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Lets see if I am capable of posting a picture here..



See if anyone knows anything about this? Called an ARL44.

Looks like a Renault D2 body um.. with a Patton turret...??

Post war French - U.S. lovechild??

Anybody know? Just have the image in a WWII book - but no description..

Ah, ARL-44. That's a Char B1 chassis (with plate skirts) and a Schneider turret w/ 90mm gun. It was an "undercover" project started by the French during the German occupation, and got started for real with the liberation. First one ready in 1946, I only think they were used once in a parade in the early 50's though. Not many built.

The tank is modelled in the game. Here is a picture of that parade, perhaps......



for more information, go here http://www.chars-francais.net/archives/arl44.htm

Is it in the French OOB's or some other?

Yes, it was the first tank developed for the Post-WWII France, though the design was from the 1940, only about 50-55 tanks were ever built for it was cheaper to buy massproduced m47 Pattons to USA than to massproduce the ARL-44.

The turret looks solid but what was the side body armor thickness?

Incredibly tough to find resources on, unless you happen to sit with a "French post WWII armor" encyclopedia...

The Char B1-bis had 60mm of side armor, and a WAG on my part would be that the ARL 44 in any case didn't have less...

This page has some armour values..unfortunately it is in Czech..so perhaps one of our Czech members could translate or try to find a web translator.

http://www.mainbattletanks.czweb.org/Tanky/arl44.htm

Voriax

Guessing only, because this is the only value with vertical armour and therefore represents the side armour,
the value of thickness is 45mm
- Boky typ/tlouš?ka (mm)/úhel (°) .......... ocel/45/0