The last surviving FCM 36 in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur

The FCM 36 or Char léger Modèle 1936 FCM, was a light infantry tank that was designed for the French Army prior to World War Two. It had a crew of two and was equipped with a short 37mm main armament and a 7.5mm coaxial machine gun. Power was provided by a diesel engine. Located in the Loire Valley of France at the city of Saumur, the Musée des Blindées or Musée Général Estienne is one of the worlds leading tank museums. ... Saumur is a small city and commune in the Maine-et-Loire département of France on the Loire River, with an approximate population of 30,000 (in 2001). ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ...

Development

In 1933 the Hotchkiss company proposed to build a cheap mass produced light infantry tank. In reaction to this proposal the French Army invited the whole of French industry to offer alternative designs. In the end three of the competing prototypes would be taken into production: the Hotchkiss H35, the Renault R35 and the FCM 36. Hotchkiss may refer to one of several articles in Wikipedia: Hotchkiss (auto), a French auto manufacturer Hotchkiss, Colorado, a town in the USA, or Hotchkiss School, a preparatory school in Connecticut, USA Hotchkiss is also the generic name for office staplers in Japan and Korea, probably deriving from the brand... Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39 in Israel The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French light tank developed prior to WWII. // Development In 1926 it had been decided to provide armour support to the regular infantry divisions by creating autonomous... The R 35, short for Char léger Modèle 1935 R or Renault R35 was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. ...

The warf Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée or FCM, located at Toulon, had some previous experience with tank production as it had constructed the ten giant Char 2C tanks in 1921 and had been involved in the development of the Char B1. Engineer Boudrot, who had designed the suspension of the Char B, was ordered to create a modern tank design taking full advantage of the large electro-welding capacity of the warf. In March 1934 he presented a wooden mock-up that was approved by the Army. On 2 April 1935 the prottype was delivered to the Commission de Vincennes. The commission was quite impressed by the vehicle, especially because of its welded sloped armour and the use of a diesel engine promising a good range. It was a bit heavier than the specified nine metric tons at 10,168 kilo. However the prototype was untestable because of mechanical problems. After the first evaluation had been finished on 9 June it was sent back to the manufacturer. Location within France Coat of Arms of Toulon Toulon (Tolon in Provençal) is a city in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. ... Char 2C Alsace The Char 2C was a super heavy French tank developed, although never deployed, during the First World War. ... The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before the Second World War. ... Sloped armour was developed as a defensive measure by the French SOMUA (Société dOutillage Mécanique et dUsinage dArtillerie) right before the outbreak of World War II. It was a technological response to the trend of fitting increasingly bigger guns on battle tanks. ...

In fact FCM hadn't tested the prototype itself yet; this was now done and many shortcomings became apparent. As a result the vehicle was completely redesigned with a new and lighter hull and turret configuration, suspension and track. The roof of the engine compartment was now bolted on to ease replacement. On 10 September it was again sent to Vincennes only to be sent back on 23 October to have its suspension reinforced. On 19 December it returned to be tested until 14 May 1936. It was then approved on the provision that the armour would be thickened from 30 to 40 mm, according to the new specifications. This was done by welding an appliqué 10 mm armour plate on top of the main armour; a feature maintained for the production vehicles. The prototype was now brought to the attention of the Commission d'Infanterie, who declared on 9 July that it was the best of all competitors, especially since it had been proven on 17 June to be completely gas-proof, a unique and very desirable feature for that time and day.

Production

Even before the type had been approved however, because of the Rhineland crisis on 26 May hastily an order was made for 100 vehicles of the Char léger Modèle 1936 FCM for 450,000 FF a piece. The Hotchkiss H35 and Renault R35 would also be taken into production, and as these competing types were a lot cheaper they would constitute the bulk of the French light infantry tanks produced. The reason to coproduce the more expensive third type was its development potential. The FCM 36 was seen as the most advanced French tank and should function as a testbed for further improvements. This also meant there was no hurry to start series production. The production facilities only began to be prepared from December 1936 and actual manufacture was delayed for a year to first test a newer design with a stronger engine and a lighter track. Only when this didn't render the expected results, the original type was produced with the first delivery on 2 May 1938. The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany, although some consider the lands to the east of the river culturally distinct, jovially referring to them as Schäl Sick; the bad or wrong side... FF is an abbreviation for: Fast forward, a way of maneuvering a cassette tape or other linear media Form Feed, a control character in the C0 control code set used in ASCII. Folios following - an archaic way of saying and the following pages (used in indexes) The US Navy Hull...

On 12 May 1938 and 3 February 1939 two additional orders were made of a hundred each. However when the last tank, series number 30,100, of the original order was delivered on 13 March 1939, FCM suddenly announced that it would permanently cease production unless the price was raised to at least 900,000 FF, apparently the actual cost of production. Also FCM indicated that given its increased demanded production quota of the Char B1, there simply would be no capacity to manufacture any FCM 36s before September 1940. In view of these circumstances Inspector-General Jacomet allowed the production of the hull to be discontinued. The FCM turret however had already been planned to become the standard for all light tanks, as the old standard APX R in the beginning suffered from serious production delays; when these eased an earlier proposal to have it replaced after number 1350 was postponed; but it was still considered to cease production after number 2000 as the APX R was heavier (1552 to 1287 kilogram) and yet inferior in protection to the FCM turret because of constant quality problems with its cast steel that was either too soft or too brittle.

Further reading

• Leland Ness (2002) Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles: The Complete Guide, Harper Collins, London and New York, ISBN 0-00-711228-9