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152-472: During the 1920s, France used a typology of tanks, classified according to weight. The heaviest class was formed by the char lourd , or "heavy tank". In the programmes of 1921 and 1930, no new tank was foreseen for this class, the char 2C fulfilling the role of char lourd . The programme of 1926 led on 28 March 1928 to a char d'arrêt project of fifty tons, named after the fort d'arrêt , a solitary fort able to block enemy advance. As specified on 13 July 1928, it

304-591: A Clerget diesel. All of these systems would prove to be more unreliable than the original concept and were ultimately rejected. The three vehicles were not only used for technological, but also tactical experimentation. Together with the Char D1 pre-series, they represented the only modern tanks in France and the Army was naturally very interested in what lessons could be learned from them about future warfare, outlining

456-460: A char d'accompagnement . For this role at first the Char D1 was developed which type however, proved to be neither particularly light nor cheap. In 1933, the Hotchkiss company under its own initiative presented a plan to produce a lighter design—this was made possible by the application of a new technology to produce cast steel sections to construct an entire hull. On 30 June 1933, this proposal

608-408: A char d'attaque des fortifications . This latter vehicle should have a powerful high velocity gun in a turret but be itself immune to enemy antitank-guns. Speed was considered of secondary importance and might be as low as 10 km/h maximum. However trench-crossing and wading abilities would have to be excellent. If this should result in an overly cumbersome vehicle, it should be made modular so that

760-431: A "Battle Tank" that would be able to accomplish a breakthrough of the enemy line by destroying fortifications, gun emplacements and opposing tanks. In January 1921 a commission headed by General Edmond Buat initiated a project for such a vehicle. To limit costs, it had to be built like a self-propelled gun , with the main weapon in the hull. To minimise the vehicle size this gun should be able to move only up and down, with

912-486: A "mechanic". Cost was reduced by omitting the complex Neader transmission and giving the hull gun a traverse of five degrees to each side instead. The first prototype was shown in 1937. Only three prototypes could be partly finished before the defeat of France. In May 1940 it was agreed to deliver nine Char B1s each month to Britain in exchange for a monthly British production of the "H 39" . The three prototypes were lost after having been evacuated on 17 June 1940, their ship

1064-461: A H38 and a H39; and fitted many with a cupola with a hatch. Panzer-Abteilung 211 was deployed in Finland during Operation Barbarossa , equipped with Hotchkiss tanks. In 1944, three of its vehicles were converted to 7.5 cm self-propelled guns. Additional vehicles were sent to Finland as part of the independent Panzerkampfwagenzüge (tank platoons) 217, 218 and 219, which were attached to

1216-550: A battle was seen as secondary and best carried out by controlled and methodical movement to ensure superiority in numbers, so for the heavy tanks also mobility was of secondary concern. Although the Char B1 had a reasonably good speed for the time of its conception, no serious efforts were made to improve it when much faster tanks appeared. More important than the tank's limitations in tactical mobility, however, were its limitations in strategic mobility. The low practical range implied

1368-403: A close support tank armed with a 75 mm howitzer, the other an anti-tank vehicle with a 47 mm gun instead. French industry was very interested in the project. In the past, this had led to much non-constructive rivalry. Estienne, who in the war had personally witnessed the dismal effects of such a situation, was determined to avoid a repetition. He used his position as Inspector-General of

1520-563: A concentration of all effort into a single design, as it was still unclear whether a working prototype could be provided in time. Three companies, FCM, ARL and AMX, were therefore in October ordered to construct two different prototypes each, for a total of six models. These should fit existing railway wagons, which the F1 did not. The flamethrower option should be abandoned. On 22 December 1939 more precise specifications were made. FCM should complete

1672-649: A cooperation between Renault and Schneider : the SRA and the SRB, one by Forges et Aciéries de la Marine et d'Homécourt (FAMH), more commonly known as "Saint Chamond" from its location , and the last by Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM), the FCM 21. Renault and Schneider would each get to produce 250 units, FAMH and FCM each 125. A fifth producer, Delaunay-Belleville , whose project (an improved Renault FT ) had been rejected beforehand, would be allowed to make 83 tanks;

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1824-672: A few German tanks but lacked enough organic infantry and artillery to function as an effective mobile reserve. A number of Char B1s (161) were captured by the Germans during the Fall of France . These were later pressed into service as second line and training vehicles under the name of Panzerkampfwagen B-2 740 (f), and were often used as turretless Munitionspanzer supply vehicles. Sixty became platforms for flamethrowers as Flammwagen auf Panzerkampfwagen B-2 (f). Sixteen were converted into 105 mm self-propelled artillery, armed with

1976-445: A four hundred litre fuel tank for a range of 140 kilometres. The SRB, also using leaf springs, was a somewhat larger vehicle, six metres long, 2.28 metres high and 2.5 metres wide. It was nevertheless lighter at 18.5 tonnes, a result of having a smaller 47 mm gun—it thus was the antitank version. Using the same engine, its speed was accordingly slightly higher at 18 km/h. More limited fuel reservoirs holding 370 litres decreased

2128-475: A further test programme on what was now officially called the Char B —the "B" not referring to Bataille but to a general classification code. The commission was largely satisfied with the vehicle, though many smaller problems were detected that had to be improved. The FCM prototype featured several alternative technologies: a Winterthur transmission, a Citroën clutch and a Sulzer diesel engine, later replaced by

2280-563: A gun or a flamethrower . The commission decided that only the gun tank would be considered, but that a second turret at the rear was needed for defence against infantry assault. It also remarked that the project was quite similar to that of the char F1 and that perhaps both programmes should be merged. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939 some hurried measures were taken to have an operational heavy tank ready for

2432-532: A higher projected weight than 45 tons — and threatened to become even heavier during actual construction. In reaction, the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre initially decided on 26 March 1937 to build a very small and cheap but heavily armoured (60 mm) vehicle instead, on the lines of the British Matilda I . The first designs featured a 37 mm gun. When a better armament was demanded, it

2584-419: A less powerful Panhard engine of 120 hp it still attained a speed of 18.2 km/h. Fuel reservoirs of just 230 litres limited its range to a mere seventy kilometres. The 75 mm howitzer was placed in the middle of the hull and steered by providing each snake track with its own hydraulic Jeanny transmission. On top there was a riveted machine gun turret with 25 mm armour. The lightest prototype

2736-492: A limited traverse of only one degree to the left or the right. It was laid onto target by the driver (provided with the gun sight) through the Naeder hydraulic precision transmission. The traverse had been made possible only in order to align the gun barrel precisely with the sight beforehand. The 75 mm gun had its own loader—the remaining two crew members were the radio operator and the commander, who had to load, aim and fire

2888-637: A new heavy tank, with the following specifications given on 12 November 1936: a maximum weight of 45 metric tons, immunity to 75 mm AP fire over a distance of 200 metres, a speed of 30 km/h, a range of 200 kilometres, and an armament consisting of a long 75 mm gun in the hull and a 47 mm gun in a turret. It would thus have resembled an oversized char B1 , of which tank several other development projects were ongoing. In 1937 three manufacturers, AMX, ARL and FCM, presented prototype proposals; ARL even presented three of them simultaneously. All of these however, even in this early stage of development had

