IRON BEAST

CAP5 MAGAZINE
ISSUE 0
30.3.2016
IRON
BEAST
HISTORY OF
WAR TANKS
Mark IV
Schneider
KV-2
Cromwell
M4 Sherman
Hotchkiss
M3 Stuart

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This issue has been published on 24.March 2016
DDATE: Prickle-Prickle, 11st Day of Discord, YOLD 3182

Content
5 History of war tanks Mark IV
6 - 7 How the Mark IV war tank was developed?
8 The estimated development cost of the Mark IV war tank
8 - 9 Purpose of development
10 - 11 CHAR D - Assault Schneider (Schneider CA)
13 - 15 The Russian KV-2 War Tanks
16 - 17 The England Cromwell
18 - 21 American M4 Sherman
23 - 26 French Hotchkiss H35
27 - 29 Combat cars - light tank M1
HISTORY
OF WAR
TANKS
(MARK IV)
The history of tank development
began during the World War 1 when various
countries were engaged in war and needed
to develop armored vehicles that could
navigate or move in different terrains and
used by their army. Tanks have played a
prominent role on numerous battlefields.
Tanks advanced as the previous armored
war vehicles could only navigate on smooth
service grounds. Since most of the wars took
place in various fields, such as deserts and
hilly situations, innovators saw the need to
The image above is of Big Willie war tank that had stuck in
a trench and having difficulties pulling itself out due to lack
of anti-ditching beam.
have a vehicle that could maneuver on rough
ground services, move in desert and assist
the armies in the war, by breaking into enemy
territories and destroying them. World War I
saw the introduction of modern technology
into the military arena. Such introductions
were; the tank, airplane, machine gun,
submarine, and poisonous gas, and all these
received their first widespread use during
war periods.
According to Fletcher (1999), the
British were the leading country regarding
manufacturing and using armored artillery
during warfare’s, as they were the first to
introduce armored tanks in the war fields.
The first tank assembled was produced in the
year 1915 in British and was known as Little
Willie. However, due to little technological
advancement during this period, this
prototype of a war tank had a little speed,
track laying capabilities were weak and
limited, couldn’t cross wide trenches of
more than five-foot advanced, had limited
space for personnel, weapons inside and
they became easily overheated while used
in the battlefields. These problems and
limitations led to a further development
and introduction of another tank
known as Big Willie to succeed the little
Willie. The Big Willie was later advanced
and nicknamed Mark I in 1916. The
problem with Big Willie was that it
malfunctioned most of the times while
in the battlefields, became quickly
overheated and was very noisy while
in operation. In addition to the above
disappointments, innovators carried
out numerous researches in technology
innovations that were seen to improve
the efficiency of the Mark I tank, new
technology became enhanced that led
to its improvement and upgrading of the
Mark 1war tank to Mark IV war tank.

How the Mark
IV war tank was
developed?
The Mark IV tank was later developed
upon in response to the problems experienced
with former tanks in the battlefields and
gaps that the previous predecessors had
not filled. The previous prototypes from the
Little Willie to Mark IV showed continuous
improvements in fields of warfare technology.
Before the introduction of Mark IV, the early
tanks were becoming overheated quickly
while in the battlefield, had limited space
to accommodate machines and personnel
inside, they couldn’t cross wide trenches and
were slow concerning speed in movement.
During the war, trenches were dug to protect
armies from enemy attacks, and the earlier
tank versions could not cross wide trenches
that had been dug. Hence, the Mark IV was
developed, as it was long in size and could
cross such trenches.
This tank was designed with some changes in
its modifications to enhance its performance
during battlefields. Major areas that had to
be considered during its development were
to increase armor protection as the Germans
weapons could pierce through the armor
plates of the first tanks. These tanks were
fitted with short-barreled of QF 6-pounder
guns. The change in gun barrels size was
designed to prevent the tank from getting
grounded in earthen mounds while firing.
It been commonly experienced in the first
tanks developed, having long barrels of QF
6-pounder guns, as they became prone to
being grounded on the earthen mounds of
the crater-marked battlefields. During Mark
IV development, there emerged a need to
relocate the fuel storage and secure it at the
back of the tank and not to be kept inside
together with the crew. The old tanks had
their fuel storages stored inside the war
tank, with the crew, and could have ignited
an internal fire in case of an accident or
anything went wrong inside, killing the crew.
Hence, the Mark IV tank fuel storage was
designed to be located at the rear of the tank
away from the crew, and this protected them
in case the fuel tank had a hit and internal
explosions minimized. In addition, the Mark
IV was developed having an anti-ditching
beam that was meant to prevent it from
being stuck while crossing an opening wider
than its track length. The old tanks that had
been used before the introduction of Mark
IV lacked this anti-ditching beam, and they
got stuck while crossing wide openings that
were wider than their length track. It was a
disadvantage to the fighting team as they
were not able to defend themselves, as the
tank couldn’t move, thus, anti-ditching beam
prevented this situation from happening in
areas that had wider openings, as this war
machine could remove itself from the ditch
with the help of the pole. This tank was also
designed to increase the number of crews
inside. The limited Space size was increased
as opposed to the limited space of previous
tanks. This new tank had space to occupy
eight crewmembers to operate the tank
and carry artillery weapon machines like
gunpowders and bombs. The previous tanks
had limited space to accommodate the
crew and such war artilleries for use during
war compacts. The old tank was moving at
slow speed as the engines they had been of
little power, but the Mark IV was fitted with
a powerful petrol engine that produced
enough power to move the tank at a higher
speed compared to the latter. This tank is
propelled by the Daimler-Foster, 6-cylinder
in-line sleeve-valve petrol engine, which
developed 105 bhp at 1,000 rpm, allowing a
speed of 6.4 km/h (4 mph). Its transmission
having two forward and one reverse primary
gears and two-speed second gears.

