Hotchkiss H35

History

Like other great powers in the 1930s, anticipating future regional unrest across Europe, France drew up plans to modernize its military stockpile. These modernization efforts include attempts to improve the status of its armored forces.

At the time, the French were following the understandably accepted practice of grouping infantry and cavalry into separate units on the battlefield. However, this was also reflected in tank design practice during this period, as the speed at which these two elements came into play separately - infantry action was less mobile, while cavalry action was inherently faster.

This resulted in tracked vehicles specifically designed to support infantry or cavalry.

This is the case with the design of the Hotchkiss H35 light tank. In 1933, a request was submitted for a light armor system weighing 6 tons and having an armor thickness of 30 mm. The light tank is designed to support infantry and work in tandem with the upcoming SOMUA S-35 cavalry tank.

Three prototypes were awarded to the French company Hotchkiss, while other contractors were encouraged to submit proposals. Renault became one of such competitors and presented a quick prototype, which the French authorities showed great interest in. It wasn't until 1935 that Hotchkiss showed its first prototype for evaluation.

More akin to the "tank" popular in the 1920s and 1930s, the Hotchkiss is a small, turretless, two-person tracked vehicle for budget-conscious armies. A second similar design was proposed, but both were rejected due to the now changing requirements for armor protection of not less than 40mm. The third prototype, this one with a movable turret and the necessary armor upgrades, was offered and subsequently accepted by the French Army after extensive testing that lasted until mid-1935.

The French government issued an initial purchase contract for 200 copies in November, and the first production model was delivered on September 12, albeit in 1936. Subsequent orders settled quickly and as scheduled.

However, French Army officials soon discovered that the redesigned Hotchkiss was underpowered and had serious steering problems, especially over rough terrain. Within the specific scope of working with infantry formations, this control problem was deemed unacceptable.

As such, the tank was officially rejected as an infantry support vehicle, and was instead offered to cavalry formations, where it might find some use due to its inherent combat speed. The French Army officially accepted the original Renault prototype (known as the "R-35") for its infantry tank needs and breathed new life into the Hotchkiss design, the "Char de Cavalerie 35H" in partnership with the cavalry regiment .

The 35H was a conventional light tank by 1930s standards. The series consisted of a crew of two, including the driver sitting in the front hull and the tank commander sitting in the turret. A major disadvantage of its design is that the commander must act as the gunner and make tactical decisions on the fly, while reloading, training and firing the main guns themselves. The armament was centered on the then-capable 37mm SA 18 main gun, which soon proved useless against the more powerful German tanks of the future.

The main gun is supported by a 7.5mm Reibel anti-infantry self-defense machine gun. The turret offers a full 360 degree angle and features rounded edges and plate armor. The main guns protruded from the front of the turret, but were short, reaching the roof of the superstructure above the driver's head. The superstructure blends into the hull very elegantly, with angled fairings for some ballistic protection. The driver manages forward visibility through a viewing slot in front of his position.

The glacis board is tilted well until it is almost completely flat. The tracks are mounted on both sides of the hull and consist of three pairs of rubber tire wheel units with two bogies. The drive sprocket is placed at the front of the track, and the track idler is located at the rear near the engine bay. Two track return rollers run under the top of each track. The suspension is controlled by horizontal coil springs.

Armour protection for the crew consists of a turret with a thickness of 40 mm and a hull section with a thickness of 34 mm. Power was provided by a Hotchkiss 1935 six-cylinder gasoline engine with approximately 78 horsepower.

This allowed a top road speed of 17 mph and a range of 80 miles, putting it on par with other similar light tank systems of the time.

It was only later that the French army revised its attitude towards the 35H and introduced it together with infantry formations into the "H-35". However, tank production throughout France had been a slow endeavor, and the number of tanks never rose to acceptable levels before the German invasion of France.

After about 400 H-35 series were produced, this model was more or less superseded by the introduction of the improved "Char Leger Hotchkiss H-39" model in 1936. The H-39 features a 120 hp engine, improved hull and a newly designed extended 37mm gun.

The H-35 was forced into combat operations in May 1940 during the German invasion. While proving itself as a capable light tank, the French leadership often lacked the tactical knowledge to properly deploy armored forces. The French learned very little from the lightning-fast German battlefield concepts overwhelmed by massive armor.

Instead, the French Army divided its armored units into small groups and used them only to support infantry, not infantry support armored units. As a result, French ground defenses began to falter (among other reasons), resulting in the loss or capture of many capable H-35 systems by the Germans.

The H-35's success was demonstrated in the few instances in which French tankers were able to execute unexpected, calibrated actions against unsuspecting intruders, but these actions proved too infrequent to have much effect.

In the face of total war, the Germans also knew a good system when they saw it, and were not even shy about rebuilding French hardware for their own use. As a result, the H-35 became the "PzKpfW 35-H 734(f)" in the German Army's inventory, and was deployed with reserves and garrison troops shortly thereafter, frequently patrolling occupied areas to drop more powerful weapons elsewhere. German light and medium tank systems.

Over time, the German Army saw the need for makeshift anti-tank platforms and attempted to remove turret assemblies from some of the H-35s they captured and equip them with anti-tank equipment. These final products proved practical due to their mobility characteristics and enhanced tank-killing capabilities.

Some German H-35 tanks were even on emergency duty on the Eastern Front when the invasion of the Soviet Union was underway, and every tracked armor system proved to be a valuable asset to the German military.

Which H-35 tanks did not fall into German hands, fighting for the newly formed Free French Forces or the Nazi-backed Vichy French. Some witnessed fighting during the 1941 Syrian North African campaign. In any case, the excellent light tank persisted until the end of the war, although its numbers dwindled rapidly with better firepower and the onslaught of larger tanks deployed from all directions. Mainly examples of fighting in the deserts of Africa and the Middle East (some abandoned by the French Vichy army), and even longer after the war.

Until 1956, some H-35 tanks were in service with the nascent Israeli army and fought during the Revolutionary War - a good testament to their good and useful design. In several ways, the H-35 gave these tankers their first experience in armored warfare.

A total of about 400 35H/H-35 light tanks will be completed by the end of the war, making them an extremely rare find in any tank park today. In fact, only about 10 are known to the world today.

Specification

Basic

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Not available.

Changes