French tanks of the First World War
Requirements of the French military to the tank
Almost simultaneously with England, at the beginning of 1916 of the year, the development of assault tanks began in France to overcome the prepared defense of the enemy, culminating in the creation of the Schneider and Saint-Chamond medium-sized CA-1 tanks. Somewhat later, in May 1916 of the year, the company Renault, producing cars, under the leadership of Louis Renault, proposed the concept of creating a tank of a fundamentally different light class - a tank that directly supports infantry.
Tanks SA-1 and Saint-Chamon on their purpose and capabilities could not meet the demands of the military. The cumbersome and cumbersome medium tanks that were assigned the role of a “ram” were easy targets for the enemy’s artillery, and they had to be supplemented with numerous light fighting vehicles to directly support the infantry and the actions in its battle formations that would have a better chance of success and survival fight
The military department initially was in no hurry to support this project, focusing on the development of assault tanks, but later supported the launch of the tank in mass production, and it became the most massive tank of the First World War. The tank was put into service in the 1917 year under the symbol Renault FT-17.
The most massive tank of the First World War
This tank became the world's first serial light tank and the first tank, the production of which was carried out by the conveyor method. The Renault FT-17 tank was also the first tank of the classic layout - it had a rotating turret, a control compartment in front of the hull, a combat compartment in the center of the tank and a power transmission in the aft hull. Renault FT-17 became one of the most successful tanks of the First World War and in many respects determined the further development of design ideas in tank design. The mass character of the Renault FT-17 tank was ensured by the simplicity of its design and low cost of production. The tank was developed at a company that produced cars in large quantities; therefore, many of the ideas and production methods from the automotive industry moved into the tank design.
The adopted layout of the tank with two crew members eliminated a number of deficiencies in the habitability of the crew of medium and heavy tanks of the time. The driver was placed in the forward part of the hull, and he was provided with a good overview. Shooter with weapons (cannon or machine gun) was in a rotating turret standing or half-sitting in a canvas loop, which was later replaced with a height-adjustable seat. The Renault FT-17 tank compared to other tanks was barely noticeable, its dimensions were 4,1 (length without tail), 5,1 m (with tail), width 1,74 m, height 2,14 m.
The habitable compartment was fenced off from the engine-transmission steel partition with two barred windows for air circulation. The windows were equipped with flaps to protect the crew in the event of an engine fire. This prevented gasoline and exhaust fumes from entering the control compartment, reduced the danger for the crew in case of a fire in the logistics, ensured a better weight distribution along the length of the tank and improved throughput.
The landing of the crew was carried out through the tricuspid nasal hatch or through the spare hatch in the aft part of the tower. the turn of the gunner’s tower was carried out by the force of the shoulders and back with the help of the shoulder pads, making coarse guidance of the weapon. With the help of the shoulder rest of a cannon or machine gun, he more precisely pointed his weapon at the target. The tank weight in the machine gun version was 6,5 t, in the gun 6,7 t.
The tank hull was a “classic” riveted structure, armor plates and chassis parts were attached to the frame from the corners and shaped parts with rivets and bolts. The first samples of the tank had a cast frontal part of the hull and a cast tower with a spherical observant "dome", which was made together with the roof of the tower. Subsequently, the "dome" was replaced with a cylindrical cap with five viewing slots and a mushroom-shaped hinged lid. This simplified manufacture and improved ventilation.
The difficulty with the production of armored castings of the desired profile was forced to move to the hull and turret completely riveted from rolled sheets. The thickness of the armor of the hull and turret in the cast version was 22 mm, in the riveted 16 mm. The thickness of the armor in the riveted version of the 16 mm hull, the 16 mm forehead of the tower, 14 mm stern of the turret, 8 mm tower roof and 6 bottom of the mm.
The use of a rotating turret provided greater firepower in combat compared to turretless tanks. The tank was produced in two versions - “cannon” and “machine-gun”, differing by the installation in the tower of the corresponding weapons. Most of the tanks were released in the "machine-gun" version. In the “gun” version, a semi-automatic 37-mm threaded gun “Hotchkiss” with an 21 barrel caliber length was installed, in a “machine-gun” version, a “long” 8-mm easel machine gun “Hotchx” was installed in the turret.
The weapon was located in the frontal part of the turret, in a hemispherical armor mask on horizontal trunnions mounted in a vertically rotatable armor shield. The aiming of the weapon was carried out by its free swing with the aid of the shoulder rest, the maximum angles of the vertical pickup were from −20 to + 35 degrees.
