B1 bis

B1 bis

D2

2C

B1 bis

D2

2C

France

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:7 900

Purchase:10 000

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This page is about the heavy tank B1 bis. For the pack version, see B1 ter

Description

The Char de bataille B1 bis (Battle tank B1 "repeated") is a Rank II French heavy tank with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". With arguably the best armour at its BR, this tank is a beast in long-range engagements since it is hard to penetrate at distances. While not having the best armament, it should do the job taking care of these dangerous early SPGs and light tanks. The "bis" suffix is a French way of marking an improved version.

This tank's mobility won't allow you to position fast enough. Taking time is the only way to get where you want safely. Since this tank is pretty long and narrow, do not engage in cramped spaces since you will not be allowed to manoeuvre as you wish. You reverse speed won't allow you to retreat if things get bad around you, stay behind the frontlines, making good use of your armour.

In order to effectively use this tank's armour, there is a few things to consider. First of all, there a lot of shot traps, the main ones being the turret ring, the grille on the left side and the hull gun mount, in order to minimize your enemies' chance to hit these weak spots, stay away from them. Second, even if your armour is very strong for the BR, do not completely rely on it by sitting around in an open field: you will eventually get hit where it hurts. The third thing to consider is your small and thick turret: hide that big clumsy hull behind a hill and pop out only your hard "head", take a shot, fall back, reload, repeat. If something goes wrong (i.e. getting shot in the turret ring), there is usually enough men left to take the job left by their dead "camarade". Do not bother getting spotted: it is your job to stay in the enemies' sights while your lighter teammates do what they ought to. In some situations, it can even be used as a breakthrough tank, rely on your own experience to guess when it is time to do so.

With the same gun as most other Rank 2 French tanks, the B1 bis will never be recognized for having a fearsome armament: penetration rates are even lower than most reserve tanks while reload time is twice as long (a known feature of early French tanks). The turreted armament is only good at firing light targets such as SPGs and light tanks. Elevation and depression angles are amazing but turret slewing rate is a bit slow: this tank has been designed to be hull-down. As for the hull-mounted gun, it should only be used as a close range defence device, as it has poor penetration rates and high drop. Exposing your hull-mounted gun for long range engagements does not only makes you vulnerable, it is also mostly ineffective.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)'

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	60 mm (7-62°) Front glacis 60 mm (32-48°) Lower glacis	55 mm Center 55 + 55 mm Border 15 mm Engine grille	25 mm (77°) Top 50 mm (1°) Center 55 mm (46°) Bottom	25 mm
Turret	56 mm (0-46°) Turret front 56 mm (1-85°) Gun mantlet 56 mm (0-49°) Machine gun cover	56 mm (2-19°)	56 mm (18-19°) 38.1 mm (18°) Turret hatch	30 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	48 mm	30 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Turret ring armour is 25-40 mm thick.

Due to the extremely heavy frontal armor, one should try to use mobility to flank the B1. However, if that isn't possible, you'll want to try and hit the "mailslot" of the turret ring. It may be a tricky shot, but there's only ~40 mm of armor there. If left flank is exposed, the grille is only 15 mm thick and has a well-placed fuel tank right behind it, turning the B1 into a burning torch, ready to explode.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
32.0	N/A	29.8 (AB)
		28.0 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	396	___
Realistic/Simulator	272	___
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	12.37	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	8.50	__.__

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm SA35 L/17
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
74			-20°/+25°	±1°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Mle1910M	APHE	57	55	52	47	44	37
Mle1915	HE	11	11	11	11	11	11

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Mle1910M	APHE	500	6.4	1.2	25	90	°	43°	30°	25°
Mle1915	HE	500	5.6	0.4	0.1	740	+0°	11°	10°	9°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the B1 Bis

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	12th rack empty	13th rack empty	14th rack empty	15th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
74	68 (+6)	64 (+10)	62 (+12)	60 (+14)	56 (+18)	53 (+21)	38 (+36)	36 (+38)	25 (+49)	23 (+51)	21 (+53)	14 (+60)	9 (+65)	3 (+71)	1 (+73)	no

Additional armament

47 mm SA35 L/32
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
50			±18°	±180°	Vertical
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	5.90	8.20	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	5.90	7.00	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert Qualif.	Prior + Ace Qualif.
9.80	_.__	_.__	_.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Mle1935	APC	69	67	57	48	27	24
Mle1935 HE	HE	4	4	4	4	4	4

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Mle1935	APC	660	1.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	48°	63°	71°
Mle1935 HE	HE	590	1.4	0.4	0.1	143	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
50	39 (+11)	27 (+23)	25 (+25)	23 (+27)	21 (+29)	11 (+39)	1 (+49)	No

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
5,100 (150)				1,350	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

The Char B1, upon playing it for the first time will be slow in both acceleration, max speed and turret rotation speed. the Hull gun is most likely the most frustrating gun to aim because of the limited firing arc it has. The best way to play the B1 bis is to hold down a position, preferably hull down (as its turret is thick and small, it will ricochet most shots it will take). Playing the B1 bis rightly, there is only 3 ways to get killed:

• Being outflanked by a light tank
• The enemy has been lucky enough to get a shot through a shot trap
• Meeting a dangerous gun (see Specific enemies worth noting)

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Overall good armour

• Very heavy frontal armor for its rank.
• Strong turret from the front
• Good at sidescraping (thick sides)
• Nearly impenetrable hull when angled
• Armour is trolly in the driver's port area

• Decent firepower

• One of the best in-game depression (-18°, turret gun)
• Has 2 main armaments
• A rare feature on French tanks: it has APHE ammunition.
• MAC 31 coaxial MG
• Turret gun has LOCK, which makes stop-and-shoot tactics effective.

Cons:

• Armour has many shot traps, easing the task of killing it

• Engine grille on left side is a 15 mm weak point, nullifies angling from this side.
• Fuel tank behind the grille lights up very often when penetrated.
• Large turret ring is weak (25-40 mm poorly sloped)
• Hull gun mount is a weak spot and can be penetrated by most guns of the tier.
• Crew is cramped
• Turret rear is only 38 mm thick
• Has a tall and "thin" cupola
• Literally has an hallway full of ammo in the back

• Guns feel lacking

• Lacking penetration from both of its guns
• Abysmal traverse on 75 mm gun (~1° left to right)
• Slow reload on both guns
• Only stock ammo choices
• APHE shell won't detonate when shooting at light targets (25 mm or less armour)
• Hull gun is hard to master (not beginner-friendly)

• Mobility is subpar

• Not very mobile due to weight.
• Slow hull turning rate
• Reverse speed is low (-3km/h)

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read 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.

ETC.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

France heavy tanks
B1	B1 bis · B1 ter
2C	2C · 2C bis
ARL-44	ARL-44 (ACL-1)
AMX-50	Somua SM · AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé
USA	▄M4A3E2