Char 2C The Char 2C , also known as FCM 2C , is a French super - heavy tank developed , although never deployed , during World War I . It was , in physical dimensions , the largest operational tank ever made . Development . The " Char d ' assaut de grand modèle " . The origins of the Char 2C have always been shrouded in a certain mystery . In the summer of 1916 , probably in July , General Léon Augustin Jean Marie Mourret , the Subsecretary of Artillery , verbally granted " Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée " ( FCM ) , a shipyard in the south of France near Toulon , the contract for the development of a heavy tank , a " char d ' assaut de grand modèle " . At the time , French industry was very active in lobbying for defence orders , using their connections with high - placed officials and officers to obtain commissions ; development contracts could be very profitable even when not resulting in actual production , as they were fully paid for by the state . The French Army had no stated requirement for a heavy tank , and there was no official policy to procure one so the decision seems to have been taken solely on his personal authority . The reason he later gave was that the British tanks then in development by a naval committee seemed to be better devised as regarded lay - out , ventilation and fire protection , so a shipyard might improve on existing French designs . Exact specifications , if they ever existed , have been lost . FCM then largely neglected the project , apart from reaping the financial benefits . At that time all tank projects were highly secret , and thereby shielded from public scrutiny . This was soon to change , however . On 15 September 1916 the British deployed tanks in battle for the first time in the form of the Mark I , and a veritable tank euphoria followed . When the public mood in Britain had been growing ever darker as the truth of the failure of the Somme Offensive could no longer be suppressed , tanks offered a new hope of final victory . The French people now became curious as to the state of their own national tank projects . French politicians , not having been over - involved in them and leaving the matter to the military , were no less inquisitive . This sudden attention greatly alarmed Mourret , who promptly investigated the progress that had been made at FCM and was shocked to find there was none . On 30 September he personally took control of the project . On 12 October , knowing that the Renault company had some months earlier made several proposals to build a heavy tracked mortar which had been rejected , he begged Louis Renault to assist FCM in the development of a suitable heavy vehicle ; this request Renault obliged . Even before knowing what the exact nature of the project would be , on 20 October Mourret ordered one prototype to be built by FCM . This development coincided with a political demand by Minister of Armament Albert Thomas to produce a tank superior to the British types . On 7 October he had requested Lloyd George to deliver some Mark Is to France but had received no answer . Correctly concluding that no such deliveries would materialise , on 23 January 1917 he ordered that French tanks should be developed that were faster , and more powerfully armed and armoured than any British vehicle . He specified a weight of forty tonnes , an immunity against light artillery rounds and a trench - crossing capacity of 3 . 5 metres . Meanwhile , Renault had consulted his own team lead by Rodolphe Ernst - Metzmaier , which , since May 1916 , had been in the process of designing the revolutionary Renault FT light tank . This work had not , however , stopped them from considering other tank types . Renault , always expecting his employees to provide new ideas instantly , had by this attitude encouraged the team to take a proactive stance — setting a pattern that would last until 1940 — and to have various kinds of contingency studies ready for the occasion , including a feasibility study for a heavy tank . This fortunate circumstance allowed a full - size wooden mock - up to be constructed in a remarkably quick time . It was visited by the Subsecretary of State of Inventions Jules - Louis Breton on 13 January 1917 , who was much impressed and developed a keen interest in the project . The design was presented to the Consultative Committee of the Assault Artillery on 16 and 17 January 1917 , after the basic concept had been approved on 30 December . This proposed tank was the most advanced design of its time ; it was received very favourably , also because of the enthusiastic report by Breton , and a consensus began to form that the project was most promising and a potential " war - winner " . It featured a 105 mm gun in a turret , had a proposed weight of 38 tons and 35 mm armour . The committee decided to have two prototypes developed , one with an electrical transmission , the other with a hydraulic transmission . In this period both the French and the British military had become aware of severe mobility and steering problems