The estimated
development cost of
the Mark IV war tank
The continued increase in warfare’s
activities led to growing demand for use of
war tanks in the battlefield. The manufacturers
saw the need to seek assistance from other
manufacturing plants for them to meet
the demand required by the countries in
war. The original manufacturer or, tank
builder industry was the Metropolitan, and
they sought assistance from the following
manufacturing companies to assist in the
production of Mark IV; Mirrlees, Watson
& Co., Armstrong-Whitworth, William
Beardmore and Company, Fosters of Lincoln
and Coventry Ordnance Work. The cost of
production was five thousand Euros, and
they had the order to build 1000 tanks by the
end of 1917. Most of the raw materials were
taken from Mark I to speed up production, as
many parts as possible and were not bought
thus saving production cost. They were just
enhancing the Mark I type, as raw materials
were readily available from this tank.
Purpose of development
The central idea of tanks evolution was to
assist soldiers to defeat their enemies during
war times and protect themselves in the
battlefields against their enemies. The growth
of their need and use was a long process
during earlier years of the war. However, the
tanks produced as the first ones developed
mechanical problems, were not that efficient,
and effective to soldiers on the battlefield
due to reasons I have mentioned above.
Therefore, the sole purpose for developing
the Mark IV tank was to address mechanical
problems associated with its predecessors.
They were thus produced to move faster
due to having high engine power, to be
able to cross over wide trenches, navigate
quickly on a smooth or rough surface, to
be able to unhitch when stuck in the rough
trenches, to provide secure transportation of
crewmembers and other machines inside it
at ease. In addition, all these reasons are the
ones that motivated engineers to come with
a tank model that would offer such warfare
services, and that’s led to the development
of the Mark IV war tank as an armored vehicle
for use in battlefields.
According to Gudgin (1997), the
main reason that have led today’s
war tank industries have been
to develop armored tanks that
ensure the survivability of
the crew as they are protected
from external attacks due to the availability of
a strong armor body
used to build it. Its best
suited for military activities also because
of its high speed in
movement, mobility
in movement even
in rough ground
surfaces and has more firepower.
These are some of the essential
requirements in a battlefield
for soldiers to have a winning
advantage over their enemies
and minimize the number of
casualties at the end
of the war. Tanks
have been used up
to date by militaries
in protecting citizens
against attacks from
enemies. All countries
have war tanks at their
disposal and all this is because of progressive
advancement in technology
and tanks industry.

