Hi again ! I’m back for another article translation from chars-francais.net, today’s about the AMX Tracteur C. For the eventual new readers, these articles are aiming to highlight some vehicles which aren’t covered by WoT (yet), so in other words, vehicles of which not everyone is aware of.
The “Tracteur C” AMX is a tank project dating from 1939 (the draft dates from November 1939, to be more accurate), as an answer to the request of a “fortress tank”, able of attacking a heavy defense line. It’s quite a monster, direct concurrent of the FCM F1. A few parts, especially the main turret, weren’t obviously realistic.
The crew was made of 6 : to the front, the front driver, the 105mm gun operator and the radio operator ; to the back, the back driver and the 47mm gunner. The tank was then able to drive backwards instantly.
Its weight can be guessed at 140 tons. Its dimensions are (about) the following : track length of 9,375 metres, width of 3 metres and height of 3,26 metres. It’s very long, with a rolling path of an exceptional diameter, about 2,5 metres. It also has an incredible shape, it’s quite wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. It’s equipped with a cylindrical turret, unlike the secondary turret which is semi-hemispherical and globally round.
The drive sprocket is on the back, the idler wheel is on the front. The suspension is the same as on the B1 : raws of small wheels. Each train consists of 24 road wheels and 13 narrow pebbles, with at least 100 mm of armour, surely welded. The plates are all flat. Only the turrets are cast.
The hull comprises lateral flanks like the low-B1 but the roof is angled at 45 °. The track is closed by an armouring quite similar to the one of the B1. The Tracteur C is armed with a huge long 105mm gun in the main turret (105 L mod. 13, surely) and a 47mm SA 35 gun in the back turret. There are also four machine guns (7,5 mm caliber) in ports like on the 2C (2 in the front, 2 in the rear). They are on a ball mount, operated by the nearest crew. The main turret is in the middle axis of the tank. The back one is shifted to the right. The main turret rotates on carriers.
There are two motor groups. The transmission is electrical, according to a principle similar to the one of the “Chars lourds” AMX. The fuel capacity is quite impressive, over 1200 liters.
The Tracteur C remained a sketch. Note that it seems much lower than its competitor, the FCM F1, of which the model impresses by its height.
Pictures :
http://www.chars-francais.net/2015/images/stories/plans/amx-c_1939_01.jpg
http://www.chars-francais.net/2015/images/stories/plans/amx-c_1939_02.jpg
See the original article (French) by clicking right here. I hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to comment your thoughts about such articles, and well, see you in the next one 😉
