AMC 34

AMC 34
AMC 34 prototype.
Type	Light Tank
Place of origin	France
Specifications
Weight	hull: 9.7 tonnes
Length	3.98 m
Width	2.07 m
Height	variable according to turret type; the hull had a height of 1.55 m
Crew	two with the APX1 turret; three with the APX2
Armor	20 mm
Main armament	see text
Secondary armament	see text
Engine	7.125 litre V-8 120 hp
Suspension	vertically sprung bogie and two horizontally sprung road wheels per side
Operational range	200 km
Speed	40 km/h

External image

Photo of an AMC 34 with FT 17 turret

The AMC 34 was a French tank built originally for the French Army cavalry units. Its production was cut short, and the few vehicles produced were out of service by the time of the Battle of France in the Second World War.

Alarmed by the rapid build-up of the Red Army the French Army on 24 December 1931 conceived a preliminary plan for the mechanisation of the Cavalry. This foresaw the development of several types of automitrailleuses — the official term for cavalry tanks because chars ("tanks") were by law part of the infantry arm — among which an Automitrailleuse de Combat or AMC, a lightly armoured (weighing no more than nine tons) but swift (30 km/h cruise speed) and strongly armed (47 mm gun) combat tank, capable of fighting enemy armour. The plan was affirmed by the French Supreme Command on 23 January 1932 and approved by the ministry of defence on 9 December.

Even before Plan 1931 was put on paper Louis Renault was informed of its probable contents and in the autumn of 1931 he ordered his design team to build an AMC. The team proposed to use welded steel plates, but Renault refused as this entailed hiring expensive professional welders. The team nevertheless took the initiative to build the Renault VO, a fully welded prototype of a Char Rapide, that could also serve as an alternative for the AMR 33 developed at the same time. When the vehicle was finished in 1932 Renault was charmed by the proposal but after long consideration decided against it and ordered a riveted version to be built. This quickly proved to be much too heavy and this caused a complete redesign of the project into a much smaller vehicle, the Renault YR, only to be presented to the French materiel commission, the Commission de Vincennes, on 12 October 1933, still fitted with the welded turret of the Renault VO. After testing by the Section Technique de la Cavalerie the prototype was improved by installing larger fuel tanks and a stronger clutch and gearbox. On 9 March 1934 an order was made for a pre-series of twelve hulls of the AMC 34; later a choice would be made from the range of standard turrets. The first was delivered on 17 October 1935.

The AMC 34 is a small vehicle with a length of 3.98 m and a width of 2.07 m. The suspension of the prototype is identical to that of the AMR 33; the production vehicles use a type that was originally envisaged for the AMR 35: a central bogie with a vertical spring; two other wheels in front and behind with an oil-dampened horizontal spring. The engine, a 7.125 litre V-8 120 hp with a fuel tank of 220 litres rendering a top speed of 40 km/h and a range of 200 kilometres, is located on the right; the driver on the left with a hatch in front of him and an escape door behind him. The armour is 20 mm on the vertical plates; the weight — of the hull only — 9.7 metric tons.