Renault Char B1

History of the Renault Char B1

Before the German invasion of 1940, which led to the relatively rapid collapse of France, the French Army managed one of the largest armoured forces in the world. On the eve of the war in September 1939, France's main armour was concentrated on the WW1-era Renault FT-17 light tank, which appeared in 1,580 examples, followed by the more modern Renault R35 light tank, with increased inventories 1,070.

Along with the other leading tank powers of the time, the French Army also invested in several medium and heavy tanks - the Char B1 being one of the latter, which should have had a greater impact on French defenses than it did.

Design work on the Char B1 began as early as 1921 and continued until 1934. Its origins in the years following the First World War (1914-1918) meant that the appearance of the B1 was heavily influenced by the heavy armor system. Early global conflict.

French authorities require that armed vehicles have a primary armament of no less than 75mm howitzers, be able to engage enemy positions within a certain range, and be able to cross rough terrain and traverse trenches. A lengthy design and development ensued, although nothing tangible had been achieved by 1930.

Serial production only took place in 1935 and ended in 1940, after which two main models appeared - the original "Char B1" and the improved "Char B1 bis". Of the two brands, the 34 became the B1 model and the 369 the B1 bis standard.

Total weight is 31 tons (short) and dimensions include 21 feet long, 8 feet wide and 9 feet high. The standard operator consists of four people and the armor protection thickness reaches 40 mm (Char B1).

The Char B1 bis adds up to 60mm of armor, also features an upgraded 300hp engine (derived from an aircraft engine), has a larger fuel store for improved range, and updated secondary weapons in an improved turret structure (47mm SA 35). The little known "Char B1 ter" emblem, with 70mm armor and a 350hp engine, only had two prototypes at the time of the French surrender.

Power for the original production tank came from a Renault in-house 6-cylinder in-line petrol engine rated at 272 hp. The engine is connected to a drivetrain with five forward gears and one reverse gear. The hull is suspended on a hybrid helical/leaf spring system using multiple bogie members, with chain links running around the sides of the hull and most of its length exposed (a quality many WWI tanks have).

All told, the Char B1 can handle a top road speed of up to 17 mph and a working range of up to 120 miles.

The Char B1 was one of the most powerful tanks of its time, armed primarily with a 75mm ABS SA-35 howitzer, which gave it considerable range penetration. However, this primary weapon is located in the hull (front right, front left of the driver) and inherently has limited lateral and elevation range, requiring the entire tank to be turned in the direction of fire. This is thanks in part to the quick-response dual differential steering system. As with other heavy tank designs of the time, the secondary armament was as large as the primary armament on a light tank - the Char B1 carried a 47mm SA-34 gun in a one-man turret with a tip that could translate the trunk 360 degrees.

As mentioned, this weapon was updated in the Char B1 bis with the SA 35 series 47mm gun. Local defense is handled by a 1 x 7.5mm Reibel machine gun coaxially mounted in the turret.

The Char B1 served in the French Army before and during the war from 1936 to 1940, and later in the Free French Army from 1944 to 1945 at the end of the war. Until the German invasion in May 1940, the Shire B1 was considered by both sides to be the best tank on the modern battlefield, and this title was also confirmed by the German general Heinz Guderian himself, the mastermind behind the "Blitzkrieg".

Featuring a solid armor protection system, self-sealing fuel tanks, crew protection and impressive firepower, the Char B1 is built for scene-changing opponents - the German anti-tank guns (with 20mm, 37mm and 47mm guns) terrorize See how their armor-piercing rounds simply bounced off the Char B1's armor, and even the famous Panzer III and Panzer IV series of medium tanks struggled to compete with French designs - during an operation on May 16, 1940 , a waiting Char B1 successfully ambushed a collection of thirteen PzKpfW III and PzKpfW IV tanks.

If the vehicle leaves anything to be desired, it is because of its technologically advanced design, which limits factory volume production efforts, Army procurement, and complex field operations and repairs. Failure proved to be a priority, and the abandoned examples were simply adopted by the advancing enemy forces as their own. Its heavy-duty design was made for bulky creatures on the battlefield, and placing the crew inside the vehicle made communication difficult in chaotic battlefield conditions. Internal makeup also requires commanders to act as their own gunners (aiming, loading, and firing), adding a stressful, time-consuming role to managers already trying to assess the battlefield situation while directing subordinates. French doctrine also stipulated that tanks should be used against small local defenders rather than large, coordinated formations (as in the Blitzkrieg) against enemy forces and positions.

In many ways, the Char B1 - sturdy as a tool of war - fell prey to French tactics and the problems of enemy fire and machinery.

By March 1940, France had only three heavy tank divisions at their disposal, and had produced 163 Char B1 tanks before the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to officially begin World War II. A further 42 such tanks were added in 1939 and another 200 in 1940.

A total of 405 such tanks were built, including two Char B1 ter vehicles.

Aside from the logistical problems of using the Char B1 effectively, French tank tactics - not much developed from the fighting in World War I - doomed this tank to failure in a well-coordinated German offensive, This requires combined fires and forces from dive bombers, long-range artillery, mobile anti-tank units, armored formations and infantry units. After the French surrender, the car was forcibly put into service by the Germans, who used it in their own group of a dozen tanks under the designation "PzKpfW B1-bis 740(f)" - the little "f" for the French Origin Tank.

It was common for the Germans to rebuild captured weapons and rework them into other useful battlefield roles - the Char B1 thus became the basis for many 105mm armed howitzer carriers, some of which also acted as key tank drivers trainer. The PzKpfW Flamm(f) evolves into a flamethrower weapon with flame armor, which has proven useful for clearing helpless, deep-set infantry in fast-burning structures or bushes.

The Italians are known to have captured up to 8 Char B1 tanks at some point, but at least 6 had no turrets, making them rather useless as combat systems. None of these Italian offerings are believed to have been used in anger during the war.

Shortly after the end of the war in 1945, French work on heavy tanks continued, resulting in the 90mm armed ARL 44, of which only 60 were produced.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Not available.

Changes