Char G1
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Renault Char G1R mock-up in its second phase, as a 35 ton tank |
|
| Char G1 | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | unspecified |
| Length | unspecified |
| Width | unspecified |
| Height | unspecified |
| Weight | 20 metric tons |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 60 mm |
| Main armament | high velocity gun |
| Secondary armament | two machine guns |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | unspecified unspecified |
| Suspension | unspecified |
| Road speed | 40 km/h |
| Power/weight | unspecified |
| Range | 200 |
The Char G1 was a French replacement project for the Char D2 medium tank. Several prototypes from different companies were developed since 1936, but not a single one had been completed at the time of the Fall of France in 1940.
Contents |
[edit] Development
Early 1936 the French Infantry had not yet developed a satisfactory medium tank. Whereas a reasonably effective heavy break-through tank was available, the Char B1, and several light infantry support tanks were on the brink of being taken into production — the Renault R35, Hotchkiss H35 and the FCM 36 — a good medium tank had still to be designed, as the Char D1 was a manifest failure and the Char D2 only a slight improvement over its ancestor. In May 1936 therefore the Conseil Consultatif de l'Armement demands that studies are initiated on the design of a tank having sufficient protection and armament to fight other armour, but light enough (twenty tons or less) to be both cheap and mobile. In October a special commission reveals to the French industry the further specifications for a Char G: a maximum speed of at least 40 km/h, a range of 200 km, a protection level equal to that of the Char B1 bis (i.e. 60 mm all around), a wading capacity of 120 cm and a trench crossing capacity of 250 cm; a complete protection against gas attack; the dimensions should not impede rail transport and the armament should consist of a high velocity gun capable of destroying all expected enemy medium tanks, combined with two machine guns.
The specifications implied that the vehicle would have been the most potent and modern French tank yet developed. It also entailed that its introduction would not take place in the near future, as it was simply too advanced. This way it was avoided that a decision would have to be reached about the future course the Infantry tank weapon should take. At the time there were officers, like Charles de Gaulle, who proposed that the Infantry raise armoured divisions that were similar in organisation to the Divisions Légères Mécaniques of the French Cavalry or the German Panzerdivisionen, i.e. balanced forces with much organic mechanised infantry and motorised artillery, that would be flexible enough to fulfill all possible tactical roles. Other officers however considered it redundant to imitate the Cavalry and thought the Infantry should stick to its proper task: the break-through only. Some of them wanted that the money to be spent on armoured divisions would go to the production of a sufficient number of light infantry tanks to give each division its own organic battalion, as the best way to ensure an effective execution of combined arms tactics. Some wanted only heavy tanks to be built. The Char G, mobile, but heavily armoured enough to function as a break-through tank, made only sense if German-style armoured divisions would be created and a definite decision about its production could only be made when the debate had produced a clear winner.
Despite this uncertainty about its future the project generated enormous interest among French industrialists, as it had a real potential to become France's main AFV building programme, leading to large state investments the French industry badly needed during the period of the Great Depression. Late 1936 and early 1937 seven companies submitted plans: Baudet Donon Roussel; FCM; Fouga; Lorraine de Dietrich; Renault; SEAM and SOMUA. The commission immediately rejected the SOMUA and FCM proposals for being too vague; those of Baudet Donon Roussel, Fouga and Lorraine de Dietrich were being kept under consideration until further information could be provided about their feasibility. The SEAM and Renault projects were sufficiently advanced to approve the construction of a prototype of each. The last two firms' good contacts with the French military had allowed them to begin design work even before the specifications were officially revealed. In Renault's case this advantage had turned into a disadvantage when in November it had been decided that a hull-based main armament was to be preferred on instigation of Prince Poniatowski, head of a design bureau subcontracted by SEAM, whose proposal unsurprisingly had this feature.
Late 1937 the project had been renamed Char G1 and all prototypes then authorised had received an official designation: Lorraine: G1L; Renault: G1R; Baudet Donon Rousel: G1B, Fouga: G1F and SEAM: G1P. The weight was now to have a maximum of 24 metric tons.
