Hotchkiss M201
| Hotchkiss | |
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 Restored Hotchkiss M201 in the paintwork of the Circulation Routière
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| M201 | |
| Production period: | 1955-1966 |
| Class : | Off-road vehicle |
| Body versions : | Kübelwagen |
| Engines: |
Otto engine 2.2 liters (44 kW) |
| Length: | 3370 mm |
| Width: | 1580 mm |
| Height: | 1302-1772 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2032 mm |
| Empty weight : | 1160 kg |
| successor | Peugeot P4 |
The Hotchkiss M201 was the light, all-wheel drive standard off-road vehicle used by the French army from the post-war period until the 1980s. It is almost identical to the American Willys MB / Ford GPW of the Second World War . In France, the vehicle is usually referred to simply as the La Jeep .
description
The M201 has a conventional construction with a ladder frame and two rigid axles suspended by leaf springs . The 4-cylinder gasoline engine (the so-called Willys Go Devil engine ) is at the front, the main gearbox with three forward gears and one reverse gear and the two-stage transfer and reduction gearbox attached to it are installed in the middle. When driving on the road, the rear wheels are driven via a cardan shaft, the front axle drive and the off-road reduction can be activated by the driver using two smaller levers located to the right of the gearshift lever of the main gearbox, but only when the vehicle is stationary. The sheet steel body is open, cut out on the sides, without doors, has four seats in the standard version and has a removable fabric top. The windshield can be folded forward onto the bonnet. Spare canister and spare wheel are mounted on the outside of the body at the rear. The so-called NATO trailer coupling is also located at the rear of the vehicle . The M201 has no differential locks , but is extremely off-road due to its relatively low weight and very high axle articulation.
The M201 was named "VLTT" (Véhicule Léger Tout Terrain) in the French army. The standard model was mostly used as a command and radio vehicle.
The so-called Sahara version was developed for use in North Africa. It differed from the standard model in that it had a more stable chassis , reinforced leaf springs on the rear axle, an additional tool box below the radiator grille and a second tank under the passenger seat. To a lesser extent M201 were also to weapon carriers for anti-tank guns ( M40 ) and - rocket ( SS.10 , SS.11 , entac or MILAN ) converted or equipped with a battlefield surveillance radar.
Hotchkiss M201 with hood
Hotchkiss M201 with the windshield folded down
Engine of a Hotchkiss M201 seen from the front
history
Immediately after World War II, the French government acquired over 22,000 Willys MB and Ford GPW from the United States Army to re-arm their army. Since only about half of them were in usable condition, the ERGM (Etablissement de Réserve Général du Matériel Automobile de la Maltournée) workshops near Paris began to put these jeeps back into working order from 1946 onwards. Badly damaged specimens were completely dismantled in order to obtain usable individual parts that were then repaired. From these individual parts (and later also from newly manufactured spare parts) "new" jeeps were then manufactured on an assembly line. This production process continued until 1978. The jeeps produced in this way gradually contained an increasingly colorful mix of Willys, Ford and Hotchkiss parts.
The original plan was to replace these jeeps with the Delahaye VLR , a newly developed French off-road vehicle, from 1949 . However, the switch to the new vehicle failed because the technically more complex Delahaye VLR proved to be too complicated and too maintenance-intensive in practice. After only 9,623 vehicles, production was stopped in 1954–1955. After the VSP prototype developed by Peugeot had been tested and rejected, it was decided in 1955 to continue to rely on the tried and tested Jeep. In the long run, however, production from individual parts by the ERGM workshops was not sufficient for the needs of the French army and a producer had to be found for really new jeeps.
Since the Hotchkiss company already had experience with Jeep production (spare parts for the Jeep had been manufactured since 1952 and the production of civilian Jeeps under license from Willys for the French market had just started), they received the order, in the future Jeeps for the French Army manufacture. In 1955, 465 Jeeps were manufactured under the name Hotchkiss License MB . From 1956 the type designation M201 was used . By 1966, Hotchkiss had produced a total of 27,628 M201 mainly at the Stains plant , a town north of Paris. In 1981 it was finally decided to replace the M201 with the Peugeot P4 . At that time, more than 8,000 jeeps were still in use. The last M201 were not retired until 2000.
Technical specifications
| Technical data M201, 24 volt (standard version) | |
|---|---|
| Empty weight | 1160 kg |
| Payload | 370 kg |
| Trailer load | 453 kg |
| width | 1575 mm |
| length | 3372 mm |
| wheelbase | 2032 mm |
| Top speed | 95 km / h |
| Ground clearance | 220 mm |
| Climbing ability | 66% |
| Approach angle at the front | 45 ° |
| Departure angle at the rear | 35 ° |
| Fording depth | 530 mm |
| engine |
Four clock - Otto engine , 4 cylinders in series , lateral valves Willy Go Devil motor |
| Displacement | 2199 cc |
| power | 60 SAE PS / 44 kW |
| Tank capacity | 56.78 L. |
| Fuel consumption | 14 l / 100 km |
| Range | 550 km |
| Seats | 4th |