3040-478: A proposal by the engineer Boirault to build a futuristic 120 ton articulated tank. It retained two options: the char maximum of 89 tons, demountable in two sections, and the char squelette of 110 tons and with a trench-crossing ability of eight metres; this latter design was along the general lines of the World War I American Skeleton Tank , but with the added feature that the main body could move in relation to

3192-525: A radio set would have to be fitted to better direct and coordinate its actions; therefore a fourth crew-member was needed. On 18 March 1927, the contracts for the three prototypes were signed. The hull of first Renault vehicle, made of soft boiler plate instead of armour steel to simplify changes, was finished apart from the armament in January 1929; it was delivered in March. The separately produced cast turret

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3344-517: A recently discovered picture of a Hotchkiss tank with series number 41200 indicates that in June at least 121 were produced for a total of at least 1,200 vehicles, not including prototypes. About 550 Hotchkiss tanks were captured and used by the Germans as Panzerkampfwagen 35H 734(f) or Panzerkampfwagen 38H 735(f) ; most for occupation duty. Like the French, the Germans made no clear distinction between

3496-469: A result, we inevitably suffered sadly heavy casualties." The French favoured small turrets despite their shortcomings, as they allowed for much smaller and thus cheaper vehicles. Although the French expenditure on tanks was relatively larger than the German, France simply lacked the production capacity to build a sufficient number of heavier tanks. The Char B1 was expensive enough as it was, eating up half of

3648-459: A separate pre-series, had curved bogie sides; in later vehicles the bogies had straight sides. The bogies superficially resembled the R35 type, but used horizontal helical springs instead of rubber cylinders. The sprocket was at the front, the idler—which itself was sprung to automatically control tension—at the rear. There were two top rollers. The rear of the hull formed an engine room, separated from

3800-621: A single 36-ton B1 ter prototype were directly recovered from the FCM factory, of which an unknown number were to be destined for Italy. Six vehicles in Italian service were known as Semovente B1-bis, and lacked turrets, but were used in trials until 1943, after which they were used as target practice, and ammunition carriers. After the Allies had invaded France in 1944, some B1s were recaptured. Several were used on an individual and incidental basis by resistance forces , such as those fighting

3952-596: A top speed of 25 km/h (16 mph) provided by a 307 bhp (229 kW) petrol engine. The first batch of 35 Char B1 bis used the original engine but from 1938 to May 1940 they were slowly re-equipped. Its weight was about 31.5 tonnes. The operational range was about 180 km (110 mi) which was similar to other tanks of the period. At 20 km/h (12 mph) the three fuel tanks (total capacity of 400 L (88 imp gal)) would be exhausted in six hours. To improve matters, at first, trailers with an 800-litre auxiliary fuel tank were towed but this practice

4104-407: A total of eighty were stowed) in the engine room to the right of the engine, which was officially rated at 250 hp (190 kW), but had an actual output of 272 hp (203 kW). Each tank had its own team of three mechanics; in battle some of these might join the regular crew. The suspension was very complex with sixteen road wheels per side. There were three large central bogies, sprung by

4256-433: A turret. The first series vehicle was again extensively and intensively tested until 4 December 1936. The testing soon showed that its cross-country handling qualities were unacceptably poor; it proved impossible to safely steer the vehicle on a uneven surface, posing an extreme danger to nearby friendly infantry. The Infantry therefore initially rejected any further procurement. Eventually, in 1937, it decided to accept only

4408-540: A turreted 120 mm gun and 50 mm front protection. In January 1930, this was changed into a project for a 70 tonne tank, with a high-velocity 75 mm gun, 40 mm all-round protection and a great length of 9.35 metres. The design was soon discontinued and for many years no French super-heavy tank development took place. On 4 May 1936 however, the Conseil Consulatif de l'Armement under General Julien Claude Marie Sosthène Dufieux decided to develop

4560-416: A vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late 1930s. A further up-armoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was only built in two prototypes. Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during

4712-429: A vertical coil spring. Each central bogie carried two smaller ones. The three vertical springs moved through holes in a horizontal beam, to both extreme ends of which road wheels were attached by means of leaf springs: three at the front and one at the back. The high track run gave the tank an old fashioned look, reflecting its long development time. It had a maximum speed of 28 km/h and a weight of 28 tonnes. The range

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4864-741: A view to a larger purchase. During the German invasion of Poland in 1939 the Hotchkiss tanks, together with three Renault R 35 tanks, were organised into an ad hoc "half company" unit under lieutenant J. Jakubowicz, formed on 14 September 1939 in Kiwerce , Poland. The unit joined the " Dubno " task force and lost all of its tanks during the marches and fighting against German and Soviet armies, largely due to fuel shortages. Two vehicles were exported by France to Turkey in February 1940. In 1943

5016-409: A weak spot in the armour, based on a single incident on 16 May near Stonne where two German 37 mm PAK guns claimed to have knocked out three Char B1s by firing at the intakes at close range. The air intake was a 6-inch (150 mm) thick assembly of horizontal slits alternately angled upwards and downwards between 28 mm thick armour plates, and as such intended to be no more vulnerable than

5168-558: A wooden mock-up on 11 April 1940; FCM presented one the next day. It transpired that the FCM project was far more advanced and could show the new tank in every detail. The design had a sloped armour front plate, a small turret in front, instead of behind as specified, and a higher turret at the back, able to hold a 90 mm gun instead of the specified 75 mm gun. The tank had a projected weight of 140 metric tons, to be moved at 24 km/h by two 550 hp Renault engines via an electrical transmission. The Commission decided to abandon

5320-651: The Association pour la Sauvegarde du Patrimoine Historique et Militaire (ASPHM), near Strasbourg , in France. It was previously at the Fort de Seclin. It is in a bad condition, with parts like the main gun missing. It was salvaged from a firing range, and will be restored by the owner. Ten Char B1 bis can be seen in various places in Great Britain and in France: Background: History of

5472-598: The Divisions Légères Mécaniques (mechanised light divisions) of the cavalry, equipped with the SOMUA S35 . The First and Second DCR had 69 Char B1s each; the Third 68. The 37th Bataillon de Chars de Combat , serving with 1DCR, was at first equipped with the original B1; these vehicles were refitted with the longer SA 35 gun in the spring of 1940 and the turret renamed to APX1A. The battalion

5624-557: The 10.5 cm leFH 18 light howitzer. Ordinary tank versions also underwent some revision, as their wireless radios were replaced with the German model. A number of tanks also had an access hatch added to the turret top, and a concrete block added to the right hull front to prevent shot ricochet. Other differences to the French Army version included a jack and hoist arm carried outside the tank, with additional German equipment mounted on fenders. One unit, Panzer-Abteilung 213,

5776-622: The 1e Régiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique and were allowed to remain there under the armistice conditions; another five were hidden in Morocco . They fought the Allies during the opening stages of Operation Torch , the Allied invasion of French North Africa , near Casablanca in November 1942, destroying three M3 Stuart light tanks. The regiment subsequently joined the Allies and was re-equipped with M4 Sherman medium tanks in summer 1943. After

