"French Troop Carriers?" Topic

Can anyone point me to a company that makes troop carriers, half tracks preferably, for the French in 1940?

To my surprise, neither GHQ nor CinC make them.

Heroics & Ros (heroicsandros.co.uk) do some.

link

ghqmodels.com/store/fr6.html

Is the Somua MCG-5 Halftrack that GHQ carries a tractor and not a troop carrier?

Indeed it is! How did I miss it? Thanks.

I think I was focused on the Lorraine and some others and missed this one. I don't know the French army that well yet.

I believe the correct French halftrack, if you want a troop carrier for the DLCs (Division Legere Cavalrie – Light Cavalry Division) would be the Citroene Kegresse P19.

If you want a troop carrier for the DLMs (Division Legere Mechanique – Light Mech Division), you should be looking for the Laffly S20 -- these are 4 wheel drive trucks (with an extra pair of ditching wheels on the front).

If you want a troop carrier for the DCRs (Division Cuirasse de Reserve – Reserve Armored Division), then by the time of the May 1940 Battle of France your best choice would be the Lorraine 38L fully tracked carrier/trailer. There is some confusion among sources as to when they came into widespread use, but the best info I've seen says by May of 1940, the Chasseurs Portes of the first two DCRs were fully equipped, and two of the three companies of the 3rd DCR also had their Lorraine 38Ls, although the third company was still truck mounted.

My understanding is that the Somua MCG-5 halftrack was only used as a cargo carrier and prime mover -- not as a troop transport.

But I could be wrong. Been known to happen.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Mark,

I was leaning toward doing the DCR. Problem is finding models that don't look too out of place with CinC, as they are they models I am doing the bulk of my armies in.

Thanks for the info.

I was leaning toward doing the DCR.

Then you are in luck. There are multiple vendors who make Lorraine 38Ls and trailors. You need both, the Lorraine itself only carried 4 troops, the trailor carried the remaining 6-8 members of the squad.

And, in a DCR, you also want more Lorraines for logistical support. There was one per platoon (or company? Not entirely sure on this point) of Char-Bs. The Char only had about a 3 hour operating range on a tank of fuel, so the armored re-supply was built right in to the unit TOE.

Problem is finding models that don't look too out of place with CinC …

In that case my suggestion is GHQ. Every bit as good looking as the C-in-C castings (in some ways better). And well matched in scale.

But … I have no problems in my own forces in mixing GHQ or C-in-C models with Heroics and Ross models. I do it all the time. Some folks seem to turn their noses up at the idea, but so far none of them have been with me at a gametable.

Your mileage may vary.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

WRT the Laffly S20 truck, GHQ makes one, although it would need some minor conversion to make it the troop carrier version: link compared with link

WRT the Laffly S20 truck, GHQ makes one, although it would need some minor conversion to make it the troop carrier version: link

GHQ offers a couple of Laffly-based vehicles. Unhappily they are based on the W15, not the S20.

The W indicated a lower-profile vehicle than an S. The 15 indicated a smaller load rating than the 20. So a W15 is both lower profile and probably smaller (I don't know what combination of exterior dimensions, seats or benches, engine power and hood appearance that different load rating might imply).

The link was for the WCC -- a tank destroyer vehicle built on the W15 chassis. I would hesitate to start with this as my base, as a lot of kit-bashing might be needed to make it look at all like a TL (personnel carrier) of any version.

If you want a stand-in for the S20TL, I would suggest a better choice would be the straight-up W15T (T for Tracteur -- gun tow version), which is included in their 47mm AT Gun pack: link It's a bit small, and a bit off in it's configuration, but at least it's a truck body, and not just a truck chassis. I doubt anyone would begrudge the substitution at this scale.

There are other choices as well.

The full family of S20s is available in 1/285 from Masters of Military on Shapeways: link

The S20TL is available in 1/300 from Scotia: link

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Mark1; thanks for the heads up. The Internet seems to think the S20 was about 4 feet longer than the S15 / W15 truck. Of course buying 1/300 might cancel this out if one otherwise uses 1/285.

So, if one can stand Shapeways FUD, then this link might be better for 1/285, to allow more choice on which variant one buys: link

MH

doesnt scotia grendel make this?