FCM F1 History

From the end of World War I (1914-1918) to the end of World War II (1939-1945), heavy tanks existed as a type of armored warfare. At the time, it was replaced by the modern main battle tank (MBT) as the leader on the battlefield. Just outside the heavy tank area, there is another, more specialized tank consisting of larger, heavier armored vehicles with considerable firepower.

These are called "Super Heavy Tanks" and are marked by several adventures competing for world powers.

Some countries began designing such vehicles in the 1920s and 1930s, while others developed at a frantic and sometimes desperate rate during World War II. These tanks usually weighed over 80 tons (short), were very well armored, lifted their size and carried the heavy guns of the day. However, these qualities come at the cost of many notoriously bulky transports, the quantities required to manufacture and the complex operations that are costly in the context of military warfare services. As a result, many of these programs will go down in history, or will never go beyond "paper" stages or wooden models.

Others became "one-off" prototypes that were never ordered for mass production.

In practice, the FCM F1 is not a "battle" tank due to its true role on the battlefield, as it is not intended to directly counter enemy armor. Instead, it was seen as a breakthrough vehicle capable of destroying fortifications from a distance and breaking through concrete, steel and earth fortifications erected by the enemy. Direct tank battles will be handled with the support of medium and light tanks of the French Army.

Breakthrough vehicles will be responsible for opening enemy defense points, allowing more nimble units to pass and attack defenders.

Before the Second World War came to France, Germany expanded the defensive line of the fortifications, forming the famous "Hindenburg Line". The new section is called the "Siegfried Line". The line stretches from the Dutch border in the northwest to the Swiss border in the southeast, for about 390 miles, with a concrete-structured steel structure equipped with artillery and machine gun emplacements.

The original line of defense was built in 1916 during the First World War, facing a French fortress line similar to the "Maginot Line" built between 1930 and 1940. Between 1938 and 1940, under the orders of Adolf Hitler, the newer German part was built.

However, at this point in tank history, the FCM-F1 approach has many tactical limitations. The multi-turret approach was quickly obsolete as the overall effect of a single vehicle coordinating multiple emplacements proved ineffective.

Super heavy tanks are just that heavy, which limits their speed and can't keep up with the main armour. It also restricted the crossing of the ancient bridges that dotted the European landscape and restricted faster transport through the European rail system.

Despite having two engines, the FCM F1 maintains an estimated road speed of 12.5 mph. All these qualities make them more akin to the diamond-shaped "steel beasts" of World War I, which predate any modern, advanced combat systems by decades, a more mobile, fluid war front needed.

By May 1940, German troops (along with the Italians) had overtaken France's neighbors and invaded mainland France to protect its shipyards to the north and east and capture the capital, Paris. The invasion ended with the fall of France and the capitulation of France, which plagued French military might in the ensuing decades. The fall of France ended all further development of French weapons, including the FCM F1 - which at the time existed only in the form of a single wooden model and was never further developed.

The French campaign continued until June 22, 1940, and ended with a decisive Axis victory. The Allies suffered 2.26 million casualties and 1.9 million prisoners.

FCM F1 Specification

Basic

Year:
1940
Staff:
9
Manufacturing:
Company Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee (FCM) - France
Production:
0 units

Roles

- fire support/attack/damage

- Tank vs Tank

Dimensions

Length:

10.53m

Width:

10.17 ft (3.1 m)

Height:

13.81 feet (4.21 m)

Weight:

153 tons (138,771 kg; 305,938 lb)

Performance

2 550 hp Renault V12 KGM engines, each driving a conventional sprocket arrangement.

Performance

Maximum Speed:

20 km/h

Maximum range:

124 miles (200 km)

Armor

1 x 100mm gun in the main turret.

1 x 90mm DCA gun on the front turret.

1 x 47mm SA37 gun.

6 x 7.7mm machine guns.

Ammo:

Not available.

Changes

F1 - Base Series Name

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