R.35 (SA38)

R.35 (SA38)

D2

R.35 (SA38)

D2

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 d'accompagnement 1935 R (SA38) 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".

Although it is a "light tank", the R.39 feels pretty cumbersome in every way: slow reload speed, low max speed and bad acceleration. It actually feels more like an heavy tank... without the benefits of heavy armour. This tank's design is very reminiscent of other rank I French tanks, hence, players should be used to a subpar gun, "heavy" armour and low mobility.

General info

Survivability and armour

With good armour thickness and surprising hull angles, this tank can take some beating at a distance, provided you do not get a lucky shot in the turret ring or that you face a heavy-hitting gun. This should get you into effective combat ranges (500 - m) in relative safety. The most obvious weakspot is its turret flat left side, which is only 45 mm thick and badly angled, this makes hull-down position ineffective.

With its heavy side armour, one should use angles at its advantages and angle it at about 35° while facing opponents. Such an angling gives about 60 mm of effective thickness for 80% of the exposed area.

In an ambush position, this tank could face its opponents backwards (engine deck first). This unusual tactic could confuse enemies for a moment and provide extra protection as your engine may absorb shots. This will also decrease the chances of a lucky penetration : if turret is facing enemy, almost 90% of exposed surfaces have ~60 + mm of LoS thickness. If danger gets too high, you could give it the gas and "fly" away in forward motion.

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (front glacis, engine vents)
• Structural steel (mudguards, trench-crossing tail, storage boxes, exhaust cover)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	32 mm (23-61°) Upper plate 32 mm (23°) Driver hatch 25 mm (74°) Front glacis 32 mm (24-26°) Lower plate 32 mm (cylindrical) Lower glacis	40 mm (4-28°) Top 40 mm Bottom	40 mm (12°) Top 40 mm (33°) Bottom	25 mm (16°) Front glacis 25 mm Centre 25 mm (1-6°) Rear 5 mm Engine vents
Turret	45 mm (4-28°) Turret front 45 mm (28-30°) Left side 25 mm (10-11°) + 45 mm (4°) Gun mantlet	40 mm (0-28°)	40 mm (30°)	25 mm (22°) Front 25 mm Centre and rear
Cupola	40 mm (cylindrical) Base 40 mm (spherical) Dome

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, bogies and tracks are 15 mm thick.
• The trench-crossing tail is 5 mm thick and the mudguards are 4 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	23	4	11	89	156	8.09	14.18
Realistic	20	3		73	82	6.64	7.45

The mobility is the R.35 (SA38)'s biggest weakness: while it does not like long-range engagements and needs to close-up with its foes in order to damage them, its very low speed will always leave it far behind its allies. With its narrow tracks and poor power ratio (8.09 HP/ton), the R.35 (SA38) hates being taken out in the mud as its speeds fall drastically. 20 km/h forward and -3 km/h backwards is all you'll get from this struggling 73 HP engine. Plan your moves in advance and do not stay too near to the front line as a successful retreat is hard to achieve with such a slow tank.

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm SA38 L/33					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	58	-8°/+12°	±180°	Shoulder	15.0	20.7	25.1	27.8	29.6	5.20	4.60	4.24	4.00
Realistic					9.3	11.0	13.3	14.8	15.7

The 37 mm SA38 cannon has significantly better penetration and post-penetration damage than its predecessor, but has a longer reload rate than its peers. Know the layout of enemy vehicles well, target their gunners first or immobilize them by shooting at the engine, and make every shot count. Avoid exchanging shots at long distances as your gun's penetration values decrease heavily beyond 500 m. The turret traverse speed is also an issue since you'll not be able to react in time to flanking opponents.

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
Mle1938	APC	54	50	36	24	16	11

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%
Mle1938	APC	705	0.7	N/A	N/A	N/A	48°	63°	71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the R.35 (SA38)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
58	45 (+13)	1 (+57)	No

Note:

• As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,800 (150)	1,350	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

Gameplay summary:

The R.35 is a decent light tank for its battle rating, so long as it is played with the right tactics. The most important aspect of R.35 gameplay is armour angling. Being that the side armour is actually thicker than the front armour, angling at 45 degrees or more is ideal. The tank is not particularly quick, so flanking is generally difficult, so sticking with your team is the best strategy. Generally, medium range engagements are ideal.

Close Range Engagements:

The R.35 is capable at close range, although the slow reload can cause issues. The armour if angled correctly may bounce enemy rounds even at point blank range, however the R.35 must disable the enemy tank with the first shot. Most enemies that the R.35 will face have a faster reload, and may be able to outmanoeuvre it, as the R.35 is somewhat slow. This means that getting too close to the enemy is a mistake, always maintain some distance with quick enemies.

Long Range Engagements:

The R.35 will struggle to deal damage at long range, the cannon having mediocre penetration and reload. However staying at range can also be a good strategy, as enemies may struggle to penetrate the armour of the R.35 as well.

Notable Enemies:

Some notable enemies include: any German vehicles that use 20 mm autocannons, these include Panzer II and Flankpanzer tanks. Their autocannons will easily destroy the R.35 if the armour is not angled. Additionally, the R.35 struggles to penetrate Panzer II tanks.

Additionally, the R.35 will be easily penetrated by enemy vehicles equipped with the American 37 mm M3 cannon, the British QF 2-pounder gun, or the Swedish 37 mm kan m/38 gun.

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:

• Gun with a good penetration power.
• Has decent sloped hull armour.
• Has a very thick gun mantlet area.
• Thick sides allows for heavy angling.

Cons:

• Thin turret ring.
• Limited crew count: 2 members (easy to immobilize with a single shot).
• Extremely low speed, with bad cross-country and hill-climbing ability.
• Awful reverse speed of -3 km/h.
• Single type of ammunition, with no explosive filler.
• Slow reload speed.

History

The Char Leger mle 1935 Renault (Renault Light Tank model 1935), armed with the SA 18 short 37 mm gun, was the most common French tank at the onset of the war in Europe, with 900 on active service in infantry tank battalions in May, 1940. However, like its competitor H.35, its gun was known to be unsatisfactory as an anti-tank weapon.

Only a few of these R.35s could be converted to the improved SA 38 main gun prior to the fall of France, with the H.35s and H.39s of the cavalry receiving priority. It is known the 1st (Free) Polish Tank Regiment in France near Paris did receive some converted R.35s in May, 1940. These upgunned R.35 tanks are sometimes referred to (erroneously) as the R.39.

Concurrently, in 1939, AMX had developed a new type of track and suspension for the R.35, which had continued to be produced. This new variant, also armed with the SA 38, and sometimes designated the R.40, had gone into production in March, 1940. It saw limited service, but it is known the 40th and 48th tank battalions had received 30 each, and the 1st Polish as many as another 25, in time to serve in the invasion and fall of France. Some of these were still around to be seized by French Resistance forces during the fall of Paris in 1944.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the R.35 (SA38) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Char léger d’accompagnement 1939 R, French, Tier-1, Light Tank - Angry Nerd Gaming

R.39 Tank Review - NUSensei

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.