Tanks of France Trivia Quiz

Answer: Char d' Assault

The Schneider Char d' Assault was just a Holt agricultural tractor, with armor plating added to it. It was rushed into production in 1916, and was armed with a 75mm gun and two machine guns, manned by the seven man crew. Ventilation was poor, mobility was horrific, and was quite vulnerable to different battlefield circumstances not reflected in design.

The US Army adopted a few models for testing and experimenting, and even used a few in combat.

Answer: Char 2C

The Char 2C was a massive mobile fortress. First designed in 1918, the 2C was the first multi-turreted tank, with a 75mm gun and four 8mm machine guns. Weighing in at 67.9 tons, this tank was the heaviest in the world at the outbreak of World War 2. A crew of 12 created an uncoordinated fighting force under a commander that also operated the main gun. Six tanks were in transit at the outbreak of World War 2, but never actually saw combat.

They were already, however, far obsolete.

Answer: R-35

The Renault R-35 tank was designed purely in the role of infantry tank. In 1935, the R-35 was a sound design, with good mobility and excellent armor protection. However, the short-barrelled 37mm gun was a shortcoming, and, as such, was slowly being upgraded to longer barrels before the war broke out. 1100 tanks were in front-service at the start of the war, and numbers were sold to Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia.

Answer: S-35

The SOMUA S-35 was designed as a cavalry tank, and was an excellent tank overall. It boasted new features such as electrically powered turret traversing, and a V-8 petrol unit. The 47mm high-velocity gun was an excellent and efficient weapon, and armored protection was the best in the world for its class at the time.

The only real drawback to the S-35 was common to all French tanks of the time. The commander had to command while aiming and firing the main gun. The reason that the S-35 did not help the French too much was because there were only 240 in service at the outbreak of war.

Answer: AMX-13

The AMX-13 was designed to be an airborne tank, and, as a result, was very light, quick, and surprisingly reliable. The gun was housed in a unique oscillating turret. The tank was a good general purpose light tank, perhaps the last of its kind, and could even be used as a tank destroyer.

As times progressed, the AMX-13 was just upgunned with a 90mm gun instead of a 75mm gun, and continued its service with countries all over the world. 7700 were produced overall, and 3400 of them went to other nations.

The versatile chassis has also been used as the base of various utility units.

Answer: FT-17

The Renault FT-17 tank was a small, slow, pillbox boasting a 37mm gun or an 8mm machine gun. The USA used the design to make their 6 ton M1917 tank, and the Soviets copied it in the MS-1. The Fiat 3000 in Italy bore much more than a passing resemblance, and others were exported to Brazil, Canada, and China.

The FT-17 was used as the basis for the development of armored warfare, including the various uses of tanks. The service life extended all the way to World War II, where eight frontline FT-17 battalions served as a light, almost armored car role.

The Germans who captured them used them as utility tractors, police work, or command posts, all the way until as late as 1944.

Answer: AMX-30

The AMX-30 design was the result of a tripartite specification between France, Germany, and Italy. The AMX-30 was a surprising success, serving all the way from the 60s until into the 21st century. A long list of countries took up the export orders, and an equally long list of variants emerged.

A total of 1250 models were built for the French army, and the B2 version upgraded the slightly outdated model.

Answer: AMX-40

Giat Industries designed the AMX-32, an all-around improvement of the AMX-30. The AMX-32 was designed purely for export, but was rather expensive, and did not have too much to offer over the AMX-30. Undaunted by their failure, Giat produced the AMX-40, which was another improvement over the AMX-32, yet, again still was unable to attract any buyers.

The AMX-32 was withdrawn from the market, but the AMX-40 was canceled at the prototype stage after a lack of interest.

Answer: H-39

Soon after the H-35 entered service, the shortcomings are realized. A longer-barrelled gun and higher velocity gun was added, as well as a new, more powerful engine that improved its mobility. Unwisely given a high production priority, over the S-35, 890 of the 1200 H-39s ordered were in service by May 1940. The H-39 supplemented the H-35, but both were less than stellar.

Answer: Leclerc

The tank, named after the famous commander of the French 2nd Armoured Division, the Leclerc tank is on par with the best tanks of the world. It is highly computerized, and a suitable replacement for the aging AMX-30. It will slowly phase out the other tank out of service. Since 1986, 310 Leclercs have been delivered to the French Army, and the UAE are also customers, although their tanks are quite different from the French Army tanks.