SA34 L/30 (47 mm)

Description

The 47 mm SA34 L/30 is a French tank cannon. The 47 mm Semi-Automatique Modèle 1934 was one of the first standardized tank guns in France since WW1. Initially presented as a successor to the Puteaux SA18, this gun was a tank adaptation of the 47 mm Modèle 1885 Marine, a naval gun that offered decent performance for ships. The SA34 was introduced in 1934 when it was first mounted on the Char D1. Despite having reduced penetration over the 37 mm, the 47 mm SA34 had a much higher fire-support capacity and was more adapted to battles. France didn't use a lot of these guns, they might only have produced about 250 and they were mainly used for colonial tanks and training tanks. The gun was soon replaced in 1936 by the 47 mm SA35.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• AMC.34 YR

General info

Clearly ill-adapted for tank battle, the 47 mm SA34 was mainly used for colonial tanks where penetration was less of a requirement. The gun is a relatively short gun with a barrel of 30 calibres. This causes the velocity, and by consequence the penetration, to be rather low. At only 450 m/s, this gun fires one of the slowest rounds for a tank gun that is not howitzer type. The gun use the Obus de rupture modèle 1892G which was a heritage from the naval gun on which it was based. This round carries 50 g of black powder which significantly increases the damage post-penetration.

Available ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Mle1892G	APHE	27	26	20	15	11	8

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Mle1892G	APHE	450	1.48	1.2	6	50	47°	60°	65°

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

This gun is rather difficult to play. Most the tank it would meet would nearly seem immune to this gun, however, if there is a penetration, the damage is pretty potent. It is recommended to use this gun only at close range and aim for the flattest parts of the armour. Most tanks have an extra armour shield on the front of the turret, it might be a good idea to avoid aiming for this part. When possible, engage your target from the side. Light targets such as armoured cars, SPAAs, and SPGs that could be qualified as "glass cannons" are a gift for this gun. As soon you meet a medium tank, you may be wiser to avoid engagement.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent post-penetration damage

Cons:

• Terrible penetration
• low velocity rounds
• Pretty much the lowest penetration of all game in the game
• Moving target hard to hit due to the low velocity
• just ineffective at over 500m, and sometime even less

History

The 47 mm SA34 was a tank gun developed from the 47 mm Modèle 1885 marine. Presented as an improvement to the 37 mm SA18 to the army, the gun was packed more firepower over the 37 mm but didn't have any improved anti-tank rounds (back then the penetration didn't reach 20 mm). Also having a better capacity to support the infantry, the HE shell was much more effective against fortifications than the 37 mm. Introduced for the first time with the Char D1 which was at that time the replacement of the Renault FT, the gun didn't leave its marks as the great French gun of WW2. This gun equipped 160 Char D1, 50 Char D2, 35 Char B1, 6 AMC 34 and 3 or 4 Somua AC-3 which gives a total of less than 250 vehicles using this gun. Introduced in 1934, this gun was officially replaced in 1936 by the 47 mm SA35 which offered much better anti-tank capacity. The tanks using this gun was all used for colonial duty or training tanks. In the colonies, the penetration was less needed and the power of the HE rounds was much more helpful.

By the time WW2 started, many tanks was still using the 47 mm SA34. Some were forced to be used in the frontline to replace the lost in the armoured units. When possible, many of those tanks, notably the Char D2 and Char B1, saw the SA34 replaced by the SA35. In 1940, with the situation in France getting disastrous, any colonial tanks that could be useful in battle were called back from North Africa. The Char D1 and Char D2 notably fought the German Panzer division in Europe, and they turned out to be rather effective due to the fact that at that time, the German tanks seldom had more than 15 mm of armour. However, the bad condition of the tanks that was using the gun and the fact that it was overshadowed by the 47 mm SA35 led it to just been seen as a weapon of low impact in the battlefield.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

References

Bibliography

• Danjou, Pascal. Track story No.3: Les Chars B B1 - B1 Bis - B1 Ter
• Danjou, Pascal. Track story No.8: Renault D1
• Danjou, Pascal. Track story No.9: Renault D2