French experimental tank Char G1
In 1937, research was carried out that led the Infantry Directorate to the effect that the 20-ton tank program should be canceled. This decision was due to the fact that it was impossible to create a tank with a 75 mm caliber cannon in a turret lighter than 30 tons, and even more so with armor 60 mm thick.
The 01.02.1938 of the Infantry Directorate was asked by the Arms Production Directorate to transform a program of a tank of 20 tons into a program of a tank with a weight of up to 35 tons. The new machine has been assigned the index G1. By offering this mass, the Directorate wanted to leave itself the opportunity to maneuver so that there would be no problem with a deficit of weights.
By order of the military, seven companies began to develop this tank on a competitive basis at once: Baudet-Donon-Roussel, FCM, Fouga, Lorraine de Dietrich, Renault, SEAM and SOMUA.
The companies that started development received orders to build prototypes, but by June 1, 1938, only two of them were awarded contracts. The first concerns the SEAM tank (the contract amount is 1,2 million francs without the cost of weapons). The delivery of the prototype to the Commission for Testing (CEMAV) was scheduled for 31.10.1938/2,6/1938. The second contract concerned the Lorraine tank (contract amount XNUMX million francs excluding weapons). The prototype was planned for the end of XNUMX. At the time of the conclusion of the contracts, the SEAM prototype was built and was on the move, and the Lorraine project was made in the form of a wooden mock-up.
It should be noted that all development work carried out by various design bureaus since 1935 was carried out without external funding, that is, at the expense of the manufacturers' internal funds. Those who were subsequently contracted could receive advance payments only after the approval of the project. With constant demands for modifications, the industry did not hope to receive funding, except after a while. In this regard, it is not surprising that firms sluggishly joined the tank development program and involved design bureau personnel in work on a residual basis, and the G1 program itself was not among the priorities. In fact, all work on the program was frozen until the intervention of the group created by Captain Daiga (technical department of the Infantry Directorate) and military engineer Lavirotte (Ruel workshops). The group was created according to the order of the Minister of Defense dated 08.06.1938/XNUMX/XNUMX No.
The main purpose of the creation of the group was to coordinate from a technological point of view with contractors under contracts for the G1 tank, consultations and issuing useful instructions in order to create these products.
The directive specifically emphasized that, with regard to manufacturers, “all responsibility for the creation of prototypes must be transferred”. Taking into account the fact that, apart from Renault, no other design bureau had experience in tank building, the creation of the Daiga-Lavirotte group was motivated by the need for ongoing cooperation between the design bureau and those. services of the Ministry of Defense to ensure a quick start of work with minimal costs of reasonable and appropriate technical. the terms of the funds.
Indeed, the lack of experience of companies, with the exception of Renault, led to "blunders". For example, at the Lorraine design office, the fuel tank was mounted under the engine. In addition, the BDR design office arranged for the assembly of the mock-up at a remote location (for security reasons) and could not deliver their prototype to the review site when, in early 1939, the commission wanted to inspect the three existing wooden mock-ups.
The same order stated that in order to speed up the construction of prototypes of the G1 tank, the hull should be made not from armored steel, but from another material (chosen by the developer), which would reduce the development time of the tank. The G1 supply program had a lower status than the current production (navy and tanks), which "absorbed" the armor steel produced.
As of 1 June 1938, the projects of the companies were in the following stages.
SEX's G1P (this model is also known as Poniatoski G1P)
The design weight of the tank 26 tons. The car was equipped with electric transmission.
The prototype, presented in 1937 in Vincennes, corresponded to the program of a tank with a mass of 20 tons, except for speed: which instead of 40 km / h was only 14 km / h. Moreover, the concept of the undercarriage was unsuccessful: the caterpillars lacked the lugs, the permeability was low.
In this regard, Poniatowski decided to install a Hispano-Suiza engine with more power (280 hp) and modify the chassis. After that, the prototype was ready for testing.
On May 24, the 12th department issues order No. 5 174-1 / 12 with instructions to deliver the vehicle to Vincennes after equipping the tank with a tower in Ruel and wireless voice communication equipment in Fort Issy.
In fact, Poniatowski's chassis never received its weapons. The tank did not have an ARCH4 turret or a 75mm cannon in a similar B1ter mount. Only a mass and size model of the tower was mounted (weight 2,5 tons). During the development of the project in 1936-1939, the height of the hull was reduced from 1720 mm to 1640 mm, however, the installation of a turret with a 75 mm caliber gun was recognized as impossible without a complete redesign of the turret box, while it was necessary to completely abandon the slope of the armor.
