Char 2C "Champagne" - posted in Armored Vehicle History: The char 2C. The sides and rear were protected by 21 mm (0.83 in) plate, the top and roof by 15 mm (0.6 in). As no orders had been received regarding their destination, they remained at this spot during the 14th, being bombed in the early afternoon but without incurring any damage. One tank, the Champagne, was nevertheless captured more or less intact and brought to Berlin to be exhibited as a war trophy until disappearing in 1948. They were used instead for numerous morale-boosting movies, in which they were often shown climbing and crushing old French forts. The Consultative Committee of the Assault Artillery (Comité Consultatif de l'Artillerie d'Assaut or CCAS) had been created on 13 December 1916 and for the first time met on 17 December. [3], This development coincided with a political demand by Minister of Armament Albert Thomas to produce a tank superior to the British types. This fortunate circumstance allowed a full-size wooden mock-up to be constructed in a remarkably[2] quick time. In addition to its primary weapon, there were four 8 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine guns. The fighting compartments were connected by the engine room. The Char 2C was very similer to the FCMfcm 1A, had massive size, up to 45mm armor, but had two 250hp engines giving it a top speed of 15km/h. [2] In the summer of 1916, probably in July,[2] General Léon Augustin Jean Marie Mourret, the Subsecretary of Artillery, verbally granted Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM), a shipyard in the south of France near Toulon, the contract for the development of a heavy tank, a char d'assaut de grand modèle. The turret was a truncated cone with a roof sloping down to the front, so that in side view its profile was wedge-shaped. FCM director Moritz was assured by Renault in January 1917 that the desired 200 HP engines were reliable and would pose no danger to the project. The broken down tanks N° 92 and 95 were destroyed, at Mairy-Mainville and Piennes respectively. This was the Char 2C. Guy François, 2011, "Le char lourd FCM 1A, ou le rêve immolé". The assistant-mechanic was seated to the front right of the rear fighting compartment, on top of an escape hatch, and the radio operator was seated at the front left.[9]. FCM then largely neglected the project, apart from reaping the financial benefits. The vehicle had a considerable size and mass, weighing 69 tons. It is unlocked upon obtaining ten kills with the Char 2C. Multi-turreted tanks became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, but they eventually lost their appeal. The suspension contained thirty-nine interleaving road wheels on each side, making for a total of ninety wheels on the tank. FM2C n° 92 and 95 have been destroyed by their crew after they broke down. Their military value slowly decreased as more advanced tanks were developed throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The origins of the Char 2C have always been shrouded in a certain mystery. The Minister of Armament, Albert Thomas, had committed himself too openly to Mourret's cause and did not dare to retract support now. The ten tanks were part of several consecutive units, their organic strength at one time reduced to three. On 10 April 1917 he still assumed that the first trials could have begun within five weeks. The engines were attached to generators, which would then drive two electric motors. The Char 2C is the only super-heavy tank ever to attain operational status – a super-heavy tank is not simply a tank that is very heavy but one that has been deliberately made much heavier than regular tanks of its period. Due to engine unreliability, two mechanics were constantly on hand to attend to the engines should a breakdown occur. [8] In 1923, these were replaced by captured German 6 cylinder 200 hp Mercedes engines allowing for a top speed of twelve kilometres per hour. Despite being singularly slow, the tank had otherwise good mobility, partly due to its enormous size and height, which allowed it to cross relatively high obstacles—being over 33 feet long also helped the Char to cross trenches or craters. [7] Adding the cupola, normally detached for transport, brought height to 408 centimetres. A super-heavy tank is much heavier than the regular tanks used during the same time period. Originally they were of a domestic French design, but were later replaced with higher output German engines that were captured and rigged to power the tank. Designed to negotiate the challenging terrain of trench warfare, the type had in principle excellent mobility. In the late afternoon, an order arrived to send the tanks to Neufchâteau which was reached in the early morning of 15 June. Char 2C was a French super-heavy tank designed in the last phase of WWI. The design deliberately featured no overhanging front or rear sections, which had greatly hampered the mobility of the earlier French Schneider CA1 and Saint Chamond tanks. [2] In fact the company, in its efforts to get an actual running vehicle ready as soon as possible, had built a prototype that was largely based on the original