The tank that wasn't - the Saint-Chamond

The Saint-Chamond was France's second vehicle considered to be a tank, though to modern eyes it's closer to a self-propelled gun. With a long 75mm in a fixed-forward mount, it bears even less resemblance to a modern tank than the British rhomboidal tanks.

The tank was born out of commercial rivalry. The Schneider factory received the original tank contract and produced their vehicle, with patents on some features. When the French high command extended a contract to the Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt (FAMH), Schneider refused to offer their patents for free and FAMH refused to pay for them, so a new vehicle was designed. Colonel Estienne, who had initiated the French tank program, was displeased that he (as the technical expert within the military) had not been consulted regarding the design.

The vehicle used an unusual gas-electric powerplant with a 90 horsepower gasoline engine connected to a 200V/260A electric generator, which powered two electric motors. Each motor powered one track, allowing for steering by varying the power to each track.

The vehicle had a crew of 8: a driver/commander, a machine gunner/main gun operator, a loader, three machine gunners, and a mechanic who had a driving position at the rear to drive the vehicle backwards.

The original main gun was the Saint-Chamond-Mondragon 75mm, a weapon proprietary to the FAMH factory. This gun was used on the first 210 tanks (some sources say 165 or 175), with the Mle 1897 replacing it on later vehicles.

Armor was 11mm on the front and 17mm on the sides. While it's very unusual for a tank to have thinner armor on the front, the Saint-Chamond had a sharply sloped front and slab sides, so the effective thickness was greater on the nose. Many of the tanks had an extra 8.5mm of armor added to the front, with space between the two layers of armor. This was done after German anti-tank rifles demonstrated the ability to pierce the armor of the tank.

Surviving examples: a single vehicle is preserved at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France.

Char d'Assaut Saint-Chamond
Fire Control: 0
Armament: 75mm L/28.5 Mondragon or 75mm L/36 Mle 1897 forward, Hotchkiss M1914 forward, Hotchkiss M1914 left, Hotchkiss M1914 right, Hotchkiss M1914 rear
Ammo: 106x75mm, 7488x8mm
Fuel Type: G, A
Veh Wt: 23 tonnes
Crew: 8
Mnt: 12
Night Vision: None
Tr Mov: 12/5
Com Mv: 6/2
Fuel Cap: 240
Fuel Cons: 50
Config: Veh
Susp: T:4
HF 3 (5-Sp for up-armored models)
HS 3
HR 3