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Charron-Girardot-Voigt Model 1902

1902 WORLD WAR 1

Charron-Girardot-Voigt 1902 History

Before World War I began the era of "tanks", there was the era of "chariots" - more commonly known today as armored vehicles. These early examples were pretty crude in their overall approach, basically militarized commercial vehicles or light trucks, though in either case they were generally not good enough for the role. The militarized nature of these vehicles often meant that the armor plates and heavy machine guns were mounted on an unmodified chassis, which made the vehicles much heavier than expected.

These mobile weapons platforms are of little use in rough terrain, but they do prove themselves somewhat useful in security, reconnaissance and support.

The 1902 Charron-Girardot-Voigt was one of the early attempts to use an internal combustion engine vehicle and add a rotatable machine gun mount to the rear of the chassis. There are three seats, although the driver and passenger live in an open-air cockpit without armor protection. The steering wheel sits high on the steering column, within reach. A third passenger was assigned to handle a Hotchkiss 7.7mm machine gun on a raised platform at the rear of the vehicle.

This location is partially covered by a 7mm thick armor shield and has little else. Later versions included a wraparound steel drum, although still essentially open air. Mounted on four rubber-tire spoked wheels, the car offers little in terms of comfort and firmness.

The engine (50 hp) is located in the front compartment.

The design of the car, attributed to Georgian engineer Mikheil Nakashidze, was originally developed for use by the Russian Army. However, the lack of production facilities suitable for this design meant the vehicle was built by French businesses Charron, Girardot and Voigt - hence its French origin.

The car was on public display at the 1902 Salon de l'Automobile et duCycle in Brussels, Belgium.

Only two of the Type 1902 armored vehicles of this type were completed. Although the prototypes performed well in evaluations by the French army, they were never used in series production, so they go down in history.

In any case, the age of armored vehicles has come, and many will see action in the upcoming 1914-1918 World War.