H.39 "Cambronne"

H.39 "Cambronne"

H.39 "Cambronne"

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:250

Show in game

This page is about the premium tank H.39 "Cambronne". For the regular version, see H.39.

Description

The H.39 "Cambronne" 14eBCC is a premium rank I French light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". A premium version of the H.39, it costs 250 Golden Eagles . It is functionally identical to the standard H.39 in every way except it lacks the 5 mm trench-crossing tail at the hull rear. It was part of the 2017 Christmas gift giveaway.

General info

Survivability and armour

With a rather constant 45-50 mm effective thickness from all sides, this tank can be a hard nut to crack if spotted at a good distance (500+ m), and can take a good beating up close if care is taken to properly angle and avoid tanks with especially potent guns. However, its armour should not be relied upon; most reserve tank guns are capable of penetrating its raw armour thickness and have faster reloads, so hard cover should be utilized generously. With only 2 crewmen, any penetrating shot could be your last.

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (8-87°) Front plate 22 mm (75-85°), 40 mm (31°) Front glacis 40 mm (30°) Lower glacis	40 mm (1-33°) 40 mm (1-2°)	40 mm (24-30°) Top 40 mm (9-32°) Bottom	22 mm
Turret	45 + 25 mm (5°) Turret front 45 mm (28-30°) Left side 25 mm (10-19°) Gun mantlet	40 mm (1-27°)	40 mm (8-63°)	25 mm
Cupola	40 mm (spherical)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 15 mm thick.
• Turret ring is 35 mm thick with a 5 mm protective collar.

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	41	8	12.1	130	229	10.74	18.93
Realistic	37	7		106	120	8.76	9.92

The top speed is reasonable for a light tank but it takes the H.39 "Cambronne" quite long to build up speed. The lack of neutral steering makes turning on the spot difficult: make sure to build a little speed before turning. Every turn will also bleed your speed. The reverse speed is a bit lacking: it won't get you out of a dangerous situation quickly enough but it isn't a handicap either. The H.39 "Cambronne" reaches 13 km/h when fording and 8 km/h when driving uphill. Narrow tracks also mean poor mobility on soft terrain (mud, snow, sand). Light obstacles (fences, posts, bushes and small trees) are not a problem for the H.39 "Cambronne" but medium to large obstacles will drastically reduce your mobility as your acceleration is slow: try to avoid them.

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	76	-13°/+20°	±180°	Vertical	15.0	20.7	__.__	__.__	29.6	5.2	_.__	_.__	4.0
Realistic					9.3	11.0	__.__	__.__	15.7

The SA38 gun offers a reasonable penetration power at its battle rating. Its higher than average muzzle velocity allows for a flat firing trajectory but the accuracy drop is noticeable from 500 m distance and a handicap over 700 m. The rotation speed of the turret is good compared to other tanks at the same rank or battle rating. Elevation and depression angles of the gun are important, allowing you to fire from unusual positions (behind a ridge, on a slope, etc.). Your recoil is inexistent. The shoulder-stop stabilizer allows for a good targeting but at very slow speed. The reload times of the gun are in line with other light tanks at the same BR. The weak accuracy of the gun (due to its shortness) coupled with the absence of post-penetration damage from the solid shot are the biggest weaknesses of the armament. This will cause you to have to shoot enemy tanks repeatedly to destroy them entirely.

Ammunition

The H.39 "Cambronne" has a very limited choice of ammunition:

• Mle1935: APC; a solid shot with average penetration and no explosive filler. Make sure to target modules and crew positions to maximise the damage. Knowledge of enemy vehicle layouts is essential with this type of 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

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	12th rack empty	13th rack empty	14th rack empty	15th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
76	76 (+0)			75 (+1)	68 (+8)	62 (+14)	55 (+21)	49 (+27)	42 (+34)	36 (+40)	29 (+47)	23 (+53)	16 (+60)	10 (+66)	1 (+75)	Yes

Ammo racks of the H.39 "Cambronne"

Notes:

• The visual discrepancy concerns racks 1 to 4. Racks 1 and 2 are modeled but never filled. Racks 3 and 4 are modeled but empty after only 1 shell is removed from either of them.
• The racks 5 to 15 disappear when all shells in the racks have been shot/loaded.
• Packing 23 (+53) 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	2400 (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

Use the same tactics as with other French rank 1 vehicles: follow the pack and take shots whenever the opportunity shows. Use your decent mobility to assist in flanking manoeuvres (i.e. in urban maps) and put shots into your enemies' weak sides. Find hard cover that can't be shot through, angle strongly, and poke in and out between your shots, as your reload can't match that of your opponents.

On maps with hilly terrain, stick with your teammates near the capture point, go hull-down, and wait for anything to fall in your sights. Try to immobilize your target on your first shot. Get back into cover between reloads and pop out a few meters away from your last spot.

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
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Tiny tank with tiny profile
• -13° of gun depression
• Has a gun stabilizer mechanic, which makes stop-and-shoot tactics easier and faster
• MAC 31 is an excellent coaxial MG
• Thick all-around armour that can be very strongly angled
• Moderately powerful engine that can keep it at its 41 km/h top speed on flat ground
• Decent reverse speed of -7 km/h
• Arguably the best French rank 1 tank

Cons:

• Only 2 crew members
• Only one choice of ammunition, with no explosive filler
• Sub-par penetration
• Long reload for the caliber
• Driver's hatch is almost completely vertical
• Narrow tracks means poor ground flotation

History

Creation

The H.39 "Cambronne" belonged to the 14ème Bataillon de Chars de Combat (14th Battle Tanks Battalion) of the French Army. The 14th was created in August 1939 and composed of 45 H.39 tanks, organised in 3 companies of 15 tanks. In addition to the tank companies, the battalion also consisted of 3 special-purpose tanks, 16 APC, 33 light trucks, 41 heavy duty trucks, 15 tractors, 4 trailers and 51 bikes for a total of around 550 soldiers.

Combat action

The 14ème BCC was deployed in May 1940 in the Aisne region 30 km from the Belgian border, along the river Oise whose bridges they defended from westbound German forces. The 14th was involved in harsh engagements with Germans tank divisions outnumbering them. They suffered heavy losses while defending the bridges: within a week the Battalion had only 12 out of 45 tanks left. The remaining elements of the battalion fell back towards Paris, merged with the remnants of another tank battalion and kept fighting advancing German tank divisions until June.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the H.39 "Cambronne" from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

H.39 "Cambronne": A Decent tank when driven correctly! - Joseph 2000

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• H.35
• H.39

Vehicles equipped with the same gun

• R.35 (SA38)

External links

• [Wikipedia] Hotchkiss H35/39
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Hotchkiss H35/39