The Latil M7 T1 was a light military tractor built by the French firm Latil between the wars. Latil listed it for infantry, liaison and reconnaissance work, and the same M7 line also provided the M7 Z1, a light artillery tractor.
Latil M7 T1 at a glance
| Maker | Latil (Automobiles Industrielles Latil), France |
|---|---|
| Type | light infantry, liaison and reconnaissance tractor |
| Period | listed among Latil products of 1928–1945 |
| Related version | M7 Z1, light artillery tractor |
| Other military types | M2 TL6, M2 TZ and M2 TX tractors |
| Company plant | Suresnes, from 1914; Saint-Cloud added in the 1930s |
| Diesel engines | Gardner licence from the 1930s |
| Company fate | merged into Saviem in 1955 |
Based on one source: the M7 T1 is a single entry in the product list of the English Wikipedia article on Latil, which gives its role and the M7 Z1 but no dates, dimensions or production figures.
History of the Latil M7 T1
A light tractor in a range built on heavy guns
Latil made its name in military haulage with the TAR, the heavy four-wheel-drive artillery tractor that took the French Army’s biggest guns through the First World War. By the interwar years the company offered a much wider family of tractors. The M7 T1, listed among the products of 1928 to 1945, was one of the lightest of them: a tractor for infantry, liaison and reconnaissance duties rather than for hauling heavy artillery. A second version of the same line, the M7 Z1, was classed as a light artillery tractor.
The M7 types sat alongside the heavier M2 family, which covered multipurpose, medium artillery and workshop roles, and below the TAR and TAR-H heavy artillery tractors that remained in service into the Second World War.
The company behind it
Latil grew out of Georges Latil’s early front-wheel-drive system, the avant-train Latil, marketed from 1898 by Korn et Latil in Marseille. After the Compagnie Française d’Mécanique et d’Automobiles failed, the entrepreneur Charles Blum took over its assets in 1909 and created Charles Blum & Cie, trading as Automobiles Industrielles Latil. The company opened its Suresnes plant in 1914, adopted its trading name as its legal name in 1928, and in the 1930s added diesel engines under Gardner licence and a second factory at Saint-Cloud. During the Second World War it worked with the ammunition firm MAP and sold tractors as MAP-Latil. In 1955 it was merged with the heavy vehicle division of Renault and with Somua to form Saviem.
Design and features
- Light military role: designed for infantry, liaison and reconnaissance rather than for heavy artillery.
- A matching artillery version: the M7 Z1 was listed as a light artillery tractor of the same line.
- Part of a full range: the M7 types were offered alongside the M2 multipurpose tractors and the heavy TAR.
- Built by a specialist: Latil had been making military tractors since before the First World War.
Latil M7 T1 versions
- M7 T1: the light infantry, liaison and reconnaissance tractor.
- M7 Z1: the light artillery tractor of the same series.
- Heavier siblings: the M2 TL6 multipurpose tractor and the M2 TZ medium artillery and transport tractor.
The M7 T1 was the lightest member of the family that included the Latil M2 tractors and the heavy Latil TAR. More Latil vehicles are in the Latil collection.
Video: latil m7t1 journées du patrimoine
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Latil, English Wikipedia: M7 and M2 types, company history, Gardner licence, Saviem merger
