Medium tank “Saint-Chamond” (“Saint-Chamond”, H-16)
Medium tank “Saint-Chamond” (“Saint-Chamond”, H-16)
The functions of the commander and driver on the Saint-Chamond tank were separated (unlike the Schneider CA 1 tank), and in front of the left was the driver, who could use the armored cap and observation slot for observation. A gun is installed along the axis of the tank; the gunner was located to the left of the gun. The place of the machine gunner is to the right of the gun. In the stern and at the sides were four more machine gunners, one of whom served as a mechanic. Since the idea of an “armored shuttle” with two control posts was popular at that time, there was a second control post in the stern of the Saint-Chamon tank of the First World War. Doors in the sides in front of the French tank served for the landing and disembarkation of the crew.
The first 165 Saint-Chamon tanks were equipped with a specially designed 75 mm TR gun, but later they used the oscillating part of the 75 mm field gun model 1897, with a barrel length of 36,3 calibers and a crane bolt. The French considered this “quick-firing” cannon to be universal until the First World War. The fire was conducted by regular unitary shots. 529 m / s - the initial speed of a fragmentation projectile, which had a mass of 7,25 kg.
The large length of the bow of the hull was due to the relatively long recoil of the gun. Horizon guidance was limited to 8°. Fire could be fired in a narrow sector straight ahead, the transfer of fire was accompanied by a turn of the entire tank. The vertical pointing angle is from -4 to + 10 °. The range of aimed fire was no more than 1500 m, although due to unsatisfactory firing conditions this limit was not achievable).
Tank "Saint-Chamon", October 1917 The hull was an armored box with beveled bow and stern cheekbones and a flat roof, riveted to the frame and mounted on the frame. On the prototype, in front there were the commander and driver's cylindrical turrets, on the production models they were replaced with oval caps. At first, the armor plates of the sides, covering the chassis, reached the ground, but after the first tests in mid-1916, this was abandoned, due to the fact that such protection worsened the already poor cross-country ability. The viewing slots and windows were fitted with shutters.
The French tanks "Saint-Chamon" installed gasoline engines of the company "Panar" with four separate cylinders. Cylinder diameter - 125 mm, piston stroke - 150 mm. At 1350 rpm, the engine developed a power of 80-85 hp, at 1450 rpm - 90 hp. The start was made by a starter or a crank. Two armored fuel tanks were attached to the frame at the left side, one at the right. The fuel supply is under pressure.
Back – Forward >> | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Being engaged in the creation of the tank, Colonel Rimallo, the chief designer of FAMH, took the components of the chassis of the Holt tractor as a basis, but doubled the chassis. Since due to more powerful weapons, the mass of the tank has increased. Another original feature of the French Saint-Chamond tank was the Crochet-Colardo electric transmission. At that time, electric transmission was used on heavy transport vehicles. The control post and the 75-mm long-barreled gun were strategically located in the large front protrusion of the hull, balanced by the aft niche, and the transmission and engine were in the middle part.