5928-510: The 1er RCA in Morocco . In the Infantry it equipped the two autonomous battalions mentioned above and two battalions of 45 in each of the three Divisions Cuirassées , the latter with the H39 variant. Most Hotchkiss tanks were thus concentrated in larger motorised units, in the armoured divisions supplementing the core of heavier tanks, though they were mismatched: the slower H35s fought alongside

6080-457: The Allied siege of La Rochelle . The tanks were effective in the attack on Royan on 15 April 1945, using their 75 mm guns for fire support, while targeting pillboxes with their 47 mm guns. After that, 2nd Company accompanied troops on an assault on Pontaillac on 17 April, followed by an attack on the German stronghold at La Rochelle between 29 April and 8 May. Voillaume was awarded

6232-639: The Atelier de Rueil for repairs. In September they took part in the summer manoeuvres in Champagne as a Détachement Mécanique de Combat ; from 4 May 1933 No. 102 and 103 together formed a Détachement d'Engins Blindés to perform tactical experiments in the army bases of Coëtquidan and Mourmelon as part of a motorised light division, followed by comparable experiments in April 1934 at Sissonne . Technical aspects were not forgotten during these tests and it

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6384-562: The Battle of France , but low speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer , or mechanised artillery. The Char B1 had its origins in the concept of a Char de Bataille conceived by General Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne in 1919, e.g. in his memorandum Mémoire sur les missions des chars blindés en campagne . It had to be

6536-480: The Battle of France . In May 1940 the type equipped in the Cavalry units two tank regiments (of 47) in each of the three Mechanised Light Divisions and served as AMR in the 9th and 25th Mechanised Infantry Division (sixteen vehicles for each), 3rd DLM (22 H35s and 47 H39s) and in three of the five Cavalry Light Divisions (sixteen vehicles each for the 1re , 2e and 3e DLC ). Furthermore, sixteen vehicles were part of

6688-480: The Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. After the war, the 13th Dragoon Regiment was stationed in the French occupation zone of Allied-occupied Germany as part of the French 3rd Armoured Division . It was eventually disbanded in the German town of Wittlich in April 1946. Today eleven vehicles survive, one Char B1 and ten Char B1 bis. The last surviving Char B1 can be seen at

6840-532: The Free French , forming the 1e Compagnie de Chars de Combat de la France Libre . This was an exception in June 1940, with most units returning to France. In 1940 and 1941 this 1e CCC fought against Vichy troops in the Battle of Gabon and later in Syria . According to the official army acceptance lists, at the start of World War II 640 Hotchkiss tanks had been delivered. The inventories deviate slightly: of

6992-568: The Marder I Panzerjäger ( self-propelled anti-tank artillery ), the 7,5 cm PaK40(Sf) auf Geschützwagen 39H(f) , and 48 into self-propelled artillery with the 10.5 cm leFH 18 as the 10,5 cm leFH18(Sf) auf Geschützwagen 39H(f) , all to be used by units in France. Some vehicles were modified into munition carriers or artillery tractors ( Artillerieschlepper 38H(f) ) or rocket-launchers ( Panzerkampfwagen 35H(f) mit 28/32 cm Wurfrahmen ). A special artillery observation vehicle created,

7144-605: The Mécanicien Principal Carvin being bombed by the Germans in the Gironde on 21 June. However, some believe that another prototype was obtained by Italy. The Char B1 served with the armoured divisions of the infantry, the Divisions Cuirassées (DCr). These were highly specialised offensive units, to break through fortified positions. The mobile phase of a battle was to be carried out by

7296-457: The bis with the intention of providing a tank armoured to 75mm. A design with sloped and welded 70 mm armour, weighing 36.6 tonnes and powered by a 350 hp (260 kW) engine was meant to replace the B1 bis to accelerate mass production, a change first intended for the summer of 1940 and later postponed to March 1941. In the course of the redesign, space was provided for a fifth crew member,

7448-625: The modifié 39 were further modified by the Germans during World War II. The sole surviving unmodified Hotchkiss H35 was discovered in December 2008, 200 meters off the coast, at Sainte-Cecile beach, Camiers , Pas-de-Calais , France. It is a turretless chassis, probably a remnant of the Dunkerque gap fighting in May–June 1940. The tank was dredged in late 2008 at low tide. The Musée des Blindés at Saumur plans to recover this tank for display in

7600-464: The super-heavy tank T28 . Both designs were self-propelled guns however, not multi-turreted tanks, allowing them to be lighter and still better protected. Like the FCM F1 they would not be placed into production. Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , interwar period Char B1 The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before World War II . The Char B1

7752-617: The 20th Mountain Army in February 1942. The platoons were the same as those of Panzerabteilung 211 , consisting of one SOMUA S35 and four Hotchkiss tanks. They were later disbanded, with the tanks being dispersed for use as fortifications and the crews used to form two batteries of Stug III Gs (741 and 742). German H35/39s also saw action in Yugoslavia with 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen" , 12. Panzer-Kompanie z.b.V. and I./Panzer-Regiment 202 . Tanks used in France for various training and security units also got caught in

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7904-590: The 300 H35s allocated to the Cavalry, 232 were fielded by ten cavalry squadrons, 44 were in depot, eight in factory overhaul and sixteen in North Africa. Of the hundred used by the Infantry, ninety were fielded by the two tank battalions equipped with the type, six were in matériel reserve and two used for driving training. Of the H39s, sixteen were used by the Cavalry in North Africa and six in depot; 180 were fielded by four Infantry tank battalions and fourteen were in

8056-400: The 37 mm ammunition was racked on the left hand side of the hull, the 7.5 mm ammunition on the right side in fifteen circular magazines with 150 rounds each; with usually an additional magazine on the machine-gun itself. The turret had a rotating cupola with a PPL RX 180 P visor but there was no hatch in the cupola though its top could be lifted a bit for better ventilation. Apart from

8208-508: The 47 mm gun while commanding the vehicle (and in the case of platoon leaders, command other vehicles as well). The fighting compartment had the radio set on the left and an exit hatch in the right side. All vehicles had the ER53 radiotelegraphy set so all communication was in Morse code only. A hatch in the rear bulkhead gave access to a corridor (under which nineteen 75 mm rounds out of

8360-463: The 75 mm St Chamond M 21 from FAMH. Testing on the first prototype had already begun before the other two were delivered, or even its main armament was fitted. At 24,750 kg (24.36 long tons) the weight was more than specified but could nevertheless reach a top speed of 24 km/h (15 mph). From 6 May until August 1930 the Commission d'Experiences des Matériels de Chars carried out

8512-474: The 75 mm gun, a Holt-track to be developed by FCM, which company had completed a special research programme aimed at optimising weight distribution, and the FAMH-suspension (later this would again be discarded). Estienne also had some special requirements: a track tension wheel should be fitted, adjustable from the inside, and a small gangway from the fighting room should improve the accessibility of

