Back SOMUA S35 BS Somua S-35 Catalan SOMUA S-35 Czech Somua S-35 German Somua S-35 Spanish Somua S-35 Finnish SOMUA S35 French סומואה HE Somua S35 Hungarian SOMUA S35 Italian
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| SOMUA S35 | |
|---|---|
 A SOMUA S35 at the US Army Ordnance Museum | |
| Type | Cavalry tank |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1936–1945 |
| Used by | France Germany Italy Bulgaria Hungary |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1934–1935 |
| Manufacturer | SOMUA |
| Produced | 1935–June 1940 |
| No. built | ~440 |
| Variants | S 40 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 19.5 tonnes (19.2 long tons) |
| Length | 5.38 m (17 ft 8 in) |
| Width | 2.12 m (6 ft 11 in) |
| Height | 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in) |
| Crew | 3 (driver, radio operator/purveyor, commander/gunner) |
| Armor | 47 mm (hull front) 42 mm (turret front) 40 mm (hull sides and turret sides) 20 mm (top) |
Main armament | 47 mm SA35 L/32 gun |
Secondary armament | 7.5 mm Mitrailleuse mle 1931 optionally coaxial |
| Engine | SOMUA V-8 12.666cc petrol engine 190 hp (140 kW) |
| Power/weight | 9.7 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | leaf spring bogies |
| Fuel capacity | 510 L (110 imp gal; 130 US gal) |
Operational range | off-road ~130 km (81 mi), road ~230 km (140 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 40 km/h (25 mph) off-road: 32 km/h (20 mph) |
The SOMUA S35 was a French cavalry tank of the Second World War. Built from 1936 until 1940 to equip the armoured divisions of the Cavalry, it was for its time a relatively agile medium-weight tank, superior in armour and armament to its French and foreign competitors, such as the contemporary versions of the German Panzer III medium tank. It was constructed from well-sloped, mainly cast, armour sections, that however made it expensive to produce and time-consuming to maintain.
During the German invasion of May 1940, the SOMUA S35 proved itself to be a tactically effective type, but this was negated by the French command's strategic mistakes in deploying their Cavalry armoured divisions. After the defeat of France in June 1940, limiting production to a total of about 440, captured SOMUA S35s were used by the Axis powers, some of them on the Eastern Front. A derived type, the SOMUA S40, with an improved suspension, lowered hull cast and welded turret armour, had been planned to replace the original version on the production lines in July 1940. Agreements to produce this improved type for the benefit of Vichy France, Germany and Japan, ultimately did not lead to any manufacture.