Char B1

Char B1
The Char B1 bis Rhône at the Musée des Blindés at Saumur
TypeBreak-through tank, Heavy tank
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service
  • 1936–1940 (France)
  • 1944–1945 (Free French Forces)
Used by
  • France
  • Germany
WarsWorld War II
Production history
Designed1921–1934
ManufacturerRenault and others
Produced
  • 1935–1937 (Char B1)
  • 1937–1940 (Char B1 bis)
No. built405 (34 Char B1, 369 Char B1 bis and two Char B1 ter)
Specifications
Mass28 tonnes
Length6.37 m (20 ft 11 in)
Width2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)
Height2.79 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew4

Armour
  • 40 mm (Char B1)
  • 60 mm (Char B1 bis)
Main
armament
75 mm ABS SA 35 howitzer
Secondary
armament
EngineRenault inline 6 cylinder 16.5 litre petrol engine
272 hp
Power/weight9.7 hp/tonne
Transmission5 forward, 1 reverse gear
Suspensionbogies with a mixture of vertical coil and leaf springs
Fuel capacity400 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.