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 modèle 1935 H (Hotchkiss light tank model 1935) is a rank I French light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". The H.35 was removed from its reserve status and hidden from the main tech tree during Update 1.85 "Supersonic" after the ammo update, though it is still unlockable after reaching rank II French ground vehicles. During its session in the main tree, it was arguably the worst reserve vehicle in War Thunder.

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

General info

Survivability and armour

The 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.

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	34 mm (8-87°) Front plate 22 mm (75-85°) Upper glacis 34 mm (31°) Central 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.
• Belly is 8mm thick.
• Gun barrel is 10mm thick.

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.

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

With only 36 mm of penetration, poor post-penetration damage and a long reload time, this tank's main gun is the main failing of the H.35. With -13° of depression, it is actually a very depressing gun to shoot in a figurative and literal sense.

37 mm SA18 L/21
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	14.95	20.69	25.12	27.77	29.55
Realistic	9.34	10.99	13.34	14.75	15.7
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
4.03	3.56	3.28	3.10

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Mle1937	APCR	36	33	24	16	8	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°

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 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 score 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.
• APCR deals only punctual damage: unable to one-shot anything but other French light tanks.
• Reload speed is a little on the slow side for the caliber.
• Not very mobile for a 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.

History

Officially known as the Char Leger mle 1935 Hotchkiss (Hotchkiss Light Tank model 1935), this was a competitor with Renault's R.35 to replace the WWI-era FT-17 as France's infantry tank. While the infantry went with the R.35, the French cavalry adopted the H.35 to serve alongside the S35 Somua. The R.35 and H.35 were very similar in construction and visual appearance, with the same turret and the SA 18 37mm main gun, a tank gun conversion of a the 1916 infantry gun. Both tanks also used a cast hull, a novel idea in 1935. As will all French tanks, none were equipped with radios.

In total 400 of the Hotchkiss model would be built, 300 for the cavalry and another 100 for the 13th and 38th independent tank battalions. Cavalry units equipped with the H.35 during the fall of France included the 4th Cuirassiers, the 11th (Motorized), 13th, 18th and 29th Dragoons, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Armored Car Regiments, and the 5th Divisional Reconnaissance Group, in total comprising 16 squadrons of 16-20 tanks each. Another three H.35s were on trials with the Polish Army at the onset of war in September, 1939. They, along with 4 stray R.35s, fought in an ad hoc unit on the Ukrainian front until the fall of Poland.

Another 900 R.35s, using the same turret, the SA 18 gun and a very similar hull, were in service in 1940, in 20 tank battalions, making it the most common tank in French service during the war. In total, somewhere between 1400 and 2000 of the Renault model would be built. Another 190 of the R.35s were exported pre-war, to Poland (50), Yugoslavia (50), Turkey (50), and Romania (40). Most of those in Polish service were with the 21st Light Tank Battalion, which escaped to Romania without seeing combat; it is unclear how many of the Yugoslav-purchased tanks were even delivered before the France fell, but those that arrived served with that country's 2nd Tank Battalion, which saw limited or no action during the 1941 invasion; after that country fell those R.35s would have been turned over to the Romanians as well. The Romanians would upgrade their R.35s with captured Russian 45 mm tank guns and continue to use them through to 1944.

The SA 18-armed R.35 also continued in service with Vichy France until 1942, and were used in fighting in Syria and North Africa. Another 124 SA 18-armed R.35s were turned over by the Germans to Italy, where they fought and were lost in the invasion of Sicily in 1942. The Germans converted another 174 R.35s to tank destroyers (PanzerJager), generally armed with 47mm guns in the place of turrets and used primarily in France and secondary theatres. 110 of these were still in service at the start of 1944.

Media

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See also

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

External links

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