| Tango01 | 15 Jun 2019 10:21 p.m. PST |
"The design of the ARL-44 tank was born during the years of German occupation, through clandestine schemes and the work of a Vichy France secret organization, the CDM (Camouflage du Matériel). The goal was to prepare the future production of a 30-ton tank armed with a high-velocity 75 mm, possibly the APX model previously used on the ARL-40. The Germans asked engineers at the French tank producing firms Hotchkiss and Somua to build a tracked vehicle that could remove snow from Luftwaffe airfields and Kriegsmarine ports. Under the pretence of building this vehicle, the engineers worked on a new tank design for use after the war. This would later become the ARL-44…."
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Amicalement
Armand
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| Thresher01 | 15 Jun 2019 10:55 p.m. PST |
Wow, someone hit that with an ugly stick as big as it's main gun………. |
| Torquemada | 16 Jun 2019 3:30 a.m. PST |
The tracks are interesting … Would kinda fit nicely in 40K. |
 Legion 4   | 16 Jun 2019 6:26 a.m. PST |
Kind'a like it !!!! You can see some of German influence in the design. Even if they didn't know it was being worked on, off the books, I guess I wonder where many of the 60 ARLs ended up after being phased out ? |
| Frederick | 16 Jun 2019 6:27 a.m. PST |
I did not know this tank even existed And man is Thresher right – that is one aggressively ugly tank! |
| Marc33594 | 16 Jun 2019 6:44 a.m. PST |
Sorta like if a French Char B1 and a Tiger II had an offspring. |
| Legion 4 | 16 Jun 2019 7:13 a.m. PST |
Yeah ! That sounds about right ! |
| Chalfant | 16 Jun 2019 7:23 a.m. PST |
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| robert piepenbrink | 16 Jun 2019 7:41 a.m. PST |
I'd run into this one before, but I'm going to have a hard time getting that image of a Char B seduced and abandoned by a Tiger II out of my head. And I'll admit if either the rejected prototype or the production model was available in microscale or 15mm, some of them would probably follow me home. Surely I could find some sort of excuse. |
| irishserb | 16 Jun 2019 7:54 a.m. PST |
Masters of Military on Shapeways does one in 1/285, and I briefly considered doing a Cold war game set early enough to try to squeeze some in, but decided to moved to a later period. Unfortunately, I don't think the armor was thick enough (along with many other issues) to give them much utility on the battlefield though. But seriously cool looking beast in an ugly sort of way. |
| Torquemada | 16 Jun 2019 7:54 a.m. PST |
@Frederick: ditto … I had no clue this thing even existed. This is why Armand is "A Good Thing" :-) |
| hindsTMP | 16 Jun 2019 8:09 a.m. PST |
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| Legion 4 | 16 Jun 2019 10:51 a.m. PST |
This is why Armand is "A Good Thing" :-)  |
| emckinney | 16 Jun 2019 11:52 a.m. PST |
The suspension and hull actually is a Char B, with various adaptations and updates. Major problem was how narrow the original hull was. The ARL-44 was just a bad design by the time it became available. Lots of detail on development: link |
| Mobius | 16 Jun 2019 12:27 p.m. PST |
Interesting that there is a whole tool shop mounted on the front hull. This would prove a bad idea incase of conflict as mounting brackets often caused shells to trap. |
| cj1776 | 16 Jun 2019 2:53 p.m. PST |
It looks like something the Daleks would make. |
| Tango01 | 16 Jun 2019 3:52 p.m. PST |
Happy you like it boys!. (smile)
A French "panzer" Division of them in Normandy would be a good "what if" game… (smile)
Amicalement
Armand |
 foxbat | 17 Jun 2019 2:47 a.m. PST |
"I wonder where many of the 60 ARLs ended up after being phased out ?" At least one is accounted for and can be seen in the Musée des Blindé in Saumur *grins* |
| Legion 4 | 17 Jun 2019 6:56 a.m. PST |
Yes … I saw that … too bad most ended up in the scrape heap. Never heard of them being sold to another country, etc.
The suspension and hull actually is a Char B, with various adaptations and updates. Major problem was how narrow the original hull was.
The ARL-44 was just a bad design by the time it became available. Well the French[and others!] were still using the WWI vintage FT-17 in WWII. So I guess it's no real surprise they were still working with a hull designed a number years of before WWII even after the war. |
| foxbat | 17 Jun 2019 11:54 a.m. PST |
IMO, it was more of a stopgap to prevent loss of competence, in the design bureaus and the industry. Everyone would have been quite aware the ARL 44 was very underperforming at the time, but designing and producing it kept trained hands in tank building working, a competence put to good use shortly thereafter. While the ARLs were rolling out of the factories, the French were working on the AMX 13. |
| Lion in the Stars | 17 Jun 2019 1:20 p.m. PST |
I'm going to have a hard time getting that image of a Char B seduced and abandoned by a Tiger II out of my head. So am I!!  Good main gun, terrible hull/tracks/suspension. |
| Chuckaroobob | 18 Jun 2019 1:18 p.m. PST |
The computer game "world of tanks" has them. Iirc it's tier 6. |
opens the box on a Battlefield in a Box house.
