scratchbuilds another Victorian flying machine.
Now for something a bit special – the only operational super-heavy tank in military history. This absolute beast will give the German panzer formations something to think about!
A fully loaded FCM Char 2C weighed in at a colossal 69 tonnes. This was in no small part due to its armor – 45mm at the front, 22mm at the sides, but much of it just because of its huge size. It is still easily the largest tank ever taken into production. With the tail skid fitted, the hull was over twelve meters long.
The Char 2C is the only super-heavy tank ever to attain operational status — a super-heavy tank is not simply a very heavy tank, but one that is much heavier than regular tanks of its period. The next operational tank to weigh about the same would be the Tiger II heavy tank. As you can see from the photos of our model on this page, the Char 2C dwarfed infantry and regular French armor alike.
To man the tank required a crew of twelve: driver, commander, gunner, loader, four machinegunners, mechanic, electrician, assistant-electrician/mechanic and a radio operator.
Ten FCM Char 2cs ten tanks were produced. During the French mobilization of 1939, all ten were activated and put into their own unit – the 51st Bataillon de Chars de Combat. For propaganda purposes, each tank had been named after one of the ancient regions of France: Poitou, Provence, Picardie, Alsace, Bretagne, Touraine, Anjou, Normandie (renamed 'Lorraine' in 1939), Berry and Champagne, respectively.
You can add this monstrous resin-and-metal model to your French army, or to use as an objective for your games. We're sure these beasts will also find good homes in games of Pulp or Victorian Sci-Fi, too!