with heavy tracked vehicles ; the French designs paralleled extensive British experiments with all kinds of improved tank transmissions to solve them . Resistance to the project . In January 1917 , the Ministry of Armament proposed to build three weight classes of tanks : light , medium and heavy tanks , the latter class corresponding to the new project . However , the FCM tank had already made a powerful and influential enemy . Brigadier Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne , commander of the new tank force , the Assault Artillery , closely cooperated with Renault in the development of the Renault FT , and through this connection was kept well informed of the other tank project . Estienne began to fear that the production of the heavy vehicle would use up all available production facilities , making the procurement of the much more practical Renault FT light tank impossible . He was not averse to the production of heavy tanks as such but only in a limited number and on the condition it did not impede the manufacture of light tanks . That his fears were not unfounded became apparent when in November Mourret tried to obstruct further development of the Renault FT , arguing that all available resources should be concentrated into heavy tank production . Alarmed , Estienne now wrote a letter to the Commander - in - Chief , General Joffre , dated 27 November 1916 and defending the light tank concept . In it he admitted that " colossal landships " might in certain circumstances have their uses , but pointed out that while it was as yet unproven that any workable heavy type could actually be developed , let alone produced , in sufficient numbers by French industry , it would be folly not to give priority to light tanks that could be constructed without delay . He insisted that Joffre use all his influence to bring about the cancellation of the heavy tank project . Joffre answered that Estienne was no doubt correct in his tactical and organisational analysis , but that he could not oblige him because political backing of the heavy tank was simply too strong . The Minister of Armament , Albert Thomas , had committed himself too openly to Mourret ' s cause and did not dare to retract support now . Joffre advised Estienne not to worry too much ; he would make sure at least that the Renault FT would not be cancelled , and precisely because heavy tank development would take such a long time , for the immediate future it would not get in the way of light tank production . There would surely be no harm in allowing some prototypes to be built . The Consultative Committee of the Assault Artillery ( " Comité Consultatif de l ' Artillerie d ' Assaut " or CCAS ) had been created on 13 December 1916 and for the first time met on 17 December . During this first session it was reported that Renault and FCM were cooperating in a heavy tank project of thirty tonnes . Estienne on this occasion stressed that production should be " orientated towards small types and very large types " . During the next meeting on 30 December , Estienne was surprised to discover that for no clear reasons a 105 mm gun was planned . He himself preferred a 75 mm gun . Estienne was absent on the crucial meeting of 17 January , but by letter informed the committee that he found the project well - presented and satisfactory and agreed with the quick construction of two prototypes ; he stated his preference for a 75 mm over a 105 mm gun . In December Joffre was replaced as supreme commander by Robert Nivelle . In late January Nivelle learned of the heavy tank project from Estienne . He was much more alarmed than Joffre had been . On 29 January he wrote a letter to Minister Thomas , making clear that under no circumstances could the project be allowed to impede production of the Schneider CA . Thomas answered on 5 February that there was no danger of this ; anyway he had just happened to affirm on 1 February the policy of General Mourret , who had already ordered the simultaneous development of three prototypes : the lightened " A " version , weighing thirty tons , having a length of 6 . 92 metres , with a suspension featuring twenty - nine double road wheels , four main bogies and five top rollers , powered by two Renault 200 hp engines and to be equipped with a 75 mm gun , to fulfil the original order of 20 October ; the " B " version of forty - five tons with a hull lengthened to 7 . 39 metres , armed with a 75 mm gun and two machine guns , with a suspension featuring thirty road wheels , five main bogies and six top rollers , using a new 380 hp engine and a petro - hydraulic transmission and the " C " version of 62 tons with a 75 mm gun , a length of 9 . 