Saint-Chamond (tank)

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The Saint-Chamond (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʃamɔ̃] ) was the second French tank to enter service during the First World War, with 400 manufactured from April 1917 to July 1918. It takes its name from the commune of Saint-Chamond where its manufacturers Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt (FAMH) were based. Born of the commercial rivalry existing with the makers of the Schneider CA1 tank, the Saint-Chamond was an underpowered and fundamentally inadequate design. Its principal weakness was its Holt caterpillar tracks. They were much too short in relation to the vehicle's length and weight (23 tons). Later models attempted to rectify some of the tank's original flaws by installing wider and stronger track shoes, thicker frontal armour and the more effective 75mm Mle 1897 field gun. Altogether 400 Saint-Chamond tanks were built, including 48 unarmed carrier "caisson" tanks. The Saint-Chamond tanks remained engaged in various actions until October 1918, belatedly becoming...

Read on Wikipedia · Image The original uploader was Ericd at English Wikipedia. Later versions were uploaded by RJHall at en.wikipedia. (Original text: Halsey, Francis Whiting,), Public domain