[edit] Char G1P
The Char G1P had received its designation letter P because Poniatowsky had designed it. SEAM was the only company whose project was sufficiently advanced to present an actual prototype to the Commission de Vincennes, early in the night of 3 December 1936, be it in an unfinished state. Despite having neither the intended engine nor any armament fixed, the vehicle already weighed 23 metric tons, confirming the prediction of a study made by the army workshop, the Atelier de Rueil, that it would be impossible for a tank to meet the required specifications within even a 28 ton limit. Instead of the intended 12 CV 280 hp engine a Hispano 6 CV engine of 120 hp had been fixed. Although a petro-electric transmission system is used, theoretically leading to a higher effective power output, tests performed between 3 and 10 December showed that the maximum speed was a disappointing 14 km/h on the road, ten km/h in terrain. The transmission alone weighs 2,4 tons, 1,5 tons heavier than a traditional mechanical system. Steering was easy though and unlike most other petro-electrical systems it performed without reliability problems. The vehicle makes extensive use of smoothly curved cast sloped armour. There is room in the right side of the hull for a 75 mm main gun. There is to be a crew of four: a commander (also manning a machine gun turret), a driver, a gunner and a radio-operator.
The commission decided that given the unfinished state of the project no definitive decisions could be made. SEAM is invited to improve the prototype. On 6 June 1937 it was considered by the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre as a possible battle tank to equip the future Divisions Cuirassées, the armoured divisions of the Infantry. During 1937 and 1938 the company rebuilt the vehicle, changing the suspension and perhaps installing a better engine. Pictures show it had six large roadwheels per side. Besides the hull armament, the placement of a APX4 turret is now foreseen, armed with a 47 mm SA35 gun. The dimensions of the prototype are also slightly changed: the width diminishes from 2.94 m to 2.92 m and the height from 2,76 to 2.73. The larger turret is partly compensated by bringing hull height from 183 to 174 cm. During this time SEAM experienced severe financial difficulties. When in July 1939 new specifications called for a main 75 mm armament in the turret, the company was unable to finance the changes. It appealed to the ARL workshop to assist; ARL received the prototype to install an ARL turret. When war broke out in September 1939 this development lost priority and at the time of the Fall of France the vehicle was probably still unfinished, though it was the only offshoot of the Char G1 project to near completion or even to be in a running condition.
[edit] Char G1F
Late 1937 Fouga had not yet submitted a definite proposal. Nevertheless the order for the production of a prototype was obtained. During 1939 the development was terminated.
[edit] Char G1B
Baudet Donon Rousel proposed to build a tank with the following dimensions: a length of 556 cm; a width of 280 cm and a height of 285 cm. Track width would be 35 cm, the wading capacity 145 cm. It was planned to install an air-cooled Potez 12V 320hp engine. The fuel tank would have a capacity of 520 litres. Like the SEAM design it would make use of an electrical transmission. The armament would consist of 75 mm SA35 howitzer in the hull with 70 rounds. In the 1937 configuration it would make use of APX4 turret with a 47 mm SA35 gun; 102 47 mm rounds would be stored.
When the changed specifications asked for a 75 gun in a turret, it transpired that the intended ARL3 turret could not be fitted without making the design, now projected to weigh 37.5 metric tons, too wide for rail transport and the project was terminated. A wooden mock-up was all that was finished; no complete prototype was ever built.
[edit] Char G1L
The project of Lorraine de Dietrich differed from the others in using welded steel plate instead of cast armour. In 1937 it became clear that the quality of cast armour was difficult to control and that limited production facilities, combined with the fact that many other French tanks used cast armour sections also, would restrict production. Also the G1L's electromechanical transmission was less of a development hazard; its suspension was that of the Lorraine 37L tractor and thus already in mass production. At the same time international tensions continued to rise; to have a modern type ready for introduction seemed a matter of simple precaution. As a result late 1937 the Char G1L was accepted for service and Lorraine was granted a full development contract. In the summer of 1938 a metal mock-up was ready; the company predicted production could start in 1941. This development path was discontinued in 1939 however as a result of the changed specifications. The design of the Char G1L was changed to fit a 75 mm gun turret, its projected weight increasing to 36 metric tons, to be moved by a Panhard 450 hp engine. Even the first proposal had an estimated empty hull weight of 16 tons.
