FCM.36

FCM.36

FCM.36

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Show in game

Description

In 1933, the French military sought for the creation of a new infantry tank to replace the Renault FT. The requirements called for a simple tank that was of 6 ton weights and used a cast turret design produced by the government APX workshop. The firm that won the requirement in 1934 was the Renault ZM design that would become the Renault R.35, however the design by FCM proved promising enough due to its welded construction and better turret design that the French army also provided them a production model in 1936. However, production complications due to the relatively advanced welding construction and other production priorities at FCM for the Char B1 bis meant late deliveries and high unit cost that the design had its production halted in 1940. Two battalions in the French army would use the FCM.36, the 4e and 7e, and they would be committed in the Battle of France against the German invasion, most notably seeing use in challenging a German bridgehead over the Meuse river. Upon the capitulation of France, the Germans would utilize the FCM.36 in their military, with one notable use being the conversion of several hulls into the Marder I with a 75 mm PaK 40 cannon as the 7.5cm PaK40(Sf) auf Geschützwagen FCM(f).

Introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance", the FCM.36 compares more so to the H.35 tank with similarily poor firepower, but the FCM.36 has better protection with 40 mm sloped armour all-around. The FCM.36's well-sloped armour makes it a tad beneficial for long-range combat, but the underperforming gun makes the FCM.36 act more like a shield rather than a spear. The FCM.36 does have marginally better mobility than the H.35 with better handling and a more powerful engine, allowing it to turn smoothly and reach its top speed fairly easily (even if its top speed is still a relative crawl). However, the difficulty in finding a good position to make the most use of its gun and armour makes the FCM.36 a hard challenge to use against players to begin scratching their armour.

At its introduction, the FCM.36 left a favorable impression in the community due to its unique turret shape, earning the nickname "Cone". However, due to its disappointing firepower capabilities, the FCM.36 was removed as a researchable vehicle from the main tech tree duringUpdate 1.85 "Supersonic", though it is still unlockable after reaching rank II French ground vehicles.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull40 / 20 / 20

Turret40 / 40 / 40

Crew2 people

Visibility88 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (25-37°) Front plate 40 mm (71°) Upper glacis 40 mm (25°) Lower glacis	20 mm (45°) Top quarter (sponson) 8 mm (45°) Radiator grille 20 mm (0-8°) + 20 mm (43-45°) Upper quarter 20 mm (0-8°) + 20 mm (43-45°) + 20 mm (41°) Lower quarter 20 (0°) + 20 mm (36-41°) Bottom quarter	20 mm (50-65°) Upper glacis 8 mm (65°) Radiator grille 20 mm (30-65°) Lower glacis	15 mm (89°)
Turret	40 mm (24-71°) Turret front 20 mm (4-45°) Gun mantlet 40 mm (18°) Cupola	40 mm (12-28°)	40 mm (36°)	15 mm (77-89°)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
• Belly armor is 12 mm thick.
• Turret ring is 34 mm thick.
• Gun barrel is 10 mm thick plus a small 25 mm thick sleeve.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB27 / 4 km/h

RB and SB24 / 4 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight12.4 t

Engine power

AB200 hp

RB and SB105 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB16.1 hp/t

RB and SB8.5 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	27	4	12.4	163	200	13.15	16.13
Realistic	24	4		93	105	7.5	8.47

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB106 → 136

RB95 → 122

SB111 → 142

Total cost of modifications2 970

890

Talisman cost190

Crew training200

Experts1 000

Aces20

Research Aces96 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

10 / 10 / 20 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Suspension Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Brake System Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Filters Research: 250 Cost: 75 65 Transmission Research: 320 Cost: 95 80 Engine Research: 320 Cost: 95 80	Improved Parts Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Improved FPE Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Crew Replenishment Research: 250 Cost: 75 65	Horizontal Drive Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Adjustment of Fire Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Elevation Mechanism Research: 250 Cost: 75 65 Artillery Support Research: 320 Cost: 95 80

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm SA18 L/21 cannon

Shoulder stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in one plane while moving

Ammunition102 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

4.1 → 3.1 s

Vertical guidance-17° / 20°

37 mm SA18 L/21					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	102	-17°/+20°	±180°	Shoulder	13.3	18.5	22.4	24.8	26.4	4.03	3.56	3.28	3.10
Realistic					8.3	9.8	11.9	13.2	14.0

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
Mle1937	APCR	36	33	24	16	8	5

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Mle1937	APCR	600	0.5	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the FCM.36

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
102	38 (+64)	N/A	Yes

Notes:

