Last updated on January 14th, 2020 at 08:11 pm
The Hotchkiss H-39 Light Tank was the last tank in the Hotchkiss H series and the only tank in the series with a long-barreled main gun.
The H-38, an interim version that was built after the H-35, had a better 120 hp petrol engine than the H-35, but it kept the H-35’s 1.46 inch (37 mm) main gun, which completely ineffective against German forces.
Although it had a better gun than its predecessors, the H-39 still was no match for contempory German tanks.
(Although the H-39’s main gun had a longer barrel than that of the H-35 and the H-38, the gun was of the same caliber.)
In 1940, when the Germans captured Hotchkiss H-39s, they removed their turrets and used them as “schleppers” (tractors) for carrying weapons and munitions. They did the same with the H-35s and H-38s that they captured.
The Germans fitted radio sets on 6 ½ foot long antennae and attached these to the right-hand mudguards of the H-39s. They used these tanks in Russia and the Mediterranean.
 |
Hotchkiss H-39 |
|---|---|
| Active: | 1939 |
| Crew: | 2 |
| Weight: | 11.9 tons (12,100kg) |
| Length: | 13ft 10in (4.23m) |
| Height: | 7ft 1in (2.16m) |
| Width: | 6ft 5in (1.96m) |
| Weapons: | Main – 1.46in (37mm) gun, Secondary – 0.295 inch (7.5mm) machinegun |
| Armor | Maximum – 1.57in (40mm) |
| Engine: | Hotchkiss 1938 6-cylinder gasoline, 120hp |
| Speed: | 22.7mph (36.5kph) |
| Range: | 93.2 miles (150 km) |