00:20This tank had a lot of promise when it appeared, featuring heavy armor for its time, and it
00:25was a true medium tank with its 20-ton weight.
00:29But delays in its production and the ever-changing requirements from the army led to a very small
00:33number of builds from the type, and because they were not properly tested, even those
00:38few turned out to be unreliable.
00:41This was the Renault Char D2, so let's see the history of this vehicle today.
00:54Between the two world wars, most military forces around the globe started to modernize
00:58their equipment and their tanks amongst them.
01:01As even though developments of military equipment were slower during peacetime, still the newly
01:06designed more powerful weapons forced the designers to use thicker armor plates on their new tanks,
01:10built around new and more powerful engines.
01:13In the late 1920s, the French military in parallel of designing the heavy Char D1 tank, also started
01:19a modernization program on the small Renault FT models, which being designed during the first
01:24world war became more and more obsolete.
01:27This program led to the Renault D1 model, which was basically just a larger version of the FT.
01:33Featuring 30mm thick armor plates, a more powerful engine and a new 47mm gun.
01:39The larger size of the vehicle also allowed the addition of a third crew member.
01:45The Char D1 was ordered into production, but in 1930, even before it entered service, the
01:50French military already realized the upgrades on the D1 might not be satisfactory.
01:55Even though it featured thicker armor plating than the older designs, still it could easily
01:59be penetrated by the new 25mm French anti-tang guns, developed around this time.
02:05So the officials again gave Renault new requirements to develop a similar vehicle to the D1, but
02:10with heavier armor protection in the 16-20 turn range.
02:15There was another reason, the French wanted a tank, which was stronger than the cavalry tanks
02:19of the time, but lighter than the giant B1, and if needed it could be the main battle tank
02:24for the military.
02:26In the League of Nations there were several proposals for armament reduction treaties at
02:30this time, and though the French intended to use the Char B1 heavy tank as their main
02:34type, with its 28 ton weight, this vehicle was a possible target for the limitations.
02:40Renault proposed a new design to the requirements, which initially was designated Renault UZ.
02:45FT.
02:46But its development was fairly slow at first, as it started just at the beginning of the
02:50financial crisis of the 1930s.
02:53Because of that, the military also experienced a drop-in-dare budget, and the contract to
02:58build the first prototype was only issued in December 1931.
03:03The first unit was finished in April 1932, still using riveted construction, and at first
03:09featuring the Renault FT turret.
03:11The second and third prototypes were ordered in December 1932.
03:16These models were tested with the ST1 and ST2 turret designs.
03:20And they were ordered with welded hulls, as the new welding techniques could save weight
03:25and production time.
03:27Introducing the new manufacturing techniques however was expensive, and Renault proposed
03:31that the cost should be partly paid by the French government.
03:34Still, the difficulties to introduce the new technology led to the use of a hybrid construction
03:39on these tanks, with the use of both welding and bolts to connect the armor plates.
03:44Though these prototypes were tested with the earlier mentioned turret designs, but during production,
03:49the new AMX design, the so-called APX-1 turret was introduced and used on the type.
03:55During the testing, several engine configurations were also considered.
03:59Alongside the original 120hp petrol engine, diesel engines were also tested.
04:05The D2 was somewhat similar to its predecessor, but its production variant was a much more advanced
04:11vehicle.
04:12Featuring a more powerful 150hp petrol engine, thicker armor plating, stronger armament, a new turret,
04:19and a modern edition of the time, a radio in every tank.
04:24While the type was still in testing, in 1932 it was indeed proposed to the League of Nations
04:29to limit the maximum weight of tanks in 16 tons.
04:33But as it turned out, this treaty was never finalized.
04:36There was no agreement reached on the treaty in 1932, and by 1933 Germany left the League
04:42of Nations altogether, so the French didn't have to worry anymore about their B1 heavy tank.
04:47But on the other hand, this was quite unlucky for the new Renault design, as now it was not
04:52actually needed.
04:53So the plans to manufacture 750 units between 1935 and 1939 were cut back immediately to
05:01just 50 units.
05:02The official order for the first production batch was placed in September 1934, and these
05:08models were delivered between May 1936 and February 1937.
05:13The production variants featured many modifications over the prototypes.
