Renault UE Chenillette
| Renault UE Chenillette | |
|---|---|
Chenillette tractor with trailer |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 2 |
| length | 2.94 m |
| width | 1.75 m |
| height | 1.24 m |
| Dimensions | 3.3 t |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | maximum 9 mm |
| Main armament | no |
| Secondary armament | none, one or two MG34 (captured tanks of the Wehrmacht) |
| agility | |
| drive | a Renault 4-cylinder petrol engine 28.3 kW (38 PS) |
| Top speed | 30 km / h |
| Power / weight | |
| Range | 100 km (road) |
The Renault UE Chenillette is a small armored transport vehicle and artillery tug produced by the French company Renault in the early 1930s . Its main task was the transport of ammunition and the pulling of mortars and light guns .
In the German Wehrmacht , the car was later called the Infantry Tug UE 630 (f) .
development
Since 1922, the French military tried to motorize as many units as possible, but this was hampered by a limited budget. Then one concentrated on the production of small ammunition and artillery tugs. In April 1930 Renault completed and tested the first prototype. A total of 5168 units had been delivered by March 1941 and were referred to as Tracteur blindé (armored tractor), Chenillette (small tracked vehicle) or also as tankette .
description
The chenillette is 2.94 meters long, 1.75 meters wide and 1.24 meters high. The small size of the vehicle significantly limited the cargo capacity. The thin armor of 9 mm was just enough to repel rifle fire. The model was an excellent towing vehicle, and it was also able to move supplies in terrain that was impassable for vehicles on wheels.
At the rear of the tank is a transport container that can be tilted from the inside and can hold up to 400 kg payload. An armored trailer with caterpillar drive with a max. Payload of 600 kg built. The tank was also used to pull anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. The tank itself was not armed.
Use by France
The chenillette was widely used by the French land forces, and each infantry regiment was equipped with nine vehicles. Up to 66 vehicles were used in the mechanized regiments. Because the chenillette was an unarmed vehicle, it was later allowed to be used by the Vichy regime under the terms of the 1940 armistice . Many of these tanks were used in Indochina . They were often the only fully functional armored vehicles there.
Use in the Wehrmacht
Already during the western campaign in 1940 the Wehrmacht used captured chenillette. The Wehrmacht also used improvised self-propelled guns. 3.7 cm anti-tank guns were temporarily attached to the chenillette.
After the victory over France, the Wehrmacht used the UE under the name Infantry Tug UE 630 (f) . Various specialist books indicate the number of infantry tractors UE 630 (f) used by the Wehrmacht with numbers from 1,200 to 3,000 units. The captured tank expert Alexander Lüdeke considers the number of around 3,000 vehicles to be more likely. The captured tanks were overhauled in Issy-les-Moulineaux at the AMX plant operated by MAN . In order to prevent the infantry tugs UE 630 (f) used on the German side from being attacked by their own or allied troops, they were marked with oversized crosses . The Wehrmacht used the infantry tractor to pull anti-tank guns of 3.7 cm to 7.62 cm caliber and light infantry guns. For lighter guns, a trailer was usually attached to transport ammunition and the gun crew. With heavy guns, the gun crew had to be transported separately. The vehicle was sometimes armed with one or two MG 34 machine guns . From December 1940, 700 chenillettes were converted into self-propelled tank destroyers with 3.7 cm anti-tank guns. The carriage and protective shield were attached to the chenillette. The gun crew sat in the shipping container. These self-propelled guns were used by infantry units.
Other chenillettes were renamed the Renault UE (f) ammunition tractor . In the case of the ammunition tractor, the transport containers of some vehicles were equipped with armored lids in order to better protect the ammunition from fire. Telecommunication units use the chenillette as telecommunication vehicles on infantry tractor UE 630 (f) . In this case, cable drums were attached to the transport container in order to lay telecommunication cables. The infantry tug was as armored personnel carriers used Sanitätspanzer, probing and safety vehicle.
The Becker construction command created the small radio and observation tank on infantry tug UE 630 (f) . Instead of the transport container, the tank received a tank structure for three soldiers. These 40 radio and observation tanks were used by the Fast Brigade West . Baukommando Becker also built 40 rocket launchers in two variants. In one case, four 28/32 cm throwing frames were added in place of the transport container. In the other variant, four launch racks for throwing grenades were attached to the side of the tank. The infantry tractor was also used as a snow blower. Other examples were used to train German tank soldiers. Infantry tugs were also used as explosive charge carriers.
The Luftwaffe used the infantry tractor to transport aircraft and bombs to airfields. To secure airfields, infantry tractors were converted to the Renault UE (f) armored machine-gun carrier or the UE (f) security vehicle. In addition, they received, among other things, armored machine-gun stands. The MG stands were equipped with 7.62 mm or 13 mm MG.
The Army Weapons Office even considered resuming production at Renault. This failed, among other things, because many production machines were no longer available.
literature
- Alexander Lüdeke : Looted tanks of the Wehrmacht - Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France 1938–45. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03291-0 .
- Tank models from all over the world from 1915 to today. Paragon Books Ltd, ISBN 978-1-4075-0670-8 .
