Renault UE Chenillette

History

Since the advent of battlefield artillery, the challenge has been to make these weapon systems more portable. Early on, "pack animals" such as horses and mules were used for this task, but it wasn't until the years after World War I, when mechanized warfare became the norm, that "prime movers" appeared as vehicles, given the specific traction The role of /move/traction of artillery across the battlefield.

For the French, during the massive rearmament of the 1930s came the Renault UE Chenillette, a light tracked vehicle that soon became the French entry into World War II (1939-1945) The main equipment of the infantry division. It was used until the end of the conflict and under many flags.

Inside, the driver's station contains a simple instrument panel that provides the usual operating details as well as manual controls and foot pedals. No communication system was installed, which limited the tactical value of the machine.

Due to the vehicle's fairly flat profile, the crew couldn't "snap on" inside the vehicle's protective shell, so retractable armored airbags were used as "hoods" to protect the occupants' exposed heads. These features with visual slits provide some situational awareness, but mostly limit overall vision.

Power comes from a 38 hp Renault 4-cylinder water-cooled petrol engine. This is linked to a drivetrain with six forward gears and two reverse gears. The car has a range of up to 80 miles (35 miles off-road) and a road speed of 21 mph. The suspension uses the same leaf spring arrangement already seen in the Vickers armored car.

The 3-ton vehicle can also ford up to 16 inches.

The original French Army model was the "Chenillette Modele 31", but the growing turmoil in Europe prompted the service to look for an improved product form in the event of a war with Germany. Renault responded with the "Renault UE 2", in which a new transmission system, night lights and reinforcement of various internal components were introduced for a more powerful final product. The design was approved and Renault changed the already running production line for the new brand in 1937.

Therefore, the French Army officially named the model "Chenillette de Ravitaillement d'Infanterie Modele 1937 R", and production will be taken over by several brands including AMX and Fouga.

The UE Chenillette has always been designed for tactical resupply, not as a direct combat vehicle, but Renault showed a machine-gun armed version to increase the appeal of the UE Chenillette as a combat vehicle to domestic and foreign interests. However, this initiative had limited commercial success, but after the German invasion (Battle of France) in May 1940, some small tanks were armed by the French to desperately defend their homeland.

These specimens, which survived the German attack and subsequent occupation, were retained by the French Vichy government for local defense.

After the surrender of France, the Germans captured between 1,200 and 3,000 vehicles (various sources) and used these specimens primarily for their intended role as artillery movements. Some stocks were equipped with various tank anti-personnel guns, ranging from 37mm and 50mm to German 75mm, and captured Soviet 76.2mm types and used them as modified tank destroyers and self-propelled guns. Some were also passed on to ally Italy during the war.

In 1944, German General Rommel ordered that some of the UE Chenille tanks available to him be converted into self-propelled grenade launchers.

Other war operators are Romania, Poland, Thailand and China. After the war users became Syria.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on weapon (if available).

Changes