31 meters , a suspension featuring forty - five road wheels , six main bogies and nine top rollers , and four engines of 110 hp combined with a petro - electrical transmission . Nivelle ' s misgivings were reinforced by inquiries from a parliamentary financial commission led by Pierre Renaudel . A plan by Breton to immediately order fifty vehicles more or less identical to the mock - up was therefore rejected . The 1 February order of two additional prototypes was confirmed by the CCAS on 7 February . Eventually the " FCM 1A " would be developed with a 105 mm gun and the " FCM 1B " would use a petrol - mechanical transmission . At first , progress with the FCM 1A prototype was satisfactory . FCM director Moritz was assured by Renault in January 1917 that the desired 200 HP engines were reliable and would pose no danger to the project . Moritz then predicted that the first prototype would be ready by 1 May 1917 . On 10 April 1917 he still assumed that the first trials could have begun within five weeks . On 16 April the Nivelle Offensive failed completely , and the first use of French tanks was likewise a failure ; in reaction Thomas ordered all tank production and projects to be ended . This led to an emergency alliance between Estienne and Mourret to bring about a reversal of this decision . When Thomas happened to visit Russia , Mourret surreptitiously ordered a restart of the tank projects . On his return an enraged Thomas caused Mourret to be fired , thus removing Estienne ' s greatest rival . Meanwhile , there were unexplained delays in the delivery of the engines and the gearbox by Renault . On 5 June , FCM could only take note that the promised pieces had not arrived yet . On 24 June the ministry of armament complained about the situation . On 13 August Breton personally inquired with Renault and was informed it would take at least another three weeks . A possible explanation of the delays might be a deliberate decision by Renault to give priority to other projects . During a meeting of the CCAS on 18 October , Moritz could at last announce that trials could begin on 20 November . In that meeting Estienne was critical of heavy tanks : " the infantry has as much need of large tanks , as it needs 400 mm cannon ; it has need of small tanks , as much as it needs 37 mm and machine - guns " . The FCM 1A . On 17 November , director Moritz , introducing to the CCAS the forthcoming presentation of the FCM 1A prototype , explained it was a test bed that did not exactly correspond to the original " A version " specifications . In fact the company , in its efforts to get an actual running vehicle ready as soon as possible , had built a prototype that was largely based on the original mock - up and thus was much closer to the " B " - concept , albeit with a 105 mm gun and a petrol - mechanical transmission ; the hydraulic transmission had been abandoned by the CCAS on 10 May . A detailed army report on the plans of January 1917 survives that can give a good impression of the qualities of the eventual prototype . The vehicle was the largest tank built until that date . It had a length of 835 centimetres , a width of 2842 millimetres , a hull height of 198 centimetres , a turret roof height of 2785 millimetres and a total height , cupola included , of three metres . It was also the first tank vehicle that offered a real protection against artillery HE rounds : the front hull was covered by thirty - five millimetre armour plate ; the same was the all - around thickness of the turret . The sides and rear were protected by twenty - one millimetre plate , the top and roof by fifteen millimetres . The total weight of the tank was 41 . 4 tonnes . Its empty hulk weight was 22 . 1 tonnes , 17 . 5 tonnes accounted for by the hull , of which 5 . 5 tonnes of armour , and 4 . 6 tonnes by the turret , including 1 . 3 tonnes of armour . The hull of the FCM 1A was very elongated , in order to cross wide trenches . It was more or less compartmentalised into four sections , that however were not separated by bulkheads : a relatively short driver compartment at the front , a fighting compartment with a turret at its top , a larger munitions room and finally a large engine compartment at the rear . The last was enlarged at both sides over the tracks , to create room for long rectangular fuel tanks . The front of the hull followed the profile of the tall climbing faces of the tracks and therefore gradually curved upwards , ending in a high , vertical , nose plate . The glacis plate behind it was oriented almost horizontally and connected at its rear to the vertical top front plate of the driver compartment . As the turret ring was larger than the width of the hull , it partly rested on rounded lateral extensions . The turret was a truncated cone with a roof sloping down to the front , so that in side view its profile was wedge - shaped . Originally a crew of seven had been planned , but in December 1917 this had been reduced to six : a commander in the left of the turret who also had the responsibility of aiming the gun ; a second man in the right of the turret who combined the functions of gunner , machine - gunner and loader ; a standing assistant - loader handing new rounds to the loader — at first two of these had been seen as necessary ; a driver ; a front machine - gunner ; and a mechanic who doubled as a rear machine - gunner . The main armament was a 105 mm gun , a " Canon de 105 Court Schneider " , shortened to reduce its recoil so that it could fit into a turret . If fired a HE shell with four kilogrammes of explosives and a muzzle velocity of 240 m / s . The large hull allowed for a large ammunition stock of 122 rounds : eighteen , stacked in three vertical rows of six in front of him , were directly accessible to the gunner / loader ; two batches of eight were stowed below the fighting compartment floor and forty - four , stacked in four vertical rows of eleven , lined each wall of the ammunition room . The commander pointed the gun by observing the target through a vane sight , fitted on the turret roof , from his rectangular " cupola " . There were two Hotchkiss 8 mm machine - guns in fixed ball - mount positions ; reserve machine - guns or pistols could be fired through five vertical slits that could be plugged : one at the rear of the turret , two at the turret sides and two at the hull sides below the turret rear . In the prototype a single Renault 220 HP twelve cylinder engine was installed , allowing a maximum speed of 10 km / h at 1200 rpm . The minimum speed was two km / h . The transmission was mechanical , using a disc clutch . The sprocket was at the rear , the idler at the front . The suspension consisted of bogies , sprung by leaf springs , of four wheels each with alternating external and internal flanges . The tracks were sixty centimetres wide , resulting in a ground pressure of 0 . 6 kg / m² . Ground clearance was forty centimetres . The centre of gravity was in the middle of the vehicle , at a level of one metre above the ground . The design prided itself on not having any overhanging sections at the front or the rear , as had greatly hampered the mobility of the earlier French Schneider CA1 and Saint Chamond tanks . The tank could overcome a vertical obstacle of one metre high and cross a trench 3 . 5 metres wide . Much attention had been given to ergonomics , Mourret ' s stated motive in having the tank designed by a shipyard . The vehicle was less cramped than earlier designs , the crew being able to more or less walk through the hull , with only a slight crouch . The mechanic could access the engine at both sides . The commander could communicate with the driver , the front machine - gunner and the mechanic via speaking tube s . External communications were the responsibility of the mechanic who could lift a little hatchet just behind the turret to give signals by fanion s , pyrotechnic devices or electrical lights . The tank could be entered through the cupola , but each member had oval or round escape hatches above and below him . The Char 2C is ordered . In December 1917 the first prototype , the FCM 1A , was ready to be shown to an investigating commission . Mourret had been replaced as head of the commission by Estienne , whose good friend General Philippe Pétain , the new High Commander of the French Army , asked him to use his position to end the project . Estienne told Pétain that this was ill - advised while the public was questioning why these heavy tanks had not been produced . Besides , the allies ( specifically the British and the US ) would only consent to give France 700 of the new Mark VIII Liberty design if France had made at least a token effort to produce its own heavy tanks . Thus the French authorities had to delay the project while outwardly endorsing it . Estienne had already set this course by choosing the heaviest version , the " C " , for production , requiring a completely new prototype , causing a considerable delay . Then Pétain demanded unreasonably high production numbers , thus delaying planning and initiating a political row . Pétain asked for 300 heavy tanks to be ready by March 1919 , causing a quarrel to erupt between Clemenceau , who was both Prime - Minister and Minister of War , and Louis Loucheur , the Minister of Armament , who felt it was impossible to provide the labour and steel required . Meanwhile , Estienne and Pétain complicated the issue with further demands . Pétain asked for special pontoons , and Estienne demanded battering rams and electronic mine detectors to be fixed . When the war ended , not a single tank had been built . At first , the production order for the Char 2C was cancelled . Despite the end of hostilities , however , strong political pressure to adopt new heavy tank projects remained , as there was now a considerable surplus capacity in the heavy industry . To stop this , the " Direction de l ’ Artillerie d ’ Assaut " on instigation of Estienne decided in April 1919 to procure ten Char 2Cs after all , and use this as an argument to reject any other projects . This wasn ' t completely successful ; as late as 1920 it was proposed to the " Section Technique des Appareils de Combat " to build a 600 - ton tank with 250 mm armour . At FCM Jammy and Savatier finished the Char 2C prototype , the other nine tanks being built almost simultaneously ; all ten were delivered in 1921 and modified by the factory until 1923 . They would be the last French tanks to be produced