Char B1-B1 bis. Tank (1929-1942)

In 1921 five french firms submitted designs for a tank to meet the requirements laid down by General J.E. Estienne who had pioneered the French Tank arm in 1915. By 1926 it had been decided to use the best features from these five mock ups to produce a new tank and the first prototype of the Char B was completed in 1929. This first model weighted in at 25 tons and a top speed of 25 mph. In this inter war period the prototype trials continued slowly with the vehicle gaining armour and weight steadily.
Char B1 bis medium tank
Char B1 bis medium tank

Char B1 Bis from the front right
Char B1 Bis from the front right

In April 1935 40 Char B1s as they were now know were ordered until an even more heavily armoured version could be produced, these tanks now weighted 28 tons. The up armoured version finally weighted in at 32 tons and was designated the Char B1 bis. 365 were built before France surrendered in June 1940. For its time the Char B1 bis was an advanced and complex vehicle and these tough maintenance requirements were to become a hindrance in time of war. Many Char B1 bis fell into German hands after 1940 and although the Germans regarded it as unsuitable for front line duties due to its one man turret it was used for internal security, driver training and a flamethrower and SP gun varients were also developed.

Weight - 32 tons (32.5 tonnes);
Armour - 60mm;
Max speed - 28km/h (17 mph);
Crew - 4;
Weapons - 1x 75mm, 1x47mm, 2x7.5mm MG;
Range - 150km (93 miles)

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How to cite this article: Dugdale-Pointon, TDP. (30 December 2000), Char B1-B1 bis. Tank (1929-1942), http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_charbis.html

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