8664-450: The 75 mm howitzer in the middle of the hull. It used the same Panhard engine as the FAHM type and its speed was the lowest of all at 17.4 km/h. However, its 500-litre fuel tanks allowed for the best range at 175 kilometres. In March 1925, Estienne decided to base the future production type on the SRB, as regarded the general form and mechanical parts. However, it would be fitted with

8816-499: The AMX projects as they were hopelessly behind schedule; its Tracteur C could not be ready before July 1941. AMX terminated development on 1 April. The subcommission advised to go ahead with both the FCM F1 and the ARL tracteur C prototypes and immediately place an order for ten or fifteen of the former. That advice was given to a new overarching Commission of Tank Study, to which ARL presented

8968-474: The ARL projects and make a preliminary order for twelve FCM F1s, to be delivered from May 1941 onward at three or four tanks a month. This expectation to have some tanks ready for the summer of 1941 was a very important consideration, as the entire heavy tank project faced strong opposition from those who saw it as a waste of scarce resources, better spent on building more char B1s. The Commission also asked FCM to bring

9120-646: The Char B1 bis: Italy independently from Germany captured eight Chars B1 bis when in October 1940 an Italian worker disclosed to the Italian Armistice Commission that they had been hidden in a cave near Les Baux-de-Provence in July 1940. These vehicles, six of which lacked the turret, were tested, but probably not used operationally by Italy. The Italian armour historian Nicola Pignato in contrast stated in 1989 that some twenty B1 bis, in various stages of preparation and construction, along with

9272-666: The Char B1 less formidable in actual combat than a review of its impressive statistics suggests, is difficult to ascertain. In 1940, the vast majority of Char B1 combat losses were inflicted by German artillery and anti-tank guns. In direct meetings with German tanks the Char B1 usually had the better of it, sometimes spectacularly so as when on 16 May a single tank, Eure (commanded by Captain Pierre Billotte ), frontally attacked and destroyed thirteen German tanks lying in ambush in Stonne , all of them Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs , in

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9424-466: The Char B2, B3 and B B. The Char B1 was manufactured by several firms: Renault (182), AMX (47), FCM (72), FAMH (70) and Schneider (32). Although it was the main producer, Renault had not exclusively designed the tank. Therefore, the official name was not Renault B1 as often erroneously given. It was a very expensive tank to build: the cost per vehicle was about 1.5 million French francs . In France at

9576-509: The ER53 radio was replaced by the ER51 which allowed spoken wireless communication. The company and battalion command tanks also had an ER55 for communication with higher command. The crews of the 1re DCR kept their old sets however, preferring them because the human voice was drowned by engine noise. Development of the Char B1 ter was started at the same time as production funds were given for

9728-409: The F1 with a 75 mm gun but also build a F1 hull with a 90 or 105 mm gun in the superstructure, because the 75 mm gun was likely too weak. As the char F1 was designed with 100 mm armour, this should be enhanced on the front to 120 mm. A secondary turret with a 47 mm gun should protect the back. Both AMX and ARL should build prototypes with 105 and 90 mm guns in a turret —

9880-852: The German garrison of Paris in August 1944. On 7 October 1944, the Provisional Government of the French Republic formed the 13th Dragoon Regiment of the Free French Forces . The majority of the regiment fielded SOMUA S35 cavalry tanks , but Captain Edmond Voillaume's 2nd Company was equipped with 19 B1 bis tanks, which included a mixture of standard and German modified B-2s. They were stationed in Orléans until 2 April 1945, when they were mobilized for

10032-544: The Germans, against objections, delivered nineteen H39s to Bulgaria for training purposes, when it proved to be impossible to find 25 unmodified Panzer I light tanks, the type the Bulgarians really desired. After the war these vehicles were used by police units. In 1942, the Germans delivered a small number to Croatia . In October 1942, the Hungarian Army received fifteen Hotchkiss H39 tanks, which formed

10184-425: The Infantry arms, but due to the defeat of France in June 1940, total production of both subtypes was limited to about 1200 vehicles. For the remainder of the war Germany and its allies used captured Hotchkiss tanks in several modifications. In 1926, it had been decided to provide armour support to the regular infantry divisions by creating autonomous tank battalions equipped with a light and cheap infantry tank ,

10336-471: The Infantry matériel reserve. It was decided to concentrate most Allied production capacity for light tanks into the manufacture of a single type, and the Hotchkiss tank was chosen as it had the necessary mobility to be of use in the many armoured divisions the Entente planned to raise for the expected decisive summer offensive of 1941. To this end British and Portuguese heavy industry had to assist in producing

10488-560: The Musée des Blindés at Saumur has a vehicle in a running condition; at the base of 501/503e RCC at Mourmelon-le-Grand a Hotchkiss serves as a monument restored with a Renault R35 turret, fitted with a dummy gun. Another tank is displayed at Užice , in Serbia . The Bulgarian National Museum of Military History displays one of the vehicles used by the Bulgarian police forces. In Latrun ,

10640-406: The R35 and R40 tanks, made of 40 mm (1.6 in) cast steel and armed with the short 37 mm SA 18 gun, which had a maximum armour penetration of only 23 mm (0.91 in). Traverse of the turret was with a handwheel. The commander sat in a saddle suspended from the turret. The tank carried about 100 rounds for the gun, and 2,400 rounds for the coaxial 7.5 mm Reibel machine gun –

10792-542: The Tanks to enforce the so-called "Estienne accord" on the industrialists, ordering them to "reach a mutual understanding, free from any spirit of industrial competition". To be allowed to join, they had to agree beforehand to relinquish any patents to the Army, which would be free to combine all projects into a single type. In exchange, to the industry very large orders of no less than a thousand vehicles were promised. On these conditions four projects were started in 1921: two by

10944-479: The alternative design and adjusted specifications were formulated. On 20 April 1929 it was announced that no budget would be made available for constructing this type and on 17 May 1929 the study was terminated. In June 1929, the STCC ( Section Techniques des Chars de Combat ) began another heavy tank study, proposing a faster design with a Johnson track, an engine of 500 hp, a speed of 12 km/h, 65 tonne weight,

11096-473: The armour protection to 120 mm all-round, though this would increase weight to 145 tons and reduce maximum speed to 20 km/h. For the commission this was a departure from its earlier decisions about a future char de forteresse . On 28 February 1940 a new commission for the study of tank design was established, the Commission d'Études des Chars , to create a coherent policy for future French tank production. The commission planned for three weight classes,

11248-550: The bulk of the 101st Independent Tank Company, which was used in the counter-partisan role. The unit operated in Ukraine, Belarus and Poland and was finally disbanded after losing 30% of its tanks to enemy action and having to destroy the rest due to lack of fuel and spares. The unit returned to Hungary from Warsaw in September–October 1944. In North Africa, 27 vehicles (thirteen H35 and fourteen H39) were officially serving in

11400-462: The cast armour sections. It was hoped to increase production to 300 a month in October 1940, and even 500 a month from March 1941, the sections of 75 of which to be provided by Britain in exchange for a monthly delivery of nine Char B1s . This can be compared to the planned production of the R40: 120 per month, reflecting the little importance now attached to infantry support. These plans were disrupted by

