Char G1 - Turret Design

Turret Design

In France during the thirties, generally tank turrets were designed separately from tank hulls, to serve as standard types applicable to many different vehicles. On 1 June 1938 the commission determined that three teams, those of ARL, FCM and Renault, were in the process of developing new turrets capable of being fitted on the Char G1 under the new specifications. These were invited to make the necessary changes and research existing or new high velocity 75 mm guns.

In July 1939 ARL was producing a prototype of both a turret, the 5.7 tonne ARL 3 fitted with a turret-basket and having a turret ring diameter of 188 cm, and a gun, also in the context of the FCM F1 project. FCM was likewise considering to use a changed 7.5 tonne version of the welded octagonal auxiliary turret of the heavy FCM F1, equipped with an advanced semi-automatic loader and having a ring diameter of 185 cm. As a low-risk project FCM considered the use of the also welded and octagonal F4 turret that had been developed from that of the Char 2C and was equipped with the standard 75 mm field gun.