Category: France
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Saint-Chamond
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 1 Location: Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France Armoured pioneer The Saint-Chamond was the second French tank ever to be fielded in May 1917. It was developed in parallel to the rival Schneider CA1, used the exact same Holt caterpillar tractor chassis and was also equipped with a…
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AMX-50/120 surbaissé
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: Cold War Location: Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France Cold war colossus The AMX-50 was a French attempt to build a functional modern heavy tank intended to succeed the archaic ARL 44 in the 1950s. The first of only five prototypes was visibly inspired by the German Tiger II and…
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AMX-30B
Type: Main Battle Tank Nation: France Period: Cold War Location: Camp de Suippes, France The game has changed The AMX-30 was the indirect result of a 1950s joint French-Italian-West German project to develop a standardised European main battle tank. When the partners could not agree on certain specifications such as the main gun, they went…
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AMX-13 (Modèle 1958)
Type: Light Tank Nation: France Period: Cold War Location: Cavaleriemuseum, Bernhardkazerne Amersfoort, Netherlands Long-lasting success The AMX-13’s development started in 1946 when the French Army needed a lightly armoured air-portable vehicle to support paratroopers and carry out reconnaissance missions. It was designed by the Ateliers de construction d’Issy-les-Moulineaux who would later go on to develop…
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Panhard EBR 90 F2
Type: Armoured Car Nation: France Period: Cold War Location: Musée de l‘Abri de Hatten, France What you see is what you get The Panhard EBR was an armoured reconnaissance vehicle and that is literally what “EBR” stood for: “engin blindé de reconnaissance”. Wheeled vehicles were generally deemed faster than tracked vehicles and – important for…
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Char Schneider CA1 (Replica)
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 1 Location: Monument National des chars d‘assaut, Berry-au-Bac, France The world’s other first tank The Schneider CA1 was the first French tank. It was designed at the same time as the British Little Willie prototype, but since both countries treated their tank programmes as secrets which might…
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Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
Type: Self-Propelled Artillery Nation: USA/UK/France/Italy/Germany Period: Cold War Location: Nationaal Militair Museum, Soesterberg, Netherlands Arms race at a snail‘s pace The MLRS was a joint American, British, French, Italian and West German cooperation to develop a highly mobile self-propelled artillery system for attacking a target area with large amounts of firepower. Compared to the pinpoint…
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Char B1 bis
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 2 Location: MM Park France, La Wantzenau, France A mixed bag During the battles against the German invasion in 1940, the Char B1 bis proved to be a seriously outdated design. However, its thick armour made it a tough nut to crack for the Wehrmacht’s Panzer Divisions,…
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Char B1 bis
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 2 Location: The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK Fate of the dinosaurs The Char B1 bis was considered one of the most powerful tanks of its day, but in practice it was not suited for coordinated mobile operations. Its design had been deeply rooted in the experiences of…
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Char B1 bis
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 2 Location: Stonne, France A slow-paced pet project In 1921 General Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne – the French “Father of the Tank” – had initiated the development of a new principal battle tank. The evaluation of several competing prototypes during the following decade eventually resulted in the…