for the home market till the Char D1 pre - series of 1931 . Description . The Char 2C had a loaded weight of 69 tonnes , partly because of its armour - 45 mm at the front , 22 mm at the sides , but much of it just because of its huge size . The armour was among the thickest of World War I - era tanks , though by modern standards this would be considered thin . It is still easily the largest tank ever taken into production . With the tail fitted , the hull was over twelve metres long . Within its ample frame there was room for two fighting compartments . The forward compartment was crowned by a three - man turret ( the first such in history ) mounting a long 75 mm gun , and the second , at the rear of the tank , was topped by a machine gun turret . Both turrets had stroboscopic cupola s . The three independent 8 mm machine gun positions at the front gave protection against infantry assault . The Char 2C is the only super - heavy tank ever to attain operational status — a super - heavy tank is not simply a tank that is very heavy but one that is much heavier than regular tanks of its period . The next operational tank to approach its weight would be the German Tiger II heavy tank of World War II . The fighting compartments were connected by the engine room . Each track was powered by its own 200 or 250 hp engine , via an electrical transmission . Top speed was 15 km / h . Seven fuel tanks , containing 1 , 260 litres , gave it a range of 150 kilometres . The suspension contained 39 interleaving road wheels on each side , making for a total of 90 wheels on the tank . To man the tank required a crew of twelve : driver , commander , gunner , loader , four machine gunners , mechanic , electrician , assistant - electrician / mechanic and a radio operator . Some sources report thirteen , probably due to pictures of the crews that included the company commander . Operational history . The ten tanks were part of several consecutive units , their organic strength at one time reduced to three . Their military value slowly decreased as more advanced tanks were developed throughout the 1920s and 1930s . By the end of the 1930s they were largely obsolete , because their slow speed and high profile made them vulnerable to advances in anti - tank gun s . Nevertheless , during the French mobilisation of 1939 , all ten were activated and put into their own unit , the 51st " Bataillon de Chars de Combat " . For propaganda , each tank had been named after one of the ancient regions of France , numbers 90 - 99 being named " Poitou ; Provence ; Picardie ; Alsace ; Bretagne ; Touraine ; Anjou ; Normandie ; Berry ; Champagne " respectively . In 1939 , the " Normandie " was renamed " Lorraine " . As their main value was in propaganda , the giants were kept carefully out of harm ' s way and did not participate in the September 1939 attack on the Siegfried Line . They were used instead for numerous morale - boosting movies , in which they were often shown climbing and crushing old French forts . To the public , they obtained the reputation of invincible super tanks , the imagined dimensions of which far surpassed the actual particulars . Of course , the French commanders knew perfectly well that this reputation was undeserved . When the German " Panzerdivisionen " , in the execution of Operation " Fall Rot " , ripped apart the French lines after 10 June 1940 , the decision was made to prevent the capture of the famous equipment . All were to be sent to the south by rail transport . On 15 June the railway was blocked by a burning fuel train , so it became incumbent to destroy the tanks by detonating charges . Later Goebbels and Göring claimed the tanks were hit by German dive bombers . This propaganda lie was to be repeated by many sources . One tank , the " Champagne " , was nevertheless captured more or less intact and brought to Berlin to be exhibited as a war trophy . In 1948 this tank disappeared , causing many to speculate it still survives at the Russian Tank museum in Kubinka . Versions . In 1926 , the later " Champagne " was modified into the Char 2C bis , an experimental type with a 155 mm howitzer in a cast turret . New engines were fitted and the machine gun positions deleted . In this configuration the tank weighed perhaps 74 tons . The change was only temporary though , as the vehicle was brought back into its previous condition the very same year ; the new turret was used in the Tunisian Mareth Line . Between 15 November and 15 December 1939 the " Lorraine " , as the company command tank , was experimentally up - armoured at the " Société des Aciéries d ' Homecourt " to make it immune to standard German antitank guns . The front armour was enhanced to 90 mm , the side to 65 mm . In this configuration , weighing about 75 tons , the " Lorraine " had at that time the thickest armour of any operational tank , and is probably still the heaviest operational tank ever . Replacement . In 1940 12 FCM F1 tanks were ordered , another very large twin - turret tank . France was defeated before they entered service .