The light escort tank FCM 36 is a French infantry tank of the 1930s, light in weight. Full French name of the vehicle: Char léger d'accompagnement FCM 36. In many ways, the progressive tank of the pre-war period did not become widespread. In France in 1938-1939, only 100 FCM 36 tanks were assembled. During the Second World War, these combat vehicles were used very limitedly, and after the surrender of France, most of them were captured by the Germans, who later used their chassis for the production of self-propelled anti-tank guns - 7, 5-cm CANCER 40 (Sf), (Marder I).
The French tank FCM 36 favorably differed from its contemporaries in the inclined arrangement of the armor plates, they were located at rational angles of inclination. At the same time, the body of the tank was welded, and the thickness of the frontal armor was increased to 40 mm. Also among the undoubted advantages of the combat vehicle was the installation of a diesel engine, which made it possible to significantly increase the tank's cruising range, it was almost doubled compared to other tanks of those years (225 km).
At the same time, the infantry FCM 36 had obvious drawbacks, which included a low speed of movement - up to 24 km / h (on the highway). But most of the questions were raised by its armament - the short-barreled 37-mm SA18 cannon turned out to be completely ineffective for fighting enemy tanks, which manifested itself in the battles of World War II. Against German tanks with an armor thickness of more than 20 mm, this gun turned out to be completely useless. At the same time, the low maximum speed no longer corresponded to the realities of modern mobile warfare. Even the French themselves, during long-distance marches, due to the low speed, transferred these tanks not under their own power, but by road, FCM 36 were transported on special heavy trailers.
History of the creation of FCM 36
Oddly enough, one of the most interesting French tanks of the interwar period owes its birth to another company - Hotchkiss. It was she who, back in 1933, came up with a proposal to develop a better armored and cheaper infantry escort tank. In response to this proposal, a competitive task was drawn up, which was sent to several French design teams at once. The most intense competition was between the Hotchkiss H-35 and Renault R-35 tanks, which were seen as real candidates for serial production. But another, less dangerous player intervened in the race to create a new light tank.
This player was FCM (Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee) from the south of France, from Toulon, which had a long tradition of developing armored combat vehicles. Since 1921, the famous 2C heavy tank has been produced here, assembled in a small batch - only 10 units. Later, the plant's team, under the leadership of engineer Boudreau, was engaged in the creation of a transmission for a new French heavy tank of the Char B type. In 1934, the company received an offer to do a more promising business. It was about the development of a new light tank, which was intended to accompany the infantry in battle.
The terms of reference for the creation of a new tank were issued by the French military. In a fairly short time, Boudreau managed to prepare a preliminary draft of a new infantry tank. Already in March 1934, a full-size wooden model of the future combat vehicle was presented to the representatives of the army commission. The infantry liked the tank very much, which first of all wanted to get a well-protected vehicle. The development of the FCM company just had a significant advantage - according to the project, the armor plates had to be interconnected at large angles of inclination, which increased the value of the reduced armor and increased its projectile resistance.
A little over a year later, the first prototype of a light tank, designated FCM 36, was presented to the French military commission in Vincennes. The design of the Toulon tank was more complex than that of the R-35 and H-35. According to the issued terms of reference, the thickness of the frontal and side armor of the tank was 30 mm, which was supposed to provide reliable protection against the fire of large-caliber machine guns, as well as small-caliber guns - 20-25 mm, while the German 37-mm "beaters" of the PaK 35 / 36 at close combat ranges could well have hit the tank in the side if it was located at a right angle. In this regard, Boudreau decided to use the inclined arrangement of the armor plates in order to let the projectile piercing the armor be as long as possible. This led to the complication of the design of the combat vehicle, which, in turn, negatively affected the production process and the cost of the FCM 36. However, the tank developed by the Toulon company, in general, could not be called simple.
The layout of the FCM 36 tank
The layout of the FCM 36 infantry tank was "classic". In front of the hull there was a driver's seat, behind him was the commander of the combat vehicle, who simultaneously performed the functions of a shooter and a loader. He had at his disposal an old short-barreled 37-mm SA18 cannon and a coaxial 7, 5-mm machine gun. The semi-automatic rifled gun Puteaux SA 18 was created during the First World War. The gun was only 21 caliber in length - 777 mm. It was this gun that was installed on one of the best tanks of the First World War, the Renault FT-17, but for the second half of the 1930s, the gun was clearly outdated. The armament of the FCM 36 tank was located in a single tower, which was made in the form of a truncated pyramid, it had 4 viewing devices. The general mask for the gun and machine gun made it possible to direct weapons in a vertical plane within the range from -17 to +20 degrees.
A novelty of the tank was the use of a 4-cylinder diesel engine manufactured by Berliet, originally it was a 91 hp unit. Although its power was weaker than that of the engine of the H-35 tank, in terms of such an indicator as the range, the FCM 36 was significantly superior to other combat vehicles - the stock of 217 liters of fuel tank was enough for 225 kilometers when driving on the highway. In addition, cheaper diesel fuel had a lower fire hazard, which was also very important.