The ammunition of 237 shells (200 fragmentation, 25 armor-piercing shells and 12 shrapnel shells) was located on the bottom and walls of the combat compartment. Ammunition for the machine gun was 4800 ammunition. For firing a telescopic sight was used, protected by a steel casing. The gun provided a rate of fire up to 10 lines per minute and a range of fire up to 2400 m, however, according to the visibility conditions of the target from the tank, effective shooting was up to 800 m. An armor piercing projectile could pierce 12 mm armor.
As the power plant on the tank, the engine from the Renault 39 hp truck was installed, providing a maximum speed of only 7,8 km / h and a power reserve of 35 km, which was obviously not enough for a light tank. Torque through a conical clutch transmitted to a manual transmission, which had four speeds forward and one back. The turning mechanisms served side clutches. To control the tank, the driver used two turn levers, the gear lever, the accelerator pedal, the clutch and the foot brake.
The chassis on each board consisted of 9 support and 6 supporting small diameter rollers, guide and drive wheels and a track. The balance suspension was mounted on leaf springs, covered with armor plates. Six supporting rollers united in a cage, the rear end of which was mounted on a hinge. The front end was suspended by a coil spring, which ensured constant track tension. The suspension provided the tank with a minimum turning radius of 1,4 m, equal to the width of the track of the vehicle. The tank was well recognizable by the large diameter of the steering wheel, carried forward and upward in order to increase the maneuverability when vertical obstacles, trenches and craters were overcome on the battlefield.
The caterpillar of the tank is a large-sprung, lantern gear with a width of 324 mm, which provided a small specific pressure on the ground 0,48 kg / sq. cm and satisfactory cross-country performance on loose soil. In order to increase the passability through the moats and trenches, the tank had a removable “tail”, turning to the roof of the engine compartment, by means of which the vehicle was able to overcome a moat up to 1,8 m and an escarpment up to 0,6 m and did not overturn up to 35 °.
At the same time, the tank had a low speed and a small reserve of travel, which required the use of special vehicles for delivering tanks to the place of use.
Despite its shortcomings, the Renault FT-17 tank, due to its small size and weight, was much more efficient than medium and heavy tanks, especially in rugged and wooded areas. He became the main machine of the French tank forces, the "symbol of victory" of France in the war and best demonstrated the viability of tanks. The Renault FT-17 tank became the most massive tank of the First World War, and around 3500 of such tanks were launched in France. Under the license, it was produced in other countries as well. In total, the 7820 of these tanks of various modifications was released, and it was operated until the 1940 year.
In 1919, six Renault FT-17 tanks were captured by the Red Army near Odessa. One tank at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant was carefully copied and fired with an AMO engine and armor from the Izhora plant under the name Freedom Fighter Comrade Lenin, which became the first Soviet tank.
Assault tank SA-1 "Schneider"
In France, almost simultaneously with England, the development of tanks began. The concept of the tank also laid the idea of creating an assault tank to break through the prepared defense of the enemy. The decision to develop the tank was taken in January 1916, and at the initiative of the “father” of French tanks, Jean Étien, its development was entrusted to Schneider. In a short time, tank prototypes were manufactured and tested, and in September 1916, the first CA-1 assault tanks began to enter the army.
The French, like the British, created the SA-1 tank as a "land cruiser." The tank hull was an armored box with vertical walls. The front of the hull was in the shape of a ship's nose, making it easier to overcome moats and cut wire fences.
The tank hull was assembled from armor plates fixed with bolts and rivets on the frame, mounted on a rectangular rigid frame and towered above the chassis. Behind the hull was equipped with a small “tail”, which contributed to the increase in the machine’s traffic and ensured the overcoming of trenches up to 1,8 m wide. The tank was of impressive size, 6,32 m long, 2,05 m wide and 2,3 m high and weighed.
The crew of the 6 tank is a man-commander-driver, deputy commander (he is the gunner of the gun), two machine gunners (the left one is a mechanic at the same time) loading the guns and a submachine gun rifle. The crew landed through a double door in the stern of the vehicle and three hatches on the roof, one in the roof of the command room and two behind the machine gun installations. The engine was installed ahead of it to the left; the driver’s commander’s place was to his right. A viewing window with a flap armored valve and three viewing slots was used for observation.