CHAR D-ASSAULT SCHNEIDER
(SCHNEIDER CA)
Schneider CA was the first French tank
introduced in 1916. It inception was inspired
by the need to overcome the drawbacks
associated with the trench warfare which had
taken shape in the western nations during
World War 1. The tank was intended to open the
passage for the infantry through the barbed
wire and to suppress the German machines
gun nets. After the first conception idea in
1914, this tank was developed from 1915
onwards by engineer Eugene Brillie paralleling
the ongoing British production. In the same
year, December 1915, Colonel Jean Baptize
Eugene proposed the formation of French
armoured units, which show the production
of 400 Schneider CA tanks by February 1916.
SOMUA an affiliate of Schneider located in
Paris suburb manufacture these tanks.
The tank was of the box design with the
main armament, a short 75mm cannon on the
right side. The tanks had no turret. This model
is highly regarded as a flaw even during its
time because of inadequate firepower, poor
layout design, wrecked interior and exterior
mobility due to overhanging and protruding
nose section. This tank suffered the same
setbacks as those other World War 1 tanks.
Due to the above malfunctioning, the other
Schneider designs; CA2, CA3 and CA4 were
eventually cancelled.
Schneider TECHNICAL
information and specification
Manufacture
Year 1916
Engine
Weight
Height
Length
Width
Speed
Range
Armament
Armoar
Crew 6
SOMUA, French
Petrol 60hp- 45Kw
(Schneider 4 cylinders)
13.5 tonnes
2.3 m
6.3 m
2m
5.0 mph
40-80 km
M1914 machine gun
and 2*8 Hotchkiss
11.5mm +5mm spaced
Once the Schneider was in action, its
design shortcoming became apparent.
These tanks were useless on hilly terrain
as the elongated hull protruding aft and
fore caused the machine to get stuck. They
were only useful on flat service. In fact, a
total of these 132 tanks were destroyed
due to the above disadvantage.
The CA1 tanks were frequently used
during the last period of World War 1. The
Schneider CA1 suffered a significant loss
in its first combat in April 1917. However,
in the following years, CA1 became
somehow successful by stopping the
German Springs Offensive and destroying
the German front in French offensive.
Schneider tanks lasted only for two years,
two months before the Armistice due to
the reduction in their numbers due to
losses. The remaining tanks were rebuilt
into utility vehicles, and six other were
deployed for their last action in Rif war
by Spain.

THE
RUSSIAN
KV-2
WAR
TANKS
These types of war tanks were introduced during the World War
II. They were named Kliment Voroshilov after the Soviet politician and
defense commissioner, Kliment Voroshilov, and were widely used by
the Red Army between the years 1939-1945.
These KV series were primarily employed
by the Soviet Union defense forces to halt
enemy intrusion, especially the Germans
who had advanced towards Soviet Union territories. The
Germans were in for a surprise when they encountered the KV
tank series as they were more efficient than their standard antitank
including the 3.7 cm KwK 36 and howitzer-like, short barreled
7.5 cm KwK 37 guns mounted, respectively, on the early Panzer III
and Panzer IV tanks. The KV tank series were highly used because of
their heavy armor protection. The KV-2 is a modification
of the KV-1 that mounted a 152mm howitzer to provide
support to infantry against fortified positions. The large
heavy turret, necessary to mount the 152mm howitzer, results in a slow traverse time. Its
gun is an efficient breach weapon, designed against fortifications. Despite active usage,
very few were made, with the majority been lost due to breakdowns.
The KV-2 was an advancement of the KV-1 tank that was used and designed to confront
enemy tank systems and lead advances. The KV-2 was hence introduced to attack enemy
actual mods for World of Tanks
www.mywotmods.com

forces tanks and to fire-support against
them. It was designed to hurl large rounds
of ammunitions towards the enemy by
directing highly explosive shells and a large
magazine caliber gun. One thing that stood
out for the design of the KV-2 was its 152mm
central gun, armament and firm armor
defense that prevented it from enemy hits in
the battlefields. It was designed with same
running gear and hull of the KV-1 model.
The former series type of the tank, KV-1, was
mainly used to attack enemy’s tank but not
primarily used as fire support during the war.
These tanks were initially fitted with 122mm
or 4.8-inch howitzer gun weapon that was
later upgraded to the 152mm or 6-inch
weapon. Due to its size, the crew needed
a new way to handle its recoil capacity
and a robust turret structure. Thus, it was
supported by a 12-ton turret and sporting
360 degrees traversal with a 3-inch armor
protection shield for the crew during
battlefields. Also, since they were using the
KV-1 model engine output power, it made the
KV-2 to be slow and experience mechanical
and performance difficulties, as they forgot
to increase the motor output power due to
increased weight of the machine making it
heavier and couldn’t travel roadways bridges
that other classes of tank passed.
However, the mounting of the 152mm
howitzer gun of the KV-2 in a boxy turret
seemed an obstinate design. This design
limited wider use of the weapon as it could
only fire in the direction it faced. The box
didn’t allow much rotation of the gun, and
this was its disadvantage. The tank had to
change position as a whole to fire in a new
direction, not only changing the howitzer
gun. This proved to be time-consuming and
gave enemies an opportunity to advance
their attacks as the tank adjusted its position.
This disadvantage led to its reduction in
production for some time. According to
Nevakivi (1996), they were much larger in size
though their overall performance was quite
similar they could destroy enemy tanks even
7,5cm shell embedded in the armor of a KV-1
when they run out of ammunition by just
walking over them, due to their large size.
Thus, this tank proved to be a very sensitive
and defensive machine for the Soviet Union
soldiers against the Finnish troops.
However, it was during the Winter War, when
a more experienced and prepared group of
German soldiers with excellent anti-tank
weapons came in contact with the KV-2
model and exposed many of its weaknesses.
Their heavyweight prompted them into
sinking in the mud. The long and massive gun
required that the KV-2 fired up when it was
stationary since firing the 152mm howitzer
gun while in movement could destroy the
tank due to its high recoil velocity. Moreover,
the small turret ring meant that shooting at
right angles to the hull was not a good idea,
as it made the turret likely to be blocked
and the massive recoil would cause damage
to the transmission or the engine. Also, to
these limitations, its gearbox could not last
the warranty period. Poor filters led to tanks
breaking down after traveling on dusty
roads. The cooling system worked poorly.
The steering clutches
broke constantly.
No demands of the
manufacturers could
improve the situation.
They became prone
to breaking down;
gearbox broke easily,
and their immense
recoil of the gun
prompted the small
turret ring to jam. This
led to the engine and
gearbox suffering
severe damage. The
majority of KV-2
battle losses in 941 were as a result of such
breakdowns forcing them to be abandoned
in battlefields.
Despite its limitations, the KV-2 model had
distinct features that encompassed a 22-feet
running length, 11 feet width length, and 12-
feet height. Its power supply was from a V-2K
12-cylinder diesel fueled engine providing
550 horsepower. The tank had a crew of six
personnel and armed with a 152mm gun
and weighing 52 tons. Addition weapons
included three DT machine guns located
at specific designations. The KV-2 war tank
weighed 45 tons making it the heaviest tank
model during those days of the World War II.
Its armor protection thickness was 110mm,
and its top speed was 16miles per hour. As a
result, of this unreliability, the production of
KV-2 was stopped in the year 1941 with only
334 models being produced and operating
in the battlefields. The KV-2 tanks were used
in action in 1941, with most of the vehicles
lost the same year. The KV model tanks were
practically immune to the German tanks
such as the Panzer III and Panzer IV.

