Char 25t

Description

The Batignolles-Chatillon Char 25t was a French early Cold War tank developed by the Batignolles-Chatillon company in 1954. The vehicle was never developed further than the two prototypes. It was built for a weight class of 25 tons, which is approximately double the weight of the AMX-13 light tanks. It was armed with a 90 mm D.911 APX tank gun and was manned by four crew members. Its top speed is 65 km/h. Despite the project being abandoned, several of the design ideas and technology were applied to subsequent French armoured vehicles. It never saw duty with the French Army.

Introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries", the Char 25t is a fast tank with minimal armour, so it is important not to engage enemy tanks in frontal combat. It is strongly encouraged to take full advantage of its superb mobility for flanking manoeuvres during battle. The tank also has an acceptable reverse speed, allowing it to quickly disengage after firing. The Char 25t can engage all but the heaviest targets at close range, while at range, it can successfully hit targets from the flank. Players using the Char 25t should always stay out of the enemy's direct line of fire. The Char 25t, like other French light tanks, has a low-profile tank with a tiny autoloader turret in the back.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Char 25t has more armour than other French light tanks, at steeper angles. With distance, it may be able to bounce the 40 mm Bofors, though it will be rare. The top of the tank is well armoured and will easily defeat .50 cal (12.7 mm) rounds from airborne enemies though anything bigger will go through. The sides and rear are nonexistent comparatively and anything "antitank" will go through with ease. Most APHE shells fired at thinner parts of the tank may fail to detonate inside, it may save your life once or twice but don't rely on it. The driver has a 50 mm plate in front of him so that will help once or twice. The engine may also block poorly-aimed shots.

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (hull cheeks, turret base, turret, cupola)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret roof, cupola roof)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 15 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
• 8 mm Structural steel firewall separates the driver from the engine.

Mobility

The Char 25t is very fast, both in top speed (even in reverse) and acceleration. With a top speed of 65 km/h and great horsepower to weight ratio, it will conquer most terrain you put it through. The wide tracks compared to its low weight are just another cherry on top. The transmission has 12 gears, 6 forward and 6 backward, and then a neutral. The reverse gears are identical to the forward gears, so driving in reverse is no problem (except for the more exposed crew). Also, the Char 25t can neutral steer and does so rather quickly.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

The gun is decent for its BR and role. Although it lacks a HEATFS shell like another vehicle near its BR, the AMX-13-90, the Char 25t carries the M82 APCBC and T33 APBC rounds.

The reload time is short, 4 seconds between shots (even with a knocked out loader). It carries 12 shots in the drum, allowing for a sustained fire at multiple enemies. Although great at post-penetration damage, the M82 round used by the Char 25t has mediocre penetration for its BR, especially when taking into account the presence of HEATFS and APDS rounds.

Ammunition

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Char 25t

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Rack 6 (autoloader magazine) is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 12 shells.
  • This rack gets filled first when loading up the tank and is also emptied first.
  • As it is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
  • Once the autoloader magazine has been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the autoloader. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
  • Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 5 into rack 6. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

Machine guns

The small calibre of the MAC 31 machine guns makes them largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. They still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

Usage in battles

The Char 25t is a very fast tank with little protection so engaging enemy tanks frontally is ill-advised. Thanks to its good mobility and a reversible gearbox that enables to disengage just as swiftly, it can resort to flanking to perform in combat. The Char 25t can engage all but the heaviest (e.g. IS-3) targets at close range and it can reliably engage targets from the side at range. However, remember that you are in a light tank so make sure not to be in the enemy's direct line of fire. Your engine may absorb a hit or two, but do not rely on it for survival.

The following tactics could be used proficiently with the Char 25t:

Long range sniper/flanker

Start off the match by heading for one of the flanks. If it's an open map, hide behind hills and passively scout as you drive or head for the outermost capture point. Be wary of the speedy M18 tank destroyers, any of the Sd.Kfz. 234 series, or any other quick tanks that may be trying the same thing as you. Once in a nice position (shadow cover, somewhere to retreat, nice sight lanes), sit and wait for someone to pass by. Don't stay tunnel visioned! Slower tanks may be approaching and they will be able to instantly destroy the Char 25t if it gets the chance. If you notice enemies at a far distance, first scout them using the scout key so your team knows where they are in case you miss or are destroyed. Next, either range-find, or just go for the shot if they are close enough. Neutralize the target, and either change position and then rinse and repeat.

Brawler

Surprisingly, this tank makes a decent brawler with its compact size, incredible speed, and great reload rate. Keep near the outer flanks of any main road or capture point, and drive around looking to shoot out engines/turrets. Try not to engage any heavier tank frontally, as you will be wiped out quite quickly, and you will rarely penetrate through their frontal armour. If you manage to get the first shot, you will have the superior reload for the follow-up shot, especially if their gunner is knocked out from the first shot. Be wary though, and assume the enemy always has a shot loaded, so either be prepared to go back into cover if they're gunner gets replaced.

Support

With light tanks repair mechanics, the Char 25t can help repair teammates if a friendly repair has been initiated. Stick with your teammates, especially heavier ones like the T95 or Maus which may occasionally meet. When they engage in a firefight, either flank around the enemy to disable their gun/movement, or if your teammate already finished off the enemy and is repairing, help them. Go around and help your teammates repair and disable/destroy enemies.

Mixed

Mix and match the tactics above and of other French lights. Try to flank and don't get destroyed. The roof machine gun can allow the Char 25t to harass planes trying for a ground strike at the team, so there's always a role that the Char 25t can play as.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Low profile.
• Thin armour will sometimes cause APHE to penetrate straight through without detonating.
• Frontally-placed engine may absorb some shots
• Has smoke launchers (high arc of fire).
• Can reach its top speed quite fast.
• Reversible gearbox (same speed in both directions)
• The addition of the M82 round increases the tank's effectiveness.
• Fast turret rotation.
• Good gun depression value: high gun placement make hull-down positions very efficient.
• Short reload time thanks to the 12-round autoloader: 1 shot every 4 seconds, comparable to reload times at low ranks.
• Has scouting ability and teammate repair/firefighting function.

Cons:

• Thin sides will get shredded easily by nearby SPAAs.
• Bad at stop-and-shoot due to oscillating turret design.
• Gun penetration rates are subpar at longer ranges: relies heavily on flanking manoeuvres.
• Poor gun elevation angle of 11 degrees.
• Ammo is stored everywhere, a single penetrating shot can easily cause an ammo rack detonation.
• Restocking the autoloader is very slow once it has been depleted and severely degrades combat performance.

History

Design

The Batignolles-Châtillon 25t or project Super AMX-13 was designed in the 1950s for a weight class twice bigger than the AMX-13. It reused many parts from the AMX-13 like the oscillating turret and the autoloader. Its primary armament was a 90mm cannon capable of shooting the same ammunition as US M47 and M48 tanks. It was equipped with a 500 HP engine and could reach 65 km/h. It was operated by 4 crew members.

Development

Two prototypes were made in 1954 before the project was abandoned. The hurdles of the concept were the impossibility to guarantee NBC protection on the oscillating turret, the external reload of the autoloader exposing the crew during combat, an unreliable hydraulic suspension and external shot traps on the turret. Proofs of concept and technologies developed in this program were however later reused on other French tank projects, especially the AMX-30 (transmission).

Combat usage

As a prototype vehicle, Char 25t never saw service or combat action in the French Army.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Char 25t from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• AMX-13 (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Char 25t and T-80B
• [Wikipedia] Batignolles-Chatillon Char 25T
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Bâtignolles-Chatillon Char 25 tonnes