The thickness of the tank hull armor was 11,4 mm, the bottom and the roof of the 5,4 mm. The reservation turned out to be weak, the armor was penetrated by new German rifle bullets. After the first battles, it had to be reinforced with additional sheets from 5,5 to 8 mm in thickness.
The tank's armament consisted of a Blockhaus-Schneider 75-mm short-barreled howitzer with 13 barrel lengths, specially designed for this tank, and two Hotchkiss 8-mm machine guns with a rate of 600 rounds per minute.
Since most of the tank’s nose was occupied by the engine and the driver’s commander’s workplace, there was simply no room left for the gun’s installation, it was installed on the starboard side of the tank in the sponson in order to at least provide acceptable shelling angles, but still had a very small horizontal sector of shelling of all 40 degrees. The commander-driver had to show extraordinary skill in order to keep the target in the zone of destruction of the gun when maneuvering.
Sighting range was 600 meters, effective - no more than 200 m. The initial velocity of the projectile in 200 m / s was quite enough to fight with light fortifications at a short distance, such as wooden blinds ,. The cannon fire was led by an assistant commander, behind which was placed ammunition from 90 shells.
Machine guns were installed on the sides in the middle part of the body in cardan installations, covered with hemispherical shields. Fire from the right machine gun led machine gunner, from the left - a mechanic who followed the engine. Machine guns also had large dead zones that did not provide effective fire.
A Schneider or Renault 65 horsepower engine was used as a power plant, the fuel tank with a capacity of 160 l was located first under the engine, then it was transferred to the rear part of the tank. The transmission included a 3-speed gearbox with reverse, which allowed to change the speed in the range 2 — 8 km / h, and a differential steering mechanism. The power plant provided the maximum speed on the highway to 8 km / h, but the actual speed was 4 km / h on the highway and 2 km / h on rough terrain. The reserve of the tank on the highway was 45 km, over rough terrain 30 km.
One of the advantages of the tank was a high smoothness, due to good shock absorption in the suspension system, this reduced crew fatigue and increased accuracy of shooting. The chassis of the tank was borrowed from the tractor "Holt", which has undergone serious processing.
On each side, the chassis consisted of a pair of carts with track rollers (three on the front, four on the rear), a steering wheel in front and a driving rear. Plus design suspension was semi-rigid suspension. The caterpillar 360 mm wide contained 34 large tracks consisting of a pillow and two rails along which support rollers with flanges rolled. With the length of the support surface of the 1,8 track, the specific pressure on the soil 0,72 kg / sq. cm.
The effectiveness of the CA-1 was not as high as planned. Unsuccessful layout with too short chassis for such a massive hull, sluggishness, lack of maneuverability and poor security made the tank vulnerable to enemy fire.
The first massive use of CA-1 tanks took place in April 1917. The French command planned to throw into the battle at once a large number of tanks and with their help break through the defenses of the Germans. However, the Germans were able to accurately determine the place of the impending offensive and prepared anti-tank defenses in the direction of the strike, drawing up additional artillery.
The ensuing offensive resulted for the French in a real slaughter. The tanks came under heavy artillery fire. In total, the French were able to throw into battle 132 tank SA-1, while tanks only managed to break through the first line of German defense, losing 76 machines and their crews, which were shot by German aircraft. So the first debut of the CA-1 tanks was not entirely successful.
The total number of CA-1 tanks produced is estimated at about four hundred and it did not become a mass tank of the First World War.
Assault tank "Saint-Chamon"
The development of the second assault tank Saint-Chamon in addition to the already developed SA-1 French army was not needed, but the ambitions of military commanders played a role here. The development of the SA-1 tank was ordered by the “father” of French tanks, Jean Étienne, by implementing his project on the Schneider company on personal initiative without the consent of the artillery command. Management management decided to implement a project to develop the same machine at FAMH, located in the city of Saint-Chamond. So two assault tanks appeared, not fundamentally different from each other.
In February, 1916 was assigned to design the tank, and a draft was prepared in April. Tests of the first samples began in the middle of 1916, and the first deliveries to the army in April were 1917, initially as armored supply vehicles without weapons
Externally, the "Saint-Chamon" differed from the SA-1 more large size and the presence of a long-barreled gun in the nose of the tank. The hull was an armored box with vertical sides and slanted cheekbones of the bow and stern, far beyond the dimensions of the tracks. The hull was assembled from sheets of rolled armor with riveting on a frame and mounted on a frame to which the chassis was attached. Initially, the armor plates of the sides covered the chassis and reached the ground, but after the first tests they refused this, because such protection worsened the already low permeability.
