Details of Cars

Renault R35: France’s most numerous tank of 1940

RENAULT

Renault R35 at Kubinka
A Renault R35 at the Patriot Museum in Kubinka. Photo by Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Renault R35, short for Char léger Modèle 1935 R, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. It was designed from 1933 and produced from 1936 as an infantry support tank.

Renault R35 at a glance

Renault R35 key facts
Maker Renault, France
Designed from 1933
Production from 1936, R40 subtype from April 1940
Type light infantry tank
Armament short 37 mm gun
Characteristics well armoured but slow, poor anti-tank capability
Built about 1,685 by June 1940
Exported to Poland, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Renault R35.

History of the Renault R35

An infantry tank

The R35 was intended to equip autonomous tank battalions allocated to infantry divisions to help them in offensive operations. It was relatively well armoured but slow and lacking good anti-tank capability, with a short 37 mm gun. At the outbreak of the war the anti-tank role became more important, which led to the development and production from April 1940 of a subtype with a longer, more powerful gun, the Renault R40. Plans to shift new production to other, faster types came to nothing because of the defeat of France.

Renault R35 from another angle
The same Renault R35 from another angle. Photo by Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The most numerous French tank

The R35 and R40 remained the most numerous French tanks of the war, with about 1,685 vehicles produced by June 1940. At that moment the type had also been exported to Poland, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

Under German use

For the rest of the war Germany and its allies used captured vehicles, some of them rebuilt into tank destroyers.

Design and features

  • Infantry support role: allocated to battalions attached to infantry divisions.
  • Heavy armour, low speed: protection at the expense of mobility.
  • Short 37 mm gun: replaced by a longer weapon in the R40 from April 1940.
  • Captured use: rebuilt by Germany as tank destroyers.

Renault R35 versions

  • R35 (1936): the original infantry tank with the short 37 mm gun.
  • R40 (1940): subtype with a longer, more powerful gun.

Renault’s other armoured vehicles are on the Renault FT and Renault UE pages, and the wartime trucks on Renault AHx. More Renaults are in the Renault collection.

Video: Renault R35 French tank

Video by Alain Le Pape on YouTube.

Sources

More from RENAULT