D2

The "Char D2" Renault is a medium tank developed in 1931 from the Renault D1. The crawler tracks are always on large vertical springs. The D2 is higher, more massive and has a new turret.

It was adopted by the French Army in 1933 and 100 where built in two different sets of 50 which we will call 1 and 2 (3 prototypes were built, the first tried in 1932).

The weight is 20 tons. The dimensions are, length: 5460 mm Overall width: 2220 mm Overall height: 2670 mm (box height: 1755 mm).

The tank is tall and narrow (as almost every French tank of the 1930’s). The hull shape is very simple: flat plates bolted to frame bracket. Novelty, the screw heads do not exceed the shielding giving the tank a clean appearance. As with the D1, the shell does not overhang the tracks, but long wedged section boxes fill the available space.

The driver position is built into the glacis. Only the viewport cover can distinguish it from the outside. The glaze is slightly sloped. The rear engine cover is horizontal. The tank has no tail crossing. It comprises a rigid antenna insulator in the back right (another whip antenna at the front, for command tanks).

The armor is 40 mm in exposed areas.

The D2 is armed with a SA 47 turret. This is the 47 SA 34 for a series of 47 and SA 35 for the series 2. The turret also has a coaxial machine gun that could be decoupled.

The turret is molded. APX is a 1, the shape is prismatic. The turret is in the axis of the tank.

The track is straight and is characterized by its typical large suspension springs upright, normally hidden by the protective casing. As the D1, there are at the top of that, the bosses that hold the springs and pendulums. By cons, this includes the three sewage formwork support rollers of the return run. The sprocket wheel is at the back and the front idler wheel. As D1, D2 has 15 road wheels per side.

Apart insufficient speed and short battery life, curiously, this tank actually quite easy to fabricate correct and has not won the support. The final set was delivered too late and did not affect the battle. The first was neither powerful enough nor large enough to score.

A first batch of 50 Chars D2 produced is delivered to the 1st Battalion, 507th RCC (area LIZE in METZ) in place of D1 sent tanks in Tunisia. The 1st Battalion begins to receive its D2 in early 1937. The 50 tanks are baptized in the neighborhood LIZE during two ceremonies: June 26, 1938 and July 2, 1939. They are named after a French victory that list was compiled by Colonel Charles de Gaulle commanding the 507th RCC. Of the first 50 D2 made, 45 are assigned to the 1st Battalion (19th BCC mobilization) 5 are used for Training. In April 1938 was awarded a contract for the manufacture of a second batch of tanks that D2 begins to emerge until late April 1940 (345th Independent Tank Company). At mobilization in 1939 three tanks D2 are filing for Training. The 45 tanks in the 19th B.C.C. From March 1940, the tanks of the first batch are gradually rearmed with the 47mm SA 35 cannon.

In 1930, at a time the Char D1 had not even entered production, the Renault company agreed to build a better armoured version called the Char D2. By using welded armour plate instead of the dated riveted design of the D1 this would be lighter than a simple version of the D1 made with thicker plating. The tank should be able to serve as an alternative tank for the heavy Char B1, should the latter be forbidden by treaty. The failure of the armament limitation talks resulted in a severe reduction of the projected manufacture, now in the form of an interim tank. Organisational difficulties with Renault caused the actual production of a first series of fifty to be delayed to the years 1936 and 1937. A second series of fifty was ordered in 1938, despite indications that the type was mechanically unreliable, as a possible cheaper addition to the expensive Char B1, to be able to raise more armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. Due to Renault's financial problems, this second, partially improved version, was only realised in early 1940, bringing total production to a hundred.

The three prototypes were, among others, fitted with turrets of the Renault FT 17 during a mock-up. The production models of the first series had the APX-1 turret, armed with a short 47mm SA34 tank gun. The second series used the much more powerful 47mm SA35 tank gun; from March 1940 this was retrofitted to a number of the older vehicles, despite a parallel project to rebuild them as flamethrower tanks.

In 1937 the type equipped one tank battalion, which was considered an elite unit, as part of Charles de Gaulle's regiment. It was well-trained in the use of advanced tactics, including the use of radio-sets. In 1940 the effectiveness of this unit had much diminished, because of the worn-out state of its tanks, aggravated by the decision to raise three autonomous tank companies with the new vehicles, even though insufficient trained crews were available. Nevertheless the Char D2 units fought tenaciously during the Battle of France, losing most of their tanks to mechanical breakdown instead of enemy action.