The tank of rupture Saint Chamond is the second Tank produces by the French, during the First World War. It was manufactured by FAMH, with Saint-Chamond. Born from the competition between FAMH and Schneider, in spite of four hundred produced specimens, it appeared rather little succeeded, its important size limiting its evolutions on the ground. The war however ended, before it is replaced completely, by the British Renault FT-17 and heavy tanks.

Development

At the origin, the companies Chamond Saint and Schneider should have built the same tank, for which they had received each one an order of four hundred specimens. At the beginning of 1916, whereas their common prototype, the tractor has , was in the course of completion in a workshop of the army, the soldier Pierre Lescure designed the compartment of combat, and lieutenant Fouché made lengthen the suspension to improve the behavior in any ground.

However, the chief engineer of Schneider, Eugene Brillié, rejected this first prototype. He chooses a new drawing integrating his invention, a tail making it possible to cross the trenches with a length of quite lower case, which made possible the creation of a vehicle lighter.

Shone and Schneider refused to share the invention patented of Shone with Chamond Saint, and Holy Chamond refused to pour royalties with Schneider. Consequently, the two companies worked out of two very different vehicles, though each one was derived from tractor A. Schneider will develop thus the Char Schneider CA1.

Saint Chamond used the relations with the Ministère of the War of one of his chief technical officers, the " colonel" Emile Rimailho, to make modify the specifications of the tank. The specifications of the ministry asked for from now on the assembly of a gun of 75 millimetres long tube, which the army had never asked. The result of this operation made the vehicle even more cumbersome, with a compartment of combat still lengthened and overhanging on the front one. Despite everything, the first prototype of the tank Saint Chamond was presented in September 1916.

Designation ( tractor has ) prototype of origin common to Schneider and Saint Chamond was not due to any concern of dissimulation, but to the absence of an adequate term at the time to name it.

Description

From the tractor has, the Saint Chamond was an imposing vehicle, much larger than its rival. He was indeed longer of more than two meters, and heavier of eight tons.

However, in spite of its handicap of mass, it was capable of a better top speed, thanks to its more powerful engine, and especially thanks to the use of an electric drive which made possible of the evolutions much more flexible. Unfortunately, this was true only on road, because once in the mud of the No man' S Land, the long nose tended to be card-indexed in the least wave land. Moreover, transmission tending to heat, and many tanks even broke down before reaching the enemy lines.

Nevertheless at the end of the war when the face moved it became useful to reach artillery.

See too

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