11552-470: The cavalry units would be making more use of the road network and of mounted infantry, its cross-country handling problem was of less consequence. The H 35 was, at 28 km/h (17 mph), also somewhat faster than the Renault R35 , which was capable of 20 km/h (12 mph), although in practice its average speed was lower than that of the R 35 because of its inferior gear box. The Hotchkiss H35

11704-549: The components could be transported separately. On 4 May 1938 the Direction des Fabrications d’Armement proposed to call this the char H project, to distinguish it from the char F , but this was rejected as there was some danger of confusion with the Hotchkiss H35 . The French High Command approved the commission's plans in April 1938 and then appointed a second commission to work them out in detail. This new commission

11856-535: The concept of a Char de Manoeuvre . Neither Char de Bataille nor Char de Manoeuvre are official type designations; they refer to the tactical concepts only. In October 1931 a small unit was formed, the Détachement d' Experimentation in which the prototypes were united from December, using the Camp de Châlons as a base to see how they could be used in winter conditions. Afterwards, they drove on their own power to

12008-508: The course of a few minutes. The tank safely returned despite being hit 140 times. Similarly, in his book Panzer Leader , Heinz Guderian related an incident which took place during a tank battle south of Juniville: "While the tank battle was in progress I attempted, in vain, to destroy a Char B with a captured 47 mm. anti-tank gun; all the shells I fired at it simply bounced harmlessly off its thick armour. Our 37 mm. and 20 mm. guns were equally ineffective against this adversary. As

12160-408: The cupola there were protected vision devices, a binocular periscope and diascopes, to the front beside the gun and to each side. For access there was a hatch at the back of the turret. When opened, the commander could sit on it for better observation, but this left him very vulnerable and slow to reach the gun. The alternative was to fight closed-up, observing through the vertical slits or the visor of

12312-460: The desired armour thickness to 40 mm (1.6 in). On 27 June 1935 the commission approved the type on the provision that the necessary changes would be made. On 19 August the third prototype was delivered, equipped with a cast APX turret and featuring a redesigned hull; it was tested until 20 September and accepted. On 6 November 1935 a first order was made for 200 vehicles. Though it should have been completed between July 1936 and July 1937,

12464-490: The desired precision during tests. Seen from the front it was very similar to the final model, but its side-on profile was more like that of the British Medium Mark D , including the snake track -system, with the drive wheel higher than the idler in front. The suspension used leaf springs . A Renault six-cylinder 180 hp engine (a bisected V12 aircraft engine) allowed for a maximum speed of 17.5 km/h;

12616-422: The end of July an articulated tank was foreseen, with a separate tracked motor and double gun module, each weighing about seventy to eighty tonnes and featuring 100 mm armour. In view of the novelty of such a construction, a more conventional alternative was studied in parallel, of a sixty-five tonne tank with a single 75 mm gun and protected by 120 mm armour. In February 1929 a choice had been made for

12768-572: The engine compartment. Furthermore, the front armour should be increased to 40 millimetres. In November 1925 Renault was given the order to build a wooden mock-up, that was finished early 1926. On 27 January 1926, it was decided to build three prototypes of what was provisionally called a Tracteur 30 , a final design by engineer Alleaume of the Schneider company, cooperating with the Section Technique des Chars de Combat (STCC). The first

12920-515: The engines were inaccessible. All projects used a three-man crew but differed considerably in size, form and the solution chosen to laterally point the gun. The SRA was the heaviest vehicle at 19.5 tonnes. Its length was 5.95 metres, its height 2.26m and its width 2.49m. It had a 75 mm howitzer in the right side of the hull and a cast, 30 mm thick, turret with two machine guns. It was steered by an epicyclical transmission combined with hydraulically reinforced brake disks, which failed to provide

13072-401: The fact that many subcontractors had to be used: at first the armour was made much too soft; when hardness was increased it became brittle and full of bubbles and hence weak spots. There was a crew of two. The driver sat at the right front, behind a large cast double hatch and next to the combined gearbox and steering unit. Behind him was a round escape hatch in the bottom of the hull. Driving

13224-454: The fact that the Char B1 was a specialised offensive weapon, a break-through tank optimised for punching a hole into strong defensive entrenchments, so it was designed with good trench-crossing capabilities. The French Army thought that dislodging the enemy from a key front sector would decide a campaign, and it prided itself on being the only army in the world having a sufficient number of adequately protected heavy tanks. The exploitation phase of

13376-417: The fighting compartment by a fireproof bulkhead. The tank was powered by a 78 hp six-cylinder 86 x 100 3485 cc engine which was on the left of the engine compartment. A 160-litre fuel tank on the right, combined with a twenty litres reserve reservoir, gave a range of 129 km (80 mi) or eight hours on a varied terrain. The engine was cooled by a centrifugal pump. Also a cooling fan drew air through

13528-598: The fighting in Normandy, such as Panzer Abteilung 206 , Panzer –Ersatz und Ausb. Abt. 100 , and 200. Beute-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung . In 1942 a project was launched to make use of French equipment as carrier platforms for heavier guns, directed by Major Alfred Becker , an artillery officer who was a mechanical engineer by trade. He had experience making similar conversions with captured Belgian and British vehicles. His unit in Paris converted 24 Hotchkiss tanks in 1942 into

13680-425: The first production vehicle was in fact delivered on 12 September 1936. A first additional order had already been made of 92 on 7 September 1936, to be completed in November 1937. A third one of 108 vehicles followed on 23 January 1937, to be completed in September 1938. These vehicles had the series number 40000 to 40400. By 1 January 1937 132 hulls had been produced. None of these had at that date yet been fitted with

13832-509: The first prototype, which later was developed into the Renault R35 . On 18 January 1935, the first Hotchkiss prototype, not yet made of armour steel, was presented to the Commission d'Expérience du Matériel Automobile (CEMA) at Vincennes ; it was a machine gun-armed tankette without turret. It was tested until 4 March 1935, when it was replaced by the second identical prototype to be tested until 6 May. Both had to be rejected because new specifications had been made on 21 June 1934 that increased

13984-436: The gradual introduction of a longer L/35 37 mm SA38 gun with a much improved anti-tank capability which gave 30 mm (1.2 in) penetration at 1 km (0.62 mi)); about 350 vehicles were (re)built with the better gun, among them about fifty H35s. The new gun became standard on the production lines in April. Before that, the trickle of longer guns becoming available had, from January 1940, gradually been fitted to

14136-469: The gun. If he was a unit leader, he had to command his other tanks as well. This is in contrast with the contemporary German, British and to a lesser extent Soviet policy to use two or three-man turret crews, in which these duties were divided amongst several men. The other nations felt that the commander would otherwise be over-tasked and unable to perform any of his roles as well as the commanders of tanks with two or three-man turret crews. Whether this left

14288-459: The hatchless cupola. The Cavalry liked neither this arrangement nor the weak gun. The latter problem was lessened by enlarging the breech so that special rounds with a larger charge could be used. This increased muzzle velocity to about 600 m/s (2,000 ft/s) and maximum penetration to about 30 mm (1.2 in). Only a small number of the tanks, and limited to the Cavalry, were modified however, because it greatly increased barrel wear. In

