Char 25t

Char 25t

Lorraine 40t

AMX-30 (1972)

Char 25t

Lorraine 40t

AMX-30 (1972)

France

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:53 000

Purchase:300 000

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Description

The Batignolles-Chatillon Char de 25 tonnes (shortened as Char 25t) is a Rank V French light tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries".

The Char 25t is similar to other French light tanks in that it is a small, closed tank with a compact autoloader turret in the rear of the tank. It is a bit wider than traditional French lights, but not by much. Its armour design is more akin to the AMX-50 or the Panther with a flat front and angled cheeks on the chassis. On the top of the turret is an oddity for cold war French designs, a machine gun. Though only a 7.5 mm machine gun that can be used for spotting targets or to deter some planes along with the coaxial.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Char 25t has more armour than its French cousins, at steeper angles. With distance, it may be able to bounce the 40 mm Bofors, though it will be rare. The top of the tank is well armoured and will easily defeat .50 cal (12.7 mm) rounds from airborne enemies though anything bigger will go through. The sides and rear are nonexistent comparatively and anything "antitank" will go through with ease. Most APHE shells fired at thinner parts of the tank may fail to detonate inside, it may save your life once or twice but don't rely on it. The driver has a 50 mm plate in front of him so that will help once or twice.

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret base, Turret besides roof, Hull cheeks)
• Structural steel (Over tracks, around chassis)
• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (64°) Front glacis left 50 mm (64°) Front glacis right 50 mm (36°) Lower glacis	25 mm	30 mm Top (53°) 20 mm Fuel Cover 30 mm Bottom (24°)	20 mm 15 mm Driver's hatch
Turret	50 mm (53-56°) Turret front 30 mm (20-59°) Turret base 50 mm Barrel shroud	25 mm Turret 30 mm (0-22°) Turret base	20 mm Turret bustle 20 mm (11-21°) Pivot ball 15 mm Turret underside	20 mm
Cupola	20 mm	20 mm	20 mm	20 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
• 8 mm Structural steel firewall hopefully separates the driver from the engine.
• 15 mm Structural steel found around various parts of tank (tow eyes, suspension, etc)

Mobility

The Char 25t is very fast, both in top speed (even in reverse) and acceleration. With a top speed of 65 km/hr and great hp/ton, the Char will take you anywhere you want to go. The wide tracks compared to its low weight are just another cherry on top. The transmission has 12 gears, 6 forward and 6 backward, and then a neutral. The reverse gears are identical to the forward gears, so driving in reverse is no problem (except for the more exposed crew). Also, the Char 25t can neutral steer quickly.

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
25.4	N/A	72 (AB)
		65 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	775	954
Realistic/Simulator	442	500
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	30.51	37.56
Realistic/Simulator	17.40	19.68

Armaments

Main armament

The gun is decent for its BR and role. Although it lacks a HEAT-FS shell like its nearby cousin the AMX-13-90, it still boasts the 90 mm SA45 cannon used on the AMX-M4 with the same ammunition. It carries "only" APC, which can easily take out multiple crew if aimed correctly, though can be a tough one to master if new to solid shot. The HE shell is mostly useless though it can be useful if used against really light vehicles. 1 kg of TNT isn't nothing to scoff at.

The reload rate is phenomenal, 6.7 seconds between shots (even with a knocked out loader)! It carries 7 shots in the drum, like the AMX-M4, allowing for a sustained fire at multiple enemies. Make your shots count though! The solid shot will not be very forgiving to players who spam at empty space within enemies.

90 mm SA45
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
52			-6°/+11°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	14.28	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
6.7	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
90 mm APC	APC	193	191	180	168	156	145
90 mm HE	HE	13	13	13	13	13	13

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%
90 mm APC	APC	1,000	11	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	48°	63°	71°
90 mm HE	HE	700	11	0.1	0.5	945	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the AMX-13-90.

Machine guns

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
52	43 (+9)	34 (+18)	25 (+27)	16 (+36)	7 (+45)	1 (+51)	no

7.5 mm MAC 31
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
4,950 (150)				1,350	N/A	N/A
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,200 (150)				1,350	-__°/+__°	-__°/+__°

Usage in battles

The Char 25t is a very fast flanking tank that can take on multiple foes if it has to. Engaging other tanks frontally is not advised as the main shell has a maximum pen of 193 mm, and even then there is no explosive filler, so hitting obscure weakpoints may not even disable heavier tanks. Against lighter tanks, be sure to avoid relying on armour as it only protects from some autocannon fire.

The following tactics could be used proficiently with the Char 25t:

Long range sniper/flanker: Start off the match by heading for one of the flanks. If it's an open map, hide behind hills and passively scout as you drive or head for the outermost capture point. Be wary of the speedy M18 tank destroyers, any of the Sd.Kfz. 234 series, or any other quick tanks that may be trying the same thing as you. Once in a nice position (shadow cover, somewhere to retreat, nice sight lanes), sit and wait for someone to pass by. Don't stay tunnel visioned! Slower tanks may be approaching and they will be able to instantly destroy the Char 25t if it gets the chance. If you notice enemies at a far distance, first scout them using the scout key so your team knows where they are in case you miss or are destroyed. Next, either range-find, or just go for the shot if they are close enough. Neutralize the target, and either change position and then rinse and repeat.

Brawler: Surprisingly, this tank makes a decent brawler with its compact size, incredible speed, and great reload rate. Keep near the outer flanks of any main road or capture point, and drive around looking to shoot out engines/turrets. Try not to engage any heavier tank frontally, as you will be wiped out quite quickly, and you will rarely penetrate through their frontal armour. If you manage to get the first shot, you will have the superior reload for the follow-up shot, especially if their gunner is knocked out from the first shot. Be wary though, and assume the enemy always has a shot loaded, so either be prepared to go back into cover if they're gunner gets replaced.

Support: Due to the new repair mechanics, light tanks can help repair teammates if a friendly repair has been initiated. Stick near teammates, especially heavier ones like the T95 or Maus which may occasionally meet. When they engage in a firefight, either flank around the enemy to disable their gun/movement, or if your teammate already finished off the enemy(s) and is repairing, help them. Go around and help your teammates repair and disable/destroy enemies.

Mixed: Mix and match the tactics above and of other French lights. Try to flank and don't get destroyed. The roof machine gun can allow the Char 25t to harrass planes trying for a ground strike at the team, so there's always a role that the Char 25t can play as.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Can reach its top speed quite fast.
• Awesome reload rate: 1 shot every 6.7 seconds.
• Gun performance is comparable to the British QF 17-pounder's solid shots, if not better.
• 7 rounds in autoloader mechanism.
• Has smoke launchers (high arc of fire).
• Fast turret rotation.
• Thin armour will sometimes cause APHE to penetrate straight through without detonating.
• Low profile.
• High gun placement make hull-down positions very efficient.
• As fast in reverse as forward.

Cons:

• Gun penetration rates are often subpar: relies heavily on flanking maneuvers.
• Thin sides will get shredded easily by nearby SPAAs.
• Poor gun elevation value of 11 degrees.
• Bad at stop-and-shoot due to oscillating turret design.
• Ammo is stored everywhere, a single penetrating shot can easily cause an ammo detonation.

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an 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>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the Char 25t from live.warthunder.com.

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 25t and T-80B