05:17We have already mentioned the new APX turret, but apart from that the front hull was also
05:22redesigned, the sloped upper part was removed, and a new armor plate featured a simplified hatch.
05:29The suspension was also modernized, and the tank now featured its cargo boxes and a radio antenna
05:34on the side.
05:36The Ministry decided to order a second batch of these tanks in May 1937, but since the
05:42first batch delivered showed many reliability issues, the contract was delayed.
05:46But eventually, in June 1938, it was finalized.
05:50The second batch of these tanks differed from the first series.
05:53Their armament was upgraded to the more powerful SA-35 long barrel 47mm gun, housed in an upgraded
06:01APX-4 turret.
06:02This new gun had much better anti-tank capabilities than the earlier one.
06:08Deliveries of the second batch only started in March 1940, and after that the units from the
06:13first batch were all sent back to the factory for rebuilding and modernization.
06:17And a single unit was also used as an experimental version to test the possibility to use the type
06:22as a flamethrower tank.
06:24So let us now take a look at the tanks variants.
06:35The original three prototypes were tested with different configurations.
06:39The first one used riveted construction, the later ones were built with partly welded construction,
06:44and were tested with the ST-1 and ST-2 turret.
06:49The D2 only had two production variants.
06:52The early, 1935 version featuring the APX-1 turret, housing the short barrel SA-34 gun,
07:00and the later, 1938 variant using the APX-4 turret and the long barrel SA-35 cannon.
07:08One tank from the first batch was modified to test the type as a flamethrower tank in 1938.
07:21The Char D2 was 5.46 m long, 2.22 m wide, and 2.66 m tall.
07:29It featured 40 mm thick armor both on the front and the sides of the hull, while the turret was
07:36even more protected, with 56 mm thick armor on the front and 45 mm on the sides and the rear.
07:44Because of its heavy armor, the tank weighted nearly 20 times.
07:48It was powered by a 150 hp petrol engine and had a maximum speed of 23 km an hour and
07:54a range
07:55of around 100 km.
07:58The tank's main armament was the 47 mm SA-34 gun on the first batch of the production models,
08:04and the upgraded SA-35 on the later variants.
08:09The secondary armament consisted of two 7.5 mm machine guns, one in the turret and one in the bow.
08:24The Char D2 entered service with the French army in 1947, and the 507th tank regiment was
08:31the first to receive them.
08:32The new type replaced the D1 models and had a much better reception amongst the troops.
08:38After September 1937 this regiment was commanded by Charles de Gaulle, who put the troops through
08:43countless training exercises, which though improved the skills of the men, but on the other hand
08:48quickly showed the unreliability of the new D2 tanks.
08:52The second batch of these tanks, showing several upgrades, was scheduled for delivery between
08:56March and June 1940, but after the battle of France began, not all of them reached the
09:01armed forces.
09:02The D2 participated in the fighting, and though its thick armor made it resistant to most German
09:07anti-tank weapons, their slow speed and unreliability were big drawbacks, and in the end they
09:12had no real impact on the battle.
09:14The French tactics of deploying the tanks separately or in small groups instead of large formations
09:19also made them vulnerable against German attacks, and added to their losses.
09:24In total, only 84 of these tanks were delivered to the French army, from which only 21 were destroyed
09:30by the Germans, 38 of them broke down with mechanical problems, and many were abandoned during retreats.
09:36By June, only 7 of them were still operational, and the Germans captured many of the abandoned
09:40vehicles.
09:44The Char D2 was built in very small numbers, and it is not considered a successful type.
09:49But it does one thing well.
09:51Highlights the problems of the French armed forces, that led to the quick German victory.
09:55The indecisiveness on the new tank types, mechanical issues of their vehicles, and the outdated tactics,
10:01which were inadequate against the German blitzkrieg.
10:04The Char D2 also showed an important lesson in tank design.
10:08A tank can have the strongest armor and the best gun in the world, but it's all worthless
10:13if it's unreliable and cannot show up for the battle.
10:16But the Germans didn't seem to understand this lesson, and made the same mistakes on the designs
10:21of their late war tanks, like the Tiger and the Panther.
10:29Hope you guys enjoyed this video, please leave a like, subscribe to my channel, and in the
10:33comments let me know if there's any interesting events or vehicles you'd like to see.