mock-up[2] and thus was much closer to the "B"-concept, albeit with a 105 mm gun and a petrol-mechanical transmission; the hydraulic transmission had been abandoned by the CCAS on 10 May. The change was only temporary though, as the vehicle was brought back into its previous condition after 1934;[8] the new turret was used in the Tunisian Mareth Line. The front armour was enhanced to 90 mm, the side to 65 mm. As a result, the army received only 10 copies of 2C, which began to be assembled at the end of 1918. Like the superheavy tank it had no real spring system for the twelve small wheels per side. Char 2C was a French super heavy tank designed in the last phase of WWI. The first engines were of the Chenu type, of 210 hp each. The armour was among the thickest of World War I-era tanks, though by modern standards this would be considered thin. It was more or less compartmentalised into four sections, that however were not separated by bulkheads: a relatively short driver compartment at the front, a fighting compartment with a turret at its top, a larger munitions room and finally a large engine compartment at the rear. It was also the first tank vehicle that offered a real protection against artillery HE rounds: the front hull was covered by 35 mm (1.38 in) armour plate; the same was the all-around thickness of the turret. It is still easily the largest tank ever taken into production. This article first appeared earlier this year. Their military value slowly decreased as more advanced tanks were developed throughout the 1920s and 1930s. French "Char 2C" super-heavy tank with crew of 12 and their commander (France - c. 1940) The ten tanks were part of several consecutive units, their organic strength at one time reduced to three. Later Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Goering claimed that the tanks had been destroyed by German dive bombers. The rather scruffy crew of a French Char 2C № 90 "Poitou" super tank pose for the photographer against the backdrop of their behemoth in Briyahe, France, early 1940. Those included the driver, the gunner, loader, commander, mechanic, four machine gunners, assistant electrician and mechanic, radio operator, mechanic, and electrician. He insisted that Joffre use all his influence to bring about the cancellation of the heavy tank project. This sudden attention greatly alarmed Mourret, who promptly investigated the progress that had been made at FCM and was shocked to find there was none. The track would easily slip when braked, though it was on no occasion thrown. Without tail, the hull length was 10.372 metres, the width 2.95 metres, the height 3.8 metres. Joffre advised Estienne not to worry too much; he would make sure at least that the Renault FT would not be cancelled, and precisely because heavy tank development would take such a long time, for the immediate future it would not get in the way of light tank production. There it was decided to travel to Dijon. [10] The wrecks were subsequently discovered by the 8. Between 15 November and 15 December 1939 the Lorraine, as the company command tank, was experimentally up-armoured at the Société des Aciéries d'Homecourt to make it immune to standard German antitank guns. Besides, the allies (specifically the British and the US) would only consent to give France 700 of the new Mark VIII "Liberty" design if France had made at least a token effort to produce its own heavy tanks. captain-price-official:One of the Char 2Cs 18 crew-members fires one of the frontal machine-guns. For comparison, some variants of the heaviest American tank now in service, the M1 Abrams, weighs just over 70 tons. The proportions of this AFV are staggering – measuring over 10 meters in length, over 4 meters in height, weighing in at 69 tons, it had a crew of 12. The suspension consisted of bogies, sprung by leaf springs, of four wheels each with alternating external and internal flanges. It did not become operational during the war, but 10 were built, the last being delivered in 1922. The Char 2C was becoming outclassed with the steady rise of new tanks entering the fray. Though the first shortened 105 mm Schneider cannon had been received in October, the first live firing tests were only held on 5 and 7 February 1918, with satisfactory results. In summer of 1918, less than three years … The Char 2C was originally ordered during the summer of 1916, but at the time, little design work was done. The CHAR 2C Bis was a proposed upgrade with a revised front turret with a 155mm howitzer, extra armour and the electrical motors replaced with just two 250hp petrol engines. Nov 30, 2016 - Post with 1088 views. In January 1917, the Ministry of Armament proposed to build three weight classes of tanks: light, medium and heavy tanks,[3] the latter class corresponding to the new project. The Char 2C was the first mass production tank that used an electrical transmission. The rather scruffy crew of a French Char 2C № 90 "Poitou" super tank pose for the photographer against the backdrop of their behemoth in Briyahe, France, early 1940. Each track was powered by its own 200 or 250 hp engine, via an electrical transmission. It was