| 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never served as such; by the time enough medium tanks were produced to form armoured divisions, the AMR 33 had already been replaced by the AMR 35 and was limited to the Cavalry Divisions and in 1940 to the Cavalry Light Divisions to provide fire support to motorised infantry and dismounted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.