14440-450: The heaviest of which was the char de forteresse . This tank was envisaged as a sort of "super char B" with a 135 or 155 mm howitzer in the hull and a 75 or 90 mm gun in the turret. Its armour should be 100 or 120 mm all-round. Nevertheless, its weight was very optimistically expected to be around 80-100 tons, powered by a 1000 hp engine. On 14 May it was decided that, there being no suitable 135 or 155 mm gun available,

14592-461: The horizontal aiming to be provided by turning the entire vehicle. The specifications included: a maximum weight of thirteen tonnes; a maximum armour thickness of 25 millimetres; a hull as low as possible to enable the gun to fire into the vision slits of bunkers; a small machine gun turret to fend off enemy infantry attacks, at the same time serving as an observation post for the commander and a crew of at most three men. Two versions should be built, one

14744-525: The hull was over five meters wide while being only twelve metres long and thus had a superior length-width ratio, facilitating steering. For transport the vehicle could be split in two sides along its entire length. Unsurprisingly, on 20 April 1940 it was refused by the Ministry of Defence. On 4 March 1940 a new subcommission to supervise the heavy tank design learned that the 90 and 105 mm gun turret designs were ready, i.e. on paper. It decided to abandon

14896-436: The infantry tank budget. The original Char B1 had frontal and side armour up to 40 mm thick. The vehicle had a fully traversing APX1 turret with a 47 mm L/27.6 SA 34 gun. This had a poor anti-tank capability: the thirty Armour Piercing High Explosive (APHE) rounds among the fifty the tank carried had a maximum penetration of about 25 mm. In addition, it was armed with a 75 mm ABS 1929 SA 35 gun mounted in

15048-499: The inspector-general of tanks, Julien François René Martin , to further study the problem of overcoming the new defences of the Westwall (often incorrectly called the "Siegfried Line") being constructed at the time on the western German border. The commission immediately revived the char lourd concept but applied it only to the "45 ton tank" project and differentiated this from a tank optimised for destroying modern fortifications,

15200-404: The last hundred tanks to equip just two battalions with the type: the 13e and 38e Bataillon de Chars de Combat . For political reasons however, stopping production of the tank was unacceptable. As a result the first three hundred vehicles of the production run were offered to the Cavalry, which was forced to accept them because it would not have been granted a budget for other tanks anyway. As

15352-414: The light AMR 33 and AMR 35 vehicles, that for want of a better type had been used to form the bulk of the first two Cavalry armoured divisions. As the new medium SOMUA S35 was initially produced in very limited numbers, until early 1939 the Hotchkiss equipped three of the four divisional tank regiments. In April 1940 the 342e CACC ( Compagnie Autonome de Chars de Combat or "Independent Tank Company")

15504-792: The museum, but its recovery has proved very difficult and costly. One Hotchkiss H35 modifié 39 tank is on display at the Narvik War Museum in Narvik as a memorial of Battle of Narvik in 1940. A second vehicle in Norway is part of the collection of the Panserparken at the camp Rena leir . In England the private The Wheatcroft Collection bought a vehicle from the Norwegian Arquebus Krigshistoriske Museum at Rogaland . In France itself

15656-502: The need to refuel very often, limiting its operational capabilities. This again implied that the armoured divisions of the Infantry, the Divisions Cuirassées , were not very effective as a mobile reserve and thus lacked strategic flexibility. They were not created to fulfill such a role in the first place, which was reflected in the small size of the artillery and infantry components of the divisions. Another explanation of

15808-477: The new specifications were most similar to the original FCM proposal of sixty tons and so the French Supreme Command decided on 6 April 1938 to grant FCM a development contract for what was now called the char F1 . It was nonetheless realised that this project could be no more than an intermediate step in heavy tank design; already, also in February, a special commission had been formed, headed by

15960-498: The new tank would have to cross rivers on special pontoons. German tank moats were discovered to have a design width of about seven metres, so a very long vehicle seemed to be necessary. Existing rail road cars could carry a maximum of 100 tons though. It was also pointed out that 120 mm armour might not be enough in view of the powerful German 88 mm gun. The commission rejected the char minimum proposal of 56 tons as it had insufficient trench-crossing capacity. It also discarded

16112-411: The normal 55 mm side plates. Over the production run the type was slowly improved. Tanks number 306 to 340 carried 62 47-mm rounds (and the old complement of 4,800 machine gun rounds); later tanks 72 and 5,250. However the B1 bis had fewer 75 mm rounds compared to the earlier B1 : 74 instead of 80, normally only seven of which were APHE ammunition. Early in 1940 another change was made when

16264-414: The old char 2C would likely result in a 150–200–ton behemoth, of which even the components of a modular design would be impractical to transport. It was therefore decided to further research the possibility of a 65-ton vehicle, with an empty hull weight of 45 tons. In its second meeting on 22 July 1938, some troubling data were considered. Most bridges could carry a maximum single vehicle load of 35 tons, so

16416-481: The original negative decision could be changed. The commission indeed accepted the type, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39 ; and it was decided on 18 February to let it succeed the original version from the 401st vehicle onwards, which was just as well as both in 1937 and 1938 an order had been made of two hundred vehicles and production had already started, the total orders of the improved type thereafter being expanded to nine hundred. The factory identifier however,

16568-594: The planned offensive against Germany in 1941, even though the French High Command did not have great faith in the super-heavy tank project and intended to circumvent the Westwall by violating the neutrality of the Low Countries , should these refuse to join the Entente in time. The skeleton tank, being too futuristic, was abandoned. Despite the hurry, the lack of real progress made did not allow for

16720-572: The project would be dropped. After the Fall of France all official design on heavy/super-heavy tanks was halted. The char F1 showed quite a few similarities though to the ARL 44 , produced just after the war. In 1944 the Allies had developed some new vehicles with exactly the same purpose as the FCM F1: to breach the "Siegfried Line". The British had the Tortoise heavy assault tank , the Americans

16872-399: The radiator and was also expected to cool the fuel tank. The trench-crossing capacity was 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in), the wading capacity 0.85 m (2 ft 9 in). On hard soil a slope of 75 percent could be climbed, on soft soil of 55 percent. Maximum tilt was 50 percent. Ground clearance was 37 cm (15 in). The APX -R turret was the same standard type as used on

17024-487: The range to 125 kilometres. It used an advanced hydraulic suspension system and the hydraulic Naeder-transmission from the Chaize company combined with a Fieux clutch and Schneider gear box. It used modified Renault FT tracks. The upper track run was much higher, creating enough room for a side door on the left. The FAHM prototype was 5.2 metres long, 2.4 m high and 2.43 m wide. It used a hydropneumatic suspension . Despite

17176-475: The remaining 167 would be allotted at the discretion of the French State. On 13 May 1924, the four prototypes were presented at the Atelier de Rueil , where they were compared, each having to drive over a twenty kilometre test course. Immediately it became evident that their technical development had been insufficient, most breaking down; the SRA even started to fall apart. Maintenance was difficult because