[edit] Char G1R
Renault made a proposal to the commission on 10 December 1936, at a time the military branch of the company had just been nationalised and renamed the AMX factory. This didn't stop Louis Renault from remaining very active on the field of military design and production though, using the remainder of his company and competing or cooperating with AMX as he saw fit. Quickly a wooden mock-up was finished of the Renault version of the Char G; the project had the factory designation Renault ACK1. The designation merely indicates the chronological order of Renault's military prototypes and has no further meaning. Renault's first project was based on the Renault ZM, or Renault R35. It had a similar smooth curved cast hull to that of the light infantry tank but was much wider and had six road wheels and double tracks per side. The hull was crowned by a flat-domed cast superstructure, that superficially resembled a circular conventional turret. In reality however it was fixed; the 47 mm gun was supposed to traverse through a horizontal slit like in a pill-box, rotating on a pivot fixed to the hull floor. On the right side of the superstructure a vertical cylinder protuded, on top of which a small rotating commando cupola was fitted, that was armed with dual co-axial machine guns. The superstructure had sufficient room to hold a SA 37 version of the standard 47 mm antitank gun, that was much more powerful than the shorter 47 mm SA 35 gun equipping the standard APX1 and APX4 turrets. Expecting that this superior firepower would give his design a clear advantage leading to a quick production contract, as had so often happened in the past, Renault was unpleasantly surprised when lobbying by Poniatowski caused a change in specifications to the effect a 75 mm gun had to be carried in the hull. The ACK1 hull was simply too flat for this. To save his project Renault started a strong counter-lobby.
In 1939 Renault through an intermediary bribed a high-ranking officer of the Direction de l'Infanterie; he again manipulated the commission to change the design policy. He convinced the commission that while a 75 mm gun in the hull was good, one in the turret would be even better. This change was much in favour of Renault, as the other companies needed a very fundamental redesign of their projects to meet the new specification, whereas the ACK1 with its broad fighting compartment could easily accommodate a wide turret as it was. Renault also promised that his tank could be taken into production in 1940, a year earlier than the Char G1L, so the latter project could be replaced by his Char G1R as the main development type. It was also claimed that the weight of the projects, 24 tons, could be reduced to 19.6 tons by limiting the armament to a single gun. Three teams, those of ARL, FCM and Renault, are invited to develop new turrets as well as new high velocity 75 mm guns. In July 1939 ARL was producing a prototype of both. FCM was considering to use a changed version of the auxiliary turret of the heavy FCM F1. All projects at this time still exceeded 35 tons in projected weight; it transpired that the estimate made by the Infantry officer had been a deliberate falsehood and that the best that could be expected was 28 tons. Also the claimed first production date, that had already led to a limiting of Char B1 bis orders, was proven to be wildly optimistic.
[edit] Char Futur
When in September 1939 war broke out, all tank design policies were affected. On 15 December the Inspectorate of Tanks decided that war production should be limited to existing types with the exception of three precisely circumscribed classes: the Char d'Accompagnement, a new medium infantry tank; the Char de Bataille, a new heavy tank and the Char de Fortification, a superheavy tank. A new Commission of Tank Study was created to study these three types; it first met on 28 February 1940. The commission decided that the Char d'Accompagnement would need a 47 mm gun in a turret and the Char de Bataille at least a 90 mm gun in the hull. The Char G1, being in between the two classes, would thus not be produced.
Of course Louis Renault did his best to overturn this decision. On 1 April 1940 a subcommission received Renault's head engineer Serre, who argued it would be folly to discontinue the Char G1 project as it was so near fruition. The first armour set would be manufactured by Schneider in July 1940, the supsension and gearbox were almost finished, a new 350 hp engine was being tested (he didn't mention this had met much resistance from Louis Renault, who thought the existing engine used in the Char B1 was sufficient, if uprated). The weight would be lower than 35 tons, perhaps as low as 32 ton. All theoretical studies could be completed in May and the first vehicle in September. The Commission answered that the prototype could of course be finished as ordered, but that production of the type, despite its interesting advanced technological features, was excluded. At that time the French High Command had already been informed of the fact that the previous commission had been manipulated and steps had been taken to prevent a second "incident". The armistice of June 1940 ended all development.
[edit] References
- Pierre Touzin, Les véhicules blindés français, 1900-1944. EPA, 1979.
- Jean-Gabriel Jeudy, Chars de France, E.T.A.I., 1997.
[edit] External links
| French armoured fighting vehicles of World War II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AMC, AMR, and Light Tanks | |||
| FT-17 | AMR 33 | AMR 35 | FCM 36 | H35/H38/H39 | R 35 / R 40 | AMC 34 | AMC 35 |
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| Medium/Heavy | Cavalry tanks | Heavy tanks | |
| Char D1| Char D2 | Char B1 | S 35 | Char 2C | |
| Armoured Cars and Half-tracks | |||
| Panhard 178 | Laffly Armoured Car | AMC P16 | |||
| Armoured Carriers | |||
| Renault UE | Lorraine 37L | |||
| Experimental vehicles | |||
| FCM F1 | ARL 40 | Char G1 | S 40 and SAu 40 | ARL 44 | |||
| French armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II | |||
| Unarmoured vehicles | |||