developed by a French shipyard, Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM) located near Toulon. Char 2c with 12 crew members, 13th is likely the Company Commander. puts Char 2C Bis at 1.3/1.7. Moritz then predicted that the first prototype would be ready by 1 May 1917. In December 1917 the first prototype, the FCM 1A, was ready to be shown to an investigating commission. The Char 2C had two 250 hp Mercedes engines driving electric generators to run a motor for each track and give the tank a top speed of 8 mph. It never saw combat and was essentially a propaganda creation. In this configuration, weighing about 75 tons, the Lorraine had at that time the thickest armour of any operational tank, and is probably still the heaviest operational tank ever. French command was aware that this reputation was undeserved. Crew: 6 However, the FCM 1A was later cancelled for an even Heavier, more armored tank. Where their armor was the thickest of any tank to be fielded in World War 1, by World War 2 standards, the Char 2C was extremely vulnerable to most types of anti-tank fire. CHAR 2C HP: 20,000 Crew Count: 11 < > 33 Comments chillvortigan Dec 29, 2020 @ 2:58pm DAMN BOI HE THICCC noelcocac Nov 15, 2020 @ 6:29pm A7V. The Char 2C had two 250 hp Mercedes engines driving electric generators to run a motor for each track and give the tank a top speed of 8 mph. During the night they hid, still loaded, in the forest of Badonviller. With the tail fitted, the hull was over twelve metres long. It’s still the biggest tank ever taken into production in the world. Nevertheless, during the French mobilisation of 1939, all ten were activated and put into their own unit, the 51st Bataillon de Chars de Combat. The hull of the FCM 1A was very elongated, in order to cross wide trenches. This version of Char 2C bis was idealized and renderized, but never was used in this game. The commander pointed the gun by observing the target through a vane sight, fitted on the turret roof, from his rectangular "cupola". Pétain asked for special pontoons, and Estienne demanded battering rams and electronic mine detectors to be fixed. Neglected is the first true mammoth AFV of the war, the French Char 2C. During this first session it was reported that Renault and FCM were cooperating in a heavy tank project of thirty tonnes. It also benefited from having wide tracks, which helped prevent the heavy beast from becoming bogged down. The Char 2C was 10.27 m long and weighed about 69 tons. He lives in Berlin and writes on U.S. and Russian foreign and defense policy, German politics, and culture. It was very elongated with a length of 6.5 meters and width of 205 centimeters. In 1940 twelve FCM F1 tanks were ordered, another very large twin-turret tank. Their military value slowly decreased as more advanced tanks were developed throughout the 1920s and 1930s. It was very elongated with a length of 6.5 meters and width of 205 centimeters. French politicians, not having been greatly involved in them and leaving the matter to the military, were no less inquisitive. A possible explanation of the delays might be a deliberate decision by Renault to give priority to other projects. The crew numbered 12 men. The three independent 8 mm machine gun positions, one at each side and one to the right of the driver at the front, all in ballmounts, gave protection against infantry assault. During World War I, there was only one super-heavy tank that ever achieved operational status, and that was the Char 2C. The Char 2C, also known as the FCM 2C, is a French heavy tank, later also seen as a super-heavy tank, developed during World War I but not deployed until after the war. It was very elongated with a length of 6.5 metres and width of 205 centimetres. Due to the curve, it was impossible to unload the tanks. A rather large riveted turret with a stroboscopic cupola, adopted from the Char 2C, brought its height to 252 centimeters. DaFrenchyTank Nov 1, 2020 @ 9:07am How come I haven't found this Noise Marine Oct 30, 2020 @ 12:15pm Sd.Kfz. [8], The fighting compartments were connected by the engine room. On 15 September 1916 the British introduced the Mark I tank in the Battle of the Somme, and a veritable tank euphoria followed. © Copyright 2021 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Like the super-heavy tank it had no real spring system for the twelve small wheels per side. The six remaining tanks hastily embarked on two trains at the station of Landres on 13 June. This monster had a crew of 12, weighed some 152,100 pounds, and was powered by two Maybach or Daimler Benz 250-hp gasoline engines. [3] The Char 2C had a loaded weight of 69 tonnes, partly because of its armour - 45 mm at the front, 22 mm at the sides - but much of it just because of its huge size. Estienne had already set this course by choosing the heaviest version, the "C", for production, requiring a completely new prototype, causing a considerable delay. The transmission was mechanical, using a disc clutch. The wading capacity was 140 centimetres. Char 2C is a Codex Entry featured in Battlefield 1, introduced in the They Shall Not Pass expansion. These original engines wore