popular than
29192-400: Was ready all 160 Char D vehicles were temporarily fitted with existing Renault FT turrets, taken from the Renault FT matériel reserve. Two new turret designs were proposed by Schneider. The ST3 was a modification of the ST1. To solve the balance problem, this type had an armoured extension at the back, with a large square opening. The hatch in the back of the main armour could be opened through
29370-486: Was reduced to 222.3 centimetres through the use of a narrower track, 35 centimetres wide. The suspension was largely identical but the top rollers, to which a tension wheel was added, were placed somewhat higher to prevent track resonance, a persistent problem with the Char D1. The armour plate covering the three vertical coil springs consisted of six instead of eight panels; mud-chutes were added below each top roller. There were three bogies per side, each with four road wheels,
29548-425: Was removed from circulation by 1834. Until they were also demonetized in 1845, 15- and 30-sou coins from 1791-1793 continued to circulate with a value of 0.75 and 1.50 francs, and 18th-century billon coins that had come to be known as “pièces de 6 liards” (originally issued with various values) were valued at 7.5 centimes. A new bronze coinage was introduced from 1848. The Second Republic Monetary Authority minted
29726-431: Was renamed the 19e Bataillon de Chars de Combat under Commandant Ayme, and made part of the 507e Groupement de Bataillons de Chars , itself assigned to the armour reserve of Second Army Group. Mobilisation of both echelons (A and B) of the battalion was completed on 1 September and the next day de Gaulle resigned his command to become commander of the armour reserve of Fifth Army. After the outbreak of war — France became
29904-438: Was reported that seventeen of these were already worn out and had to return to the factory for a complete rebuild; of the remaining 93, 62 were non-operational because of major defects. The burn-through of brakes and transmissions was common; the armour plates were bent out of shape because the chassis was not stiff enough, their rivets regularly snapping. The fundamental cause of this was that the Renault design team tended to solve
30082-467: Was somewhat of a French speciality, mostly neglected by other nations — and indeed from the early thirties by the French too, as they were considered rather old-fashioned, a remnant of outmoded trench warfare. However, when war threatened it was realised that, outmoded or not, ditches would pose a serious obstacle to the French infantry tanks, especially to the shorter types, and existing prescripts about fitting them had better be followed. On 25 August 1939,
30260-474: Was that the secrets of the cast armour technology of the ST-turret should not be compromised. Renault tried to overturn this decision by lobbying with his army contacts. On 26 April he noted that General Maurice Gamelin had promised to use his influence to promote Renault's project; the next day, however, it transpired that the deputy chief of the general staff General Joseph-Edouard-Aimé Doumenc had vetoed
30438-410: Was the fitting of the APX 4 turret, equipped with the longer SA 35 gun, which had a far better antitank-capacity, with about twice the original armour penetration, mainly due to a longer cartridge. Due to the longer rounds the ammunition load decreased to 108 rounds. The new turret also had PPLR X 160 episcopes instead of Chrétien diascopes and was fitted with a S 190 G attachment point on the roof above
30616-522: Was the model for the Louis d'Or – 36 + 1 ⁄ 4 to a French Mark of gold, 11 ⁄ 12 fine (hence 6.189 g fine gold), and valued at 10 livres. France entered another turbulent period during the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714, resulting in another debasement of the livre tournois. Under King Louis XV 's reign in 1726 the silver Écu d'Argent was issued at 8.3 to
30794-483: Was their low top speed, which necessitated special tank transporters whenever the vehicles had to be moved outside their base area and made them fundamentally unsuited to patrolling duty in the colonies . It was therefore decided to modify a number of existing vehicles, by fitting them with a more effective suspension system. The first modifications were of the Renault FT Kégresse-type, which featured
30972-613: Was therefore called the NC2 . It was fitted with a modified Kégresse leaf spring suspension and a 62 hp engine. It had as an alternative designation Renault Modèle 24/25 , because Renault proposed to build it as a possible "fast tank" as specified in Plan 1924 of the French Cavalry. This line of development was discontinued however. The first prototype to be ready, thus named the NC1 , had
31150-516: Was therefore discontinued. Nine Renault FT Kégresse vehicles were later sold to Yugoslavia and five to Poland. Meanwhile, Louis Renault had obtained an order in 1923 to build two new prototypes as a parallel modification project, with the factory designation Renault NC ; it was intended to feature not only an improved suspension system but also a more powerful engine. Like "FT", "NC" is a combination of code letters devoid of any meaning. One prototype happened to be finished second, in December 1925, and
31328-417: Was turned into a Bataillon de Chasseurs portés , a motorised infantry battalion, having lost all tanks. Of the 84 tanks known to be delivered to army units, 21 were destroyed or disabled by enemy action. Seven, all belonging to 350e CACC, were on 25 June still operational. Of the remainder 38 were abandoned after a breakdown, twelve were sent to a depot, three had never been in action having been in reserve in
31506-494: Was well-trained in the use of advanced tactics, including the use of radio-sets. In 1940 the effectiveness of this unit had much diminished, because of the worn-out state of its tanks, aggravated by the decision to raise three autonomous tank companies with the new vehicles, even though insufficient trained crews were available. Nevertheless, the Char D2 units fought tenaciously during the Battle of France , losing most of their tanks to mechanical breakdown instead of enemy action. At
31684-587: Was worth less than 2.5% of its 1934 value. During the Nazi occupation of France (1940–44), the franc was a satellite currency of the German Reichsmark . The exchange rate was 20 francs for 1 RM. The coins were changed, with the words Travail, famille, patrie (Work, Family, Fatherland) replacing the Republican triad Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity), with the emblem of
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