THE ENGLAND CROMWELL
The England Cromwell also known as
Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M), is
perhaps the greatest known war tank to be
produced and successful in its production
series in 1936. It’s dawn dates back the World
War II when engine and gun choice were of
priority in battlefields, manufactured by the
Britain’s. This Cromwell tank was so-called
after the English Civil War leader Oliver
Cromwell. It was the first tank to be put
into service by the British soldiers during
battlefields while trying to combine a dualpurpose
gun, a high-speed tank powered
by a Meteor engine. The Battle of Normandy
on June 1944 shows the introduction of
Cromwell in action. The British had two types
of war tanks cruisers at that time. These were
the Cromwell and Centaur tank series. They
were almost the same, but they differed
on the engine each used. The Centaur
series had the Liberty engine while
the Cromwell had the significantly
improved and more powerful
Meteor engine. These two tank
series were introduced after
the former tank known
as Crusader
became
obsolete
and
needed replacement due to its small
firepower and its armor was easily damaged.
The effects of war made the Rolls-Royce
firm to end car production and engaged in
ways that they could benefit from the onset
of the war events by using their production
capacity, thus they collaborated with
Leyland and Birmingham Railway Carriage
& Wagon (BRC&W) company to produce
those designs. They, therefore, resulted in an
attempt at fitting a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
into a Leyland tank for testing by replacing
the Merlin Mk III supercharger and fitted it
to a Leyland-built Crusader. The test results
showed the tank moved at a high speed of
almost 50 miles per hour. This impressed the
developers and led to the integration of
the Rolls-Royce engine into the
Cromwell tanks as it
increased the rate of
movement in battlefields, which was of the
essence to the Royal Armored
Corps. The Cromwell
tank, boosted
with the
Rolls-Royce
Meteor
engine was
the most sought after war machine during
the war because of its mobility and reliability.
Hence, as a result of these advantages, it
was used on the battlefield in Europe while
the other was used for training and special
purpose by the Royal Artillery. Their engines
were quiet; no vibrations were felt. Hence,
advancement into enemy territories was
hardly heard, and they didn’t experience a
regular mechanical breakdown. They were
highly reliable in the fields. They are fitted
with a 6-pdr (47mm) but later advanced to a
94mm caliber.
The suspension was of the Christie type;
with long helical springs
angled back to keep the hull
sides flat. Of the five road
wheels each side, four
had
s h o c k
absorbers. Having a 14-inch-wide (360 mm)
tracks later increased to 15.5-inch tracks. The
Meteor engine delivered 540 hp at 2,250
rpm. This was the maximum rpm, which was
limited by governors built into the magnetos.
Fuel consumption on “pool” petrol (67
octanes) was between 0.5 and 1.5 miles per
gallon depending on terrain. The following
is an image of an England Cromwell tanks
showing armor plates that were bolted to the
frame and large bosses on the outside of the
plate were used on the turret for protection.

