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by Luca Stefano Cristini (Author)
The Char B1 was a French heavy combat tank designed between the wars and used at the beginning of World War II. probably the most famous and well-known in use in that fateful May of 1940. Its design began in the 1920s, with several prototypes, until the Renault model was chosen in 1929, but mass production did not begin until 1934. Thirty-five examples were produced in the first model, the B1 tank (of 1935) and 365 examples in the B1-bis model (of 1937). From the outset, the French tank enjoyed a remarkable reputation as the most powerful and fierce vehicle in the French Army of 1940, and even the Germans feared it. The B1 Bis proved to be what it was, a very problematic vehicle to maneuver in battle, as well as expensive to produce.
