When the reequipment of the French cavalry arm with tanks started during the mid-1930s several concerns became involved, among them a Schneider subsidiary in St Ouen and known as the Société d'Outillage Mécanique et d'Usinage d'Artillerie, better known as SOMUA, In 1935 this concern displayed a tank prototype that attracted immediate attention, and its very advanced design was quickly recognized by the award of a production order. One of the best if not the best AFV of its day, the type was known as the SOMUA S-35 to most of Europe though to the French army it was the Automitrailleuse de Combat (AMC) model 1935 SOMUA.
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| In 1940 many SOMUAs were damaged and abandoned like the one seen here, but the vehicle was good enough for the Germans to use against the Allies four years later. |
The S-35 had many features that were later to become commonplace. The hull and turret were both cast components at a time when most contemporary vehicles used riveted plates. The cast armour was not only well-shaped for extra protection, but it was also much thicker (minimum of 20 mm/0,79 in and a maximum of 55 mm/2,16 in) than the norm for the time. For all that it still had a good reserve of power provided by a V-8 petrol engine for lively battlefield performance, and a good operational radius of action was ensured by large internal fuel tanks. Radio was standard, at a time when hand signals between tanks were still common. To add to all these advantages, the S-35 was armed with a powerful gun: the 47-mm (1.85-in) SA 35 was one of the most powerful weapons of the day and a gun that could still be regarded as a useful weapon in 1944. The secondary armament was a single 7.5-mm (0,295-in) co-axial machine-gun.
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| Well protected and manoeuvrable, the SOMUA S-35 was undoubtedly the best Allied tank in 1940. It had a radio and its 47-mm gun could fire both armour-piercing shot and high explosive, an obvious requirement which had escaped British designers. |
The S-35 was ordered into production but, as in nearly all other sectors of the French defence industry before 1939, this production was slow and be set by labour and other troubles. Only about 400 S-35s had been produced by the time the Germans invaded in May 1940, and of those only about 250 were in front-line service. But in action, the S-35 gave a good account of itself though revealing a serious design defect when under fire: the upper and lower hull halves were joined by a ring of bolts along a horizontal join, and if an anti-tank projectile hit this join the two halves split apart with obvious dire results. But at the time this mattered less than the way in which the tanks had to be handled: the S-35 had a crew of three (driver, radio operator and commander), and it was the commander in his one-man turret who caused the problems, for this unfortunate had not only to keep an eye on the local tactical scene but also to assimilate orders from the radio while loading and firing the gun. The tasks were too much for one man, so the full potential of the S-35 was rarely attained. As with other French tanks of the day the S-35s were split into small groups scattered along the French line and were called together on only a few occasions for worthwhile counter strokes against the Panzer columns.
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| Despite the weakness of having the commander operate the main armament, the S-35 was a fine tank. |
After the occupation of France, the Germans took over as many S-35s as they could find for the issue to occupation and training units under the designation PzKpfw 35-S 739(f). Some were handed over to the Italian army, but many were still based in France when the Allies invaded in 1944, and S-35s were once more in action, this time in German hands. Any S-35s taken by the Allies were passed over to the Free French, who in their turn used them in the reduction of the beleaguered German garrisons locked up in their Atlantic seaport strongholds.
Specification SOMUA S-35
SOMUA S-35
Crew: 3
Weight: 19.5tonnes
Powerplant: one SOMUA V-8 petrol engine developing 190 hp (141.7 kW)
Dimensions: length 5.38 m (17 ft 7,8 in); width 2.12 m (6 ft 11.5 in); height 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in)
Performance: maximum road speed 40 km/h (24.85 mph); maximum road range 230 km (143 miles); fording 1.00 m (3 ft3 in); gradient40°; vertical obstacle 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in); trench 2.13 m (7ft)