17328-417: The right side); a range decreased to 120 km (75 mi); closed idler wheels; tracks 2 cm (0.79 in) wider at 27 cm (11 in); metal instead of rubber wheel treads; a new exhaust silencer directed to the back and larger, more reliable and effective ventilators. A modernisation programme was initiated in early 1940. Besides the fitting of episcopes, tails and some radio sets, this included

17480-481: The right-hand side of the hull front and two 7.5 mm Châtellerault M 1931 machine guns: one in the hull and the other in the turret. The hull machine gun was to the right of the 75mm gun, in a fixed mount. It was invisible from the outside of the tank, and, due to being fixed, had very little use. The 75 mm L/17.1 gun, able to fire both a High Explosive and the APHE Obus de rupture Modèle 1910M round, had

17632-477: The same 47 mm anti-tank gun. The outer appearance of the Char B1 reflected the fact that development started in the twenties: like the very first tank, the British Mark I tank of World War I , it still had large tracks going around the entire hull and large armour plates protecting the suspension—and like all tanks of that decade it had no welded or cast hull armour. The similarity resulted partly from

17784-409: The same type as H39 and it is only possible to refer to the latter with historical accuracy in an informal sense. Parallel to the development of a R40 it was, for a time, considered to create an H40 by adopting the improved AMX suspension of the other vehicle; but this option was ultimately rejected. In the Cavalry arm, the main user at first, the Hotchkiss tanks replaced as main combat tanks

17936-483: The similarity to the British Mark I lies in the Char B1's original specification to create a self-propelled gun able to destroy enemy infantry and artillery. The main weapon of the tank was its 75 mm howitzer, and the entire design of the vehicle was directed to making this gun as effective as possible. When in the early 1930s it became obvious that the Char B1 also had to defeat counterattacking enemy armour, it

18088-545: The skeleton track frame in order to shift its point of gravity. In September 1938 the Supreme Command ordered immediate research programmes by the French industry of both possibilities. The ARL company was granted a development contract for the char maximum , the first proposal for which was presented by ARL in May 1939. It had a proposed weight of 120 tons, consisted of two detachable modules and could be armed with either

18240-458: The spring of 1940 the original diascopes of the Chrétien type were gradually replaced with episcopes, offering more protection. As the Cavalry wanted an even higher top speed, it was decided to bring to fruition experiments already conducted from October 1936 to install a more powerful engine. A new prototype was built in 1937, with a 120 hp engine instead of the 78 hp one. The hull

18392-472: The swifter SOMUA S35s , whereas the faster H39s joined the slow Char B1s. The vast majority of these vehicles still had the short gun. Several ad hoc and reconstituted units were formed with the type after the invasion. These included 4e DCR (forty vehicles) and 7e DLM (47). Most of these later units were equipped with new vehicles built with the long gun, but 7e DLM also deployed twenty-two old H35s in its 8e dragons-chars . In May deliveries peaked at 122;

18544-483: The tank , Tank classification , interwar period Hotchkiss H35 The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II . Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because steering proved difficult during cross-country use, and

18696-400: The tank a real anti-tank capability. It was the main production type: from 8 April 1937 until June 1940, 369 units were delivered out of a total order for 1144, with series numbers 201 to 569. Before the war, production was slow: only 129 had been delivered by 1 September 1939. The monthly delivery was still not more than fifteen in December; it peaked in March 1940 with 45. The Char B1 bis had

18848-485: The tanks of platoon, company and battalion commanders; about half of the commander vehicles in Hotchkiss units were modified in this way. It had been intended to fit the longer gun to all vehicles during the second half of 1940. After the war it was wrongly assumed for a time that H38 was the official name of the tank with the new engine but without the new gun and that H39 was the name of the type that had both major improvements. H38 however, in contemporary use indicated

19000-535: The time of D-Day (6 June 1944). Panzer-Kompanie 224, a training unit, was outfitted with several flamethrower-equipped B-2s. They were stationed in Arnhem during Operation Market Garden , losing six tanks to anti-tank weaponry when they were sent to attack the Oosterbeek perimeter on 20–21 September 1944. In German service the tanks received the following designations. The principal German units that used

19152-409: The time two schools of thought collided: the first wanted to build very powerful heavy tanks, the other a lot of cheap light tanks. Both sides managed to influence procurement policy to the end that not enough tanks were built of either category, to the exasperation of men like Colonel Charles de Gaulle , who wanted to build more of the medium Char D2 at a third of the cost of the Char B1 bis, but with

19304-484: The turrets themselves being independently designed, as usual for French tanks — and a secondary turret with a 47 mm gun. That month both FCM and ARL indicated that they expected to begin construction of the prototypes in the summer of 1940 and series production at the end of 1941; for AMX it was too soon to make any precise predictions. ARL on 17 January 1940 ordered four turrets from the Schneider company, but it agreed only to build two 105 mm gun turrets and refused

19456-545: The two 90 mm gun turrets, as there was simply no capacity to manufacture them. In February 1940 the Société d’Études et d’Application Mécanique (SEAM) proposed a tank designed by the Polish engineer Prince André Poniatowski . It was a truly gigantic vehicle, weighing 220 tons, to be moved by two Hispano engines of 925 hp each, via a petro-electrical transmission. The project tried to recommend itself by pointing out that

19608-488: The vehicle was very hard work. The Hotchkiss lacked the Cleveland differential ("Cletrac") of its Renault competitor, and it responded unpredictably to changes of direction. The brakes could not sufficiently compensate for this, being too weak, especially when driving down-slope. No less troublesome was the gearbox: it was difficult to engage the highest fifth gear and so the theoretical top speed of 28 km/h (17 mph)

19760-551: The war, some Hotchkiss tanks were used by French security forces in the colonies, such as French Indochina , and occupation forces in Germany. Ten H39s were clandestinely sold to Israel – they were shipped from Marseilles to Haifa in 1948. At least one remained in service with the Israel Defense Forces until 1952. One Hotchkiss H35 and nine Hotchkiss H35s modifié 39 have survived to this present day, all of

19912-525: Was Char léger Hotchkiss modèle 38 série D , its predecessor having been the série B . The factory designation has caused much confusion; this was still officially the same tank as the H35, only in a later variant; even at the time, many began to refer to it as the 38 H or the 39 H . The new subtype differed from the original one in having a raised and more angular engine deck (in later production vehicles with crosswise instead of longitudinal ventilation slits on

20064-406: Was 4.22 m (13 ft 10 in) long, 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) wide and 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) tall and weighing 10.6–11.4 t (10.4–11.2 long tons). The hull consisted of six cast armour sections, bolted together: the engine deck, the fighting compartment, the front of the hull, the back of the hull and two longitudinal sections left and right forming the bottom. The hull

20216-487: Was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille , a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in

20368-401: Was about two hundred kilometres. A total of 34 vehicles were built from December 1935 until July 1937. They had series numbers 102 to 135. Chassis number 101 was kept apart to build the Char B1 ter prototype. The Char B1 bis was an upgraded variant with thicker armour at 60 mm maximum (55 mm at the sides) and an APX4 turret with a longer-barrelled (L/32) 47 mm SA 35 gun, to give

