H.35

H.35

H.35

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

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Description

The Char léger Hotchkiss modèle 1935 H (Hotchkiss light tank model 1935) is a reserve French light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It is arguably the worst reserve vehicle in War Thunder.

Combining a 17 years old gun from WWI, average armour, and a subpar engine sounds like a bad tank design, right? Well someone did it anyways.

Mobility (?):

With its low speed, don't even dream of bold flanking manœuvres, you must rely on road and downhills in order to achieve a decent speed. Climbing hills and turning on the spot are also hard thing to achieve while driving this vehicle. The only thing "light" about this tank is the weight.

Firepower (?):

With only 36 mm of penetration, poor post-penetration damage and a long reload time, this tank's main gun is what gives the H.35 the running title as one of the worst reserve vehicle in War Thunder. With -13° of depression, it is actually a very depressing gun to shoot.

Armour (!):

A light beneath shadows: armour is decent and it will protect you from incoming long-range shots... but nothing more than that. At close ranges, anything bigger than HMG fire can shred your tank very easily. If you're lucky enough to survive a shot, retreat and ask your allies for help.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	34 mm (8-87°) Front plate 22 mm (75-85°), 34 mm (31°) Front glacis 34 mm (30°) Lower glacis	34 mm (1-33°) 34 mm (1-2°)	34 mm (31°) Top 34 mm Bottom (7-32°)	22 mm
Turret	45 + 25 mm (5°) Turret front 45 mm (28-30°) Left side 25 mm (10-19°) Gun mantlet 35 mm (9-88°) Vision port	40 mm (1-28°) 35 mm (8-87°) Vision ports	40 mm (8-63°)	25 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	40 mm	40 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, bogies, and tracks are all 15 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
10.6	N/A	31 (AB)
		28 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	90	100
Realistic/Simulator	71	75
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	8.49	9.43
Realistic/Simulator	6.70	7.07

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm SA18
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
76			-13°/+20°	±180°	Vertical
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	9.30	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic	9.30	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
4.03	_.__	_.__	_.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Mle1937	APCR	36	33	24	16	8	5
Mle1892	APHE	28	26	19	13	9	5

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%
Mle1937	APCR	600	0.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	66°	70°	72°
Mle1892	APHE	388	0.5	1.2	25	15	°	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the H.35.

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
76	75 (+1)	62 (+14)	49 (+27)	36 (+40)	23 (+53)	10 (+66)	1 (+75)	Yes

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,400 (150)				1,350	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

Playing the H.35 is a hard task. Having such a bad gun, it cannot reliably engage a fight without getting the first shot off; hence, one must stick with its teammates in order to survive an encounter. Never drag attention on yourself since anything bigger than HMG fire will shred you at normal combat ranges (~500 m).

Tactics

Hull down:

Since your turret armour is decent, a good way to use this tank can be to hide the hull behind a rock, an hill or any shell-proof prop and wait for the enemy to fall in your sights. This way, you will either be able to shoot at their weak side or have enough time to aim before they can react to your presence. Ensure yourself to pick a spot near a choke-point such as a capture point or a popular main road.

"Brawling":

In urban maps, narrow streets and crossroad allows for many flanking and close-quarter action: follow your team, always cover behind allied vehicles and don't bother stealing a kill from them since it's about the only good shots you will get on an enemy with such a poor vehicle.

Fleeing:

Turn your back to the enemy and use your engine deck as a shield for the crew. Use this tactic anytime you are left alone and go find yourself another teammate. Don't use your reverse speed since it's too low : turn back and flee, your armour is as thick as on the front of your tank. Never stop to try a shot since your pursuers have a way better gun than yours.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent armour for its BR (at distances).
• Good depression of -13°.
• Tiny target.
• Thick and sloped turret makes good hull-down position.
• Coaxial MAC 31 MG.

Cons:

• Arguably the worst beginner ground vehicle: very frustrating to play.
• It has the worst APCR-shot in the entire game.
• Reload time is twice as long as other main armaments at this BR.
• APCR deals only punctual damage: unable to one-shot anything but other French light tanks.
• APHE only has 28 mm of penetration.
• Not very mobile for a reserve light tank.
• Tracks are narrow, offering poor cross-country capability.
• HP/ton ratio is unsatisfying (8.49 HP/ton).
• Only two crew member allows for no survivability, and barely so with crew replenishment.

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.