PMI0030C CHAR 2C

The Char 2C (also known as FCM 2C) was a French interwar and WWII super heavy tank. The first prototypes of the car were developed in 1917, and serial production lasted only in 1921, ending with the production of 10 examples of this car. The drive was provided by two carburettor engines with a total power of 500 HP. It was armed with a single 75mm Canon de 75 Model 1897 gun and 4 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns. Determining the exact origins of the Char 2C tank is very difficult. However, it can be assumed that the intensive design work and the creation of the first prototypes lasted the period 1916-1917. These actions are closely correlated with the successes achieved by British tanks during the fighting on the Somme in 1916. Finally, a very unusual construction was created - a tank weighing almost 70 tons, with armor up to 45 mm (which was a very high value by the standards of World War I!), A 75 mm gun placed in a rotating turret and a crew of 12 people! However, this huge machine had its drawbacks: it was very difficult to camouflage in the field, and with the development of aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, it was very vulnerable to air attacks. In addition, the tank was not very maneuverable and its maximum speed did not exceed 15 km / h! In the interwar period, these cars played a propaganda role. During World War II, the 51st armored battalion was formed from them, but during the French campaign in 1940, all these vehicles did not take part in the fighting and were destroyed by their own crews. Only one was intercepted by the Germans.