D2

D2

R.35 (SA38)

B1 bis

D2

R.35 (SA38)

B1 bis

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

Show in game

Description

The Char D2 is a rank I French medium tank with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters". The D2 can be considered the brother of the S.35, sporting similar thick all-around armour, the same 47 mm SA35 gun, and a 3-man crew in the same configuration. The primary differences are the D2 is significantly slower - with nearly half the top speed and a lower power-to-weight ratio - while having a flatter, boxier hull shape, allowing the D2 to angle its armour more reliably.

General info

Survivability and armour

Sporting 40 mm of rolled armour on all sides of a boxy hull, the D2 can be angled at a perfect 45 degree angle for a consistent effective thickness of at least 60 mm, presenting no obvious weak points save for the turret ring. The turret is of the same general style as used by the S.35 and B1 bis, with a small, strong 56 mm turret face reinforced by two gun mantlets and strongly angled 45 mm sides, making it very effective in hull-down positions. Still beware of enemies behind you and even strafing aircraft, as the low, sloped engine deck has two grilles with a mere 5 mm of protection that even SPAAs and heavy machine guns can penetrate.

The D2's ammo racks are located deep in the bottom of the hull, nestled behind the D2's extra suspension armour and the suspension itself, making them fairly well-protected.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
• Cast homogeneous armour (turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm Front glacis 40 mm Lower glacis	40 mm Top 40 mm + 10 mm Bottom	40 mm	20 mm 5 mm Engine grille
Turret	56 mm Turret front 45 mm Gun mantlet 45 mm Machine gun covering	45 mm	45 mm	30 mm
Cupola	40 mm	40 mm	40 mm	30 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick
• Lower and upper turret ring armour are both 40 mm thick, and overlap slightly
• Gun barrel is 15 mm thick

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	26	6	19.5	232	286	11.9	14.67
Realistic	23	6		133	150	6.82	7.69

With a top speed of 23 km/h (RB) and a low power-to-weight ratio, the D2 isn't going anywhere fast. Its one saving grace in the mobility department is its reverse speed of -12 km/h!

Armaments

Main armament

47 mm SA35 L/32					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	108	±18°	±180°	Vertical	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	5.2	_.__	_.__	4.0
Realistic					__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

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
Mle1935	APC	62	59	47	36	27	20
Mle1935 HE	HE	4	4	4	4	4	4

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%
Mle1935	APC	660	1.62	N/A	N/A	N/A	48°	63°	71°
Mle1935 HE	HE	590	1.41	0.4	0.1	143	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the D2

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
108	91 (+17)	73 (+35)	55 (+53)	37 (+71)	19 (+89)	1 (+107)	No

Notes:

• As they are modeled by sets of 3, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired all shells in the set.
• Packing 25 (+83) shells is a good compromise to have enough shells at your disposal while reducing drastically the risk of ammo rack detonation.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3250 (150)	1350	N/A	N/A

The small caliber 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.

Usage in battles

As the D2 plays in most regards like a slower, slightly more reliably armoured S.35, utilize them side-by side, prioritizing the D2 in down-tiers and the S.35 in up-tiers, as the D2's hull armour will not save it at BR 2.3. When it's top tier, with a competent driver, it can even be played like a pocket heavy tank, or like a mini B1 bis without the hull cannon. Angle strongly, side-scrape, and utilize hull-down positions to make maximum use of your armour advantage. Pick what route you take when you spawn carefully; if you end up in the wrong place, your speed won't allow you to correct in a timely manner.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Thick all-around armour, able to be heavily angled
• Decent gun
• Stabilization mechanic
• Good MAC 31 coaxial MG
• 3 crew members; the "machine gunner" can be lost with minimal detriment
• Fantastic reverse speed; -12 km/h!
• Neutral steering

Cons:

• Very low top speed
• No explosive filler for its AP shells
• Longer reload than most peers

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

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

External links

• [Devblog] Char D2: Slow Advance