In the first samples on the case in front there were the commander and driver cylindrical turrets, then instead of cylindrical turrets installed box-shaped. The gun along the axis of the tank was located in a large front ledge of the hull, which was balanced by the stern niche, and the engine and transmission were in the middle of the hull.
The crew of the tank was a 8-9 man (commander, driver, gunner, mechanic and four machine gunners). In front of the left was the driver, and on the right was the commander, who used observation gaps and turrets for observation. To the left of the gun there was a gunner, to the right a machine gunner. There were four more machine gunners in the stern and sides, one of whom was also a mechanic. For the landing of the crew served the door in the sides of the front of the tank. Inspection gaps and windows were supplied with flaps.
The length of the hull without a gun was 7,91 m, with a gun 8,83 m, width 2,67 m, height 2,36 m. Weight of the tank was 23 t. Thickness of armor plates on the forehead of the body - 15 mm, side - 8,5 mm, feed - 8 mm, bottom and roof - by 5 mm. In the future, the thickness of the frontal armor was increased to 17 mm, to avoid breaking through with new German armor piercing bullets.
The 75-mm long-barreled field gun with a barrel length 36,3 caliber and an eccentric bolt was used as a cannon armament. The size of such an installation and a relatively long recoil of the gun when fired caused a greater length of the nose of the hull.
The aiming range of the gun was up to 1500 m, but it was impossible to achieve such characteristics due to poor shooting conditions from the tank, since the guidance on the horizon was limited to 8 degrees. So the transfer of fire was accompanied by the rotation of the entire tank, besides the angle of the gun pointing vertically was only from -4 to + 10 degrees. For the fight against the infantry served as a frontal, aft, and two onboard installations 8-mm machine guns "Hotchkis." Ammunition for the gun was 106 shots, for machine guns 7488 ammunition.
As a power plant in the tank, a gasoline engine of the company “Panhard-Levassor” was used with the power of 90 hp, the supply of fuel to which was 250 l. The original feature of the tank was an electric transmission. The engine worked on an electric generator, the voltage from which was applied to two traction motors, each of them through a mechanical reduction gear set in motion a track on one side. The power plant provided the tank with an average speed of 3 km / h, maximum 8 km / h and a cruising range of 60 km.
The driver with one pedal simultaneously controlled the throttle of the carburetor, adjusting the engine speed, and changed the resistance of the primary winding, adjusting the current in the primary winding of the generator. When turning, the rotational speed of the electric motors was changed, and when they were switched to the reverse, the tank was reversed. Electric transmission provided a smooth change in speed and turning radius in a wide range, reduced the load on the engine of the tank and required little effort from the driver when driving. But the electric transmission was cumbersome and heavy, which led to an increase in the weight of the tank.
The basis of the undercarriage was also laid on the nodes of the tractor "Holt", which were substantially refined. Chassis included on one side of three trucks with dual support rollers. The frame of the hull was supported on carts through vertical helical cylindrical springs. The track was 324 mm wide and consisted of 36 tracks, including a shoe and two rails. The length of the bearing surface was 2,65 m. With such a track, there was a high specific pressure on the grant and the track width was increased to 500 mm, while the specific pressure decreased to 0,79 kg / sq. cm.
Due to the overhang of the front of the hull over the tracks, the car barely overcame vertical obstacles and ditches with a width of 1,8 m. The patency of the tank on the ground was noticeably worse than that of the CA-1 tank. The heavy nose part led to frequent deformation of the front carriages and falling of the tracks.
In general, the Saint-Chamon tank was much inferior to the same CA-1, which itself did not shine with reliability and maneuverability, so that the second assault tank with very mediocre characteristics appeared in the army.
In the very first battle in May 1917, tanks Saint-Chamon failed to overcome the trenches, stopped in front of them and were hit by enemy artillery or failed due to breakdowns. Other battles turned out to be just as unsuccessful for these tanks.
In the last months of the war, Saint-Chamon was often used as self-propelled guns, thanks to the long-barreled 75-mm cannon they successfully fought with German melee batteries. This tank also did not become massive during the war, only 377 tanks of various modifications were manufactured.
- Yuri Apukhtin
- yandex.ru, warspot.ru, warriors.fandom.com
- German tanks of the First World War
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