AMR 33

Renault AMR 33
AMR 33 at Musée des Blindés
Type	Light cavalry tank
Place of origin	French Third Republic
Service history
Used by	France, Nazi Germany
Production history
Designer	Renault
Designed	1932
Manufacturer	Renault
Produced	1933 - 1935
No. built	123
Variants	AMR 33 TSF
Specifications
Mass	5.5 t (12,000 lb; 5.4 long tons)
Length	3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Width	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Crew	2
Armour	13 mm (0.51 in)
Main armament	7.5 mm Mitrailleuse mle 1931
Secondary armament	reserve gun could be used as anti-aircraft weapon
Engine	8-cylinder petrol 84 hp (63 kW)
Suspension	oil damped horizontal springs
Ground clearance	32 cm (13 in)
Fuel capacity	128 L (28 imp gal)
Operational range	about 200 km (120 mi)
Maximum speed	54 km/h (34 mph)

The Automitrailleuse de Reconnaissance Renault Modèle 1933 (AMR 33 or Renault VM) was a French light cavalry tank developed during the Interbellum and used in the Second World War.

Developed by Renault from 1932, the type was ordered by the French Cavalry in 1933; a total of 123 would be built until 1935. The AMR 33 was lightly armed and armoured; though it was very fast for its day, it proved to be a mechanically unreliable vehicle, especially its suspension elements being too weak. It was therefore succeeded by an improved type, the AMR 35.

Though its name might suggest otherwise, the AMR 33 was not a scout vehicle and mostly was not equipped with a radio set. The AMR 33s were intended to form a large mass of light tanks, preceding the medium types into battle. In reality they never served as such; by the time enough medium tanks were produced to form armoured divisions, the AMR 33 had already been replaced by the AMR 35 and was limited to the Cavalry Divisions and in 1940 to the Cavalry Light Divisions to provide fire support to motorised infantry and dismounted cavalry. In the Battle of France of 1940 the AMR 33s were quickly lost. Some captured vehicles were for the duration of the war used by Germany.