G1L by Lorraine
The design weight of the tank is 36 tons. By 1938, the Lorraine company had made a life-size model of wood. Lorraine was ready to start assembling the prototype, but for this it was necessary to urgently decide which turret to equip the tank with. The machine was designed for a circular rotation turret equipped with a 75-millimeter cannon of the 1897 model. Lorraine's 20-ton advance project originally carried a 230 hp Hispano-Suiza engine. To counter the increase in mass, the G1L was converted to a 450-horsepower Panhard engine from a railcar. This project had the best power-to-weight ratio - the power-to-weight ratio was about 15 hp / t. However, changes in the project led to an increase in the height of the engine compartment, and this led to restrictions on the gun depression angles in this sector. In addition, Lorraine experienced problems with the 16-ton hull, which was designed by Corpe-Luwe for a tank weighing 20 tons, not 30/35 tons. In particular, being a direct development of the undercarriage of the supply conveyor, the undercarriage is not designed for the existing loads. This circumstance led to an unsuccessful distribution of weights at increased pressure on the ground.
To eliminate this problem, it was proposed to rework the undercarriage - the distance between two rollers up to three links of the caterpillar.
G1B of BDR
The design weight of the tank is 37,5 tons. The machine was to be equipped with a hydromechanical or electric transmission. It was supposed to use a 350 hp diesel engine as a power plant.
As of 01.06.1938, negotiations continued, during which the need for an add. informing before issuing a contract. In addition, there was a need to redesign the advance project, including: improvement of individual nodes; weight reduction, which may exceed 35 tons.
G1F by Fouga
The design weight of this machine was about 35 tons. There are no confirmed data for this project. The comments are the same as for the G1B project.
Renault G1R
The design weight of this tank was 32 tons. The Commission back in April 1938 of the year expressed its opinion regarding the overall dimensions of the G1R (the width of the machine was 2940 mm). The weight of the G1R tank should be 26 tons, but this gain is provided by certain design features, such as torsion bar suspension. Ammunition was limited to the minimum program requirements. The fighting compartment was designed for 4-x people. However, if you mount a 75 caliber mm gun instead of a 47 mm gun, the gain in 1200 kg is lost. In this regard, for the tank G1R recommended weight 30 thousand kg. According to Deig, the thickness of the bottom armor in 10 mm is too small. The concept of G1R - the development of R35, except for the propulsion system. The tank is missing the previously provided side hatch 600х700 mm. Onboard booking is a two-layer: external sheet - 50 mm; internal - 10 mm. This decision has been criticized.
On June 1, the layout of the turret was discussed, and it was not without criticism. The proposed project involves the installation of the tower on the central support. This technical solution was first proposed by Lieutenant Colonel Ballan. The designer ran into a lot of problems implementing this solution. The Standing Committee on the technical arrangement of tanks, together with Renault, studied the improvements that should be made before the start of production of the prototype.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ballan proposed a project with a tower that served to accommodate only weapons. In this case, the crew of the tank is located in the hull. The 75-millimeter gun was loaded automatically, observation and aiming are carried out using cranked viewing devices. This concept, which makes it possible to reduce the mass of the turret and install more powerful weapons on the tank, lighter than in other proposals, was studied in the first approximation during the development of the tank B of the ARCH turret.
For Renault, this was a failure, all the more bitter given that it was this company that stood at the origins of the program in 1937. In a letter, Engineer-General Jacques Molinet, who was then working as a junior armaments engineer, clarified that “Mr. Restany, who was in charge of the development of the prototype at Renault, hoped to find a solution that would allow him to stay within the limit of 25 tons through the use of a scheme with a casemate turret of limited rotation And aviation an engine based on the engines of the B1bis tank (power 250 hp) and AMC ACG1 (power 180 hp). This project became the main one, as it offered the smallest possible mass.
Against this, there were two objections:
- there was no circular rotation of the tower;
- low total power of the propulsion unit.
In fact, in the Renault design bureau, the G1 (ACK) project took over from the AMC35 R (ACG1), the development of which was also not ideal and extremely time-consuming.
Tower designs
As part of the meeting on 01.06.1938/XNUMX/XNUMX, the armaments advisory council with regard to towers noted that in addition to the Renault pseudo-tower, there were two more projects:
- ARL 3. This turret had a large shoulder strap diameter - 1880 mm (equipped with polycom), which required a longer and wider turret box. Accordingly, the mass of the tank was supposed to be about 35 tons (Fuga, BDR, Lorraine);
- FCM / F1. This option is already offered for the 45-ton tank. The tower was spacious, and its shoulder strap had a slightly smaller diameter (1850 mm), compared to the ARL 3 tower. Moreover, this tower was the development of that of the tank 2С, known and satisfactory in operation.