The chassis of the Toulon tank was not particularly simple in design. Applied to each side, it consisted of 9 road wheels, 8 of which were combined into 4 bogies, as well as 4 support rollers, a rear drive wheel and a front idler. The tank's rollers, as well as the external elements of the transmission, were almost completely covered by the bulwarks, which had a complex shape. There were 5 cutouts in the bulwark for dumping dirt from the upper branches of the tracks. The prototype of the tank also had front "wings" of a specific configuration. The design of the tracks was partly borrowed from the heavy French B1. It was not the best choice for the designers, but they will find out about it later.
The tests of the FCM 36 light tank, which took place in 1935, brought more disappointment than optimism. The total mass of the new combat vehicle exceeded the permissible 10,168 kg, and in terms of mobility and maximum speed, the tank was significantly inferior to its main competitor, the Renault R-35. On June 9, 1935, the prototype was returned to the manufacturer, where the developers lightened the hull design, and also redesigned the transmission, turret and track links. To facilitate access to the engine compartment, its roof could be closed with an easily removable panel. Two repeated test cycles were carried out on September 10 - October 23, as well as December 19, 1935 - May 14, 1936. The French army was not delighted with the new tank, but agreed to adopt it, on one condition - the maximum thickness of the armor would be increased to 40 mm. Since there was no time for such a revision, instead of designing a new hull, the designers decided to simply add 10 mm armor plates over the existing hull. In this form, the prototype was demonstrated on June 9, 1936 to the selection committee, which declared it the best of the presented infantry tanks, but still gave preference to the R-35 tank.
As a result, the French army issued an order for 100 tanks (at a price of 450,000 francs per unit), giving them the official designation Char leger Modele 1936 FCM. Perhaps the number of ordered serial tanks could have turned out to be large, but the price of the tank and its overweight, coupled with low speed characteristics, had a very big impact on the fate of this initially promising combat vehicle.
Serial tanks FCM 36 differed slightly from the prototypes that were being tested. First of all, the firm from Toulon made the replacement of the tower. Unlike the prototype, it acquired a characteristic superstructure, which was intended to monitor the battlefield (something like a commander's cupola), which made the outlines of this combat vehicle even more futuristic. The bow of the tank's hull was also completely changed, which became more "broken", and not flat, as it was, for example, on the famous "thirty-four". They tried to improve the low dynamics of the combat vehicle by installing a more powerful engine of the same company Berliet, its power increased to 105 hp. However, in the end, the power density of the production car was still only 7, 6 hp / t, which was far from an outstanding indicator. The chassis of the tank also underwent changes. First of all, the track links were changed, the grip with the supporting surface of which was significantly improved. In addition, the front "fenders" were dismantled, which weakly protected the chassis and impeded confident movement in snow and mud.
The production of a new light tank developed very slowly. The French military received the first batch of these tanks only on May 2, 1938. And the complete delivery of 100 combat vehicles ended on March 13, 1939. Combat vehicles received registration numbers starting from 30001 to 30100. As a result, the tank of the designers from Toulon turned out to be not only the heaviest of the "classmates", but also the most expensive. Each FCM 36 cost the French treasury 450,000 francs, while the Hotchkiss H 35 cost only 200,000 francs. For comparison: for the same money, one could purchase one British Infantry Tank Mk. III, two Infantry Tanks Mk. I, or almost two German Pz. Kpfw. III tanks, with which the FCM 36 simply could not fight on equal terms. This turned out to be the price that the French paid for fairly progressive structural elements.
The battles of World War II showed that the FCM 36 could successfully fight against light tanks and armored personnel carriers of the enemy, but already the Pz. Kpfw. III, which he had to face, turned out to be too tough for him. Of course, the FCM 36 was no worse than the Renault R 35, but it was not better either. The effectiveness of the combat use of these tanks corresponded to the issued technical specifications. Created to support the infantry, they were forced to engage in battle with more advanced enemy tanks. As a result, the decisiveness of the French tankers alone was not enough, by the end of hostilities, only 10 serviceable light tanks FCM 36 remained in the French army.
The performance characteristics of FCM 36:
Overall dimensions: length - 4, 46 m, width - 2, 14 m, height - 2, 20 m.
Combat weight - 12 350 kg.
Reservation - 40 mm (maximum).
Armament - 37 mm SA-18 gun and 7.5 mm machine gun.
Ammunition - 102 shells and 3000 rounds.
The power plant is a Berliet-Ricardo diesel 4-cylinder 105 hp engine.
Specific power - 7, 6 hp / t.
The maximum speed is 24 km / h (on the highway).
The power reserve is 225 km.
Fuel capacity - 217 liters.
Crew - 2 people.
Photo: www.chars-francais.net