• The visual discrepancy concerns the number of shells per rack:
  • Rack 1 is modeled as 60 shells but contains 65 shells.
  • Rack 2 is modeled as 42 shells but contains only 37 shells. The shells in excess remain visible, so the rack 2 is never empty.
• As they are modeled by sets of 5, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire all shells in the set.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

6.5 → 5.0 s

Fire rate551 shots/min

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (150)	551	N/A	N/A

The small calibre of the MAC 31 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It 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

Bullet magnet

Sit down in an open field, angle yourself and stay at a good distance (500+ m) from any threat. Watch enemy shells ricochet of your armour, spot enemies for the team. Whenever a potent gun comes your way, take cover and hope not to get shot at. Blind such big guns with your good MAC 31 coaxial machine gun and attempt a few shots on the move (big guns generally means poor armour at this BR).

If you intend to play in RB or SB, use bushes or other objects to obscure your vehicle's outline, so that the enemy doesn't entirely know what you are, and therefore have a chance of not taking shots at your weak points such as your gun mantlet or driver port.

One notable recent change is that due to the new volumetric shells, it is nearly impossible to hit the FCM.36's vulnerable turret ring. In addition, it is much harder to actually damage anything from shooting through the weak spot on the mantlet; The commander's right side is protected by the large drum of the MAC 31, and hits to his left will now often hit the breech. This makes the FCM much more well protected. Shots that penetrate will usually be absorbed by various parts inside the turret.

Brawler

Never engage an enemy upfront: assist your allies in flanking manoeuvres and don't bother stealing a score since it's all you can get with such a poor cannon. Feel free to fall back when allies are lacking, go find friends and act as a bullet magnet for them as they attempt to flank enemies.

In the right hands, this tank can be used correctly to a degree. Practice with the gun along with knowledge of enemy armour, it can pen most enemy vehicles but anything above rank II tanks is nearly impossible to pen.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent frontal armour with good sloping
• -17° of gun depression angle
• Turret is 40 mm thick all-around
• Shoulder stabiliser makes stop-and-shoot tactic easier

Cons:

• Very bad penetration power
• Very poor mobility: weak engine, slow top speed, and bad reverse speed
• Cannot angle properly without exposing a flat surface
• Only 2 crew members, cramped and sitting in line
• Tall silhouette

History

In 1934, the FCM company received an order from the French army to design a modern tank for their light tank regiments. FCM was an experienced tank manufacturer, having proved themselves with work on previous projects (such as the Char 2C and Char B1), and quickly developed a new light tank design. Just over a year after the initial wooden mockup was presented and approved by the Army, the first prototype was tested in April 1935. During the one year testing period, multiple changes were made to make the vehicle more reliable, lighter, and better protected.

In July 1936, the FCM 36 was declared the best of three competing vehicles (which included the Hotchkiss H35 and Renault R35), although all three vehicles were still produced. But due to the Rhineland crisis in May 1936, the FCM company received orders for 100 of the FCM 36 tanks before it was even proclaimed the winner of the competition. Production of the FCM 36 did not begin until 1937, after tests of an improved version failed to produce the desired results. The first FCM 36 tanks left the factory floor in May 1938, and joined the ranks of the Army the following year. After the initial order of 100 vehicles was fulfilled, production was discontinued in favour of the Char B1, (also manufactured by FCM).

During the Invasion of France in 1940, the 100 FCM 36s in service with the French army saw limited success against the latest German armour—most notably the Panzer III. Although both vehicles offered similar overall performance, long tank battles against the Panzer III often resulted with neither vehicle able to achieve a fatal blow against the other. Unfortunately, the welds of the FCM 36's heavily angled and complex armour would eventually break from extensive and repeated battle damage, which left the Panzer III as the victor in the long run. During the German occupation, the FCM 36 was initially used by the German army as a training or reserve vehicle. In 1943/44, 37 captured FCM 36s were converted into tank destroyers or self-propelled artillery pieces.

- From Devblog

Media

Images

• 

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the FCM.36 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

What Is The Definition Of Insanity - FCM.36 - Virus

The Shooting Range #85 - Pages of History section at 03:54 discusses the FCM.36.

FCM.36, French, Tier-1, Light Tank - Angry Nerd Gaming

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 series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] FCM 36 - Wait Until You See The Whites of Their Eyes!
• [Wikipedia] FCM 36
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Char FCM 36

Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM)
Ships
Destroyers
Aigle-class	Vautour
Le Fantasque-class	Le Malin
Battleships
Courbet-class	Paris
Tanks
Light tank	FCM.36
Heavy tank	2C · 2C bis