Char B1

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Char B1
The Char B1 bis Rhône at the Musée des Blindés at Saumur
Type	Break-through tank, Heavy tank
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1936–1940 (France) 1944–1945 (Free French Forces)
Used by	France Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1921–1934
Manufacturer	Renault and others
Produced	1935–1937 (Char B1) 1937–1940 (Char B1 bis)
No. built	405 (34 Char B1, 369 Char B1 bis and two Char B1 ter)
Specifications
Mass	28 tonnes
Length	6.37 m (20 ft 11 in)
Width	2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)
Height	2.79 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew	4
Armour	40 mm (Char B1) 60 mm (Char B1 bis)
Main armament	75 mm ABS SA 35 howitzer
Secondary armament	47 mm SA 34 (Char B1) 47 mm SA 35 (Char B1 bis) 2× 7.5 mm Reibel machine guns
Engine	Renault inline 6 cylinder 16.5 litre petrol engine 272 hp
Power/weight	9.7 hp/tonne
Transmission	5 forward, 1 reverse gear
Suspension	bogies with a mixture of vertical coil and leaf springs
Fuel capacity	400 L
Operational range	200 km (120 mi)
Maximum speed	28 km/h (17 mph) 21 km/h (13 mph) off-road
Steering system	double differential

The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before World War II.

The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in a vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late 1930s. A further up-armoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was only built in two prototypes.

Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but low speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer, or mechanised artillery.