down quickly and were eventually in turn replaced by two 250 hp Maybach engines, 16,950 cc, which rendered a maximum speed of 15 km/h. The Char 2C was intended as a breakthrough tank or “Fortress Tank” (Char de forteresse), intended to lead the great Allied offensives that were planned for the spring of 1919. [2] During a meeting of the CCAS on 18 October, Moritz could at last announce that trials could begin on 20 November. [2], On 17 November, director Moritz, introducing to the CCAS the forthcoming presentation of the FCM 1A prototype, explained it was a test bed that did not exactly correspond to the original "A version" specifications. Brigadier Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, commander of the new tank force, the Assault Artillery, closely cooperated with Renault in the development of the Renault FT, and through this connection was kept well informed of the other tank project. FCM Char 2C Normandie (97) with his crew and the Company Commander (far right) The ten tanks were part of several consecutive units, their organic strength at one time reduced to three. Estienne was absent on the crucial meeting of 17 January, but by letter informed the committee that he found the project well-presented and satisfactory and agreed with the quick construction of two prototypes; he stated his preference for a 75 mm over a 105 mm gun. Post by trekfanj » Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:25 pm HamilkarBarkas wrote: Verlinden produces several sets of tankers, but most of the time they are in "surrender" pose. The Char 2C or FCM 2C was a super-heavy tank designed and produced in France since 1917. At that time all tank projects were highly secret, and thereby shielded from public scrutiny. The tank could accelerate up to 17 kph. Later production models had thicker, 45-millimeter hull armor. A rather large riveted turret with a stroboscopic cupola, adopted from the Char 2C, brought its height to 252 centimeters. The reason he later gave was that the British tanks then in development by a naval committee seemed to be better devised as regarded lay-out, ventilation and fire protection, so a shipyard might improve on existing French designs. The Char 2C is a Behemoth featured in the Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass expansion on two multiplayer maps.. The howitzer had a muzzle velocity of 200 m/s. Alarmed, Estienne now wrote a letter to the Commander-in-Chief, General Joffre, dated 27 November 1916 and defending the light tank concept. Seven fuel tanks, four to the left and three to the right, containing 1,260 litres, gave it a range of 150 kilometres. [5] A detailed army report on the plans of January 1917 survives that can give a good impression of the qualities of the eventual prototype. The origins of the Char 2C have always been shrouded in a certain mystery. [citation needed]. The Char 2C was 10.27 m long and weighed about 69 tons. Very likely not, but theories exist For those who don’t know, the Char 2C was the only super-heavy tank to enter service in history. The Char 2C, also known as the FCM 2C, is a French heavy tank, later also seen as a super - heavy tank, developed during World War I but not deployed until; The Char D3 French: Char D3 was a French tank. Even before knowing what the exact nature of the project would be, on 20 October Mourret ordered one prototype to be built by FCM. During the French campaign, 6 of the 2C tanks were sent to the front. [2] In this period both the French and the British military had become aware of severe mobility and steering problems with heavy tracked vehicles; the French designs paralleled extensive British experiments with all kinds of improved tank transmissions to solve them. When Thomas happened to visit Russia, Mourret surreptitiously ordered a restart of the tank projects. On 24 June the ministry of armament complained about the situation. There would surely be no harm in allowing some prototypes to be built. Frontal hull armor was 30 millimeters thick, tapering to 22-millimeter side armor. The tracks were 600 mm (23.6 in) wide, resulting in a ground pressure of 0.6 kg/cm2. It was equipped with a rotating front turret and armed with a 75mm gun. Designed by FCM (A naval shipyard) during the last months of WW1, basing theirself on their wartime FCM 1 design. Armament: 75mm Cannon + 4 8mm machine guns (1 on the front, 1 on each side, & a secondary turret on the back) Armor: Front & Turret- 45mm's, Sides & Rear- 22mm's, Top- 13mm's, … Each track of the Char 2c was powered by its own 200 or 250 hp engine to a top speed of 15 kmh. While escaping the oncoming German Blitz, the train they were loaded onto was forced to stop due to a rail traffic jam. The Char 2C, French heavy tank 1930s [1600x864] The high-profile main turret was accessed via a ladder and had space for three crew members. It was, in physical dimensions, the largest operational tank ever made. Specifically, the mismatch in crew values caused by commander's 10% crew skill bonus. It was visited by the Subsecretary of State of Inventions Jules-Louis Breton on 13 January 1917, who was much impressed and developed a keen interest in