H.39

H.39

S.35

H.39

S.35

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:Free

Purchase:Free

Show in game

This page is about the light tank H.39. For the premium version, see H.39 «Cambronne».

Description

The Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39 (Hotchkiss light tank model 1935 modified 1939) is a reserve rank I French light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance" and replaced the H.35 as one of France's two reserve vehicles in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".

Compared to its predecessor, the H.39 features a serviceable gun, thicker armour, and a significantly more powerful engine, which makes it, when fully upgraded, surprisingly speedy on flat ground for low level French tanks. Nevertheless, this vehicle's gun and mobility are below average compared its peers from other nations. While it is mobile in a straight line, it maneuvers slowly and its narrow tracks slow it down substantially cross-country. The H.39 should be played as a close support tank, best utilized in urban maps and following its teammates while waiting for a good shot opportunity.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
• Structural steel (mudguards, trench-crossing tail, exhaust cover)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (8-33°) Upper plate 22 mm (74-79°)Upper glacis 40 mm (30°) Lower glacis	40 mm (1-25°) Top 40 mm Bottom	40 mm (26-29°) Top 40 mm (29-31°) Bottom	22 mm (14-15°) Front glacis 22 mm (0-4°) Centre & rear
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.
• Turret ring is 35 mm thick with a 5 mm protective collar.
• The trench-crossing tail is 5 mm thick and the mudguards are 4 mm thick.

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.

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

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°	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 your enemies' insides well, target their gunners first or immobilize them by shooting at the engine, and take care to make every shot count. Avoid exchanging shots at long distances as your gun's penetration values decrease heavily.

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 H.35 (identical).

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

Notes:

• The visual discrepancy concerns the total number of shells as well as the number of shells per rack:
  • 100 shells are modeled but you can only pack 76 shells, meaning some racks always empty (crossed out in the picture).
  • Rack 1 is modeled as 6 shells but contains only 2 shells.
• As they are modeled by sets of 6 or 7, shells disappear from racks 2 to 6 only after you fire all shells in the set.
• Rack 7 disappears after you've fired all shells in the rack.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,400 (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

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

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, which has 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

The H.39 was an improved version of the H.35, with a modified suspension and more powerful engine. 700 were built before France fell. Originally armed with the same SA 18 short gun as the H.35 and R.35, it saw service with the 342nd Independent Tank Company in Norway (which went over to the Free French with their tanks and fought with them in 1941 in Syria), and equipped six of the tank battalions (14th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 42nd and 45th) in the three pre-war armored divisions, and 12 cavalry squadrons. The SA 18-armed version is sometimes referred to (erroneously) as the H.38.

The poor anti-tank performance of the First World War-era 37 mm infantry gun (on which the SA 18 tank gun was based) during the Spanish Civil War led to the redesigned SA 38. In total 358 SA 18-armed tanks, mostly H.39 and H.35, would be rearmed with the new gun before the invasion of France, with several hundred more being produced as France fell. Upgunned H.35s and H.39s were employed by the French as section- and platoon-leader vehicles.

After the fall of France, the Germans retrofitted some of their captured vehicles with the newer gun, and replaced the commander's cupola with their more customary split hatch for the tank commander. These vehicles, which the Germans called the 38H 735, fought in Finland in 1941, in the Balkans, and against the Allies in France. In December of 1944, 29 were still in German service. Another 24 were cut down to just the hull pan and nose armour and used as Geschutzwagen (assault guns), and armed with the PaK 40/L46 75mm gun, making them similar in appearance to the Marder I conversion from captured Lorraine Schlepper vehicles. These were actively employed against Allied forces in Normandy. Some recaptured H.39s served with Free French forces to the end of the war.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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.