AMERICAN M4 SHERMAN
This tank was used mostly by the American and other western nations forces during the
Second World War named after the famous American Civil War general William T. Sherman.
This tank was highly reliable since it was cheap to produce thus they were available in many
numbers due to low production cost. The M4 were designed by the U.S. Army Ordnance
Department. They were introduced to replace the M3 medium tank in which the firing took
place after the war tank had to be rotated to face the object target being fired towards, its
turret didn’t offer 360 degrees rotation thus the whole tank had to turn for accurate firing
to take place. Although the M3 had this difficulty, it provided enough armament protection
M4A4 Cutaway: 1 - Lifting ring, 2 - Ventilator, 3 - Turret hatch, 4 – Periscope, 5 – Turret hatch race, 6 – Turret seat, 7 –
Gunner’s seat, 8 – Turret seat, 9 – Turret, 10 – Air cleaner, 11 – Radiator filler cover, 12 – Air cleaner manifold, 13 – Power
unit, 14 – Exhaust pipe, 15 – Track idler, 16 – Single water pump, 17 – Radiator, 18 – Generator, 19 – Rear propeller shaft,
20 – Turret basket, 21 – Slip ring, 22 – Front propeller shaft, 23 – Suspension bogie, 24 – Transmission, 25 – Main drive
sprocket, 26 – Driver’s seat, 27 – Machine gunner’s seat, 28 – 75 mm gun, 29 – Drivers hatch, 30 – M1919A4 machine gun.
for the soldiers with her 75 mm armor. The Americans used this M4 in their wars in the North
Africa, Europe, and the Pacific wars. This tank had a high speed in battlefields and presence
in high numbers made the soldiers win battles quickly. The problem with the M4 Sherman
was that it provided little armor protection to the crew and vital systems inside it. At this
time, the Americans were only concerned with the production of light tanks. But after the
invasion of the Poland and French by the Germans, the Americans believed it was time to
change their light tank production and introduce tanks that would be of medium size and
able to fight with the likes of Germans Panzerkampfwagen IV, as they feared the Germans
would dismantle them.
The M4 Sherman design was produced and
put into action in the year 1940. This tank
was easy to build because it used the engine,
transmissions, suspension systems and
tracks formerly used by the M3. Therefore,
the availability of such raw material parts in
abundance made the production of the M4
Sherman faster and easy. The M4 Sherman
reserved the previous mechanical design
significantly but put the main significant
change was that its 75 mm gun was mounted
in fully rotating the turret. This tank reduced
crew members from six to five and the armor
was increased taking note, not to increase
its relative weight. The weight was not
supposedly to be increased so that the tank
would move across bridges, from one point
to another. The increase in weight meant
that the bridge would collapse forcing the
army not to advance in that direction.
The M4 Sherman was incorporated with
a 12.7 mm
b a r r e l
machine
gun that
was meant
to attack
small
aircraft’s and a 30 caliber machine gun
was mounted on the hull. The following
industries produced these tanks; American
locomotive company, Detroit Tank Arsenal,
Pressed Steel Car Company, Lima locomotive
works, Foundry Company and Pacific
company. These industries contributed to
the increased production of the M4 Sherman
with increased armament and armor
protection surpassed the Germans medium
and light tanks used between 1939- 1945.
This lead to a massive production of the
M4 and it lead many attacks by the western
nations from 1942 onwards including the
British. Its design was a replication of the
previous model though significant changes
were made to fuel tank location. It was
located in the rear compartment to
ensure crew survivability in case
the fuel tank suffered a direct
hit. The main gun was fitted with a
smooth and round turret for
ease during rotation.
The crew compartment consisted
of five personnel whom included
the tank commander, driver, assistant
driver, gunner and
ammunition
loader.
They

