Projet Louis [🇫🇷 France, LT-9]
Historical Reference:
The increasing effectiveness of anti-tank weapons during the 1950s led French engineers to conclude that mobility was the key to the survivability of a light tank.
One area of research focused on vehicles with a dual-track running gear layout, resulting in the design of the Projet Louis tank. The dual-track configuration required an unconventional layout, including two transmissions and the separation of the engine and cooling systems into different sections of the hull. To reduce costs and speed up production, the vehicle was intended to use the production FL 10 turret armed with the 90 mm F3 gun and equipped with a drum-type autoloader. The project, which received its unofficial name in honor of one of the developers of the running gear, had many promising features but required extensive research, refinement, and testing. Ultimately, it was cancelled due to its complexity and high cost.
I wasn’t expecting the FL 10 turret on this project. Makes the whole design look even more interesting. @hypackel