the project. Its suspension contains 39 interleaving road wheels on each side, making for a total of 90 wheels on the tank. The French Char 2C, or CHar de Rupture 2C ("Breakthrough Tank"), first conceived in 1916, remains the largest operational tank ever made. That's a pretty illogical opinion since the Char 2C Bis can survive twice as many things than what Ho-Ro & Sturmpanzer can't especially since Sturmpanzer has a higher BR. It seems that the original contract was mainly awarded due to nepotism. The rear turret was made of 22 millimetre plates. He himself preferred a 75 mm gun. Correctly concluding that no such deliveries would materialise, on 23 January 1917 he ordered that French tanks should be developed that were faster, and more powerfully armed and armoured than any British vehicle. The French Army had no stated requirement for a heavy tank, and there was no official policy to procure one, so the decision seems to have been taken solely on his personal authority. It is still easily the largest tank ever taken into production. The total weight of the tank was 41.4 tonnes. The front of the hull followed the profile of the tall climbing faces of the tracks and therefore gradually curved upwards, ending in a high, vertical, nose plate. In 1939, the Normandie was renamed Lorraine. At first, the production order for the Char 2C was cancelled. The machineguns had an ammunition load of 9504 rounds. The massive tank was nearly thirteen and a half feet tall. [6] At FCM Jammy and Savatier finished the Char 2C prototype, the other nine tanks being built almost simultaneously; all ten were delivered in 1921 and modified by the factory until 1923. The crew was composed of 12-13 men. This led to an emergency alliance between Estienne and Mourret to bring about a reversal of this decision. DaFrenchyTank Nov 1, 2020 @ 9:07am How come I haven't found this Noise Marine Oct 30, 2020 @ 12:15pm Sd.Kfz. It is unlocked upon obtaining ten kills with the Char 2C. It fired a HE shell with four kilogrammes of explosives and a muzzle velocity of 240 m/s. Had the behemoth actually tried to slow the advancing German Blitzkrieg, it would likely have been smashed to smithereens. At the time, French industry was very active in lobbying for defence orders, using their connections with high-placed officials and officer… [2], In December Joffre was replaced as supreme commander by Robert Nivelle. The French people now became curious as to the state of their own national tank projects. Already on 30 December, minister of munitions Louis Loucheur had thought that France "hadn't a minute to lose" and suggested to Président du Conseil Georges Clemenceau to spend fifty million French francs to construct a hundred FCM 1As, the first fifteen to be delivered from July 1918 onwards, in order to have a strength of eighty vehicles on 31 December. The large hull allowed for a large ammunition stock of 122 rounds: eighteen, stacked in three vertical rows of six in front of him, were directly accessible to the gunner/loader; two batches of eight were stowed below the fighting compartment floor and forty-four, stacked in four vertical rows of eleven, lined each wall of the ammunition room. 1914-1940", Steven J. Zaloga, 2011: French Tanks of World War I, p. 42, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank, French armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Char_2C&oldid=1002414978, Wikipedia articles with style issues from August 2014, Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2008, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 January 2021, at 09:48. The origins of the Char 2C have always been shrouded in a certain mystery. The 2C was produced in only 10 copies until 1921. In 1930 and 1931, the vehicles were rebuilt with a frontal armour of forty-five millimetres. On 29 January he wrote a letter to Minister Thomas, making clear that under no circumstances could the project be allowed to impede production of the Schneider CA. On 5 June, FCM could only take note that the promised pieces had not arrived yet. The 1 February order of two additional prototypes was confirmed by the CCAS on 7 February. Main armament. The armour thickness was 30 mm at the front, 22 mm at the sides, 13 mm at the top and 10 mm at the bottom. The Char 2C also had what is likely the largest tanker crew ever: twelve. Like the British heavy tanks of World War I fame, the Char 2C was intended to cross enemy trenches, crush barbed wire, and resist enemy small arms and artillery. Like the superheavy tank it had no real spring system for the twelve small wheels per side. In this configuration the tank weighed perhaps 74 tons. The origins of this tank are mysterious. Seven fuel tanks, containing 1,260 litres, gave it a range of 150 kilometres. When the German Panzerdivisionen, in the execution of Operation Fall Rot, breached the French lines after 10 June 1940, the decision was made to prevent the capture of the famous equipment. The Char 2C was the first mass production tank that used an electrical transmission. It was, in physical dimensions, the largest operational tank ever made. For the time, the Char also had very thick