Schneider CA
Place of origin	France
Specifications
Weight	13.6 tonnes
Length	6.32 m
Width	2.05 m
Height	2.30 m
Crew	6
Armor	11+5.5 mm spaced
Primary armament	75mm Blockhaus Schneider
Secondary armament	2×7.92mm Hotchkiss M1914 machine guns
Engine	Schneider 4-cyl. 60 hp (45 kW)
Power/weight	4 hp/tonne
Suspension	Coil spring
Operational range	30/80 km
Speed	8.1 km/h

The Schneider CA1 (originally named the Schneider CA) was the first French tank. It was inspired by the need to overcome the horrors of the trench warfare of the "Great War". Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company of Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. ... Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of defence. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

Development

The Schneider Company was a large arms manufacturer in France. Having been given the order to develop heavy artillery tractors, in January 1915 the company sent out its chief designer, Eugène Brillié, to investigate tracked tractors from the American Holt Company, at that time participating in a test programme in England. On his return Brillié, who had earlier been involved in designing armoured cars for Spain, convinced the company management to initiate studies on the development of a Tracteur blindé et armé (armoured and armed tractor), based on the Baby Holt chassis, two of which were ordered. In July 1915 this private programme was combined with an official one for the development of a barbed wire cutter by engineer and Member of Parliament Jules-Louis Bréton. Ten of the fifteen available Baby Holt vehicles were to be armoured and fitted with the wire cutter. Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Benjamin Holt Benjamin Holt (1849 – 1920) was an American inventor who developed Richard Hornsbys design for one of the first practical caterpillar tracks for use in tractors. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Production decision

On 9 December 1915, the first chassis was demonstrated to the French Army. One of the onlookers was colonel Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne (1860-1936), an artillery man and engineer held in very high regard throughout the army for his unmatched technological and tactical expertise. For Estienne the vehicle shown embodied vague concepts about AFVs already growing in his mind. On 12 December he presented to the High Command a plan to form an armoured force, equipped with tracked vehicles. This plan met with approbation and a production order of 400 at a price of 56,000 French francs per vehicle was made on 25 February 1916. In January it had been decided not to use the Baby Holt chassis, but the longer 75 hp Holt tractor; for this the armoured superstructure had to be completely changed, which was done in an army workshop in February. The first vehicle of the production series was delivered on 5 September. Meanwhile, production had shifted to the SOMUA company, a dependency of Schneider. is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne (7 November 1860 - 2 April 1936), born at Condé-en-Barrois in the Meuse is considered by many in France to be the Père des Chars (Father of the Tanks). ... is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... ISO 4217 Code FRF User(s) Monaco, Andorra, France except New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna ERM Since 13 March 1979 Fixed rate since 31 December 1998 Replaced by €, non cash 1 January 1999 Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2002 € = 6. ... is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Designation

The name of the tank was Schneider CA. The meaning of "CA" is uncertain. Later it was usually understood to mean Char d'Assaut (literally "chariot" and today the full word for "tank"). For several reasons this interpretation is dubious. Firstly, the designation predates by some months the first known usage of char as "tank". Secondly, word order would be unusual: in French the normal order is Char d'Assaut Schneider. Thirdly, at the time the letter codes at the end were normally used to indicate consequent prototypes. We know the first army prototype based on a lengthened 75 hp Holt was called the Tracteur A, a second shortened Schneider prototype with tail the Tracteur B and that the type as produced was again different from that second prototype. It is plausible that the code means "third type" (C) in its first (A) production version; a further indication for this lies in the fact that it was not uncommon to use a reversed order: AC.

Description of tank

The last surviving Schneider CA in the Musée des Blindés at Saumur

To the modern eye, the tank is hardly recognizable as such. It has no turret, and its not very prominent main armament, a fortification petard mortar, the 75 mm Blockhaus Schneider, was placed in a sponson in the right front corner. Two 7.92 mm Hotchkiss machine guns, projecting from the flanks in ballmounts, complement the small gun. Another awkward feature is the overhang of the frontal part of the chassis which had been designed to crush down barbed wire. However this feature caused the tank to ditch itself readily. The fighting compartment is extremely cramped: the crew of six was mostly flat on their bellies in a 90 cm space between the roof and the 60 hp (45 kW) engine. Luckily, top speed was only 8 km/h. All this was protected by 11 mm steel plate, later improved by a spaced armour of 5.5 mm, raising the weight to 13.5 tons. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 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. ... The petard by Francis Grose, 1812 A 19th-century British army petard A petard was a medieval small bomb used to blow up gates and walls when breaching fortifications. ... Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats , etc. ... The Hotchkiss machine gun was the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was made by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which was set up by American engineer Benjamin B. Hotchkiss after he moved to France in the 1860s. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...

Operational History

As their production numbers were more ambitious the French lagged behind the British somewhat — it took them more time to build larger factories — deploying their tanks for the first time on 16 April 1917 at Berry-au-Bac during the infamous Nivelle Offensive. Their first use was a complete disaster as many of the roughly 130 tanks were cut to pieces by German artillery. Twenty units with Schneider tanks were formed, named Artillerie Spéciale 1-20, under the overall command of the now brigadier Estienne. In 1918 these "old" tanks were gradually phased out in favour of the new Renault FT-17, but production only ended in August 1918, when exactly 400 had been built including the prototype. At least one Schneider was delivered to Italy, which after testing abandoned the plan to build 1500 of them. is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The Nivelle Offensive was a 1917 Allied attack on the Western Front in World War I. The offensive was a costly failure. ... The Renault FT-17 (Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917) was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with prototyping. ...

Post WW1

After the war, the tanks were rebuilt as recovery vehicles and tank transporters. Six were sold to Spain in 1922, from 1923 to 1926 fighting in Morocco, the surviving four vehicles later taking part in the Spanish Civil War near Toledo on the side of the Republicans. One vehicle survives, in running condition, at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur it was preserved in the Aberdeen Proving Ground Ordnance Museum in Maryland, USA and later donated to France for restoration. It has been suggested that Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Toledo (disambiguation). ... 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). ...

Later WW1 plans

There were several projects for the production of more Schneiders with turrets and/or better guns: the CA2, 3 and 4. Only prototypes were made of the CA2 and CA3. The CA4 remained largely a paper project. Because of the project designations, later books would name the original tank CA1. The heavy St. Chamond tank was developed from the Tracteur A prototype of the Schneider, leading to much confusion among later historians. The St. ...

References

• Pierre Touzin, Les véhicules blindés français, 1900-1944. EPA, 1979.
• Jean-Gabriel Jeudy, Chars de France, E.T.A.I., 1997.

See also

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Schneider CA1