Char G1 | |
---|---|
Type | Tank |
Place of origin | France |
Specifications | |
Mass | ~20–35 metric tons, i.e. tonnes |
Length | ~5.57 m |
Width | ~2.94 m |
Height | ~2.8 m |
Crew | 4 |
Armor | 60 mm |
Main armament | 75mm SA 35 L/32 |
Secondary armament | Two MAC 1931 machine guns: one coaxial and one in the commander's cupola |
Engine | petrol ~280–450 hp |
Power/weight | unspecified |
Suspension | unspecified |
Operational range | ~200–400 km |
Maximum speed | 40 km/h |
The Char G1 was a French replacement project for the Char D2 medium tank. Several prototypes from different companies were developed from 1936 onwards, but not a single one had been fully completed at the time of the Fall of France in 1940. The projects represented some of the most advanced French tank design of the period and finally envisaged a type that would have been roughly equal in armament and mobility to later World War II standard tanks of other nations, such as the Soviet T-34 and the American M4 Sherman, but possessing several novel features, such as gun stabilisation, a semi-automatic loader and an optical rangefinder.