The fate of the project
In the course of development by the customer in those. assignment is constantly changing. This led to the fact that the design bureaus began to withdraw from the competition. The SEAM company, which proposed the G1P project (also known as Poniatowski G1P), fought the longest for the implementation of the project. The prototype medium tank, developed by a design team led by engineer Poniatowski, was presented to the Commission de Vincennes a year after the publication of the first specification. The prototype was delivered to the test site on December 3, 1936, although it was not finished.
A 120-horsepower engine was used as a temporary power plant. Instead of a tower, a domed superstructure was mounted, equipped with an observation tower in the form of a truncated cone. The turret had 6 glass windows on the sides. The undercarriage of the prototype, which on one side included 6 double rollers, rear driving and front steering wheels, was almost completely covered by a bulwark that protected the open suspension elements and rollers. The total length of the tank is 5570 mm. The hull, which was originally designed for the installation of a 75 mm gun to the right of the driver's seat, is welded. SEAM engineers actively used the inclined arrangement of armor plates, so even with 40 mm armor, this tank would be a difficult target for 37-45 mm guns. The composition of the crew: driver, commander, radio operator and loader.
Although SEAM stated that the mass of the prototype is about 23 tons, according to AtelierdeRueil specialists after the installation of the Hispano 6 engine with an output of 280 hp. it will be possible to talk about a mass of 28 tons. The use of an electric transmission did not give a particularly great effect either. On sea trials, which took place on December 3-10, 1936, it turned out that when driving along the highway, the maximum speed of the tank did not exceed 14 km / h, and the average technical speed was 10 km / h. The reasons for this were the fact that the mass of the electric transmission was 2,4 tons (this is 1,5 tons more than the mass of the mechanical transmission), which, in combination with a low-power engine, had a negative impact on the speed characteristics of the machine. From the military commission received a proposal to finalize the prototype. SEAM had to lengthen the hull, increase the fighting compartment and equip it with a 95 mm thick fire wall, improve the suspension system, and make a number of other improvements.
In 1937-1938, the G1P prototype was seriously upgraded. In cooperation with ARL, new road wheels and a 1 hp engine were installed on the G280P tank, and the suspension was improved in parallel. In accordance with the requirements put forward on May 24, 1938, the tank had to be equipped with a radio station, a 35 mm SA47 gun in the ARCH4 turret and a 75 mm gun in the hull. The width of the tank after modifications decreased by 20 mm (up to 2920 mm), height - by 30 mm (up to 2730 mm), while the height of the hull was 1740 mm.
An order for 250 vehicles in the winter of 1939 was still in place, since no other prototypes were submitted for testing by other companies. But SEAM, which was experiencing severe financial difficulties, slowed down the work on bringing the G1P tank. In fact, this happened after the introduction of the requirement to install a 75 mm caliber gun in a circular rotation tower. After ARL was approached for help from the Conseil Consultatifde l'Armement, they finally managed to get an order for the supply of a turret for the G1P, which was supposed to be equipped with an extended turret box. On January 19, 1939, an order was signed to place SEAM ARL3 at the disposal of the company, but it remained unfulfilled. On September 10, 1939, the process of improvements finally got up, although on December 22, work was resumed again, in view of the urgent need for modern tanks. The G1B project was finally stopped after the surrender - in June 1940. The then existing prototype was already ready for testing, but it was idle at the SEAM factory waiting for the delivery of the tower.
Specifications:
Combat weight - 26 t (CharG1P), 28 t (CharG1R), 30 t (CharG1B)
The layout is classic.
Crew - 4 people.
Number of issued - 1 pcs.
Body length - 5570 mm.
Case width - 2940 mm.
Height - 2760 mm.
The forehead of the body is 60 mm.
Chassis side - 60 mm.
Body Feed - 60 mm.
Bottom - 20 mm.
Housing roof - 20 mm.
The forehead of the tower - 40 mm.
Armament - SA32 howitzer of 75 caliber mm, SA35 gun of 47 caliber mm.
Ammunition - 100 47-mm caliber and 70 75-mm shots.
Additional weapons - MAC machine gun 1931 caliber 7,5 mm.
Sights - periscopic binocular, telescopic sight, episcopes.
Engine type - petrol 12-cylinder Meadows.
Engine power - HP 280-320 (depending on the modification).
Speed on the highway - 30 km / h.
Cruising on the highway - 200-400 km (design data).
Overcoming obstacles (design data):
overcome wall - 0,8 m;
overcome moat - 2 m;
overcome ford - 1,2 m.
Prepared by materials
http://alternathistory.org.ua
http://all-tanks.ru
http://vif2ne.ru
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