The AMR 33 entered service in 1934 and was still in French armored
divisions in 1940. It was a two man tank, of similar size and weight to
the German Panzer I, although much faster. Ironically, this advantage
proved to be a weakness, since the suspension tended to fail if run too
much at high speed. It also lacked a radio (like most French tanks)
making it generally ineffective as a recce vehicle. The engine was in
the front of the sloped hull. The turret was set back on the hull; a
hatch in the rear allowed access for both crew. Despite the small
turret, the commander was provided with a large turret hatch. About
200 (one source claims 123) were built. A small number,
designated Panzerspahwagen VM 701 (f), was used for internal security
by the Germans.
The AMR 33 had a crew of two: driver and commander (who also operated the machine gun). The commander rotates the turret by hand at 7 degrees per second. The AMR 33 used 2.8 gallons of fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Very Small Tank chassis +2, full-rotation
Medium Weapon turret
+1, two tracks +2.
Powertrain: 63-kW gas engine with 63-kW tracked
transmission
and 12-gallon self-sealing fuel tank; 4,000-kWs batteries
Occupancy: 1 CS Body, 1 CS Both. Cargo: 0 Body,
1 Turret
Armor
| Hull: F 5/50, R,L 4/50, B 4/50, T 4/25, U 4/25 |
| Turret: F 5/50, R,L 4/50, B 4/50, T 4/25, U 0/0 |
| Tracks: 4/15 |
Weaponry
Ground LMG/7.5mm MAC Mle 31C [Turret:F] (2,000).
Statistics
| Size: 12'x6'x6' | Payload : 0.89 tons | Lwt: 5.52 tons |
| Volume: 37 |
Maint.: 114 hours | Price: $3,100 |
HT: 12
HP: 400 [body], 75 [turret], 135 [each track]
| gSpeed: 37 |
aAccel: 2 | aDecel: 10 | aMR: 0.25 | aSR: 4 |
Design Notes
Some jiggering was required to get the design to match historical
weight. Chassis weight, cost and HPs (and track DR) were divided by
two, then the final weight was increased by 12%. The chassis could have
been left alone, but this would ahve required a far greater percentage
adjustment downward.
Variants
There were no historical variants.
In an alternate history campaign, some might have been upgunned. The
25mm Hotchkiss Mle 34 (25mm Long Tank Gun) is a possibility.
Additionally, a medium range radio could be added. This would change
cost to $4,100 and loaded weight to 5.78 tons. Speed drops by one mph.
To fit in the gun and 165 rounds, each crew station is reduced by one
VSP, greatly reducing comfort. Note the commander now gains the
responsibilty of loading as well as firing the gun. The 7.5mm MG is
retained. Note that the increased weaponry and added radio make the
vehicle similar in capabilities to the Panhard 178 armored car
(p.W:MP34).