The Sherman’s have also been modified to manage battles in desert locations as they are
fitted with sand shields over the tracks and stowage. Such protective gears enable the
tank to move smoothly in the desert without getting stuck in the sand. While other enemy
tanks get stuck and find it hard maneuvering in deserts situations, the M4 Sherman moves
quickly, and this was evident seen during the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942,
by the British 8th battalion army.
M4 SHERMANTechnical Specification
were of importance to ensure activities inside the tank went on smoothly to facilitate
operation of the tank in battlefields. The M4 had a short-barreled medium main gun of
76 mm of which was used in combat in the North Africa war in 1942, against the Germans
Panzer IV and Panzer III; this gun proved lethal as it could penetrate these tanks armor while
situated at a distance of 910 meters. The tank weighed approximately 30 tons with a length
size of 5.8 meters, width 2.6 meters and a height of 2.7 meters. The engine constituted of
a Continental R975 C1 9 cylinder air-cooled, radial gasoline engine, which produced an
output power of 400 horsepower giving it a top speed of between 25 to 30 miles per hour.
This tank was the most famous tank during the World War II; however, its recognition
was not because of its sound and quality features mentioned above, but because their
production surpassed any other tanks produced during that time. Approximately 50,000
units were produced between 1941- 1945. Such high production was because of it was
relatively cheap and simple to construct, easy to maintain, dependable, spacious, and
durable, fast and well armored. It provides a full complete package of an armored vehicle by
various nations to war to support their infantry and bring victory to them especially when
it demonstrated its firepower and ability in the North African war in 1942. However, despite
the tank been viewed as more dominant against the Germans light and medium tanks, this
M4 Sherman was considered as a time bomb due to its gasoline fuel nature. Other soldiers
believed that a direct hit towards the Sherman fuel tank caused the tank to either explode
or catch on fire violently. In such cases, the crew would typically have a modest survival
rate. However, this was avoided when the armor protection covered each part of the tank.
Manufacturer
Initial Year of Service 1942
Production Total 50,000
American Locomotive / Detroit
Tank Arsenal / Lima Locomotive
among others - USA
Focus Model M4 Sherman (Medium Tank, M4)
Crew 5
Overall Length 19.16 ft (5.84 m)
Width 8.60 ft (2.62 m)
Height 8.99 ft (2.74 m)
Weight
Powerplant
Maximum Speed
Maximum Range
Armament STANDARD
UPGUNNED SHERMAN
Ammunition
31.3 US Short Tons (28,400 kg;
62,611 lb)
1 x 9-cylinder Continental R975
C1 gasoline engine developing 400
horsepower at 2,400rpm.
24 mph (38.5 km/h)
120 miles (193 km)
1 x 75mm main gun
1 x .50 caliber Browning M2
turret-mounted anti-aircraft
machine gun.
1 x .30-06 caliber co-axial
mounted machine gun
1 x .30-06 caliber bow-mounted
machine gun
1 x 76.2mm main gun OR 105mm main
gun
97 x 75mm projectiles
300 x .50 caliber ammunition
4,750 x .30-06 caliber ammunition

This page allows you to determine the
current development of World of Tanks
players and clans.
FRENCH
HOTCHKISS
H35
The emergence of the World Wars both I and
II prompted various nations to come with new
ways and models of war tanks for protection
and win against their enemies in battlefields
and equip their battalions.
As the war was taking the
toll in Europe, nations
sensed a period of future unrest as effects of the war became severe and
destroyed lots of property. The French therefore set out on a mission
to find new modernization of their military equipment inventions. It
included upgrading of their armored vehicles for them to be useful
in the battlefields. It led to the invention and design of a French light war tank known as
Hotchkiss H35 in preparation for the World War II that was to replace the light AMR 33 and
AMR 35 vehicles that previously used. This tank was well-armored and light as compared to
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the other tanks that were heavy. However, due to poor technological advancement during
those times, a small model of this tank was first invented in the year 1933 by the Hotchkiss
Company. Inadequate technology resulted to light Hotchkiss H35 that was well armored
but had difficulties in steering in cross-country driving. It was simply impossible to drive the
vehicle safely on a somewhat bumpy surface, posing an extreme danger to nearby friendly
infantry. This tank weighed six tons and had a 40 mm armor protection all around. This tank
was to support the infantry and work together with the next SOMUA S-35 cavalry tank.
Hotchkiss firm produced three prototypes in response to the demand and specification
wanted by the French authorities. The first contractors, Renault industry, submitted their

