Sisterhood of Steel feat. Shibafu #7: AMX 40
This latest illustration column is a collaboration between World of Tanks and Shibafu, a popular Japanese illustrator known for his unique style and detailed portrayal of weapons.
The seventh illustration features a tank popular among players for its unique look, the Tier IV light tank AMX 40 !
We have prepared a wallpaper version, so feel free to decorate your desktop with the illustration of "The Duck"... relaxing on the roadside with precious little ducks!
Cavalry Tank AMX 40
--- The Invincible Cavalry Tank Project
The Christie suspension influenced Soviet and British tank designs, but of all the world's nations, France was the most heavily influenced by this particular design.
In March 1938, at Vincennes, a demonstration was held where a tank chassis equipped with the Christie suspension showed off its capabilities. The use of this suspension was deemed highly advantageous. Relative to conventional French tanks of the time, tanks equipped with the Christie suspension moved faster, were more easily maintained, and could run without tracks in a pinch. Since the early 1930s, the French Army had been working on a cavalry tank, which they thought would be a departure from conventional light tank designs of the time. It was thought that the Christie suspension would greatly help to advance this project.
When an Anglo-French tank co-development project was launched in 1939, engineer Joseph Molinié and Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX) jointly proposed a tank combining the Christie suspension and a radical French-style armour layout. The resulting design was the AMX 40.
The distinct feature of the AMX 40 was the adoption of the two-man turret and extremely curved armor layout, which provided strong protection all around. The armour was sloped and quite heavy all around, averaging around 60 mm on the hull. On top of that, the Aster engine was thought to be able to allow the tank to reach 50 km/h, but in World of Tanks, the vehicle does not achieve such speeds due to other characteristics that hamper its acceleration. This memorable design came out of the endeavor to create an invincible cavalry tank.
However, before the development of this tank could go any further, tensions with Germany escalated into full-scale war. All resources were diverted to war efforts. Besides that, tanks such as the Somua S35 and Renault ACG1 were already available, and the British (who were the co-development partners for the AMX 40) were also already building Cruiser MK.II (A13) tanks. Because of these circumstances, the project was thought to be redundant and was subsequently abandoned.
Ultimately, the AMX 40 never made it past the drawing board. Not even a mock-up was created.
Commentary by: Tadamasa Miyanaga (Phalanx), Military Advisor of Wargaming ASIA
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