Char D2

The Char D2 was a French medium tank of the interwar period. In 1930, at a time the Char D1 had not even entered production, the Renault company agreed to build a better armoured version called the Char D2. By not using old-fashioned rivets, it was hoped to save weight. The tank should have the potential to serve as an alternative in the role of battle tank for the heavier Char B1, should the latter be forbidden by treaty. The failure of the armament limitation talks resulted in a severe reduction of the projected manufacture, now in the form of an interim tank. Organisational difficulties with Renault caused the actual production of a first series of fifty to be delayed to the years 1936 and 1937. A second series of fifty was ordered in 1938, despite indications that the type was mechanically unreliable, as a possible cheaper addition to the expensive Char B1. With the latter type, in case of war, only a limited number of armoured divisions for the Infantry Arm could be raised; the Char D2 created the prospect of increasing this. Due to Renault's financial problems, this second, partially improved version, was only realised in early 1940, bringing total production to a hundred. The three prototypes were, among others, fitted with turrets of the Renault FT during a mock-up. The production models of the first series had the APX-1 turret, armed with a short 47mm SA 34 tank gun. The second series used the much more powerful 47mm SA 35 tank gun; from March 1940 this was retrofitted to a number of the older vehicles, despite a parallel project to rebuild them as flamethrower tanks. In 1937 the type equipped one tank battalion, which was considered an elite unit, as part of Charles de Gaulle's regiment. It...