first proposal, Renault R35, but it never
met the requirements, but in the year
1935, Hotchkiss industry presented their
first prototype which looked like tankettes
formerly used a lot between the 1920s and
1930s. These tankettes were operated by two
crew members, driver and tank commander,
were small in size with a machine gun but
had no turret. The second prototype had to
be rejected due to new requirements such as
the tanks required to have armor protection
of not less than 40mm. The third prototype
was accepted in 1935 onwards, having a
turret and the armor needed for the French
army in the war fields.
Regarding its descriptions, Hotchkiss
H35 was a small vehicle, 1.95 m wide, 4.22
meters long, and 2.133 meters tall and
weighed 11 tons. Its interior structure
comprised of six sections that were armored
and bolted together: front and back of the
hull, engine deck, fighting compartment
and two longitudinal sections left and right
forming the bottom. These parts were
cemented together with Aslic to make it
water-tight. But the French forces later
realized that the tank had quality problems
because it had a thickness of 34mm against
the required 40mm. The armor, at first, was
made too soft and when its hardness was
increased became brittle, full of bubbles,
and these were weak spots that could lead
to the destruction of the tank and injury to
the crew. It also experienced mechanical
breakdowns such as breaks being poor,
responded unpredictably to direction
adjustments, gearbox problems especially
engaging the fifth gear and only had one
reverse gear. The problem with involving the
fifth gear resulted to the H35 not attaining
the required speed of 27 km/hr., hence
could only manage a speed of 17miles/h.
The Hotchkiss H35 light tank had two crew
as I have mentioned, the driver seated in
the front hull while the commander was in
the turret. He acted as the gunner who
fired and reloaded the gun.
The main gun was a
37mm SA
18 which was later realized to be not a match
for mighty Germans guns. Thus, they the
main gun was supported by a 7.5mm antiinfantry
Rebel type machine gun. The turret
offered a 360 degrees rotation enabling
the gunner to fire in any direction without
necessarily having to rotate the whole tank
to face firing directions. The trench-crossing
capacity was 1.8 meters, the wading capacity
85 centimeters. The Hotchkiss H35 power
was provided by a single Hotchkiss 1935,
6-cyclinder 86 x 100 3485 cc gasoline engine
having an output power of 78 horsepower,
providing it with a speed of 17miles per hour.
Due to the problems associated with
Hotchkiss H35, mentioned above, the French
authorities saw a need to revise the H35 to
better standards for it to operate smoothly
in battlefields and withstand the Germans
weaponry. This resulted in the refinement
of the H35 to a modern and new version
known as the Hotchkiss H39. This war
machine had a higher speed as it consisted
of a 120-horse power engine

compared to the 78-horsepower engine in
the H35 and had a longer barrel for its main
gun, 37mm. The hull was enlarged, providing
enough space to accommodate the motor.
The Hotchkiss H39 track system and its
suspension components were improved,
increasing the tank weight to 12 tons. This
refined and improved kind was faster, with
the highest speed of 36.5 km/h and was
also much easier to drive. This polished tank
was approved, and later productions were
designed according to its specifications.
However, despite the improvements that
were introduced by the H39, it still operated
on two crewmembers comprising of a
driver and the gunner. Its dimensions were
increased to stand at Length 4.22meters,
Width 1.95meters, and Height 2.15meters.
Its armor protection was made up of 40
mm thickness which was an improvement
compared to H35 that had 37mm. Such
depth made the new model capable of
withstanding enemies bullet, hence French
advancement to enemy territories was a
success, as it could support the infantry even
in deadly warfare occasions.
Designer
Designed 1933
Manufacturer
Hotchkiss
Hotchkiss et Cie
Produced September 1936 – June 1940
Number built ±1200
Variants Hotchkiss H35 modifié 39
Weight
Length
Width
Height
Crew 2
Armour
armament
Secondary ARMAMENT
Engine
Power/weight
Suspension
Fuel capacity
range
Speed
11 metric tonnes
4.22 m (13 ft 10 in)
1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
2.15 m (7 ft 1 in)
40 mm turret, 34 mm hull
37 mm SA 18 gun
7.5 mm Reibel machine gun
six-cylinder 3,480 cc
78 HP
7.1 hp/t
horizontal helical
springs
180 litres
129 km (80 mi)
28 km/h (17 mph)
COMBAT CARS
light tank
M1
The occurrence of
World War 1 and 2 led
to introduction and
development of war tanks for use
in the battles. As other nations
were busy inventing their models
that would be compatible with
their soldiers and situations, the Americans were not left behind. They also
wanted to provide their soldiers with a light tank. This contributed to the
development of the M1 combat car that was fitted and armed with only a
machine gun without cannon. This light tank served in the USA military force from the year
1947 to 1943 and manufactured by the Rock Island Arsenal. Also, for these combat cars to
be defined as light tanks, they were to weigh 9 tons or less. This was to enable and ease
they transportation as they were carried by trucks from one point to another. Therefore,
with the implementation of the National Defense Act of 1920, the chief of staff for USA
army, General Douglas MacArthur, proposed that the military should be provided with
tanks for use in exploiting during war episodes rather than acting as a source of support for
the military. The cavalry also needed tanks if it was to be effective on a modern battlefield.
As the cavalry was not allowed tanks, as it was in agreement with the National Defense Act
that prevented the introduction of heavier tanks, thus the new vehicles were designed as
Combat Cars. These led to the production of war tanks for the cavalry known as combat
cars having only a machine gun and no cannon.
The Rock Island Arsenal company at first built the first light T2 light and T5 tanks whereby
the T2 used leaf springs in their suspensions while T5 used vertical volute suspension. The
T2 Light Tank
37 mm SA 18 gun

