Panzer 40R is a German Tank unit added in Back to Hell.
Overview[ | ]
Char léger Modèle 1935 R was a light infantry tank designed in 1933, in a bid to provide non-motorized infantry units with a cheap, readily available armored unit for combined arms infiltration tactics. Renault competed with Hotchkiss for French Army contracts and was the first to deliver a working prototype. As tensions rose, the future R-35 was pressed into production in 1936 to accelerate the modernization of the French tank fleet.
Designed from the ground up as an infantry support tank, it was slow, well armored, and equipped with a short barreled SA18 37mm gun paired with a Reibel MAC 31 7.5mm machine gun. Intended for distribution among infantry divisions, it was the most numerous tank in French service in 1939. A superior model with a 37mm gun more suited for tank-to-tank combat was developed and entered production in April 1940, shortly before the Fall of France. Surviving models were quickly pressed into service by Germans as Panzerkampfwagen 35R 731(f), used for training and policing duties. A number were converted as prime movers, ammunition carriers, and even as tank destroyers.
Char léger Modèle 1935 R modifié 1939, better known as Renault R 40 or Panzer 40R(f) in German service, was an upgrade of the original R 35 created in 1939 and deployed in 1940. Intended to address issues with weight and suspension that made it unsuitable for off-road driving, the R 40 received both an upgraded suspension and a modernized gun.
During the Battle of France, Renault R 40 did survive more frequently as compared to the Renault R 35, in units who were issued both tanks. Only a limited amount of Renault R 40 were captured by the Germans which used them as training tanks since with the limited number and suspension prevented active use. A few tanks served in the Paris garrison.
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