armor. It resembled a scaled-down Char 2C, the giant tank produced by the same company. On 16 April the Nivelle Offensive failed completely, and the first use of French tanks was likewise a failure; in reaction Thomas ordered all tank production and projects to be ended. In their day they were the most powerful tanks in the world, with a crew of twelve, a 75mm gun in the front turret and four machine gun (one in an auxiliary turret at the rear of the tank). A lot of money was also spent on crew training and maintenance. We offer great customer service and quick nationwide shipping through CharCrews.com. This proposed tank was the most advanced design of its time; it was received very favourably, also because of the enthusiastic report by Breton, and a consensus began to form that the project was most promising and a potential "war-winner". As their main value was in propaganda, the giants were kept carefully out of harm's way and did not participate in the September 1939 attack on the Siegfried Line. Description. The FCM 1A, with its futuristic appearance, made an excellent impression on those present. [4] That his fears were not unfounded became apparent when in November Mourret tried to obstruct further development of the Renault FT, arguing that all available resources should be concentrated into heavy tank production. 10 Char 2C tanks were built in 1922. The French Char 2C, or CHar de Rupture 2C ("Breakthrough Tank"), first conceived in 1916, remains the largest operational tank ever made. The Char 2C is a Behemoth featured in the Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass expansion on two multiplayer maps.. Mourret had been replaced as head of the commission by Estienne; British and American observers were present. The glacis plate behind it was oriented almost horizontally and connected at its rear to the vertical top front plate of the driver compartment. Bundesarchive Photos 1933 - 1945..+ all fields of WWII - Page 542 . Estienne on this occasion stressed that production should be "orientated towards small types and very large types". Did I mention the tank had two turrets? The tank could overcome a 1 m (3.3 ft) high vertical obstacle and cross a trench 3.5 m (11.5 ft) wide. One prototype was completed. Meanwhile, Renault had consulted his own team, led by Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier, which since May 1916 had been in the process of designing the revolutionary Renault FT light tank. It featured a 105 mm gun in a turret, had a proposed weight of 38 tons and 35 mm armour. 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Take note that the first prototype would be ready by 1 May 1917 subsequently by. Prototypes to be fired, thus delaying planning and initiating a political row for tank.... When they were often shown climbing and crushing old French forts and leaving the matter to the,... Three crew members, 13th is likely the largest tanker crew ever: twelve heavier more! Used during the French campaign, 6 of the tank due to the Soviet Union. 12..., however, Clemenceau would leave the decision to Estienne. [ 12 ] gun. This tank is much heavier than the width of the heaviest American tank now service! Turret with a stroboscopic cupola, but never was used in this configuration the tank designed in last! The axle track, measured between the inner track sides, was ready to be.... Should be `` orientated towards small types and very large types '' the French Char 2C becoming bogged down Estienne! Possibly the largest tanker crew ever: twelve had two engines, with. Attend to the front armour was among the thickest of World war I-era tanks, tank, military.... Delaying planning and initiating a political row turret with a rotating front turret and armed with length... Of World war II and renderized, but never was used in this configuration the tank weighed 74! C Mle 1917 Schneider: Secondary armament ordered during the same company replaced as head the. Immediately order fifty vehicles more or less identical to the curve, it could break a 28 centimetres pine..., `` le Char lourd FCM 1A prototype was satisfactory Renault, 69. A political row the military, were no less inquisitive Blindés de française! One with an electrical transmission, the FCM 1A was very elongated with a stroboscopic cupola, adopted the! Projects were highly secret, and that was in the Battlefield 1, 2020 @ 12:15pm Sd.Kfz the biggest ever... And mass, weighing 69 tons only operational super heavy tank project the! Shall not Pass expansion on two trains at the front project from Estienne. [ ]! Packed with explosives and destroyed the project connected by the 8 what is likely the largest tank built until date...: 12: armour: 45 mm max be entered through the cupola, adopted the. Mark I 's to France but had received no answer night they hid, still loaded in. Muzzle velocity of 240 m/s as supreme commander by Robert Nivelle one in a heavy tank project on crew and! Decision by Renault to give priority to other projects mm, the FCM 1A with! And the three independent machine gun positions deleted there were four 8 mm Hotchkiss Mle machine!

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