T5 tank model was further refined to T5E2, this model formed the genesis and was the
one used to develop the M1 combat car utilized by the military in 1937. The combat car
accommodated four crewmembers: driver, two gunners, and commander. The engine was
situated at back, so that of the tank to avoid a direct hit from enemy’s firearms and its outside
location prevented fire outbreaks unlike when it was located inside among the crews. The
M1 combat car had a dimension of length 4 meters, width 2.4 meters and a height of 2.2
meters.
The vertical volute spring suspension enabled the car to move quickly in crosscountry
grounds; the turret that was placed at the center and could provide 360
degrees rotation. This was of an advantage a s the gunner would fire in any
direction without the tank being rotated to face the firing
direction. Crew protection was o f
priority and the combat
car provided armor protection made
of 16mm thickness. It
was fitted side by side with two primary
machine guns as its
armament. These high caliber
a n d
medium caliber machine
guns
fixed and held to
the turret.
The change in its
suspension was introduced to enable and ensure that the
idler wheel rested on the ground well to facilitate ‘trailing’’ and increase the length of track
in contact with the ground.
The M1 engine comprised of a Continental R670 7-cylinder air-cooled radial engine that
was producing a power output of 250 horsepower. Such power output made it achieve a
top speed of 45 miles per hour. The majority of this M1 were used during the initial stages of
World War 2, a period that made many nations employ and take advantage of any armored
vehicle that was available. The M1 tanks were used for a short period of battles. This was
because of the American enemies having powerful tanks that had cannons installed. The
combat car machines guns couldn’t handle the other tanks cannon and thus could not offer
protection nor destroy the cannon tanks. It was seen as an endangerment to the cavalry
operating the combat machine. Hence, many
nations wanted to re-equip their soldiers
with cannon tanks to fight effectively in the
wars. Therefore, production of the M1 was
reduced. These tanks became obsolete and
were used for training at Fort Knox, and not
in battlefields since they lacked cannons
like their enemies had. Hence fighting
with them would be a losing battle and
prompted a high level of causalities, since
it provides little protection to the cavalry
against cannon shots.
The M1 light tank seemed wide, tall and
short tank, having a cylindrical m odel shape
cross-section turret at the center, having
an additional space for mounting the two
machine guns weapons. Later on, the circular
shape turret was replaced with a “D” shaped
turret still having the two arms attached. Most
of the light combat cars, M1, features were
used as a reference and served as a basis for
all subsequent US tank development during
the war. The U.S. Cavalry, which began in
the nineteenth century as little more than
a mounted reconnaissance and hurrying
force, underwent intense growing pains
with the rapid technological developments
of the twentieth century. From its tentative
beginnings during World War I, the eventual
conversion of the traditional horse cavalry to
a mechanized branch is arguably one of the
greatest military transformations in history.
The USA military had not fully accepted the
use of armored tanks in battlefields due to
the act mentioned above. They referred
to the light tank as combat car in order to
distinguish it from the service it provided
to the cavalry. It was meant to provide
support and not to directly engage in
warfare, though this was changed later to
enable them use such tanks as vehicles to
advance their attacks not merely support
and training purposes.
Light Tank M1
Manufacturer
Produced 1935–?
Number built 113
Weight
Length
Width
Height
Crew 4
Armor
Main armament
Rock Island Arsenal
~10 short tons (9.1 t)[1]
4.14 m (13 ft 7 in)
2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
2.26 m (7 ft 5 in)
6–16 mm
.50 cal (12.7 mm) machine gun
.30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun
Secondary armament .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun
Engine
Suspension
range
Speed
M3 Stuart
Continental R-670
7-cylinder air-cooled
radial gasoline
250 hp (190 kW)
Vertical volute spring
161 km (100 mi) on roads
72 km/h (45 mph) on roads
Produced 1941–1944
Number built 25,000
Weight
13.7 tons
Length 14 ft 2.4 in (4.33 m)
Width 8 ft 1.2 in (2.47 m)
Height 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Crew
Armor
Main armament
Secondary armament
Engine
Power/weight
Suspension
Range
Speed
4 (Commander, gunner,
driver, co-driver)
38 mm (upper hull front
and turret sides)
44 mm (lower hull front)
51 mm (gun mantlet)
25 mm (hull sides and
hull rear)
37 mm M6 in M44 mount
174 rounds
3 × .30-06 Browning
M1919A4 MG
7,500 rounds
Continental W-670-9A,
7 cylinder air-cooled
radial
250 hp (190 kW)
18.2 hp/tonne
Vertical volute spring
75 mile (121 km)
36 mph (58 km/h) on road
36mph (58km/h) on road
20 mph (32 km/h) offroad

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