20520-437: Was also charged with considering the question of whether a 45-ton vehicle might not after all be sufficient. In its first meeting, on 9 May 1938, the commission quickly came to the conclusion that to meet the tactical demands a 75 mm gun in a turret and 120 mm allround armour was necessary; this could not be reconciled with a weight of 45 tons. On the other hand, a design to equal the climbing and crossing mobility of even

20672-553: Was approved by the Conseil Consultatif de l'Armement . On 2 August 1933 the specifications were issued: a weight of 6 long tons (6.1 t) and 30 mm (1.2 in) armour protection all around. Three prototypes were ordered from Hotchkiss, but the French industry as a whole was also invited to provide alternative proposals for a nouveau char léger . This allowed the Renault company to beat Hotchkiss in delivering

20824-417: Was delivered on 23 April. The howitzer could only be fitted in April 1930. This prototype was allotted the series number No. 101. No. 102, the production of which FAMH had shifted to Renault, was delivered soon after; in September 1930 FCM delivered No. 103, constructed by the Atelier de Mépanti at Marseille . One of the vehicles was fitted with an alternative 75 mm Schneider gun instead of

20976-470: Was enlarged, giving it a higher almost level engine deck, to accommodate it. The track and the suspension elements were improved, raising the weight to 12.1 t (11.9 long tons). This improved type was faster, with a top speed of 36.5 km/h (22.7 mph), but also proved much easier to drive. As this removed one of the objections of the Infantry, it was first presented to the Commission d'Expérimentations de l'Infanterie on 31 January 1939 to see whether

21128-713: Was equipped with the Char B1 bis and deployed on the Channel Islands from 1941 to 1945. One of their tanks is displayed by the Bovington Tank Museum , though repainted in French colours. In German service, the tank saw action in the Balkans campaign and the Eastern Front , initially during Operation Barbarossa , the flamethrower version from 1942 onwards. Some Char B turrets were removed and installed on German bunkers defending Normandy beaches at

21280-429: Was established they could attain an average road speed of 19 km/h, cross a trench 2.4 m (7.9 ft) wide, and wade through a 105 cm (41 in) deep stream. The prototypes were again extensively altered to meet changes in specifications. On 6 April 1934, the first order was made for seven tanks of a Char B1. The "B1" refers to the fact that there were other simultaneous projects to develop improved types:

21432-476: Was instead adopted in 1936 by the French Cavalry arm. From 1938 an improved version was produced with a more powerful engine, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39 , which from 1940 was also fitted with a longer, more powerful 37 mm gun. It was intended to make this improved variant the standard light tank, with at least four thousand produced to equip new armoured divisions of both the Cavalry and

21584-425: Was made water-tight by cementing these sections together with Aslic , a product based on tar mixed with lime . The casting allowed for sloped armour , avoiding shot traps, to optimise the chance of deflection but the protection levels did not satisfy the Infantry. Maximum armour thickness was not the specified 40 mm (1.6 in) but 34 mm (1.3 in). There were persistent quality problems, worsened by

21736-416: Was rarely reached. There was one reverse gear. The inevitable rough handling of the tank by the driver resulted in much wear and tear. Mechanical reliability was poor. The suspension consisted of three bogies per side—each formed of two bell cranks arranged as "scissors" with springs at the top. Each bogie carried two rubber-rimmed wheels. The first ten production vehicles, which can be considered as forming

21888-448: Was re-equipped with the Char B1 bis and in late May reinforced by five of the original tanks. After the German invasion several ad hoc units were formed: the 46th Bataillon de Chars de Combat ( 4e DCR ) with 52 Char B1s and five autonomous companies (347e, 348e, 349e, 352e and 353e Compagnie Autonome de Chars ) with in total 56 tanks: 12 B1s and 44 B1 bis; 28BCC was reconstituted with 34 tanks. The regular divisions destroyed quite

22040-594: Was sent to Norway after Operation Weserübung , the German invasion of that country, having first been intended to form part of an expeditionary force to assist Finland in the Winter War . This autonomous company, equipped with fifteen H39s, all with short guns, fought in the later phase of the Battles of Narvik , after having landed on 7 May. After the temporary liberation of that city, the twelve remaining vehicles were withdrawn to Britain on 8 June, where they joined

22192-417: Was soon abandoned. Instead Char B1 units included a large number of fuel trucks and TRC Lorraine 37 L armoured tracked refuelling vehicles specially designed to quickly refuel them. The last tanks to be produced in June had an extra internal 170 L (37 imp gal) fuel tank. To cool the more powerful engine the Char B1 bis had the air intake on the left side enlarged. It is often claimed this formed

22344-616: Was the Panzerbeobachtungswagen 38H (f) . In June 1943, 361 Hotchkiss tanks were still listed in the German Army inventories as 37 mm gun tanks; this number had decreased to sixty in December 1944. Three Hotchkiss H39 tanks had been exported by France to Poland in July 1939 for testing by the Polish Bureau of Technical Studies of Armoured Weapons ( Polish : Biuro Badań Technicznych Broni Pancernych ) with

22496-526: Was the FCM 21 at 15.64 tonnes. It resembled a scaled-down Char 2C , the giant tank produced by the same company. It was very elongated with a length of 6.5 metres and width of 2.05 metres. A rather large riveted turret with a stroboscopic cupola , adopted from the Char 2C, brought its height to 2.52 metres. Like the superheavy tank it had no real spring system for the twelve small wheels per side. Separate clutches for each snake track enabled it to horizontally point

22648-457: Was to be armed with two high-velocity 75 mm guns in a single turret and protected by either 100 mm armour at three sides or by 150 mm armour at the front, the side armour being reduced to about 60 to 70 mm. The speed should be about five to six km/h in rough terrain, the suspension being unsprung. When conceptual studies by FCM had reached 100 tonnes, it was feared such a heavy vehicle would have insurmountable steering problems. By

22800-480: Was to be delivered by Renault, the other two by FCM and FAHM respectively. The same year, the Direction de l'Infanterie in the Plan 1926 redefined the concept of a Char de Bataille . There would be a greater emphasis on infantry support, implying that the antitank-capacity was secondary and no armour increase was necessary. The weight was to be limited to 22 tonnes and the speed might be as low as 15 km/h. However,

22952-515: Was too late for a complete redesign. The solution was to add the standard cast APX-1 turret which also equipped the Char D2 . Like most French tanks of the period (the exception being the AMC 34 and AMC 35 ) the Char B thus had a small one-man turret. Today this is typically seen as one of their greatest flaws. The commander, alone in the turret, not only had to command the tank, but also to aim and load

23104-499: Was understood through a study by the Section de l'Armement et des Études Techniques (SAET) on 5 April 1937 that the tank would still weigh about twenty tons, while another tank, the char G1 , was already in development in this weight class. As a result, in February 1938 the specifications were again radically changed, and now called for a superheavy tank with a 75 mm gun in a turret; no weight limits were imposed. Of all projects,

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